WORLD PROSPECTS
Esperanza Sur achieves autonomous & manned interaction
Antofagasta Minerals through its Minera
Centinela copper mining complex is one of the Tier 1 miners in Chile deploying and proving the latest AHS technology available today – in its case the latest version of Komatsu ’ s FrontRunner . Right now , the Esperanza Sur pit at Centinela has 16 active 400 ton class Komatsu 980E autonomous trucks – with commissioning of the 17th underway during a recent visit to the operation by IM with Diego Gonzalez Rosas , AHS Mine Shift Manager at Centinela .
The first Esperanza Sur autonomous truck was deployed in December 2021 , with an initial plan to deploy 11 , which was then increased once that point was reached in a second phase that is now underway . All of the trucks are new and were factory ready for autonomy – the first 11 had everything fitted by Komatsu and were ready to go – the subsequent six require only usual assembly plus fitting of the kits and sensors onsite , which takes about two weeks per truck . The system was described by Gonzalez as plug and play , ready to go once installed and connected .
The operation has one pit patroller working in the mine 24 / 7 , plus the mine chief who monitors
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the trucks onsite and decides on routes , then the actual autonomous system controller is based in the Centinela IROC in Antofagasta who designates and inputs the routes and route changes into the FrontRunner system . The FrontRunner system is also integrated with the mine FMS , Modular DISPATCH , whose controllers are also based in the IROC . The AHS maintains connectivity using a Nokia LTE private network . There are several unique things about the autonomous fleet operating at Esperanza Sur – one of which is that the trucks are being loaded by three types of loading tools , namely a Komatsu PC5500 hydraulic excavator , Komatsu P & H 4100 rope shovel and also a Komatsu L- 2350 wheel loader , which fill the trucks in 6 / 7 , 3.5 and 6 / 7 passes respectively . The shovel or |
wheel loader has a defined loading zone in front of it , within which the operator selects a spotting position for the approaching truck – the truck then takes the most efficient route to that point – during that time , the shovel loads the material so it is ready to load the truck . Spot generation is roughly once every five loads .
While Esperanza Sur is now a fully operational AHS mine and not just a trial , it also has the distinction of being Chile ’ s second fully autonomous haulage fleet after Codelco ’ s Gaby , but the first in Chile to have a fully autonomous fleet including drills − in Esperanza Sur ’ s case , two Epiroc Pit Viper PV351s running Epiroc ’ s autonomous drilling system .
The day after IM ’ s visit was to be a crucial one for the mine . April 28 , 2023 , saw the first comingling operation of the autonomous trucks with manned trucks . The AHS trucks , up to this date , had been dumping at a stockpile with the ore then rehandled and delivered by conventional truck to the single large primary crushing station between the Esperanza and Esperanza Sur pits . April 28 saw both autonomous and manned trucks unloading into the crusher . https :// web . mineracentinela . cl
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First Mode nuGen™ truck proven after a year of operational trials
The world ’ s largest zero-emission haul truck , based on a Komatsu 930E and designed and built by First Mode in partnership with Anglo American , has successfully completed its mission to demonstrate the potential of zero emission haulage after one full year of operational trials . The proof-of-concept mining truck is a critical technology in heavy industry ’ s efforts to reduce its reliance on diesel and other fossil fuels .
“ In May 2022 , First Mode achieved what many thought impossible with the world ’ s first and world ’ s largest hydrogen-fuelled haul truck ,” said Julian Soles , CEO of First Mode . “ The truck ’ s tremendous success is undisputed , having exceeded performance on all significant tests , including travel speed and payload . We are also extremely proud to report zero safety incidents or downtime associated with the program . Our proof-of-concept demonstrates not only the feasibility , but also the urgent need to scale our nuGen™ Haulage Solution to help the mining industry reduce its reliance on diesel .”
In 2019 , First Mode partnered with Anglo American to study potential pathways to decarbonising the mining company ’ s existing fleet of ultra-class haul trucks . The resulting nuGen™ Haulage Solution replaces all diesel components of the haulage ecosystem , including vehicle powerplant , refuelling system , fuel storage infrastructure , and fuel production . 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 .
The truck ’ s performance at an active mine site is a testament to the engineering innovation and technical viability of the nuGen™ Haulage Solution . During its year of operation , the truck achieved a number of accomplishments .
A vehicle this size powered by a combination of hydrogen fuel cells and batteries had never been built before . To-date , the proof-of-concept truck has logged a total of 1,245 hours and consistently delivered peak power output of two megawatts .
The truck also 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 .
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 . 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 , refueling 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 . https :// firstmode . com ; www . angloamerican . com
6 International Mining | JUNE 2023