MINING TRUCKS
transition begins a great balancing act . Transformation must begin which preserving the output of existing assets . Options and pathways to decarbonise which are flexible and upgradable are critical . Diesel is the lifeblood of all mining operations and indeed the global economy . Decarbonising mines will require replacement of this entire circulatory system . It is invasive and it carries risk but the technology is advancing and at a rapidly growing rate .”
He said there are many technologies available but they all involve switching to electrons to power engines . So why hydrogen ? “ When we look at the physics , the routes , the reality of operations on the ground , batteries alone just don ’ t look like they can get us there – but they play a very important part .” First Mode ’ s solution is a hybridised system that runs on batteries connected to hydrogen fuel cells . " The fuel cells keep the batteries charged over long distances and difficult routes and we also think it is the best way to rapidly transfer energy on board the vehicle . This combination allows us to keep material moving under the most demanding conditions presented in a mine .”
He adds that its customers have told it that flexibility is key in the dynamic operations of their sites , and that “ the availability and flexibility could not be met through our work on battery only with fast charging or trolley solutions . Our modelling also shows that a hybrid solution brings a lower TCO to our customers .”
The world ’ s largest zero-emission haul truck was DT74 , based on a Komatsu 930E and designed and built by First Mode in partnership with Anglo American , which in May 2023 successfully completed its mission to demonstrate the potential of zero emission haulage after one full year of operational trials .
The proof-of-concept truck made its debut May 6 , 2022 at Anglo American ’ s Platinum Group Metals ( PGMs ) mine site in Mogalakwena , South Africa . During its year of operation , the truck ’ s accomplishments included : n Achieved zero-emission haulage : A vehicle this size powered by a combination of hydrogen fuel cells and batteries had never been built before . To-date , the proof-ofconcept truck has logged a total of 1,245 hours and consistently delivered peak power output of two megawatts . n Introduced into mixed commercial fleet : The truck reached a significant milestone when it completed initial commissioning and operator training , and was introduced into the mine ’ s commercial fleet operations , including ore and waste haulage activities , alongside diesel vehicles . n Demonstrated performance parity with diesel trucks : Operating under typical mining conditions , the truck demonstrated full payload capacity of 300 t during pit runs , achieving performance parity with its diesel counterparts , while its increased efficiency allowed for high operational speeds with the same power . Pit runs included loading under a 100 t capacity shovel , climbing a 10 % grade fully loaded , and traveling a typical haul route distance of 11 km before successfully dumping loads into the crusher . n Analysed data and optimisations : The software system has captured six terabytes of data that is critical for system optimisation for improved performance , maintainability , reliability , cost , and safety ; and informing future design . These learnings are already being integrated into First Mode ’ s next generation nuGen™ powerplant , which will be deployed at the First Mode Proving Grounds in Centralia , Washington , USA . First Mode says it is now focused on scaling and commercialising the nuGen™ Haulage Solution . Next generation powerplants , refuelling systems , and infrastructure are being built and tested at First Mode ’ s engineering and development facilities in Seattle , which include a 45,000-square-foot manufacturing facility slated to come online later this year . These systems will be demonstrated on Komatsu 930E and 830E platforms at First Mode ’ s Proving Grounds starting in early 2024 . “ First Mode continues to ramp up activities at its Proving Grounds in Centralia , where the diesel-free truck will be operational at the start of next year , marking the first deployment of our Path to Zero Program . We will continue to share progress as we hit important milestones in the coming months . Participants in the Path to Zero Program will get early access to the site and private sessions with First Mode product and production teams .”
But it is important to also emphasise that First Mode ’ s roadmap very much includes commercialisation beyond Anglo American ; and in the Q & A after his presentation at The Electric Mine 2023 , Adams stated : “ About half of the production that we are planning for is to service Anglo American and its fleets – as part of that combination we deliberately gave ourselves room to include other customers early . A lot of the Path to Zero Program is taking units that would have gone to Anglo American and redeploying those so we get a much broader sense of different types of mines , different locations , different customer ways of operating – and getting that input as early as possible .”
He added that in terms of other makes and models of mining trucks beyond the 930E and now the 830E is it working on : “ Our Proving Grounds will host two 930Es that will be ready in the next 8-10 months ; the 830E is next on the list there and the 980E is a natural extension beyond that given the similarity on the program and platform .” Beyond that Adams said First Mode has its view of a product roadmap that will depend a little bit on engagement and interest from new mining customers and partners .
The company additionally told IM : “ First Mode is working with a number of Tier 1 and Tier 2 mining customers . We believe it ’ s important to bring these solutions to the entire sector , not only to bring down cost and improve performance , but also to align to our value of responsibility ; ‘ For People and Planet ’ as our tagline says . We expect to have more to share soon .”
Back to Anglo American , and Minas Rio , the iron ore operation in Brazil , is the next site currently prioritised for deployment , which currently hosts the 830E platform . First Mode added : “ The 830 and 930 are both similar retrofit products from a technology development standpoint , and we continue to look for input from industry about how to further prioritise other makes and models .”
Liebherr ’ s pathway ; and work with WAE & FFI
Liebherr ’ s GM International Sales Derek Alband talked about trolley assist and how it plays into Liebherr ’ s pathway to zero emissions . As previously outlined by the group it has three objectives starting with today and offering lower carbon solutions now for the full range of Liebherr excavators and trucks . Its second objective is to offer by 2030 a full range of fossilfree fuel solutions including those based on battery electric , hydrogen fuel cells and hybrid combinations for the majority of applications . These are focussing on well to wheel and will be near zero GHG . The third objective of Liebherr Mining is itself becoming a carbon neutral company – focusing on both Scope 1 and 2 as well as Scope 3 emissions .
Liebherr trucks are already diesel-AC electric drive with Tier 4 engines as in the rest of the industry . But having its own engines and AC electric drive system gives it some additional upsides – as an example - already all of its engines for its mining trucks can run on HVO . And all of its trucks are available with a trolley assist option . This includes the T 236 ( 100 ton ), T 264 ( 240 ton ), T 274 ( 305 ton ) and T 284 ( 400 ton ). All of these trucks can also be offered trolley-ready so the customer can buy the trucks then choose to go for trolley assist at at later date .
It already has the world ’ s largest 400 ton trolley fleet of 50 trucks across two sites . They were not named but have previously been referred to in other announcements as being First Quantum Minerals ’ Cobre Panama in Panama and Sentinel in Zambia , with three more trucks set to join the existing fleets . These trucks have been
44 International Mining | JULY 2023