Toyota Land Cruisers: The Backbone of the Mining Industry – Reviews

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I cling to the edge of an open bed, almost a half-mile below the rugged Sudbury landscape. Toyota Land Cruiser Passing seven miles through dark, dripping mine tunnels. Wearing bulky steel-toed rubber boots, a hard hat, hearing and eye protection, and an orange jumpsuit, I pick up a heavy (at least for me) canister around my neck. We received instructions on how to activate it in the event of a mine accident. We’ve already passed the room you need to reach in case of fire. I am fully prepared for every disaster and I know I can’t do anything right.

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Underground mining: not for the faint of heart.

It’s also not for the weak vehicle.

We are here as Toyota celebrates Kenreki — We have been selling and manufacturing cars in Canada for 60 years. By 1965 the company had sold 755 cars to Canadians; Today it sells that much almost every day. But what they have achieved and continue to achieve underground is just as newsworthy.

Toyota Land Cruisers have been the industry standard for decades. Miller Technology Located in North Bay, Ontario, it is one of only two specialists in North America (the other being ENS Industrial in Saskatchewan) is adapting the Japan-built 70 Series for use in mining operations around the world. It all started in 1979 when Ron Miller began building purpose-built mining buggies: custom-built buggies that could withstand the brutal underground mining climate.

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By 1989 the company expanded and began using these diesel Land Cruisers exclusively. Extensive changes are being made to vehicles to meet Canadian Standards Association (CSA) regulatory compliance. Standard braking systems have been replaced with an unsafe system that must be tested by an independent third party. Suspension and chassis upgrades strengthen the chassis, axles, springs and struts. Test criteria set the vehicle’s gross weight (including equipment and passengers) at 4,500 kg. Land Cruisers descend on the shop weighing around 2,000 kg. By the time they go out and head into the mines, they weigh roughly twice that.

Hugh McDermid, Miller Technology’s VP of Product and Business Development oversees an evolving industry. “Canada, along with Australia, has the highest safety standards in the world,” he says. “We produced 60 units in 2010; By 2023, that number was around 330.” The tools are exported worldwide. The company employs about 80 to 100 people. As mining continues to expand rapidly around the world, he predicts that those who create these adapted tools will also see significant growth. I asked him why they use them in particular. toyota. “We tried jeep And data store “They were products, but they were not suitable for the underground environment,” he says with the elegance of a diplomat.

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Hard rock mining standards mandate a maximum speed of 20 mph (we felt like we were going much higher, but we weren’t), so Miller physically shifts the shift gate to block anything beyond third gear. The back of the truck we were in had two padded seats with six seat belts; This was handy when moving you up and down rough terrain like a little kid bouncing on a harpoon. Toyota has been in Canada for 60 years; So did I, but I proved to be much less resilient.

The 60th anniversary coincides with the return of this perennial favorite Land Cruiser to the manufacturer’s model lineup after the last one was sold in 1989 (the 200 Series was sold in the US until 2020). A visit to this place, which has never stopped using them, was timely and a great advertisement for just how tough these little beasts really are. Nothing used in the mines is street-legal, but Land Cruiser fans will be glad to have that option again as new conversions emerge.

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The average lifespan of mine-worthy Land Cruisers (often spent entirely underground) is five to seven years. Diesel engines are basically shut down for maintenance purposes only. They are driven hard and rumble aside, there is no rest for the rough.

In a world where components are now being mined to encourage the uptake and adoption of electric vehicles, it’s no surprise that Miller Technology is at the forefront of this wave. “We are certainly working with customers to develop the best EVs for the mining industry,” says McDermid. They have been working on electric solutions since 2015 and Toyota Land Cruisers remain the vehicle of choice. It will revolutionize the industry. According to McDermid, the cost of air transfer exchange systems in mines can be up to 30% of the mine’s operating costs. Replacing clean electricity with decidedly less clean diesel would not only save money, but would also result in a more environmentally friendly practice for an industry that has traditionally been harsh on the environment. To put it mildly. We were told we didn’t need a mask, but when we got upstairs a UV flashlight revealed our boots and jeans were illuminated by… things. A mine will never be a sterile environment, but eliminating most of the diesel fumes would be great for costs and the lungs.

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“The initial cost of switching to an electric Land Cruiser is about twice that,” says McDermid. “But it is cheaper to operate over the life of the asset.” Fewer moving parts and less maintenance means a machine that can do more work and do it without emissions. McDermid explains that EV models have liquid cooling systems for batteries and workers can take advantage of the “opportunity to charge”; In anticipation of electric vehicle adoption, mines are building charging infrastructure, just as we do at the surface. McDermid says a mining site in northern Ontario has switched 30% of its fleet to electric.

Governments everywhere, including Ontario and Canada, are injecting billions of dollars into mining and mining-adjacent industries to supply critical minerals that, as McDermid says, “make the world go round.” “If we can be a part of making this better, safer and more affordable, we are grateful to play that role.”

Toyota Land Cruisers: the almost invisible backbone of something that makes the world go round.

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