Impressive Big P&H Electric Rope Excavator in Aitik

Had a request the other day for some big rope-controlled excavator action on the Digger Man Blog, naturally I’m happy to oblige with this post featuring the mighty P&H 4100-XPC.

The impressive Aitik copper mine is owned and operated by Boliden AB who are one of Europe’s leading players in the mining of zinc and copper materials.

The mine, Boliden’s biggest, is situated close to the town of Gallivare in the far North of Sweden and employs around 500 people. Copper deposits were first discovered here back in the 1930’s but production did not start until 1968.

Some of the worlds largest machines operate in the Aitik mine working 365 days a year! Among them are two P&H 4100’s with the latter model being the 4100 XPC which went to work there in 2016. A further Bucyrus rope shovel and two Komatsu 550 hydraulic excavators are also deployed in the mine.

A couple of giant Cat 994 wheeled loaders also work in the mine. There are also a dozen smaller wheel loaders including a Caterpillar 980 of just over 30 tons and the 35-ton Volvo L250. 

But it’s the big P&H rope machines which are the prime movers on the job loading Cat 795 and 793 rigid dumptrucks, of which there are 10 and 19 respectively.

Base measurements for the 4100 XPC are: Length 15 m; Width 14,4 m; Height 14,7 m; Weight 1600 tonnes.

Operating voltage: 6600 volts.

Electric power: Hoist: 2 x 1860 kW Swing: 1860 kW Propel: 1860 kW.

Capacity: 6 000 tonnes/hr.

Bucket capacity: 45m³.