Scania West Africa, a leading automobile company, has launched its newest truck known as “the Buffalo” to its current fleets of trucks to help in the transportation of materials from in-pit mining to outbound haulage.

The Buffalo is an off road truck designed to ensure the optimal operational flow at every stage of mining cycle while increasing efficiency per each tonne of weight of material transported.

Speaking to at the unveiling of the truck, Managing Director of Scania West Africa, Johan Kohler stated that the truck will complement efforts in ensuring safe mining and responsible mining in the country.

“At Scania, we are very strong in mining in other parts of the world and understanding that the mining sector for Ghana is so important,” he said.

“Before coming here, I wasn’t aware Ghana is the biggest gold producer in Africa and second in the world”, he added.

Mr. Kohler is the view that Ghana’s position provides a unique scenario for players in the mining industry.

“We believe we have a product that can help the customers and the mining sector becomes efficient”.

Also speaking at the launch, a representative for the C.E.O of the Minerals Commission, Michael Appiah-Arthur, expressed hope that the Buffalo “will bring a lot of improvement in the mining sector, especially the haulage aspect of it.”
He also impressed the need for Scania to also make available genuine spare parts for its equipment, as well as local experts who can work on trucks like the Buffalo.
“The government or the commission is interested in building capacity locally and we cannot do it all by ourselves. So when you bring in those equipment and technical skills, we want you to leave a lot of them back here,” he said.

Buffalo offers a superior fuel economy and sustainable operations with 25 percent more payload and up to 15 percent lower cost per tonne.