Tag Archives: ABB

ABB and BHP strengthen productivity, safety and sustainability ties

Automation, Environmental, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , ,

BHP says it is strengthening its strategic partnership with global technology company ABB, through the signing of a multi-year Global Framework Agreement.

ABB is a leader in industrial automation, electrification and digitalisation, and delivers critical technologies and equipment for BHP’s global operations including Escondida in Chile, the BHP Jansen project in Canada, and various packages across its Australian assets.

This new agreement will enable further opportunities for BHP and ABB to collaborate in support of project delivery, operations and maintenance, as well as progressing operational decarbonisation efforts across BHP’s global operations.

To continue progress towards its goal to achieve net-zero operational greenhouse gas emissions (Scopes 1 and 2 emissions at its operated assets) by 2050, BHP says it knows that enabling technology must be developed and deployed rapidly. Working with leading global technology partners such as ABB has the potential to play a key role in supporting BHP’s decarbonisation ambition, as well as supporting more sustainable growth in copper, potash and iron ore, it added.

BHP Chief Commercial Officer, Rag Udd, said: “Celebrating this partnership in South Australia is no coincidence. South Australia is home to one of the most globally significant copper basins, and the world needs more quality copper to support the energy transition that is already underway.

“Strategic partnerships like the one we have with ABB will be integral in supporting BHP’s growth ambitions, such as those we have in South Australia, as well as our operational decarbonisation efforts globally.”

BHP Group Procurement Officer, Rashpal Bhatti (pictured on the right), said: “This multi-year agreement further solidifies the important partnership between BHP and ABB, and will enable even greater collaboration as BHP looks to maintain productive, efficient and safe operations, reach our operational decarbonisation goals and achieve more sustainable growth.

“BHP’s relationship with ABB is underpinned by a shared commitment to sustainability, decarbonisation and generating social value for the communities in which we operate.”

ABB Process Industries President, Joachim Braun (pictured on the left), said: “This Global Framework Agreement underscores our long-standing partnership with BHP, strengthening our collaboration to drive productivity, safety and sustainability. Together, we are committed to accelerating the deployment of advanced technologies that not only optimise productivity, but also drive decarbonisation efforts in line with global climate ambitions.

“ABB is proud to be a trusted partner for BHP in fostering a more resilient and sustainable future.”

Mine decarbonisation ambitions can be achieved with existing tech, ABB report highlights

Automation, Environmental, Mining events, Mining industry recognition, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , ,

ABB has released a global report, “Mining’s Moment”, that highlights the progress being made by the mining industry to make operations more sustainable, with the standout stat being that 70% of mining leaders are confident decarbonisation goals can be achieved with existing technologies.

Surveying 412 mining leaders and experts across 18 countries, the report showcased notable confidence among business leaders that they will achieve their sustainability targets because the technology to decarbonise exists: 15% are very confident they will hit their 2030 sustainability targets, while 52% are quite confident. This rises to 48% of being very confident when considering 2050 sustainability targets.

Some 77% of mining leaders surveyed see integrated electrification, automation and implementation of digital technologies as the key areas of technology through which sustainability goals can be achieved, ABB says. Ambitious plans are in place to invest in technologies which will make operations more sustainable: 53% are anticipating significant transformation or complete overhaul; 28% are investing in moderate evolution; and 19% are investing in incremental change. This means 81% are looking to evolve or transform their operations to become more sustainable.

This report is the latest installment of ABB’s Real Progress campaign, which aims to showcase the power of technology and expertise to accelerate sustainability while enhancing productivity, the company says.

Mining, in particular, faces a challenging environment, where it must increase production to provide the raw materials for the green energy transition while limiting, and reducing where possible, its environmental impact. The report reveals an industry rising to that challenge: 73% of the industry said they were excited about the opportunities presented by the increasing recognition of mining’s role in supplying resources for green technologies.

“There is real excitement amongst business leaders about the role they are playing in supporting the green energy transition, and they are taking the issue of mining’s impact on our environment seriously,” Max Luedtke, Global Business Line Manager for Mining, ABB Process Industries, said. “We see this in the successful roll-out and progress towards sustainability targets, the willingness to invest to reach these goals and the availability of technology that can make real progress, now. However, we must not think it is job done. A significant minority are struggling to meet their goals. Our report outlines three key areas where investment can help mining businesses become more sustainable, step-by-step: investing in their people; investing in technology; and investing in their processes.”

The report finds that by investing in people, technology and processes, mining businesses can continue to make good progress towards their sustainability goals:

  • 71% of respondents said the talent shortage is preventing them from delivering against their production targets and strategic objectives. 70% of respondents said their business is committed to reskilling and training existing employees to support decarbonisation efforts;
  • 70% surveyed said they believe significant decarbonisation can be achieved using existing technologies. Electrification is seen as a major contributor to being able to achieve significant decarbonisation gains; 91% of business leaders said electrification is essential to, or part of, their decarbonisation strategy; and
  • 46% of respondents say the risk to disruption of operations and production is a barrier to introducing new technology, highlighting the need for a new approach to systems and processes. This is backed up by the report respondents, with 73% believing mining transformation requires a new approach to technology and risk management.

Energy management to become ‘the’ mine electrification talking point

Automation, Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining events, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Running through the three halls at MINExpo 2024 in Las Vegas last month, the electrification theme was everywhere – numerous booths pulled in attendees with battery symbolism or, in some cases, actual electric machines; others presented new concepts, with variations of dynamic trolley being a particular talking point.

While it is clear there is a wider ‘electric’ offering coming to the market, it is also becoming apparent that the discussion must move on from individual electric machine capabilities to the wider infrastructure at hand and how to manage a site’s available energy constraints.

For IM this was crystallised during several meetings around the show, with the two notable examples coming from a discussion with Joachim Braun, Division President at ABB Process Industries, and a presentation from Brian Weller, Vice President of Electrification for Caterpillar.

Real eMine progress

“It is hard to imagine any company being able to sell an electric vehicle without an awareness of how this vehicle will affect a site’s energy balance,” Braun told IM on the final day of the three-day show in Las Vegas. “Part of the equation now is the power management system piece. No operation is going to tolerate a major drop in productivity with the introduction of these new vehicles and increased renewable energy generation.”

ABB has been aware of this for some time, using the backdrop of MINExpo 2021 to launch its eMine™ portfolio of fully integrated electrification and automation systems, covering mine to port.

IM Editor, Dan Gleeson (left), with Division President at ABB Process Industries, Joachim Braun (right)

The company is in the somewhat unique position of serving both OEMs and mine sites with this offering, with the most recent publicised agreements struck with the likes of Komatsu and Hitachi Construction Machinery in the former category, and Codelco and Antofagasta in the latter.

On the availability of renewable energy generation, Braun acknowledged the potential to carry out “power-hungry activities” during the day when solar irradiation might be highest in, say, Australia or Latin America, as one option to consider.

He also expected the introduction of new levels of autonomy and artificial intelligence to play key roles in making decisions on site based on planned activities and the energy required to carry those activities out.

“Whatever happens, there has to be an interaction with the fleet management side of things,” he added.

Stitching it together

Caterpillar is one of those companies looking to sell electric machines, as well as chargers, energy storage systems and other supporting electrical infrastructure, to the mining sector. As Weller made clear during a pre-MINExpo 2024 tour of the company’s Tucson Proving Ground and Tinaja Hills Demonstration and Learning Centre in Arizona, the OEM is working closely with key customers to explore the complexities of managing the power needed to keep electric sites running optimally.

“When we think about the energy balance here, it is not just about consuming energy; it is about where am I getting the energy, and how much and when I am getting this energy,” Weller said during a demonstration of the company’s electric site simulation and modelling capabilities.

This Caterpillar demonstration included a simulated customer site that had 26 battery-electric trucks being charged by six 4-MW stationary charging systems and eight 8-MW Dynamic Energy Transfer (DET) points.

Caterpillar wasn’t the only one showcasing such solutions at MINExpo, with Fortescue highlighting a 6 MW charger and Liebherr Power Rail also being featured. During IM’s conversation with Braun, a high power eMine FastCharge under development was mentioned, as was “more flexible solutions on trolley systems”.

All these new solutions – in addition to some of the existing ones on offer – are high consumers of power.

This was displayed in the simulation Weller played on screen in Arizona, where the site energy transfer capacity related to just the haulage fleet came in at 88 MW.

The energy transfer shown over a 4.5-hour period in this simulation swung from 70 MW capacity at the top end and 5 MW at the low end.

“That 65 MW swing is the equivalent of having a city of 40,000 people turn their light switches on and off,” Weller said for context. “That is the magnitude of the variation the site has to absorb.”

This is where the integration of electrification and autonomy are going to prove vitally important, according to Weller, and is where the “assignment engine” the company is developing, in tandem with its advanced simulation capabilities, is expected to come into the Cat® MineStar™ Fleet management system fold.

“When we look into the mine site of the future, and the idea of electrification and autonomy, it has to all be stitched together,” Weller said.

“We can’t have trucks stop because of a dead battery; we can’t have trucks back up on a haul route waiting for a charger. In some instances, you might be better off coming in for a charge right now – regardless of your state of charge – as in 10 minutes you might have 10 trucks lining up waiting to be charged. How do you know that? You have to tie it to the fleet management system. This enables you to know how much energy you need and how much energy you have to complete your next assignment.”

These tradeoffs will likely impact production, but having a system like the assignment engine Weller highlighted allows the site “to make that decision very dynamically”, he added.

Industry consensus

There were others talking up such integration around MINExpo 2024.

Oliver Weiss, Liebherr Mining Equipment SAS’ Executive Vice President, R&D, Engineering and Production, says control and command of zero emission mining technologies are included in the autonomous haulage system (AHS) the company has been working on with Fortescue.

“The fleet management assignment engine at the core of the AHS monitors fleet energy levels so that jobs and energy replenishment tasks can be assigned efficiently within zero emission fleets equipped with this system,” he said.

Komatsu’s new Modular ecosystem, which builds on the DISPATCH fleet management system, also has an expanding set of interconnected platforms and products built in. Included within this is a new app called “Replenish” to refuel and recharge mining equipment while minimising impacts to production.

Considering ABB and Komatsu recently signed a strategic collaboration agreement to, they said, “jointly develop and bring to market integrated solutions that will help move net-zero emissions for heavy industrial machinery a step closer to reality,” one would expect ABB’s expertise and technologies for automation and electrification to integrate into this new open platform from Komatsu.

It is becoming clear that the energy management paradigm will require mine sites of the future to have even more integrated workflows underlined by higher levels of autonomy.

And it is this understanding that will lead to an accelerated uptake of electric solutions from where the industry is today.

ABB elevates safety, reliability and efficiency with Motion technology at MINExpo

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ABB showcased its comprehensive portfolio tailored for the mining and aggregate industries at MINExpo 2024 this week: a portfolio that includes industrial electric motors, variable speed drives, services for motors, generators, drives and e-mobility solutions designed for the mining sector.

“From cellphones to electric vehicles, batteries and wind farms, virtually every aspect of modern life relies on materials mined from the earth, but there must be a transformation,” Peter Basile, ABB’s Traction Division US President, said. “The demand for mined products will continue to increase, so the need for sustainable, safe and productive mining has never been greater. ABB helps operators meet their goals of improved reliability, reduced energy costs and increased automation.”

ABB’s technologies reduce operating costs, enhance energy efficiency and cut carbon emissions by electrifying mining vehicle drivetrains and integrating digital systems, the company says. Supported by a global network of experts, these innovations accelerate decarbonisation and promote sustainable operations. ABB’s robust traction, motor and drive solutions are engineered to withstand the harsh conditions of mines and cement facilities, addressing challenges like dust, vibration, moisture and temperature fluctuations. ABB products meet or exceed standards for efficiency and performance across various applications, including conveyors, pumps, fans, drill rigs, crushers and mills.

ABB Motion’s product and service solutions in the mining and aggregate industries include:

  • ABB NEMA Motors Crush+, which was launched during MINExpo, exceeds demands for reliability and safety in the harshest environments, raising the standard for motors used for crushers and other severe-duty applications. Its rugged and reliable design optimises performance, efficiency and total cost of ownership;
  • The new ABB Traction Battery Pro series is designed for transportation applications with demanding requirements. Features include high power and safety, less space requirements and rapid charging capabilities;
  • AMXE132S traction motor combines ABB’s design expertise, experience and manufacturing footprint to offer a configurable motor that can fulfill diverse propulsion and auxiliary needs and challenges;
  • Baldor-Reliance SP4 severe-duty motor meets the NEMA Super Premium® efficiency level in a standard AC induction motor design operating across the line, independently of a variable speed drive. SP4 motors are highly efficient, running cooler, reducing heat-based energy losses and extending bearing and other component life;
  • SynRM (synchronous reluctance) motor delivers reliable operation with robust designs and efficiencies up to IE6. ABB’s SynRM is the first motor to reach these presumptive levels without the use of magnets. SynRM technology is suitable for safe and hazardous areas and can be packaged in a variety of frames including imperial dimensioned and water-cooled designs;
  • RXT MTO (modified-to-order) totally enclosed fan-cooled (TEFC) motor, part of the RXT series of Reliance® legacy motors, is tailored to customer specifications. Designed to meet the rigorous demands of the North American market, RXT meets or exceeds NEMA Premium efficiency energy standards, delivering exceptional performance and efficiency;
  • ABB’s medium voltage variable drive solutions for mining customers are designed to provide reliability and flexibility in meeting mining application needs; and
  • ABB Motion Services helps customers maximize uptime, extend product life cycle and enhance the performance and energy efficiency of motors, generators and drives. ABB Motion OneCare and Partnered Solutions provide data, analytics, recovery, modernisation and performance improvement services, enabling innovation and success through digitalization by securely connecting and monitoring customers’ motors and drives.

ABB, Komatsu to showcase eMine automated battery truck charging solution at MINExpo

Automation, Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining events, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , ,

At this week’s MINExpo 2024 in Las Vegas, ABB is to showcase a new technology demonstrator developed to enable safe and efficient, high-power charging in the journey towards the all-electric mine of the future. The eMine™ Robot Automated Connection Device (ACD) is designed to work in tandem with the ABB eMine FastCharge solution, allowing further interoperability and synergy of connections and interfaces in electric mining trucks.

As a founding member of the CharIN taskforce for electrical standards in mining, ABB is working to accelerate the adoption of electrical interface solutions for the industry, with this latest innovation forming a key part in achieving this ambition, it says. The Robot ACD will allow for more reliable and efficient truck charging without the need for human intervention. The fully automated, interoperable connection device is ruggedised to withstand the harsh environmental conditions of mines.

Allowing for a seamless transition into existing mining operations, the technology’s scalability and interoperability means it will be compatible with current and future mining trucks, connection mechanisms and interfaces, ABB claims.

Currently, the technology is being tested at ABB’s laboratory in Sweden, followed by testing under real mining conditions at Boliden’s Aitik site starting within the December quarter of this year. Working in collaboration with industry partners, Boliden, BHP and Komatsu, ABB’s Robot ACD will also undergo early field trials to address the technical solution requirements.

The Robot ACD will be on display for the first time at MINExpo 2024, showcased by Komatsu and ABB.

Max Luedtke, Global Business Line Manager for Mining, ABB Process Industries, said: “The fact that robotic technologies can and will be incorporated into the most advanced modern mining operations is a proud milestone in ABB’s overall 50-year long journey with robots. Bringing this together with electrification and automation is a strong differentiator for ABB, and we’re even more impactful through our collaborations with industry partners. Clearly, the industry is on a trajectory towards increasingly automated and autonomous operations – technologies like eMine Robot ACD are essential for applications that meet new needs and growing possibilities. It’s an exciting field to be part of today.”

MINExpo 2024 marks the three-year anniversary since the official launch of ABB’s pioneering eMine purposeful and holistic framework of methods and solutions designed to accelerate the energy transition in mining. Since its launch at MINExpo 2021 edition, ABB says it has been at the forefront of mine decarbonisation, signing collaborations with major industry partners and undertaking ambitious studies and projects to electrify operations for some of the world’s foremost mining organisations.

Boliden’s sustainable metals supply strategy on show at Rävliden

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Boliden is used to setting the standard in mining, and its latest innovation leap focused on electrification at the Rävliden mine in northern Sweden is another example of it leading from the front.

The Sweden-based company has a vision of being the most climate-friendly and respected metal provider in the world, and, from what IM witnessed and heard last month during a visit to the extension of the Kristineberg mine, Rävliden, it is well on its way to doing that.

The group climate targets that were validated and approved by the Science Based Targets initiative at the back end of 2023 – reducing absolute CO2e Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 42% in 2030 from the 2021 baseline among these – are important markers for Boliden, but what is even more impressive is the actions being taken on the ground to hit these.

Among them are the addition of numerous battery-electric vehicles into the underground operating fleets in the mines within the Boliden Area and Garpenberg, the open-pit trolley assist achievements made with diesel-electric drive trucks at Aitik and Kevitsa and, at the Smelting divisions, major investments in recycling. This is underpinned by energy inputs that are from predominantly fossil fuel-free grids or with captive green energy supply.

This has allowed the company to establish Green Transition Metals (GTM): a portfolio of recycled and low-carbon metals that it sells on the market and act as a key differentiator in the commodity space. To this point, these products have allowed the company to access forms of finance unavailable to competitors lacking such green credentials.

The philosophy behind this tangible example of sustainable commodity supply has been felt upstream and downstream of Boliden HQ, as confirmed by Patrik Westerlund, Boliden Senior Development Engineer.

Westerlund is responsible for the underground truck trolley project at Rävliden and says he has felt the backing and involvement of management at every turn of the project.

“Whenever reporting on progress on the project, I have felt support from management,” he told IM. “Innovation is encouraged from the top down at Boliden.”

Battery truck trolley first

In 2021, the company outlined a SEK1.25 billion ($123 million) investment at Kristineberg towards further developing the mine towards the Rävliden mineralisation. This expansion was expected to contribute to an increase in milled volumes in the Boliden Area to 1.8 Mt/y.

A satellite deposit close to Kristineberg – which, itself, has been operating since the 1940s – Rävliden constitutes a sub-vertical to steeply south-dipping, 5-25-m wide and 150-m high mineralised lens, or system of lenses, with a length extent of at least 900 m along plunge. The mineralisation at Rävliden is broadly of a similar character to Kristineberg although is amenable to both long-hole stoping and transversal open stoping – as opposed to the cut and fill mining and drift and fill mining methods utilised to mine the mineralised material underground at Kristineberg.

Exploration of the Rävliden mineralisation has resulted, to date, in 8.4 Mt of inferred and indicated mineral resources. The deposit contains copper, zinc, lead, silver and gold, with mining rates of 800,000 t/y making for a 10-year operation.

Where the project gets very intriguing – and the reason for IM’s visit – is in the company’s haulage plan.

Where Kristineberg uses a 160 t/h skip hoist to get the crushed ore to surface, Rävliden is expecting to transport its ore, waste, concrete and personnel using a 5.6-km ramp stretching from surface to 750 meters underground, at an average incline of 1:7.

This will represent a world-first battery-trolley operation, which the company is already proving out via an 800-m trolley test track – also a world first.

Back in April, Boliden, Epiroc and ABB passed a new technology milestone by successfully deploying the first fully battery-electric truck trolley system on this test track, which boasts a 14% incline as well as a curve with a 35-m-long radius.

IM, during late August, witnessed one of these fully loaded Epiroc battery-electric Minetruck MT42 SG Trolley trucks in operation at the mine, along with the supporting infrastructure supplied by ABB and others. The on-board truck infrastructure includes ABB’s DC-DC converter, HES880 inverters and AMXE motors to enhance the power of the machine, while there are off-board rectifier substations for the track. The ABB Ability™ System 800xA® was also showcased during the visit, which monitors and controls the electrical system. In addition, Siemens provided on-board hardware for the MT42 SG Trolley truck.

The truck features a trolley pantograph connected to an overhead catenary line, which is similar in makeup to an on-road electric highway application.

During the visit, ABB highlighted how its solution had been customised and tweaked to work within the regulations and safety standards in Sweden, as well as Boliden’s own site requirements.

Epiroc also showcased how its battery-electric Minetruck MT42 SG has been adapted to work on trolley; the most obvious adaptation being the use of three battery subpacks as opposed to the standard five subpacks the battery-only machine is normally equipped with. The removal of 40% of battery power was justified to make room for the on-board DC-DC converter, as well as the reduction in power required to operate on the trolley line – as is currently envisaged, the trucks will only run on battery power alone for a circa-0.9 km stretch of the 5.6-km ramp.

Franck Boudreault, Epiroc’s Underground Application Expert Electrification, remarked on the economic benefits of running off grid-backed trolley power, compared with battery power alone. The OEM’s modelling also indicated the batteries on board would benefit from a substantial uplift in life due to the comparatively “light duty” application they would have while on trolley. This increased longevity would translate to reduced operating costs over the mine’s lifetime.

BEV loader first

As if the battery-trolley first was not enough for one project, Rävliden also became the first mine to automate stope loading with a battery-electric LHD – the Epiroc Scooptram ST18 SG – late last year at Rävliden. This is on top of commissioning ABC Total on an Epiroc Simba M6 longhole production rig at the operation. ABC Total allows for a full round of holes to be drilled automatically, according to Epiroc.

The miner’s ambitions go beyond this, though, with plans to automate the fleet of Minetruck MT42 SG Trolley trucks running on the ramp. The ‘concrete’ nature of these plans is evidenced by the fact Boliden has already built a loading station adapted for automation underground at Rävliden, as well as the moves to install an above-ground remote operations station later.

There is plenty more to this mine, which produced first concentrate last year, than ramp haulage.

The circa-$120 million investment also covers an underground crusher – a Metso Nordberg® C160 jaw crusher – a ventilation plant built with heat exchangers for increased efficiency and sustainability, a truck loading station, workshop and pumping stations.

The automated loaders carry blasted material from the stopes to either ore passes or loading pockets. Material is either directly loaded from the bottom of ore passes into the crusher at -750 m or by using MT42 SG trucks to transport material from loading pockets to the crusher. From the crusher, the material is transported by conveyors to loading chutes. These chutes feed crushed ore to the MT42 SG Trolley trucks, which move up the ramp and dump on surface. Ore is then trucked circa-90 km to the Boliden Area Operations Process Plant for beneficiation by flotation, before further processing the concentrate to a final product at the Rönnskär smelter, 65 km away.

The electrical infrastructure to support a complete fleet of electric vehicles and mobile equipment is also part of this, as Westerlund and his colleague Frida Pettersson (Project Manager at Rävliden) confirmed.

In a brief presentation on these plans, Westerlund outlined a fleet that included three battery-electric LHDs, three battery-electric trucks, four battery-trolley trucks, two “construction” battery-electric trucks, two electric light loaders and 12 “mining machines” that are also due to be battery-electric.

Battery-powered machines already ordered and/or delivered include two Epiroc Boomer E20 SG Battery drills, two Epiroc Boltec E10 SG Battery bolters, one Jama battery-powered SBU8000E underground scaler (using an Epiroc battery solution underpinned by Northvolt batteries), three Epiroc Scooptram ST18 SG LHDs, two MT42 SG trucks and the four MT42 SG Trolley trucks.

Westerlund admitted question marks remained over whether Rävliden would be able to source a full-electric fleet in the next few years, explaining that the company has had to employ diesel equipment where it cannot currently obtain the ‘green’ alternatives. He was hopeful there would be a proliferation of battery-electric integrated tool carriers in the near term – outside of the diesel-to-battery conversions available in relatively small quantities in Australia – as well as battery-electric material transport trucks from the likes of Scania. He also saw mass produced battery-electric pick-ups coming.

Haulage to surface and underground load and haul activities represent over 85% of diesel and CO2 emissions at the project, according to Westerlund, meaning the big emission wins are within reach.

All these machines could come together for a mixed battery-electric autonomy first, with Epiroc the likely integrator in this scenario – similar to what the OEM has achieved with a mainly diesel-powered fleet at the Cadia operation, in Australia, in partnership with MacLean.

This is the current plan, but there is some flexibility being built into the mining operations at Rävliden. Westerlund and Pettersson, for instance, said the ventilation plant had been sized for a bigger operation, with expectations that exploration will reveal more resources to justify higher mining rates.

Commercial appeal

With Boliden committing to this battery-trolley haulage scenario, it opens the question: how big a market is there for such a solution going forward?

There were several attendees from major and mid-tier mining companies on this trip, indicating interest is high. At least one mining contractor and some smaller consulting/engineering companies also joined the delegation in Sweden.

There were questions put to Westerlund and Pettersson from this community about whether the same throughput could be achieved via a hoisting operation. In response, Westerlund referred to the obvious fact that the planned haulage route meant the company could reuse the current industrial area and leave a very limited footprint on surface at Rävliden.

A Jama battery-powered SBU8000E underground scaler in operation

The battery-only haulage question came up too, but the 1:7 average incline of the ramp would likely require a significant number of battery swaps and/or charges during normal operation.

Boliden is in a very good position to enact this plan, being blessed with a significant amount of renewable power at Rävliden, expertise with battery-electric machines and the required electrical infrastructure thanks to previous trials and vehicle acquisitions, previous experience of underground trolley via Kiruna truck deployments at Kristineberg and elsewhere, and confidence in the expansion of its orebody.

While not in a unique position, there are only a few companies and operations that have all these factors going for them.

This will inevitably play into Epiroc’s plan to commercialise the MT42 SG Trolley system, and ABB’s own supporting electric infrastructure.

Boudreault said there were several criteria Epiroc wanted to tick off with the test track at Rävliden to highlight the commercial business case, including:

  • Demonstrating the ability to manage energy in a smart way on trolley;
  • Benchmarking the cost per tonne of such an operation; and
  • Showcasing the potential productivity benefits.

“We very much see this proof of concept with Boliden as the ‘ice breaker’ in terms of battery-trolley haulage potential,” he said.

Those who visit the mine in 2025 will likely see the commercial operation of the 4.7-km trolley line, gaining an understanding that goes beyond the proof of concept, but Boudreault said the significant speed on ramp boost, improved cycle time and ability to deploy less trucks in such a haulage operation would prove enticing for starters.

“At the same time, we are aware that the right partners will be needed to make any new installation a success,” he explained, adding that ABB’s input may be sought again for such a deployment.

This is before considering the local electrical standards that such an operation would be guided by, plus any other safety-related regulations that would need consideration.

“All of these will be factored into trade-off studies that are specific to that operation and the company’s own requirements,” Boudreault said, adding that, on paper, an operation with a 5-10 year mine life was likely required to make a battery-trolley operation economically work.

Leading from the front

The involvement of Swedish innovation agency Vinnova and its initiative ‘Sustainable Industry’ – which includes some financing for the project – will undoubtedly have helped get such a project off the ground at Rävliden, yet don’t discount the ingredients Boliden can call on to create the ideal mix for such innovation.

More so than any other mining company, Boliden has integrated sustainability at every point of the supply chain.

It has been using an internal carbon price to make investment decisions at all its operations for over a decade; it has embedded recycling into its thinking, becoming one of the first miners to leverage smelting capacity to process such material; it has implemented nitrate-free and environmentally friendly explosives at some of its operations (Kankberg being one); and it has also embedded mill lining recycling into its activities at Aitik.

That’s before mentioning its feats in the mining equipment automation space, an arena the company feels will pair well with electrification to deliver more than the sum of their parts in the future.

Many of these feats have been facilitated by the renowned Nordic mining equipment, technology and service space, which has allowed the company to access and implement the solutions at a suitable pace.

Not all miners demand respect from their peers and stakeholders, and even fewer can claim to be ‘climate-friendly’. Boliden can argue it ticks both boxes.

Epiroc whets the electrification appetite for MINExpo 2024

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Less than a month out from MINExpo INTERNATIONAL 2024 in Las Vegas, Jérôme Cloué, Vice President of Electrification for Epiroc, talked up numerous electrification launches/debuts at the show that would go a long way to helping its customers achieve their sustainability targets.

During a visit to Boliden’s Rävliden mine, part of the Kristineberg complex, in in northern Sweden in late August to highlight the Epiroc Minetruck MT42 SG Battery vehicle running on an 800-m trolley test track underground, Cloué said the company was expecting to make many announcements at the show, including some that fit into the “zero carbon” category.

Epiroc, as part of its sustainability goals, has outlined 2025 and 2030 dates for having fossil-free options in place for its underground and surface mining product lines, respectively. Cloué was confident the company would meet these targets, however it is unlikely these will be exclusively battery-electric options – especially at the top end of the surface drilling product line where the company is leveraging cable-electric power for each drill in the Pit Viper series, for instance.

In the meantime, Epiroc is also working with clients on certifying the use of biodiesel in its existing diesel-powered fleet for “immediate” decarbonisation benefits. Cloué said the surface drilling fleet is already compatible with biofuel (HVO100), with the underground load and haul, and drilling fleets set to follow shortly.

The company is also continuing to advance its work on repurposing batteries used in its mining equipment for secondary life applications. Outside of mining, the company has signed a partnership with Renewmic, whereby a battery previously used to power one of Epiroc’s battery-electric vehicles is helping to support and stabilise the Swedish power grid through frequency containment reserve services. Cloué expects to see more of these examples crop up in mining in the future, strengthening the business case for battery-electric machines through an extension of the battery’s working life.

He is also expecting further collaborations such as the one Epiroc highlighted with Boliden and ABB at the Kristineberg operation last week.

“Mining houses and suppliers are realising that the way to accelerate the [electrification] transformation is through collaboration,” he told IM. “We are looking to work with other partners like ABB on future projects.”

ABB set for eMine truck fast charging leap

Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , ,

ABB is working on a new fast charging solution under its eMine™ ecosystem that will represent a 10-fold increase in capacity compared with its previous 600 kW solution, Nic Beutler, Global eMine Solutions Manager, told IM this week.

Speaking on the sidelines of a trip to Boliden’s Rävliden mine in northern Sweden, Beutler said ABB is extending the capability of eMine FastCharge, explaining the previous solution it showcased in 2021 with MEDATech Engineering and Staubli would be far surpassed by this.

This 600 kW eMine FastCharge charger requires no machine operators to charge up the vehicle. Drivers station their vehicles next to the charger, the FastCharge system senses its presence and then moves the connection pin into position, inserting it into the receptacle and charging the vehicle. The solution was demonstrated on a Western Star 4900XD-e machine that MEDATech’s ALTDRIVE division had retrofitted with a battery (see below).

“What we’re working on is a more than 10-fold increase in charging power from the 600 kW fast charge solution we have previously showcased whilst keeping interoperability and flexibility in mind,” Beutler said.

“The increase in power is representative of how fast the industry has moved in these three years. Where we were once looking at charging battery vehicles in the 100-t-class and below, we’re now looking at supplying charge to vehicles with payloads of 240-280 t with a 6C charge rate.”

The news also comes on the back of Staubli announcing that it would present a charging connection device built for 7.5 MW capacity chargers at MINExpo INTERNATIONAL 2024, in Las Vegas, next month.

While Beutler couldn’t provide further specifics on the exact charging capacity and charge time, he did acknowledge the new fast charger would retain the containerised and modular nature that ABB established for the original 600 kW pilot system.

“There will be more containerised components than what we previously highlighted,” he said.

“It will require a larger footprint and some further application engineering depending on the site conditions, but the modularity element remains to also allow the integration of various manual and automated connection interfaces.”

ABB’s Dittakavi looks forward to more Real Progress with eMine ecosystem

Automation, Environmental, Mining equipment, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , ,

Three years after the launch of ABB’s eMine™ ecosystem, the results speak for themselves: six operational trolley systems, a proven fast charging system and numerous project leads in the offing.

Speaking to Ratna Kanth Dittakavi, Global eMine Sales Manager, it is clear the best is still yet to come from the ABB business line.

In the lead-up to a showcase of the company’s underground trolley capabilities at Boliden’s Rävliden mine in northern Sweden this week, Dittakavi was effusive about the company’s prospects – both with OEMs and mining companies.

He was able to share such foresight with numerous eMine consultative studies ongoing.

“We have about a dozen of these studies going on at the moment,” he told IM. “These are all in various stages of development – from prefeasibility study and feasibility, through to engineering.”

Such studies underpin the company’s eMine execution strategy, considering all electrification options for clients and coming up with a tailored, technology-agnostic plan for the company.

ABB’s close ties with a growing number of OEMs and suppliers – it recently signed a collaborative agreement with Komatsu, for example – plus its ability to carry out the majority of electrification, automation and digital work on its own, differentiates this offering from the standard engineering or consulting services available to mining companies or contractors.

“When we come up with an electrification plan for a client, say, 3-5 years ahead of production with 10-15% contingencies, we have to execute it for them,” Dittakavi says. “We don’t devise these studies for someone else to enact them. It goes beyond project execution too, as we’re often supporting the electrical infrastructure on site throughout the life of the mine.”

Ratna Kanth Dittakavi (left) speaking with IM Editor, Dan Gleeson (right) this week

Early engagement is the key to being able to devise these strategies with clients, according to Dittakavi, however when looking at the six trolley projects the company is currently able to talk about – Aitik, Aitik Extension, the second trolley line at Kevitsa, Copper Mountain, Los Pelambres and Rävliden – he admits that the engagement timeframe hasn’t always been consistent.

“Just as we look to come up with a tailored solution for the client depending on their green energy inputs, site-wide infrastructure and load and haul fleet, for example, we also have to work within the constraints of the project timelines we are given,” he says.

Outside of the existing trolley projects the company is working on – including the 800-m test track at Rävliden – ABB is also working on a Robot Automated Connection Device (ACD) to charge future battery-electric trucks. This is planned to be a fully automated interoperable connection device working in tandem with the ABB eMine Fast Charge solution.

The ACD is set to be showcased in some form at next month’s MINExpo INTERNATIONAL 2024 event in Las Vegas IM understands, with a prototype also set to arrive at Boliden’s Aitik mine shortly for testing with a “dummy plug” connection, Jonas Ranggård, Program Manager at Boliden Mines, confirmed this week.

ABB launches Trendex, aims to boost uptime in GMD processing applications

Automation, Comminution of minerals, IoT, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, Sustainable mining, , , ,

ABB has developed a new tool within its ABB Ability™ Predictive Maintenance for Grinding (PMG) platform, designed to make troubleshooting and diagnostics in mineral processing faster and more efficient than ever before, it says.

Traditionally, troubleshooting for grinding technology has required the on-site presence of an engineer or a direct remote access to the plant to identify the source of problems. The all-new cloud-based application named Trendex™ will give users of the platform visibility of fault data in high resolution three seconds before and 1.3 seconds after the event, ABB claims. Trendex works by automatically pushing event files to the cloud and linking event data with the transient records, providing users with near-instant access to operational data from any internet-connected device. It also delivers improved diagnostic and visualisation features to help engineers quickly restore production.

Eliminating the need for a direct remote connection while granting almost immediate access to the event-related signals in high resolution results in significantly faster response times in case of a trip.

In a process such as grinding, where every operational minute counts, unplanned downtime has a significant impact on the business, damaging profitability and productivity. Trendex’s addition to the ABB PMG platform will empower users, regardless of location, with real-time data to identify faults when they happen, pinpoint the root cause quickly and swiftly return operations to full production, ABB says.

ABB says Gearless Mill Drives (GMDs) are vital to efficiently extracting critical minerals, such as copper, from increasingly low ore grades in global locations.

“Unscheduled downtime is a challenge anyone in the mining industry is familiar with,” Carlos Miguez Fernandez, Global Product Manager for Service, Business Line Gearless Mill Drive, ABB, says. “However in recent years, we are seeing systems are under increasing pressure to operate with maximum uptime due to market demands. At ABB, we are constantly looking for ways to improve equipment availability and reduce operational costs – Trendex is the latest development in this ongoing mission. It will enhance our predictive maintenance platform for grinding, providing additional advanced real-time insights.”

The ABB Ability PMG platform is an advanced digital service to maintain, assess and analyse GMD systems. It provides easy access to GMD system parameters and allows visualisation of performance, considering past activity and real-time data and assesses future maintenance requirements. It aims to extend the life time of grinding assets through better use of resources, support non-stop operation and avoid unforeseen downtime. When paired with the Grinding Connect mobile app, users can expect live notifications for precise fleet management and monitoring, ABB says. With the addition of Trendex, users will now be able to get instant access to the event-related signals in high resolution as long as they have an internet connection, anywhere, anytime.