DRIVES & CONTROLS
aerodynamics , high traction efficiency , low maintenance and maximum life of wear components .” Dynamic position compensation ensures consistent line contact over the entire working range while adjustable contact force reduces carbon contact wear . Wabtec also services and rebuilds pantographs and offers onsite training . Mendonca added : “ The design and construction logic plus the technology of a mining pantograph is very much the same but it has to take into consideration the working environment including vibration and temperature extremes . So it is very robust .”
Wabtec ’ s Dr Bappa Banerjee , VP Mining continued : “ It is also not an easy task to get the pantograph under the trolley and stay there , so it offers both lateral guidance and also vertical guidance under the overhead line . It is smart enough to know what it is doing . The system guidance also assists the truck operator in helping him or her find the overhead lines .” Will this Wabtec technology then also help to marry trolley with autonomy ? Banerjee stated : “ The ability the understand the position of the truck and the pantograph relative to the overhead line integrates with the whole control system on the truck . So when we see the first autonomous trolley trucks , they will source information from the same system . It is important to note that a lot of things come together at a mine to make autonomous haulage work but in the specific cases where you will have both autonomy and trolley , our technology will be plug and play with the AHS system .”
ABB and eMine
It has also been a busy 2021 for ABB on the mine electrification front . Agreements with OEMs Hitachi and Liebherr have been complemented by product or solution collaborations with MEDATech and Staübli Electrical Connectors . This has arguably made recent mining customer pacts with Nordic Iron Ore , Talga Resources and Copper Mountain Mining , among others , easier to sign .
Yet , for all these external agreements , the most game-changing element of the year has come with the launch of its ABB Ability™ eMine portfolio . Backed up by the incorporation of the ABB Ability eMine Trolley System , which can reportedly reduce diesel consumption by up to 90 %, and plans to incorporate the ABB Ability eMine FastCharge solution in 2022 , eMine seeks to provide integral design planning and thinking to maximise the value of electrification , helping to design the hauling process in the most optimised way with electrical solutions that match mine constraints and help meet production targets , according to the company . eMine sees ABB extend its capabilities to the electrification of mining trucks and technologies for the full mining process , the company said in
Siemens Zero Emissions Mobile Mining Truck
IM had the chance at MINExpo 2021 recently to meet with Daniel Robertson , Siemens Business Development Manager and Brian Deckard , Siemens Haul Truck Product Manager , to discuss Siemens ’ take on the electrification roadmap and transition in mining . Robertson told IM : “ Siemens has provided electric drive systems for mining equipment for over 45 years , trolley assist for over 40 years and ultra-class haul trucks for 25 years . Our approach has consistently been to provide the power conversion , not the energy source . We have maintained that approach with our Zero-Emission drive systems . In doing so , we remain energy agnostic . In other words , we are able to partner with energy storage suppliers or fuel cell suppliers just as effectively as we have partnered with diesel engine suppliers .”
While there are multiple zero-emission solutions emerging , Siemens ’ Zero-Emission solution is already fully patented ( Patent US 10,286,787 B2 , filed September 27 , 2013 , granted May 14 , 2019 ). This solution combines on-board energy storage with an off-board power supply through its proven trolley assist offering . For on-board energy storage , Deckard states that Siemens has thus far focused on Lithium Titanate Oxide ( LTO ) batteries and lithium supercapacitors due to their high inherent safety , 6C or greater charge / discharge power and long cycle life – capable of powering an all-electric truck throughout its design life without replacement .
In addition to its traditional diesel / electric offering , Siemens offers multiple options giving mining customers flexibility to reduce and / or eliminate carbon emissions – 1 ) trolley assist with diesel / electric , 2 ) hybrid on-board energy storage with diesel / electric , 3 ) fuel cell with on-board energy storage , and 4 ) trolley assist with on-board energy storage . The latter offers the highest productivity ( highest speed on grade ) as well as the highest overall energy efficiency from production to consumption ( capture of regen and efficient delivery of trolley power to batteries and direct to wheels ).
Technology wise , Siemens mining truck development history has included a phased evolution including the GTO inverter truck from the mid-1990s , its IGBT inverter truck in the early-2000s , its Peak Shaving UltraCap drive in the early-2010s , a hybrid LTO battery truck in the late-2010s and now its all-electric LTO battery truck in the early-2020s . Overall , across mining and other industries , Siemens has delivered more than 900 off-highway and 16,000 on-highway electric vehicles with a variety of hybrid , battery , and fuel cell configurations .
the announcement release . “ In addition to haulage , the portfolio includes the electrification of ABB ’ s more traditional hoisting , grinding and material handling solutions for mining .”
Yet , the development of this solution and the partnerships the company has signed are not predicated on having the entire mine electrification offering within ABB ’ s hands , according to Mehrzad Ashnagaran , Global Product Line Manager , Electrification & Composite Plant . “ The market is telling us they cannot go alone , and these partnerships and the development of eMine are not about increasing our own scope . It is about providing the total , integrated solution to the industry ,” he told IM .
Nic Beutler , Global Product Manager , Power System & Charging Solutions , added from the company ’ s booth at MINExpo 2021 : “ Miners want to have an agnostic solution that is not bound to one technical , proprietary offering . We want to make it as easy as possible to integrate these projects for the customers .”
And that is the role ABB will end up taking in the mine electrification landscape : the integrator . With open-pit haulage electrification , specifically , the company can provide trolley assist infrastructure such as DC substations or an overhead catenary system ; underground , it is renowned for e-drivetrains – including motors , drives and vehicle control units – as well as charging solutions . It is now ready to integrate these individual components into a greater electrification solution from multiple vendors that the industry is open to and , more importantly , looking for .
Siemens on the continued growth of gearless
Powering some of the world ’ s largest mining conveyors , grinding mills , hoists and trolley assist truck fleets , Siemens has an enviable reference list and depth of experience . IM recently spoke to Christian Dirscherl , VP for Mining , Excavation and Transport about its multiple market successes and continued potential going forward , including its gearless drive offering . Siemens ’ list of gearless drive installations for large overland and underground conveyors continues to grow including a number of the world ’ s leading copper mines : Antapaccay , Las Bambas , Escondida OGP1 , Quellaveco , Oyu Tolgoi , Cuajone plus a copper mine in Tibet , China .
Dirscherl commented : “ Quellaveco , Oyu Tolgoi and the project in Tibet are all still in the installation and commissioning phase . In terms of contract wins – the continuity of our major orders – seven world class gearless driven conveyor projects in less than ten years – has been a factor . Plus we have continued to set
48 International Mining | NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2021