BATTERY POWER UNDERGROUND
The other learning is that the condition of the
roadbed is an important factor in maximising
regenerative capability. So the grader will be an
integral part of underground mines’ EV fleets.
“Operators in the diesel engine context can
fill up their diesel tanks at the beginning of a
shift and not think about it again. In a battery
electric mine it comes down to the renewed
importance of good training – switching out
diesel fuel for battery electricity on mobile
equipment is as much of a user experience
exercise as it is an engineering exercise.”
MacLean is supplying a fleet of battery
powered mobile underground mining equipment
to begin development and eventual production
at Goldcorp’s Borden project. Borden, near
Chapleau, Ontario, is expected to be the world’s
first 100% diesel-free hard rock mine to proceed
to development, with portal and ramp
construction begun in early 2017. Mine
development is expected in Q4 2018 with
extraction of a 30,000 t bulk sample planned for
that quarter. Commercial production is expected
in 2019.
MacLean has been innovating for mobile
equipment safety and productivity in the
underground hard rock environment since 1973
and battery power, engineered for life
underground, is the latest chapter in the
company’s mining R&D focus. The MacLean EV
Series (electric vehicle) battery propulsion
system leverages high power, high efficiency,
and long cycle life battery chemistry,
sophisticated battery management and vehicle
monitoring capabilities, as well as onboard
charging that ensures compatibility with existing
mine infrastructure.
MacLean’s Fleet Electrification program was
initiated in 2015 and it is now able to offer
customers a battery tramming/battery operating
option on all units across the company’s ground
support product line (bolters, shotcrete
sprayers, and transmixers), ore flow product line
(water cannons, secondary reduction drills, and
mobile rockbreakers), and utility vehicle product
line (boom trucks, scissor lifts, ANFO/emulsion
loaders, cassette carriers, personnel carriers,
water sprayers, and fuel/lube trucks). Of note,
the engineered integration of the various battery
power and drive train components that make up
the MacLean EV Series propulsion system was
supported by a research and development
collaboration with the specialised engineering
firm MEDATech.
“Goldcorp is a longstanding customer and so
a fitting inaugural home for our battery power
fleet. What’s more, this is a world-class project
that is setting the bar in the mining industry –
improving the working conditions of miners,
making the extraction of certain orebodies
economically viable, and driving technology
20 International Mining | FEBRUARY 2018
investment by OEMs like MacLean,” noted
President Kevin MacLean. “It’s a win/win for
everyone involved, so on behalf of the team at
MacLean Engineering I want to salute Goldcorp
for their initiative, and thank them for their
continued faith in the innovation, safety, and
underground performance focus at the heart of
our engineering and manufacturing efforts.”
“I came up from working underground in
Sudbury, Ontario in the early 1960s just as
battery powered units on rail were being
replaced by diesel engine, rubber tyre mobile
fleets, so the arc of my mining career over the
past 50+ years has come full circle,” added
Founder and Chairman Don MacLean. “The next
generation of battery propulsion technology,
provided it is engineered to perform in the hard
rock mining environment, opens up a whole new
range of possibilities for mining companies
looking for diesel-free options to reduce
ventilation and surface infrastructure costs, and
protect workers’ health.”
Hatch’s Michel Carreau notes that “after
decades of development and refinement, these
technology shifts are coming on strong and fast.
The