MINING TRUCKS
being converted for electric trolley operation at the same time as the 1.8 km-long electric trolley line is being built . The investment means that greenhouse gas emissions over the life of mine will be reduced by 9 %. The electric trolley installations are being deployed in stages until 2022 .
The hybrid option
Anglo American is one company that has put its eggs in the hydrogen basket which for now means FCEV . It is developing a 291 t FCEV haul truck , a conversion to hydrogen fuel cell and lithium battery operation of a Komatsu 930E , which will see first motion in Q3 2021 at the Mogalakwena platinum mine in South Africa followed by intensive testing . For the first time , it recently gave more detail on the expected upside and longer term plans . The total-cost-to-operate will be comparable to diesel today but would achieve direct parity by 2030 . The FCEV trucks will allow for 50- 70 % reduction in emissions ( Scope 1 and 2 for open-pit mines ) and Anglo says it has “ seven sites in planning for rollout completion by 2030 .” At Mogalakwena , a full 40 truck rollout is planned to start in 2024 . The trucks themselves will utilise 4 oz of platinum in their fuel cells ( each will use eight Ballard FCveloCity ® -HD 100 kW modules ). The Williams Advanced Engineering ( WAE ) high-power modular lithium-ion battery system for the truck was built in Grove , Oxfordshire , and shipped to First Mode in Seattle who integrated it with Ballard Power Systems fuel cells .
There is a lot of activity in Chile . Back in July 2020 , partners CORFO ( Chile ’ s Economic Development Agency ), CSIRO Chile , ENGIE and Mining3 announced that under the so-called HYDRA project they would collectively be developing hybrid powertrain modules in the country for Chilean mining , replacing conventional diesel powertrains with an FCEV approach comprised of state-of-the-art batteries and hydrogen fuel cells ( green H2 ). CORFO contributed about US $ 353,000 with the remaining US $ 975,000 from the other project partners , for a total cost of over US $ 1.3 million .
IM recently caught up with Vice President of CORFO , Pablo Terrazas to find out about progress so far and goals that have been set . He commented : “ The main stakeholders are focusing on the design and production of a 100 % Green PowerDrive prototype , in order to replace the diesel engines of today ’ s mining vehicles and reduce by 80 % the direct CO 2 eq emissions of the sector , and also generating TOC savings of 5 % by 2025 based a fleet of an example fleet of 18 trucks .”
Terrazas adds that thanks to expected cost savings with larger fleets , that this new Green PowerDrive HYDRA solution will not only result in a direct reduction in CO 2 emissions from the mining sector , but also boost mining profits , establish a new national technology HUB , and help develop a green H2 production industry , infrastructure and export economy . The project started up in December 2020 and will run for 18 months to July 2022 . Mitsui & Co ( USA ) Inc and Thiess , both active in the mining sector , are now providing additional support as part of their commitment to develop sustainable solutions for decarbonising the resources industry while several technology companies are also contributing : Ballard Power Systems will provide its fuel cell systems , Hexagon Purus will supply hydrogen storage systems and Reborn Electric Motors will complete the systems integration .
The battery option
There are a number of projects in progress aimed at the holy grail of an all battery electric surface mining haul truck , which seems to be the ultimate preference for the major mining houses . Rio Tinto in its Climate Change Report 2020 stated that its “ preferred technology pathway is the most energy efficient and targets full battery electric fleet with dynamic or fast charging technology to maintain fleet productivity .” It adds : “ Technical challenges with this pathway involve creating flexibility in the infrastructure so it can adapt to changing haul roads and the limitations on battery charge rates . An alternative pathway builds off the battery electric technology but replaces the dynamic or fast charging technology with the less energy efficient hydrogen cycle ( electrolysis and fuel cells ).” – this is a reference to potential use of FCEV hybrids .
Fortescue Metals Group recently announced an agreement with Williams Advanced Engineering ( WAE ) to design , build , test and integrate a battery system to power an electric mining haul truck , as an important first step to decarbonising its mining haul fleet . The project includes the design and construction of a bespoke battery-electric powertrain with the ability to regenerate power as the truck travels downhill . The battery will be built at WAE ’ s facility in the United Kingdom , before being shipped to Perth for integration into a 240 t prototype haul truck for performance testing at Fortescue ’ s mining operations in the Pilbara of Western Australia . To support the full implementation of a battery-electric haulage fleet , the project will also involve the development of a fast charging unit which will harness renewable energy from Fortescue ’ s Pilbara Energy Connect network . Incidentally , phase two of the FMG 240 t future mining truck project will consider hydrogen fuelled FCEV designs . The drivetrains will have the capacity to regenerate power on downhill haulage .
The most proven platform for rigid trucks remains the eMining 65 t eDumper . Lithium System AG took over 100 % of the shares in eMining AG from Kuhn Schweiz AG at the beginning of 2021 . eMining AG was founded in 2017 to build the world ’ s largest , batterypowered dump truck , the so-called eDumper , with a total weight of 123 t and a 65 t payload . Lithium System AG emerged from Lithium Storage GmbH which was a joint shareholder in eMining AG with Kuhn Schweiz and also the supplier of the batteries for the truck . Since it was commissioned at a Ciments Vigier SA limestone quarry , near Biel-Bienne , in Switzerland , the eDumper , a Komatsu HD605-7 conversion with 700 kW NMC lithium battery power , has been in daily use and saves 50,000 litres of diesel thanks to its electric power per year . Since the descent is always loaded , more
International Mining | MAY 2021