Tag Archives: Fortescue

Fortescue wins ARENA funding to develop 6 MW fast chargers for iron ore sector

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The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has today announced a A$10 million ($6.5 million) grant to Fortescue to develop, build and demonstrate first-of-a-kind fast chargers for heavy mine site vehicles.

Fortescue’s A$35.3 million ‘Fast Charger for Heavy Battery Electric Vehicles’ project will develop 6 MW fast chargers, capable of charging 240 t battery electric trucks in under 30 minutes.

Developed by Fortescue Zero, the 6 MW fast charger will be compatible with a wide range of battery-electric heavy mining equipment and designed to meet all operational requirements, Fortescue says.

In announcing the ARENA funding, Fortescue Metals Chief Executive Officer, Dino Otranto, said: “As part of our decarbonisation plan, we intend to roll out around 250 fast chargers of varying capacities across our iron ore operations before the end of this decade.

“Not only will this project serve as a catalyst for demand from external heavy industry customers, but it will also enable a significant reduction in emissions.”

ARENA CEO, Darren Miller, said the project would help reduce emissions in one of Australia’s most carbon intensive industries

“ARENA is working to reduce emissions from Australia’s heavy industry, with heavy haulage high on the priority list for the mining sector

“Heavy haulage for remote mine sites contributes around a quarter of the mining industry’s emission and is considered a hard to abate sector, so we’re investing in the technologies that will be part of the solution.

The funding has been awarded under the Australian Government’s Industrial Transformation Stream, part of the Powering the Regions Fund. This A$400 million program aims to support emissions reduction at existing industrial facilities in regional Australia.

The project is the next stage of fast charger development for Fortescue, building on an existing 3 MW prototype. Once developed, the fast charger will be installed, demonstrated and tested at Fortescue’s Hazelmere and Christmas Creek mine sites.

“If the fast charger can be successfully validated at the operational Christmas Creek mine site, we’d like to see the technology widely deployed across Australia’s resources industry,” Miller said. “These are the kinds of challenges ARENA is looking to address through the Industrial Transformation Stream.”

The fast charger will be developed with global charging system standardisation in mind, ensuring compatibility with any equipment that meets the connector standard across mining, rail, and other heavy industry applications.

Australian iron ore mining produces roughly 5 Mt of CO2 each year due to fleet diesel consumption. Pathways to decarbonising mine operations are currently limited by a lack of commercially available solutions on the market.

Fortescue Zero Chief Executive Officer, Ellie Coates, said: “These innovative chargers are designed to be a safe, rugged, high power and scalable fast charging solution for multiple different vehicle applications.

“Leveraging our world-class capability in battery and charging solutions from motorsport, the fast chargers have been developed for the challenging conditions of the Pilbara. Equipped with robotic connection options, they will be able to power Fortescue’s future 240-t Liebherr T 264 battery electric trucks in just 30 minutes.”

Preliminary testing is currently underway, with the project due to be completed in late 2025.

Multivariable modelling study wins Maptek Geology Challenge 2024

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First prize in this year’s Maptek Geology Challenge has been awarded to Miguel Aliaga Oblitas, who showed how Maptek DomainMCF improved model consistency and reduced processing time in advanced multivariable geological modelling.

Senior Geomodeller with Newmont Mining Corporation, Oblitas receives a personal prize of $500 and a six-month DomainMCF subscription for his company.

Entries displayed a range of modelling techniques and applications, and judging was tight, resulting in a tie for second place awarded to Ed Lynch, Superintendent Exploration Geology, SIMEC, and Danielle Karbishev, Senior Resource Estimation Geologist, Fortescue.

Oblitas highlighted the chance to work with real data from an active mine and apply innovative methodologies to enhance geological modelling. His report defined the challenges of accurately predicting vein behaviour at depth, especially with limited data, and noted significant improvements in model accuracy and efficiency.

“The ability to integrate various geological inputs – such as lithology, structural data, mineralogical information and vein intensity – was invaluable,” Oblitas said. “The reduction in processing time from weeks to just a few hours greatly facilitated model updates and more timely decision making in exploration and resource estimation.”

Oblitas noted that the flexibility of the Domain Manager in GeologyCore, which enabled the creation of custom rules and rapid testing of different structural scenarios, was key to overcoming the deposit complexity.

“The integration of multivariable inputs, including lithological, vein intensity and mineralogical data, allowed for a more accurate and detailed representation of the deposit’s structural framework – something that was challenging to achieve with traditional methods,” Oblitas commented.

Danielle Karbichev jumped at the opportunity to trial GeologyCore and DomainMCF to increase efficiency for the Fortescue Resource Modelling and Estimation team and assess the potential applications of machine learning.

The biggest surprise for Karbishev was the ability of DomainMCF to rapidly generate grade estimations comparable to those produced via established estimation methods such as kriging, Maptek says.

“Geological volume model outputs and grade predictions drastically improved with more detailed geological input data, however purely data-driven models can also be used to identify trends and structures prior to interpretation and domaining,” Karbishev said. “More testing is required but it is clear that machine learning could revolutionise resource modelling and estimation as technology advances!”

In terms of GeologyCore, Karbishev found that the 3D drill hole visualisation options were particularly useful for validation of drill hole coding against modelled surfaces, as well as for stratigraphic domain interpretation using multi-element geochemistry and downhole geophysical data, Maptek says.

“Domain Manager allowed rapid flagging, processing and compositing of the drillhole database while Sample Manager enabled direct transfer of validated data points to DomainMCF for modelling,” Karbishev said. “DomainMCF provided almost instantaneous 3D block models, granting the ability to rapidly analyse vast databases and test alternate scenarios.”

Superintendent Exploration Geologist for SIMEC, Ed Lynch, was keen to apply DomainMCF to specific situations in the company’s hematite and magnetite operation, to test whether it could make things easier for geologists on site and unlock more time to go out and ‘kick the rocks’.

“The complexity of the geological setting we work in presents significant challenges to our geologists when it comes to 3D modelling and grade control,” Lynch explained. “DomainMCF was simple to use and incredibly fast. When given enough data it was able to produce similar results to more traditional human-driven modelling processes. I think it is particularly suited to grade control type modelling scenarios.”

Now in its fourth year, the Maptek Geology Challenge provides an opportunity to experiment with cutting-edge technology to create models directly from raw data, that are accurate and transformative for resource modelling and production applications.

The theme for 2024 – geological control for geological models – encouraged participants to combine their expertise with the power of machine learning to create models that accurately reflect geology.

Maptek provided geological modelling tools including GeologyCore and AI-assisted DomainMCF for up to four weeks, supported with documentation and technical assistance from our global team.

Steve Sullivan, Senior Geology Specialist and Technical Lead for DomainMCF, said that the Geology Challenge was founded to inspire geologists to engage with new approaches. The challenge provides a low-risk environment to test real data with the latest technology and explore avenues for improving existing practices.

“The winning entries were strong examples of tackling problems that are difficult to solve with traditional methods, and demonstrated the use of novel techniques to control their geology,” Sullivan said. “Recommendations for software improvements have already been passed on to our development teams.”

Energy management to become ‘the’ mine electrification talking point

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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.

Fortescue, Scania to develop fully integrated autonomous road train solution

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Fortescue and Scania have agreed to jointly develop and validate a fully integrated autonomous road train solution, leveraging Scania’s technology in truck automation and Fortescue’s own Fleet Management System (FMS).

The autonomous solution would be developed, tested and validated in partnership at Fortescue’s iron ore operations at Christmas Creek.

“By utilising Scania’s extensive knowledge in supplying trucks to the mining industry and our expertise in autonomous driving, the Road Train solution will reduce the overall mining footprint,” Manfred Streit, Managing Director at Scania Australia, said.

With Scania’s technology in truck automation, the autonomous solution would be integrated with Fortescue’s FMS designed to optimise fleet utilisation and maximise productivity, while ensuring efficient fuel and energy consumption to reduce carbon emissions. The solution would also integrate Scania’s on-board autonomation hardware and technology for the Scania R770 prime mover platform, coupled with three trailers weighing 120 t with a payload of 240 t.

“This is a great opportunity for Scania to learn more about autonomy in demanding conditions with an innovative partner,” Peter Hafmar, Head of Autonomous Solutions, Scania, says.

Fortescue Metals Chief Executive Officer, Dino Otranto, says: “Our deep expertise in autonomous haulage has enabled us to jointly develop a unique autonomous solution that unlocks high grade, satellite deposits for us to mine economically. This project would help us maximise productivity with unique low-cost solutions in our mining value chain.”

Scania Australia has been working closely with Fortescue for many years, and is pleased to see this joint development project become a reality.

Robert Taylor, Head of Mining at Scania Australia, said: “Their heavy haul trucks operate in an incredibly harsh environment. The local and global mining specialists have devised a solution that will bring both efficiency and safety.”

Fortescue Zero and Downer to develop ‘the world’s most energy-efficient’ battery-electric loco

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Fortescue Zero and Downer have today announced a collaboration to jointly design and develop a battery-electric locomotive (BEL), marking an important step forward to the commercialisation of zero emissions power system technologies in heavy industry applications, it says.

The agreement sets forward a path to deliver an innovative zero emissions solution for heavy haul rail that draws on Downer’s rolling stock and engineering experience, combined with Fortescue Zero’s decades long experience as a heavy haul rail operator and expertise in green technologies and zero emissions power systems.

Fortescue Zero and Downer have agreed to jointly design and develop the world’s most energy efficient BEL, which has the potential to help Fortescue achieve its 2030 decarbonisation goals as well as those of other heavy emitters globally.

The proposed heavy haul rail solution could also be a platform that enables similar solutions to be developed for passenger and other freight applications, marking the beginning of a potential long-term relationship between the two organisations.

Announcing the collaboration at InnoTrans in Berlin, the world’s largest rail transport exhibition attended by over 140,000 people from the global rail industry, Fortescue Zero and Downer are showing Australia’s commitment and capability to contribute to decarbonisation globally.

Fortescue Energy CEO, Mark Hutchinson, said: “The signing of this agreement with Downer marks a significant step in the decarbonisation of heavy industry. We strongly believe that developing and enhancing green technology is key to addressing climate change.

“We look forward to working with Downer to develop and deploy some the world’s most energy efficient BELs.

“This collaboration not only creates the opportunity to help Fortescue reach its own decarbonisation targets, it also establishes an important new business growth opportunity.”

Downer CEO, Peter Tompkins, said: “As Australia’s leading provider of rail and transit systems, I couldn’t be prouder that Downer will now be a world leader in helping rail eliminate emissions.

“With 150 years of rail experience including the ability to design, manufacture and maintain rolling stock, as well as through-life-support, Downer is excited about our role in a zero emissions future.

“This collaboration highlights the strengths and capabilities we have in Australia with two leading Australian companies coming together to tackle a global issue.”

The design and development of zero-emissions battery-electric train solutions has the potential to reduce emissions significantly. A typical heavy haul diesel-electric locomotive can consume 1 million litres of fuel per year, which equates to 2,680 tonnes of CO2.

MacLean to deliver 30 battery-electric graders to Fortescue operations

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Fortescue, one of the world’s leading technology, energy and metals companies, and MacLean, a global leader in battery electric mining vehicles (BEVs), have announced a new partnership at MINExpo 2024 to help rapidly electrify and decarbonise the surface mining industry.

Today, Fortescue Metals CEO, Dino Otranto, was joined by MacLean CEO, Kevin MacLean, and MacLean President, Stella Holloway, to announce that MacLean will deliver a fleet of 30 GR8 EV graders to Fortescue’s mining operations in Western Australia. The EV graders will be powered by a Fortescue Zero battery power system, making them one of the first battery electric graders for surface mining. The first EV grader is expected to be delivered in 2026, with the full battery electric fleet aiming to be operational in 2029.

“We’ve been in the underground mining vehicle business for over 50 years and as a manufacturer we have almost a decade under our belts with our full-fleet electrification program. Our track record to date is 25 vehicle models battery electrified, 100 EV units sold from bolters to boom trucks to shotcrete sprayers to graders, and half a million operating hours logged. Now we’re turning our sights to surface mining operations,” remarks MacLean CEO, Kevin MacLean. “Our ‘first 50’ saw us shape the underground mining industry in the name of increased safety and productivity. Now our next 50 will be shaped by our deep commitment to supporting the decarbonisation of the mining industry around the globe, where a majority of operations are above ground. I’m truly honoured that Fortescue, such a successful and forward-thinking company, has chosen MacLean as their partner for this essential work in the 21st century.”

“Surface mining vehicle electrification represents the dawn of a new era at MacLean, but it’s one with a deep foundation in our past as a manufacturer of fit-for-purpose solutions for the mining industry,” adds David Jacques, Vice President – Surface Mining Vehicles at MacLean. “We’re taking all the learnings from our GR5 Underground Grader commercialisation and our years of experience in underground BEV design, manufacturing, and site support, and putting it to good use in the context of surface mining electrification. With MacLean and Fortescue, you have two ambitious companies that share the same vision and depth of commitment to innovation that delivers results when it comes to transforming the industry through decarbonisation. This is going to be a powerful collaboration for positive change.”

Fortescue Metals CEO, Dino Otranto, said: “Fortescue is resolutely committed to being the world’s leading green technology, metals and energy company with a laser focus on achieving Real Zero across our Australian iron ore operations by 2030. In 2030, we believe Fortescue will be the go-to Company for green metals, technology, energy and energy storage globally. When the world needs the ‘how’ to be answered, it will turn to Fortescue. To fulfil our 2030 mission, we must partner with like-minded companies like MacLean, which has a proud reputation for designing and manufacturing innovative and high-quality products for underground mining. Importantly, they also share our vision for a mining industry – and a world – no longer reliant on fossil fuels.”

Fabrum, Fortescue commission Australia’s largest liquid hydrogen plant at Christmas Creek

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Australia’s largest liquid hydrogen plant at a mine site is now operational at Fortescue’s Green Energy Hub at Christmas Creek in Western Australia, according to Fabrum, a company that played a significant role in delivering an end-to-end liquid hydrogen ecosystem for the plant.

New Zealand-based Fabrum collaborated on the design, build and commissioning of the liquid hydrogen plant at Christmas Creek, which comprises a hydrogen liquefaction facility, liquid hydrogen storage and a liquid hydrogen refuelling station. Liquid hydrogen from the plant will be used to power Fortescue’s zero-emissions mining equipment prototypes including its offboard power unit and its hydrogen-powered haul truck prototype (the hydrogen-powered T 264 haul truck prototype that arrived this month). The liquid hydrogen plant can produce circa-350 kg of liquid hydrogen per day and has circa-600 kg of storage.

Christopher Boyle, Fabrum’s Executive Chair, said: “We’re delighted to be developing world-leading hydrogen technologies for our partner, Fortescue, to help the company achieve its decarbonisation goals. While others in the industry might see the decarbonisation challenge as too big, Fortescue is leading the way in adopting new technologies to enable a zero-emissions economy. Together, we’re demonstrating the future is here now – and that our liquid hydrogen production and refuelling technologies can enable industry to power operations and transport today.”

Fabrum’s liquid hydrogen production system

Dino Otranto, Fortescue Metals Chief Executive Officer, said: “Fortescue is moving at rapid speed to decarbonise and the completion of our hydrogen facility, which is the largest gaseous and liquid hydrogen plant on any mine site in Australia, is testament to our commitment to leading heavy industry in decarbonising. Hydrogen and fuels made using renewable energy will have a role to play in decarbonising mining, whether it’s in buses, heavy mining equipment such as haul trucks and excavators, or producing green iron.

“This renewable hydrogen plant is versatile, enabling us to produce gaseous and liquid hydrogen to be used to power our mining equipment prototypes, while also providing the added benefit of refuelling our fleet of coaches at Christmas Creek.”

Dr Ojas Mahapatra, Chief Executive Officer of Fabrum, added: “This is the first project we’ve collaborated on with Fortescue, an investor in Fabrum, and it highlights the great opportunities we see to help each other be successful in the future. This project also represents our entry into the mining and minerals industry to add to our work in heavy transport, aviation and other industries. It’s an exciting time for Fabrum as we continue to grow rapidly to meet increasing global demand for hydrogen production systems and other technologies.”

Europa hydrogen-powered prototype arrives at Christmas Creek as Liebherr, Fortescue eye zero emission AHS milestone

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The first hydrogen-powered T 264 haul truck prototype, developed by Liebherr and Fortescue, has arrived on site at Fortescue’s Christmas Creek mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for testing in a real-life mining environment.

The site-based testing of this T 264 prototype, known as Europa, will take place over the coming months and will help inform Fortescue’s future fleet of zero emission haul trucks, Liebherr says.

Oliver Weiss, Executive Vice President of R&D, Engineering and Production, Liebherr-Mining Equipment SAS, said: “Liebherr and Fortescue are aligned in the belief that hydrogen and hydrogen carriers, such as ammonia, will play an important role in supporting the mine decarbonisation additional to electrification. What we learn from this hybrid truck will significantly shape and enhance our future development strategies for zero emission haulage. The integration of a Fortescue Zero battery into a Liebherr haul truck marks a huge milestone in the partnership between the two companies. It is fascinating to see how this cooperation helps to fast track our planned developments of new technology from ideas to demonstration and operation in the field.”

Europa contains a 1.6 MWh battery (developed in-house by Fortescue WAE) and 500 kW of fuel cells. The prototype can store over 380 kg of liquid hydrogen.

Dino Otranto, CEO, Fortescue Metals, added: “It’s fantastic to have our hydrogen-powered haul truck prototype now joining its battery-electric equivalent, Roadrunner, up at site.”

Once commissioned on site, Europa will be refuelled with liquid hydrogen from a gaseous and liquid hydrogen plant located at Fortescue’s Green Energy Hub at Christmas Creek.

Liebherr and Fortescue have been working together to develop zero-emission haul trucks since the collaboration was announced in 2022. Recently, the companies announced their collaboration to co-develop and validate a fully integrated Autonomous Haulage Solution.

Otranto added: “This deployment of Europa builds on our wider collaboration with Liebherr, where we are working together to develop and validate a fully integrated Autonomous Haulage Solution, which we’re aiming to be the first to operate in zero emission vehicles globally. To decarbonise mining you need a system solution, so this new operating system, which integrates a fleet management system and energy management, will be a game changer for Fortescue in reducing our carbon emissions.”

Zero emission haul truck developments on the IMARC 2023 agenda

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IMARC 2023 is off to a bang, with two of the first keynote interviews – featuring speakers from Fortescue and BHP – kicking off what is expected to be a constant flurry of mining technology news.

During a Mining Keynote Interview, titled, ‘The Reshaping of the Fortescue Business: A Showcase of the Past, Present and Future of the Mining and Resources’ Industry,’ Dino Otranto (pictured on the right), CEO of Fortescue, talked up the mining company’s ‘Real Zero’ terrestrial emissions (Scope 1 and 2) 2030 aim.

Speaking to Jennifer Hewett (pictured on the left), National Affairs Columnist, The Australian Financial Review, Otranto highlighted the recent arrival of the first 240-t-class Liebherr Mining T 264 trucks at its Eliwana iron ore mining site in the Pilbara of Western Australia, which is expected to be converted to Fortescue’s in-house battery solution developed by WAE in the near term.

Looking further out, Otranto said the company’s first zero emission fleet at Eliwana was expected to be “on parity” with the diesel haulage equivalent from a cost and productivity perspective. “In the future, they could be even more productive,” he added.

Fortescue is currently working on a number of “zero emission” solutions across its mining operations – battery-electric and green hydrogen, among them – and Otranto said the company was confident that the electric powertrain is “the future”, with the system that generates the power to supply this being “agnostic”.

“In the future, we will not be beholden by the OEM and a single product,” he said, explaining that the captive energy source tied to where the resources and reserves were located would play a crucial role in the chosen system.

Soon after Otranto left the stage, Hewett was joined by James Agar, Group Procurement Officer at BHP, for another keynote interview, titled ‘The Importance of Supplier and Community Partnerships to Create Value’.

Agar was quick to pick up from where Otranto left off, referencing the company’s own zero-emission haulage plans, which included the expected rollout of a zero emissions truck at its operations next year. The company has previously signalled that a Cat Early Learner battery truck could come arrive for trials at its operations in 2024.

Alongside this, Agar referenced ongoing work with Bridgestone and Michelin related to battery-electric haul truck developments.

“We have realised that if we reduce the rolling resistance of tyres by 1-2%, it can have a big impact on battery life,” he said. “Equally, these trucks are going to be able to travel at faster speeds, so tyre life will be affected. This is another area we are studying.”

Monadelphous banks work with Lynas Rare Earths, Fortescue, BHP and Rio Tinto

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Monadelphous Group says it has secured new construction and maintenance contracts and contract extensions in the resources and energy sectors totalling approximately A$170 million ($108 million), including pacts with Fortescue, BHP and Rio Tinto.

First up, the company has been awarded a construction contract with Lynas Rare Earths for stage 1 of the Mt Weld Expansion project (pictured), near Laverton in the Goldfields region of Western Australia. The scope includes structural, mechanical and piping works associated with the new concentration facility.

The engineering firm has also secured a multidisciplinary construction contract to undertake a series of upgrades at Fortescue’s Anderson Point iron ore stockyard in Port Hedland, Western Australia.

BHP has, meanwhile, extended Monadelphous’ master services agreement for the provision of general maintenance services to its iron ore operations in the Pilbara region of Western Australia through to June 30, 2025. The award also contains an additional one-year extension option. The company has also secured a one-year extension to its mechanical and electrical maintenance, shutdown and project services contract across BHP’s Nickel West operations in Western Australia.

Finally, Monadelphous has secured a one-year extension to its sustaining capital works master services agreement with Rio Tinto providing multidisciplinary project services across its Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia.