Finning sells mega trucks to Muskeg mine operator
Vancouver’s Finning International Inc. has sold 19 of its 400-ton Caterpillar 797B mining trucks, below, valued at more than $100 million to Albian Sands Energy Inc., operator of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project’s Muskeg River mine.
Three of the trucks were added to the Muskeg River fleet in the first quarter, and the other 16 are to be delivered late this year and through 2008 for the project’s Jackpine expansion, Finning said yesterday.
The Caterpillar 797B, billed as the largest dump truck in the world, is 14.5 metres long, stands 7.6 metres high, and weighs 624 tonnes empty. Driven by a 24-cylinder, 3,370-horsepower diesel engine, it has a fuel tank requiring a 6,800-litre fillup and its tires measure 3.8 metres in height.
