ENGINE OVERHAUL SLASHES FUEL CONSUMPTION

RAPIDLY GROWING MINING SERVICES FIRM NATIONAL GROUP MADE A MAJOR INVESTMENT IN ITS FLEET TO SUPPORT CLIENTS.

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A successful collaboration between National Group, Komatsu Australia and Cummins South Pacific is delivering efficiency gains and environmental benefits for mining companies through advanced engine technology.

In early 2023, National Group, a leading privately-owned mining services firm, embarked on the largest engine upgrade in its history.

The goal: upgrading each engine in 16 Komatsu 830E haul trucks used at the Lake Lindsay and Curragh coal mines in the Bowen Basin in central Queensland.

National Group's multi-milliondollar project involved converting the Cummins Tier 1 QSK60 engines in the haul trucks to its 'Advantage' solution.

Cummins' Advantage solution enables the QSK60 to be upgraded to the latest diesel technology at overhaul time with no major changes to the base 60-litre V16 design. The result is lower fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and a substantial extension to engine life in the haul trucks.

National Group founder and managing director Mark Ackroyd said the engine project is part of the company's ongoing commitment to providing one of the largest and most advanced equipment fleets in the Australian mining sector.

"National Group continues to invest heavily in its fleet," Ackroyd said. "We are providing more equipment that utilises the latest technology to help our mining clients reduce their fuel consumption and carbon footprint." The engine upgrade is an important part of National Group's broader environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy. In 2023, National Group launched a sustainability strategy to build on its previous sustainability achievements and provide a roadmap to expand its ESG focus this decade.

"The engine upgrade is the largest initiative so far resulting from National Group's new sustainability strategy," Ackroyd said.

"We plan to further expand our ESG focus and are encouraged by the early success of the engine upgrade project.