UTILITY VEHICLES
The KT200e was an electric conversion of the KT200 – whereas these new offerings will be battery electric by design from the ground up . But King said it learned a lot from the KT200e , “ and it allowed us to do a lot of pilots and testing as well as discussions with customers on what they were looking for which was all incorporated into the design of the new products .”
A Kovatera application for material handling based on the Kovatera KM200 tractor
KM200 tractor set up there are even more configurations . “ At the front we can supply it with a forklift mast which is used by diamond drilling crews with a personnel carrier on the back . It allows them to be self sufficient in terms of materials like core boxes and drill bits and power units but also get their people home at the end of the shift . The forklift also comes with 4,900 lb capacity loader arms – on that you can put forks or even a small bucket for cleaning up material or you can put a man basket . On the back you can take 3 , 5 or 7 people depending on the design
which are additional to the three in the cab . You can also put a backhoe on the back which is popular with the man basket on the front as a face prep machine . For ANFO loading we have a rear deck on which we can put ANFO or emulsion pots , again with a man basket on the front . For a development round , it can transport enough explosives .”
How does Kovatera handle sales and has its business also become more global beyond North America ? “ In Ontario we have direct sales ; then dealers cover the rest of North America for us , including Mexico . Beyond that we have other very successful dealers around the world including Drivetrain Power and Propulsion in Australia . Despite Australia being a real stronghold of Land Cruiser vehicles in mining they have managed to make big inroads . Another good example of a growing market is Turkey , where we are represented by Kuvars Makina ; and in northern Europe we work with Bergströms Bil & Maskin and will soon be offering models with a Stage V engine .”
King added that Kovatera hasn ’ t gone to every mining market in the world – that is partly reflective of current production capacity so right now it is focused on serving the markets that it is so far active in . “ But it is true to say we have focused on the volume markets and volume customers , and many that have tried our products have now effectively standardised on them or at least made us their primary vendor in this space . I can say we are the main supplier to the Sudbury nickel mining industry , as an example .”
Moving on the zero emissions solutions , how does Kovatera see that panning out after its experience with the battery electric KT200e ? “ Of course there is a huge interest in battery electric and I think everyone agrees that there will be a transition in mining away from diesel , with the speed of transition depending on where in the world you are talking about . We will be officially launching a new range of battery electric vehicles at MINExpo 2024 which will include both truck and tractor models and all the key configurations . We will be using standard charging configurations to give customers as much flexibility as possible .”
The battery powered solutions also give further TCO advantages over automotive style light vehicles in mining . Their average lifetime is only three years but then you have battery packs that might last ten years , though obviously depending on how many cycles you charge . “ Having a ten year battery in a ten year truck makes a lot more sense . We really think going foward that having a more robust and purpose built vehicle works better for advanced battery packs , given that they are now the most expensive component .”
Becker ’ s VOLTER charges up locomotion underground
Moving onto rail-based utility machines , manufacturers of mining equipment are increasingly developing and implementing machines with battery drives and rail is no exception . Locomotives , suspended locomotives , haulage and transport vehicles , and other machines are testament to the development of underground electromobility . New generations of batteries with lithium cells have improved technical and economic effects as well as environmental benefits of electric drives compared to diesel ones .
In particular , battery-powered transport systems are increasingly being used in underground mining . They are a response to the challenges related to : extension of transport and access routes for personnel , an increase in the power of installed machines and devices , increasingly stricter requirements for the working environment , the need to minimise carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions , and the need to optimise production costs .
The flagship product of Becker-Warkop Sp . z o . o . in this area is the VOLTER monorail battery locomotive . The VOLTER battery locomotive with a friction drive is used to transport people , materials , and equipment during transport works , eg installation and salvage of longwall equipment . The locomotive in a configuration without operator ’ s cabins is only used for transporting loads . Each drive unit is equipped with two electric
Becker ' s VOLTER battery locomotive with a friction drive is used to transport people , materials , and equipment
46 International Mining | MARCH 2024