EcoHoist has signed a Joint Development Agreement with ABB, which outlines how the parties will collaborate on the development of EcoHoist’s low captal expenditure hoisting technology.

The Joint Development Agreement, which builds on an MoU signed earlier this year, focuses on the design and construction of a 30% scale demonstration of the EcoHoist vertical bucket elevator. The agreement manages how intellectual property developed during the project will be handled, and outlines the roles, responsibilities and contributions of the parties.

The EcoHoist aims to improve on traditional vertical hoisting systems by substantially reducing the size of the required mine shafts. This reduction in mine shaft size leads to a reduction in capital cost and construction time compared with skip hoist systems, the company says. The EcoHoist operates on electricity and provides the opportunity for mines using conventional diesel-powered load and haul fleets to simultaneously cut production costs and decarbonise, EcoHoist says.

The EcoHoist 30% scale demonstrator will be a full system demonstration of EcoHoist’s vertical bucket elevator, and will have buckets at approximately 30% of the size of those that will eventually be used in the EcoHoist product. The demonstrator will be capable of hoisting
material at a nominal rate of 50 t/h and will be mechanically loaded to represent a hoisting elevation of 300 m, EcoHoist says.

This project aims to demonstrate EcoHoist’s capability in delivering equipment with the necessary availability and reliability required for its use to electrify and decarbonise deep underground mines.

The agreement puts further emphasis on the ambition of ABB and EcoHoist to improve on traditional vertical hoisting systems by substantially reducing the size of the required mine shaft, leading to reduced capital cost and construction time compared to skip hoist systems, the companies say.

“The mining industry globally is poised for a sustainability step-change and ABB is excited to work with EcoHoist in support of new technologies in this journey,” Björn Jonsson, Global Business Line Manager, Hoisting at ABB, said.

Matthew Forrest, Managing Director of EcoHoist, added: “I look forward to continuing to work with Björn, Aaron and other talented people at ABB. ABB’s proven track record delivering electrical drive, automation and safety systems to the resources industry provides strong synergies with EcoHoist.”