PRESS RELEASE: ExxonMobil field engineers helped South African mining company, Stefanutti Stocks (SS), save €19,000 (US$21,900) per year on a single dump truck.

The team trialled a bespoke lubrication solution that combined Mobil Delvac MX 15W-40 heavy-duty diesel engine oil with a used oil analysis programme. This helped increase productivity, reduce costs and enhance SS's environmental footprint.

SS identified lubricants as a potential means to improve operational efficiency. The company called in ExxonMobil's Field Engineering Services (FES) team, which conducted a three-month oil drain interval study using Mobil Serv Lubricant Analysis, a used oil analysis service.

Following the trial, the FES team suggested switching SS's Komatsu HD 465 rigid dump truck to Mobil Delvac MX 15W-40, an advanced heavy-duty diesel engine oil.

The change-over extended oil drain intervals from 250 to 1,000 operating hours, which cut the amount of time needed by engineers to replace oils by more than 38 hours - on a single truck. This reduced the chance of maintenance-related risks, increasing on-site safety. It also decreased SS's environmental footprint by cutting oil consumption by more than 1,000 litres per year.

"We know that our expertise, combined with the right lubrication solutions, can deliver great results, even with a single truck, and this trial has once again proved it," said Colin Henneberry, field engineer at ExxonMobil. "The team at Stefanutti Stocks was great to work with and we're excited to continue helping the company increase productivity and cut costs."

Jerome Christian, engineering manager at Stefanutti Stocks, commented: "We are extremely proud to have been part of this trial. We look forward to exploring new solutions with the teams at ExxonMobil."

Komatsu HD 465 rigid dump trucks have a nominal payload of 63t and a load capacity of 40m³.