MINING TRUCKS
Talking traction eMining AG, created jointly by Kuhn Schweiz AG and Lithium Storage GmbH, has won the European eMove360 ° award with its eDumper
From multiple new offerings in the 100 ton class to new trolley activity, eDumper progress and ultraclass options, it is a busy time in the surface truck mining market, reports Paul Moore
Probably most interesting in the current surface mining truck market is the resurgence of interest in trolley assist operations. This hasn’ t been driven by diesel prices, rather it reflects two things. First successful and proven recent operations at sites such as Lumwana and Kansanshi in Zambia, both of which have large trolley Hitachi fleets using the EH3500AC-3, EH3500ACII and EH4500 trucks, as well as the Komatsu 860E and 960E fleets at Sishen in South Africa and the Komatsu 960E and NHL trolley fleets at Swakop Uranium’ s Husab mine in Namibia; and the availability of trolley options from key OEMs, most recently Caterpillar and Liebherr. Caterpillar 795F AC trucks are soon to be trialled under trolley at Boliden Aitik, while new Liebherr T 284 trolley trucks are operating under trolley at First Quantum Minerals ' Sentinel copper mine in Zambia, 150 km west of of Solwezi; and in the future the new T 284 trucks at Cobre Panama are also intended to be used under trolley.
A second interesting development is the breadth of new choices in the 100 ton class mining truck space. IM has already covered in detail the electric drive 90t class T 236 truck from Liebherr and the BELAZ AC electric drive 90 t 75581 truck. The Liebherr electric truck is the first in this class with a 4-corner, oil immersed braking system. Lastly there is the new Volvo E- Series R100E, which while building on the experience of the TR100, is a completely new Volvo CE 95 t rigid hauler that“ combines a wealth of market and customer knowledge with proven components, new technologies and a striking new design.”
As usual in this article, some news of Chinese activity. While things have been slow for the Chinese OEMs in recent years, meaning less focus on development of larger trucks above the 100 ton class, key players such as XCMG, XEMC, Liugong, NHL, China Space Sanjiang, SANY, CRRC, MCC and others are again seeing more activity. Inner Mongolia North Hauler Joint Stock Co( NHL) remains by far the market leader, however, especially in the larger classes. The big news with NHL is that it signed a major fleet contract with the Tavan Tolgoi coal project in Mongolia( TTJVCO) in October 2017, including 10 units of the 240 t NTE240 and 10 units of the TR100. So far, all the TR100s and four units of the NTE240 have been delivered, and the remaining six NTE240 trucks are being assembled at NHL in Baotou. TTJVCO is also interested in a trolley assist system, but this has yet to be finalised.
In addition to this deal, NHL is still in the process of delivering a large NTE260 fleet to Dragon Copper in China’ s Tibet region, also referred to as Qulong Copper. In NHL itself, Volvo has sold its 25.2 % stake in the company( more on this in the Volvo CE section).
Boliden trialling trolley at Aitik
Boliden has initiated a pilot and demonstration project for the electrification of in-pit truck transports in Aitik – Sweden’ s largest open pit copper mine – together with key partners in industry and academia. The project will develop, install and operate an electric transport route with electric trolley lines and four electric mine trucks.
For the two-year project, Boliden has joined
forces with Eitech and ABB to supply electrical infrastructure; Pon Equipment and Caterpillar for truck modifications; and Chalmers University with supporting research on system aspects of the electrification. The project is supported by the Swedish Energy Agency.
IM understands that four trolley kits have been delivered to Boliden by Cat and that the four trucks concerned are 795F AC electric drive models. Aside from this Aitik trial, Boliden has also stated in a 2017 FEM presentation that trolley assist is also a promising technology to lower diesel consumption in the Kevitsa nickel / copper open pit. The FEM presentation in addition stated that the first Aitik trolley line will be 700 m long and save 830 m 3 of diesel per year but that future trolley lanes will be even more profitable; and that the trial will see investment in a DC substation with 10 MW capacity.
The technology developed will be a key enabler for Boliden’ s mines’ strategy to move away from fossil fuel dependence. Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of up to 80 % on the transport segments where implemented are expected. There is also potential identified in transport electrification related to increased productivity.
Erik Brandsma, Director General for the Swedish Energy Agency, sees this project with its potential for radical reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from mining as a further step towards reducing carbon dioxide emissions from industrial processes.“ Reduced emissions from mining processes are important in order to produce future vehicles in a sustainable manner for example. In that context, this project is complementing the new‘ green’ Northvolt battery factory also supported by the agency.”
The electric transport route will be in operation in the autumn of 2018. Peter Palo, Project Manager for the system installation in Aitik says:“ To manage the challenges of building the new infrastructure in the mine without interfering with running production or put safety at risk is critical. During the construction, we will have more than 30 workers active in the project at the same time.”
Jonas Ranggård is Manager for Boliden Mines’ Energy Program.“ The diesel transport is the main source of greenhouse gas emissions as well as local emissions influencing the work environment in the mine. Electrification is, as we see it, the enabler to move away from diesel and rely on renewable electric energy.”
While electrification by trolley is not new, there are still many challenges to solve before the solution is proven. Rikard Mäki, Project Manager for the R & D project says:“ To prove the technology in the climate we are in and with the size of vehicles we operate, it is critical to
14 International Mining | MAY 2018