Barrick Gold USA Will Replace Entire Fleet with 2015 F-150s
2015 Ford F-150 XL
One of the methods through which Ford tested the durability of its all-new 2015 F-150 was to dress a number of prototype mules up as previous-gen models and put them to the test in real world situations. Barrick Gold USA was one of Ford’s customers chosen to test out the prototypes between 2013 and 2014—albeit unbeknownst to them at the time.
Eventually, it came out that Barrick’s mining survey team had been using the new-and-improved version of the Ford pickup. As a result, Barrick was so impressed with the results that it is opting to replace its current fleet—consisting of 100s of 2012 F-150s—with as many copies of the new truck.
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“We are proud Barrick is purchasing all-new F-150s after testing early prototypes in some of the harshest conditions,” said Fritz Ahadi, Ford Commercial and Government Fleet Sales general manager. “This is terrific proof that even our toughest, most demanding customers recognize the benefits of high-strength, military-grade, aluminum alloy to help them get the job done.”
Barrick uses pickup trucks in all phases of its gold mining operation, and many of the trucks in its current fleet carry more than 100,000 miles of work. Barrick placed its first order for 35 trucks—all F-150 SuperCab 4x4s with either the 3.5-liter V6 or 5.0-liter V8 engine.
“The F-150s see tough duty from operations supervisors, exploration field technicians, project managers, maintenance technicians and closure personnel,” said Rebecca Caudill, Barrick Gold USA fleet manager. “Many of the trucks go into extremely rugged conditions during the planning and mapping out of new projects, core drilling and daily mining operations. Our trucks will see 30,000 to 35,000 miles per year, accumulating well over 100,000 miles in the 40-to-45-month lease rotation.”
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