The first Sandvik LH518iB battery-electric loader and supporting batteries have arrived at the McIlvenna Bay project in Saskatchewan, Canada, project owner Foran Mining has reported.

Back in 2022, Sandvik announced it would supply a fleet of 20 battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), including trucks, loaders and drills, for the project in what was its biggest battery-electric vehicle order to date.

Among this 20-strong fleet was seven Sandvik 18-t-payload LH518B loaders (since revised to iB loaders), six Sandvik 50-t-payload TH550B trucks, four Sandvik DD422iE jumbo drill rigs, two Sandvik DL422iE longhole drills and one Sandvik DS412iE mechanical bolter.

Foran says the combination of the LH518iBs and TH550Bs will “showcase the next wave of battery-electric vehicles helping support a sustainable, decarbonised future”.

Sandvik launched the LH518iB in March 2023, becoming the first Sandvik underground battery machine equipped for full automation, being compatible with its AutoMine Lite and AutoMine Fleet offerings as well as its Manual Production Monitoring system. Sandvik’s patented self-swapping battery system on board the LH518iB, including the AutoSwap and AutoConnect functions, minimises infrastructure needs and enables the loader to return to operation significantly sooner than ‘fast-charge’ mining BEVs, the company claims.

The 2022 feasibility study on McIlvenna Bay outlined a 4,200 t/d operation over an 18.4-year mine life, able to produce an average annual production of 33,000 t of copper-equivalent output over the first 15 years of mine life. By individual metal, this equates to 17,600 t of copper, 28,900 t of zinc, 20,000 oz of gold and 486,000 oz of silver.