BATTERY AND ELECTRIC MACHINES surface . The company estimated that battery consumption during this test was approximately 10 % per vertical 100 m in the 16-t vehicle .
The tests also showed that , with an empty bowl and fully charged battery , the maximum speed can be reached almost immediately after driving starts . And , when loaded for a gross weight of 23.5 t , a 20 km / h incline speed can be achieved on a 14 % ramp .
Normet said this trial boded well for the Utimec MF 500 Transmixer SD ’ s performance in Chile , given similar conditions were expected from the mine site application .
In concrete spraying applications , the company has solid feedback from tunnelling projects using its battery-powered Spraymec 8100 VC SD in Norway and Australia , too .
These sprayers have not yet found their way into underground mine sites , but Anssi Mykkänen , Director , Charging , Lifting & Installation Product Lines at Normet , said there had been lots of interest from miners in the Nordic region and Australia for these machines .
Speaking of Australia , OZ Minerals became the first miner in the lucky country to take delivery of a battery-powered Normet Charmec MC 605 VE SD in October . The charging unit , which arrived at the Carrapateena copper-gold mine in South Australia , was recently put through its paces over a three-month period .
Like the Utimec MF500 Transmixer SD , the deployment followed extensive testing at Pyhäsalmi , which showed the charging of a typical mining face consumed 20-25 % of the battery capacity , with 10 kW required for emulsion pumping ( 12 kW with reel retraction or string loading ) and 15-20 kW for basket boom movements .
The trial at Carrapateena involved the charging of 30 faces – all of which were charged without any major problems – with tramming times of 5- 15 minutes and tramming distances of 1-3.5 km from the explosives warehouse to the face and back . The process saw 4.5 m long cuts and an average of 65 holes , with 300-400 kg of emulsion loaded per cut .
Testing involved the use of an on-board 1.5 t Emulsion Charging Module system provided by Normet and the application of Downer Blasting Services ’ HEAT ® 9000 ammonium nitrate emulsion .
The unit carried out charging with and without a trailing cable plugged into the mine site ’ s electricity infrastructure and a SmartDrive CT40 DC-charging trolley was also employed .
A snapshot of charging procedures carried out on one face on the afternoon of December 5 showed 15 minutes of tramming over a 265 m vertical and 2.6 km total distance took the battery state of charge from 80 % to 40 %. The explosives charging of 66 holes took 65 minutes and the battery recharged when it was plugged into the mine ’ s 1,000 V power infrastructure , taking the state of charge from its lowest point of 20 % to 50 %.
On the trial , Normet said : “ SmartDrive batteryelectric vehicle architecture proved its ability for emulsion charging as this process is extremely energy efficient and enables independent operations even without a trailing cable plugged in .”
It added : “ Silent slope performance as well as exhaust- , heat- and noise-free charging operations made a real impression on all users of the SD Charmec .”
According to Mykkänen , this unit has now gone back to the factory and is being equipped with a different explosive supply to take to another mine site in Australia for a trial . In fact , the company has three trials in Australia lined up for the year on top of the Carrapateena work .
“ This process of going back to the factory will allow us to get machine feedback after every trial ; see the battery status , corrosion , etc ; and compare and contrast between applications ,” he said .
While Australia is undoubtedly a key market for the battery-electric Charmecs , the Nordic region , the Americas and Russia were also singled out by Mykkänen as potential sale hot spots .
Marjo Koivisto , Design & Marketing Manager , Equipment Business Line at Normet , said there has been interest from the mining sector across the portfolio of SmartDrive machines .
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MARCH 2021 | International Mining 15