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LHD BATTERIES 40 E&MJ; • JANUARY 2017 www.e-mj.com From Niche to Widespread Use? A number of underground mines currently employ battery-powered machinery. Goldcorp announced an ambitious plan for the Borden Lake gold mine in Northern Ontario as a "green mine." The mine will "eliminate upward of 7,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions" per year for its projected 10-year life, and "decrease greenhouse gases by 20%," the company reported. Working with com- missioned suppliers Sandvik Mining and McLean Engineering, the mine is report- edly "fully electric," operating at least one 40-ton battery-powered haul truck. The mine's on-demand ventilation system is expected to use 50% less energy than it would if a conventional ventilation sys- tem was employed. Goldcorp anticipates reduced energy consumption of 15%. Similarly, Kirkland Lake Gold has re- portedly deployed a "fleet" of Artisan Ve- hicle Systems battery-powered machines. Artisan describes its battery technology as a "welcome environmentally friendly alternative fuel source," terminology ef- fectively proven to resound with inves- tors, the public, the media and nongov- ernment organizations. Strategic perception management is a key tactic when overturning a paradigm. Kasaba said "99.9% of underground mining today is dominated by diesel equipment and some electric tethered equipment." That will change within five years, he said. Manufacturers like Artisan and Sand- vik may envision a near future of mar- ket dominance by battery-powered ma- chines, but Mousset-Jones warns that such predictions equate to shooting a moving target. Diesels have responded to the threat to themselves with much more powerful engines (higher productivity) combined with good operator working conditions, due to cleaner engines, cleaner fuel, and air-conditioned cabins, which operators love to have, Mousset-Jones reported. Battery-powered mining machines need not compete strictly with current diesel-powered equivalents, but also with tomorrow's diesel technology. Both technologies will continue to improve, he said. Incremental improvements to battery-powered machines will not allow their manufacturers to quickly depose their diesel competitors, he reported. "There would need to be a game changer of some sort to do that." Shah agreed. "Incremental improve- ments are only going to yield incremental adoption," he said. "What will be key is when the user sees no difference in the op- eration of the LHD other than the fuel he puts in, meaning either diesel or electricity." Artisan's forecast for its LHD jibes with these views, Kasaba said, except the game changer is operational, available and for sale now. It is inevitable that the market will reflect this in due time, he said. "We have a major performance ad- vantage over diesel equipment," Kasaba said. "Our electric motors are extremely torque-dense and power-dense, way more than the diesel engine. Imagine a smaller machine moving more ore per hour per shift. That is extremely interesting to the mining companies." Other noteworthy advantages will sway mine owners and operators, Kasaba said. "The amount of maintenance required for a diesel machine, versus a battery machine, is substantial. Also, the con- trol-ability of a diesel engine is not nearly as precise as it is with an electric motor." Shah concurred. "We've talked to some mines who say the useful life of a LHD ends when the engine has to be overhauled because the cost is so high. We don't have a diesel engine, so there is no overhaul and there is only a very limit- ed amount of scheduled maintenance on our units. Over the long term we'll see a change in the way mines characterize the life of their diesel machines." Many operations are currently plan- ning future mine construction and opera- tion in anticipation of retiring their aging diesel fleets, Courchesne said. "A lot of the mines have diesel equipment, but their fleets are getting old. They are trying to restructure their mines to go battery." For big underground mines, switching to battery-powered machines is the next logical step toward the obviously inevita- ble, Kasaba said. "When you are talking about essen - tially creating underground robots, which starts with remote control and ends with autonomy, those are going to be made with electric motors," he said. "The ben- efits are so powerful and compelling that we will see this transition: initially to zero emission underground and ultimately to remote control and autonomous opera- tions underground." RDH has committed to battery-power to the extent that its 10 year plan is to develop and offer the technology in its entire lineup, which includes a number of drill and bolt rigs, several haulers, and utility vehicles. "We think this is obvious- ly the wave of the future," Edward said. GE reportedly shares that vision and is preparing for the paradigm shift. "In the short term, I think it will be adopted by mines that have very specific challenges, whether it is temperature or ventilation," Shah said. "Very quickly, though, it will be a ubiquitous technology in under- ground mining." Atlas Copco's Scooptram ST7's quick battery change enables 24/7 operation with two batteries. The com- pany reports the machine is emissions- and fossil fu- el-free and consumes 80% less energy than a diesel equivalent. 'Zero emission machines will change un- derground mining as we know it,' Erik Svedlund, Global Product Manager, said. 'It will have a bigger impact than the hydraulic rock drill.' (Photo: Atlas Copco)