With the aim of advancing towards increasingly sustainable mining with cleaner energy, Caserones, a copper mine in Chile operated by SCM Minera Lumina Copper Chile, and indirectly 100% owned by JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation of Japan, has signed an agreement with the Swiss company Retrofitting to Zero (RTZ) to carry out an engineering project to look at replacing the combustion of diesel with a 100% battery electric powertrain in its fleet of mining trucks.
RTZ describes itself as a Swiss solution provider for the electrification of mining dumpers. It stages: “We ensure efficiency, the use of renewable energy and rely on the principles of circular economy. The goal: net zero in mining. Transportation costs account for an average of 45% of total mining costs. By eliminating fuel we reduce variable costs and emissions. The electric motors provide unprecedented efficiency. On downhill gradients, the dumpers recover braking energy thanks to recuperation. The linear torque of the electric motors provides unprecedented performance. The dumpers thus defy any slope.” RTZ says it develops local know-how in Chile and trains local technicians.
RTZ will develop the project in partnership with the Switzerland Innovation Park Biel and its ‘Battery Technology Center,’ which offers solutions that can transform complex machinery to e-mobility. Gonzalo Araujo, General Manager of the Caserones operations, explained that the main benefits of the initiative are zero diesel consumption and thus zero greenhouse gas emissions, to which is added greater energy efficiency, and the possibility of achieving greater engine power and driving speed thanks to the use of more efficient components.
“As a company, we permanently seek to strengthen our commitment to excellence, both in technical and environmental aspects, and this agreement moves in that direction, since if the results we expect are obtained, we will be able to intensify the use of clean energy and obtain relevant operational benefits.”
Currently, the Komatsu 930E mining trucks that Caserones operates, with a load capacity of 291 t (300 tons), use an internal combustion engine with electric wheel motors, and are capable of generating kinetic energy, but this is lost on the downhill routes. Electrification saves up to 750,000 litres of diesel per year per 300 ton vehicle.
“In simple terms, what we are looking for is to incorporate a 100% electric powertrain with different components, which will allow the generation and storage of energy when the trucks travel downhill, to later be reused when they go uphill,” said the General Manager. from RTZ, Camilo Rice, adding: “Caserones has the advantage that its primary crusher is at a lower level than the pit, which allows the trucks to come down loaded, which generates more energy.”
The study, which will last approximately five months, joins other initiatives implemented by Caserones to strengthen sustainability, such as the adoption and use of almost 100% renewable energy in its electricity consumption, and various tests on buses and vans to incorporate electromobility into its fleet.
