MINING RAIL
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Paul Moore once again looks at the world of mining rail , where lithium batteries are entering the fray as in other mining equipment sectors
South Africa ’ s Trident SA is one of the market leaders and most specialised companies worldwide in mining rail solutions . It has recently launched a programme to introduce lithium batteries into the global underground locomotive market . The tech team at Trident SA in Johannesburg , manufacturers and OEM of the Goodman range of mining and tunnelling , have identified the possibilities and advantages of using of using lithium-based batteries as an alternative to traditional lead acid batteries . Trident manufactures around 240 mining and tunnelling locomotives a year and 90 % of them are battery powered units , while the remainder are trolley line or “ combination ” ( battery and trolley – the battery is deployed in mining areas where no trolley line exists ) locomotives .
The company told IM : “ When supplying battery locomotives typically the customer would purchase two lead acid battery packs one for use on the locomotive on its current shift and another on charge in the charging bay for the next shift . The battery on charge will be on charge for the duration of the current shift as it takes that long (± 8h ) to fully charge a lead acid battery pack .”
With the ever increasing levels of technology around lithium batteries Trident SA realised that a number of advantages could be gained . The new lithium battery packs can be fitted to existing fleets of locomotives for customers with no modifications required on the locomotive . Also no charging bay is required as Trident has now integrated the charger into the battery pack , this means the battery is merely plugged into an available / convenient supply . Having no
charging bay reduces mining set up costs as these bays do not need to be created .
With the integral charger on the locomotive and with the speed of lithium battery re-charging , the locomotive can be charged during the shift change . This means 2 hours instead of 8 . One battery pack is required per locomotive instead of the usual two . Lithium battery modules are “ smart ” and maintenance free and have a BMS ( Battery Management System ) which monitors the array of modules detecting faults and failures and instituting on-board routines to ensure the batteries are protected and performing optimally . The unit is a modular plug and play system where individual modules identify themselves as problematic via the BMS and are easily swapped out .
The life span of a lithium battery pack is 10 years and not 4-5 years as in lead acid units . As the physical size of the lithium pack is narrower maintenance of the locomotive can be done via access doors each side of the pack without removing the pack as in lead acid units . This is estimated to reduce handling by 85 %.
The majority of the components of Torex Gold ' s Muckahi system have been tested by Torex and their functionality demonstrated
Trident SA has also incorporated features in the battery pack to deal with shock loads normally associated with mining locomotives so these units will stand up to the requirements of a rigorous industry . The use of lithium also helps the mining industry being serviced to grow . The lithium packs will be available for all models of Goodman locomotives ( 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 8 , 10 , 13 and 15 t locomotives ) and also on 20 t combination units .
South African underground mining rail major Trident SA says its new lithium battery packs will be available for all models of Goodman locomotives
JUNE 2021 | International Mining 11