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LHD BATTERIES 36 E&MJ; • JANUARY 2017 www.e-mj.com Tried and tested, operational and avail- able, battery-powered Load Haul Dumps (LHDs) primarily face one obstacle to widespread usage in underground min- ing. Both manufacturers and academics say the equipment is largely proven, but its market share will remain limited until the perception improves. "The biggest hurdle is market accep- tance," said Mike Kasaba, CEO of Arti- san Vehicle Systems, maker of the 153, a 3-metric-ton (mt) (tramming capacity), lithium battery-powered LHD. "We're talking about an industry that plans and gets investment on assets that don't ma- ture into profits for five years, even 10 years—very long development cycles, and long, slow acceptance of new technology." The market for underground mining machines is still in the beginning stages of a "paradigm shift" that will ultimately see battery-powered equipment make its diesel competition obsolete, he said. "We have not yet reached the tipping point where everyone has decided that in the future they are only going to use battery equipment, and zero emissions equip- ment, underground. That tipping point is coming and it is coming soon," Kasaba said. "I anticipate that by the year 2020, all major mining companies will be issu- ing requests for proposals and requests for quotes for only zero emission equip - ment underground." Indeed, the mining sector is primed for the technology, and by mid-2018, battery-powered LHDs could grab 60% of the space now held by diesel com- petitors, Jeannot Courchesne, vice pres- ident, RDH Mining Equipment, said. Miners are adopting the technology in principle today, and in practice tomor- row, he said. "The growth is not there yet. A lot of mines are inquiring about the equipment but are not purchasing it yet," he added. Taral Shah, senior product manager, underground mining, General Electric, said performance drives marketplace penetration. Acceptance will be the result of proof of overall performance, specifi- cally operating range, that is competitive to that of diesel equivalents, he said. "Battery technology is ideally suited for underground mining," he said. "The speed of adoption will be driven by the mines' comfort level with the technology and the OEM's ability to deliver a solid product that will operate for a full shift." Antonio Nieto, associate professor with the Energy and Mineral Engineering Department at Pennsylvania State Univer- sity, agreed. "Battery equipment—lithi- um, lead or sodium—is getting there," he said. "Battery-based equipment makes complete sense for the miner and for the economics" of underground hard rock mining. The reliability of the technology, and the growing awareness thereof, will determine its future, he said. Manufacturers say the data shows bat- tery-powered machines are both reliable and outperform their diesel equivalents on a number of measures. "Over five years ago now, the first [battery-powered] units went into service at Kirkland Lake Gold," Kasaba said. "They have more than 100,000 hours now at Kirkland Lake alone. They now have approximately 25 battery-powered units in their fleet. They are running very well and have been absolutely critical to their success in accessing additional ore- bodies that are adjacent to their primary orebody." Kasaba said Artisan's LHD outper- forms diesel LHDs on several metrics. "The 153 unit has three times, 300% of, the horsepower (hp) of a diesel equivalent unit—and more torque on top of that," he said. "All of that extra power can be used to make a unit that is smaller, more dense, yet carries more and does more work than a diesel equiv- alent unit." RDH's 300-hp Muckmaster 300EB, one of the company's two battery-pow- ered LHD lines, was first purchased in 2011 by an underground gold miner, the company reported. "We were the first ones to market, the first ones with a prov- en product in the mines," said Neil Ed- ward, chief financial officer. The custom- er was satisfied and grew its fleet to 13 of the LHDs and three battery-powered 20-ton haulers. "We had good feedback from the customer," Courchesne said. "It has saved them a lot of money" with respect to ventilation and the need for another shaft for more air. GE's lead acid battery-powered (7-mt) LHD is operating in underground hard rock mines in Peru and Canada and "the feedback has been positive," Shah said. "The customer is very happy with speed and performance. It has a tremendous tractive effort, which results in superior mucking power and bucket fill." At least three other battery-powered LHDs, with varying specifications and amenities, are currently operational and on the market. They differ primarily in size, power and bucket capacity. More Battery-powered Options for LHDs Recognizing the benefits of zero emissions, miners consider lithium batteries By Jesse Morton, Technical Writer Artisan Vehicle System's 153 comes standard with a digital touchscreen display. A high-capacity 132-kWh battery pack is optional, the company reported. 'We had mining company executives coming through the MINExpo booth constantly,' Mike Kasaba, CEO, said. 'All of them unanimously said that they know this is the future and that they know they need to get smart about it.' (Photo: AVS)