WORLD PROSPECTS
Anglo ’ s nuGen™ hydrogen truck to launch at Mogalakewna May 6
The launch of Anglo American ’ s hydrogenpowered ultra-class mine haul truck – newly named nuGen™ – has been set for May 6 , 2022 at Anglo Platinum ’ s Mogalakwena open pit platinum operation in Limpopo Province , South Africa . The final achievement of first public movement of the truck , a converted 291 t class Komatsu 930E , will be a huge moment for Anglo ’ s low carbon transition and Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction plans as it works towards its stated interim target of 30 % reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 , including eight sites carbon neutral by that date .
The truck is strictly speaking not purely powered by hydrogen – it is an FCEV truck – including both hydrogen fuel cell and lithium battery technology . Anglo American says that nuGen™ is an example of its FutureSmart Mining™ in action – “ demonstrating how Anglo American is applying innovative thinking and technological advances to address major sustainability challenges – for Anglo American , their people and the world more broadly .”
A lot is riding on nuGen™ – Anglo American ’ s Tony O ’ Neill , Technical Director , has stated that while the total-cost-to-operate will be comparable to diesel , the system will achieve direct parity by 2030 adding that the FCEV trucks will allow for 50-70 % reduction in emissions ( Scope 1 and 2 for open-pit mines ). Anglo said in 2019 that it has seven sites in planning for rollout completion by 2030 , including the Los
An important milestone for underground mining worldwide has been achieved by Chile-based global explosives and blasting major Enaex through its innovations in robotics and automation , developed by its Enaex Robotics division . During April 2022 , a 100 % remote , robotic and autonomous loading operation , which it claims as the world ’ s first , was carried out for development operations in underground mining , this being the first of many robotic loadings in a production mine that will be carried out during 2022 with the UG- iTruck ® robotic loading equipment developed by Enaex , where a robotic loading arm autonomously positions and loads explosives at the face .
Marco Ruiz Hernandez , Enaex Robotics Director at Enaex stated : “ The main challenge we are solving with this technology is the operation in
Bronces and El Soldado copper mines in Chile . At Mogalakwena , a full 40 truck rollout was planned to start in 2024 . Hydrogen-powered trucks are also on the cards for its Kumba Iron Ore operations in South Africa , which include both the Sishen and Kolomela mines .
The nuGen™ Zero Emission Haulage Solution brought together some impressive global technologies – the 2 MW powertrain consisting of Canada-made Ballard Power Systems fuel cells ( eight FCveloCity ® -HD 100 kW modules ) and a Williams Advanced Engineering ( WAE ) battery power module built in Grove , Oxfordshire , UK which were combined with the electronics system by the main integrator and Anglo technology partner First Mode , in Seattle USA . The on-truck hydrogen fuel tank was developed by Netherlands-headquartered NPROXX while off-truck technology and infrastructure includes a 3.5 MW electrolyser plant from Norwegian company Nel for hydrogen production and a Plug Power refuelling system . Anglo itself is also a significant investor in both Ballard and First Mode . WAE was recently acquired by another mining giant – Fortescue Metals Group – to work with its Fortescue Future Industries ( FFI ) division , which has built and already begun testing its own FCEV truck , based on a converted 221 t Terex Unit Rig MT4400 AC , in Perth , Australia .
But nuGen™ remains a world-first innovation with its size and scale – designed to operate
complex areas and with the presence of operational risks such as rock burst , geomechanical instabilities and seismicity , especially present in deep mining . With the UGiTruck ® , the risk present in special operations , where there is high exposure , is eliminated ,
Installation of Ballard / WAE fuel cell and battery powertrain into Anglo ’ s converted 930E truck at Mogalakwena mine
fully laden with a payload of 291 t in real mine conditions . The launch , both locally attended as well as virtual , will include a working demonstration of the nuGen™ truck and a guided tour of the on-site hydrogen production , storage and refuelling complex – which incorporates the mentioned Nel electrolyser that is the largest in Africa . It will generate hydrogen from electrolysis on site , using renewable power sources ( a 100 MW solar photovoltaic plant from a Pele Green Energy – EDF Renewables South Africa consortium ) to power the truck . Anglo American and Engie worked together to develop the hydrogen complex which has a capacity to produce up to 1 t per day . Producing hydrogen to fuel the truck on site will eliminate the reliance on importing fuels and generate further cost savings . www . angloamerican . com
Enaex achieves robotic explosives loading underground
Enaex has achieved a 100 % remote , robotic and autonomous loading operation with its UGiTruck ®
moving people to a safe place where the entire system is controlled remotely .” It means operators are not exposed to ground instability and other geomechanical risks .
The equipment is designed to load explosives in development tunnels , with the ability to measure the profile of each drillhole and clean them if necessary , then assemble boosters and detonators robotically , load emulsion , tram and detonate without the need for tie-up since wireless electronic detonators are used , thus making the blast from a safe area inside or outside the mine . UG-iTruck has a mechanised priming system and can manufacture Ugex Full Face ® , an emulsion with a variable density that allows precision blasting and high performance . The entire process is monitored from a remote control station or a centralised operations station . www . enaex . com
Cat 797F auto trucks preparing at Codelco Ministro Hales
Chilean copper mining group Codelco says that its Ministro Hales copper mine is making steady progress with autonomous |
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haulage implementation that will see four autonomous 363 t 797F trucks in production starting in May 2022 . The Command for hauling |
system has been implemented at the mine through collaboration between Codelco , Caterpillar and Chilean Cat dealer Finning Chile , |
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4 International Mining | MAY 2022 |
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