50% Service Life Extension for Bucket Teeth at North American

Client: Highland Copper Mining (Canada)

Challenge: Working in Quebec's hard frozen soil and quartz-rich formations, the original bucket teeth wore out too quickly, averaging only 90 hours of service life. This caused frequent excavator downtime for changes, severely delaying overburden removal.

Solution: Implemented our customized "Arctic Warrior" series bucket teeth (Material: ZG40Cr5Mn2SiMoV). Enhanced tip hardness and overall toughness through optimized alloy composition and heat treatment.

Data & Results:

• Service Life: Increased from 90 hours to 135 hours, a 50% extension.

• Material Removed per Tooth: Average volume increased from 8,500 tons to 13,000 tons.

• Overall Benefit: Reduced change-out frequency by 4 times per month per excavator, cutting related maintenance labor by 60%. The project achieved annual direct savings on parts and labor of approximately CAD 120,000.