MINING NEWS
Sandvik: Sustainability charges ahead A healthier work environment, radically reduced energy consumption, a lower carbon footprint and more efficient operations: the sustainability gains from innovations in battery-based mining equipment are simply electrifying.
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ill electrification spark the next wave of mining innovation?” is the title of a recent report from consultancy firm EY. Brian Huff, vice president of technology at Sandvik-owned Artisan Vehicles, a manufacturer of battery electric vehicles (BEVs), says the wave has already reached the shore. Huff sees electrification more as a natural evolution of technology rather than a revolution, with the potential to reap a range of sustainability and cost benefits. “We’re moving past the ‘why’ stage and approaching the ‘how’,” Huff says. “Most mining companies have analyzed the business case of
The effects of electrification on employee health, however, are close to revolutionary. “We’ve heard many stories from miners claiming they would come home from a shift and be so tired they just crashed on the couch, blowing black snot from the nose, with no energy left to engage with their family,” he says. “Once they switched to battery equipment, they were much more energetic. These things are immeasurable. It’s beyond health, it’s about quality of life.” Given the difficulty of attracting a new generation to the mining industry, particularly people with the skills required to operate tomorrow’s connected, automated mines, any
in confined areas and workers are subjected to potentially hazardous exhaust fumes in their day-to-day operations,” the EY report says. At the Goldcorp Borden Lake mine in Ontario, Canada, the first all-electric underground operations are already up and running. “We have surveyed the first group of workers that started at our Borden mine,” John Mullally, Newmont Goldcorp group executive for sustainability, North America, told EY, adding: “Something like 90 percent said that they would not want to go back and work in a traditional underground mine alongside diesel engines.” While human health and qual-
(Illustration above) Electrification is a natural evolution of technology with the potential to reap a range of sustainability and cost benefits.
In 2019, Sandvik acquired Artisan Vehicle Systems, whose fleet of batteryelectric, zero emission underground vehicles include the A4, a four-tonne lithium battery-powered LHD underground mining vehicle.
electrification and seen the value. We just need to explain that an electric mine is not that different from a traditional mine, nor is it difficult to electrify. Battery-powered trucks and loaders are used the same way, and no new underground infrastructure is needed.”
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improvement of conditions at work is certainly welcome. The World Health Organization has declared that diesel particulate matter from engine exhaust emissions is a carcinogen. “This has relevance to underground mining, where diesel equipment is operating
ity of life cannot be measured in numbers, opex and capex can. Another major benefit of an electrified operation is the amount of money that can be saved on construction of ventilation shafts and the energy bill for running the ventilation required to remove the
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ISSUE 1 2022 • WWW.PHILIPPINE-RESOURCES.COM
