MINING ENGINES
to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90 % compared to conventional diesel , dependent on the exact feedstock and fuel pathway .”
This approval applied to all high-horsepower ( 19L-95L , V903 , ACE ) engines for all applications in use across a variety of industries , including mining . All industrial engines currently in the field can be fuelled with 100 % renewable diesel , or any blend of renewable and traditional diesel , with no engine modifications required , with Cummins clarifying that any renewable diesel used must meet the EN15940 standard , as defined by the European Committee for Standardisation .
Gary Johansen , Vice President , Power Systems Engineering at Cummins , emphasised that “ bridge ” solutions such as these were critical to decarbonising existing equipment as part of customers ’ move toward a carbon-neutral future .
Other renewable fuels – such as ethanol and methanol – are also being worked on as part of this bridge solution strategy .
One operation to commit to renewable diesel use is the Kennecott copper mine in Utah , USA , with Rio Tinto confirming late in 2023 that this asset would replace its entire fossil diesel consumption with renewable diesel from this year .
Kennecott ’ s fleet of 90 haul trucks and all heavy machinery began to transition to renewable diesel earlier in 2024 , along with consumption from the concentrator , smelter and refinery . HF Sinclair , a provider of traditional and renewable fuels and lubricants for planes , trains and automobiles , is providing the fuel .
The transition will reduce Kennecott ’ s Scope 1 carbon emissions by approximately 495,000 t / y of CO 2 equivalent , comparable to eliminating the annual emissions of more than 107,000 passenger cars , Rio Tinto stated .
Rio Tinto Chief Decarbonisation Officer , Jonathon McCarthy , said : “ Combined with Rio Tinto ’ s U . S . Borax operation – which completed the full transition of its heavy machinery from fossil diesel to renewable diesel in May 2023 – this initiative would replace 11 % of Rio Tinto ’ s global fossil diesel consumption with renewable diesel .
“ The use of drop-in fuel such as renewable diesel will allow Rio Tinto to reduce emissions in the short term , complementing ongoing work towards the commercial readiness of longer-term technical solutions such as battery-electric haul trucks .”
The decision to convert to renewable diesel followed a successful seven-month trial at Kennecott ’ s Bingham Canyon mine in collaboration with Cummins .
Hybridisation is a key part of Cummins ' decarbonisation strategy for the mining industry and , early this year , it began field testing a mining hybrid ( diesel-battery ) truck with NHL in Baiyun , China .
This is one of several projects underway , integrating ICEs with electric power , thus optimising fuel efficiency and reducing emissions with improved productivity potential .
“ Cummins sees ample opportunity to optimise hybrid systems to improve fuel efficiency by up to 30 %, dependent on mine profile ,” Essegbey says . “ Potential CO2 reduction climbs even higher when conventional diesel is replaced with lowcarbon fuels , such as biofuels .”
Overlay these types of solutions with PrevenTech ® to increase asset utilisation and reduce downtime of equipment , and there are all the ingredients needed to ensure these sustainability savings are sustained .
Essegbey , during his The Electric Mine 2024 presentation , highlighted such developments , while admitting the ingredients to achieve “ zero at scale ” in mining were not yet present in the marketplace .
The catalysts to achieve this included environmental , social and governance targets , available infrastructure , the timing of asset replacement cycles and , of course , economics .
This , again , harks back to the individual nature of mining company decarbonisation plans , where some may already be willing to bring on batteryelectric fleets due to their fleet replacement cycles , others may not be able to make the economics of these solutions work within “ marginal ” projects and a third category may have made the move already in order to retain their ‘ licence to operate ’ within a certain jurisdiction .
Against this backdrop , Essegbey says Cummins is working with its clients on their customised journeys , bringing the company ’ s full portfolio of solutions , as well as the more than 100 years of experience it has in ICE expertise , to the table .
A circular engine economy
Rolls-Royce Power Systems Division is in a similar position to Cummins on the road to achieving net-zero mining operations .
One of its own ‘ bridge ’ solutions that is very popular in the space is engine repower projects , where the company switches out older , lessefficient engines for new engines offering greater efficiency .
One recent development aiding this work is the opening of a new Remanufacturing and Overhaul Center on its mtu Aiken campus in South Carolina , USA .
The new facility supports the company ’ s service initiative and sustainability approach and is important for mining maintenance given the volume of high horsepower mtu engines running at mine sites in North America . This includes trucks and excavators in key mining hubs like the Minnesota Iron Range , Arizona copper , Nevada gold and Wyoming coal industries – all of which host numerous large open-pit mining operations . The new 69,000 sq . ft ( 6,400 sq . m ) facility , which was announced in 2021 , brings formerly outsourced workshop and warehouse operations in-house and expands them to provide remanufacturing and overhaul of mtu Series 2000 , Series 4000 and Detroit Diesel 2-Cycle engines and components , plus internal and external rework services . Initially focused on
Rolls-Royce Power Systems CEO , Joerg Stratmann , addressing employees during the opening ceremony for the new Remanufacturing & Overhaul Center at the company ’ s mtu Aiken campus in South Carolina
98 International Mining | SEPTEMBER 2024