Solid Energy's New Vale Mine, in Eastern Southland, is now using a new 63-tonne capacity truck and trailer that is the largest road vehicle in the country.
The 24m long addition to the fleet would save 1800 truck journeys a year between the mine and Fonterra's Edendale dairy plant, New Vale Mine manager Antony Stodart said yesterday.
Due to its size, the truck required special certification from the New Zealand Transport Agency. The permit allowed the new truck to carry up to a 42-tonne payload along specified routes.
The company had identified routes that minimised interruption to the public, railways and traffic. The truck was built in the Christchurch factory of Adams and Currie by Mainland Trucks.
Solid Energy has been the focus of community and national protest action this year.
Two weeks ago, Greenpeace activists restricted access to the New Vale mine, blocking one of the entrances and chaining themselves to some of the excavating machinery.
The protest was to draw attention to the type of coal Fonterra used, which was the "dirtiest" type of fossil fuel, Greenpeace said.
Earlier in the year, Mataura residents expressed concern about the possible noise levels from Solid Energy's proposed briquette plant near the town.
