Tag Archives: Franck Boudreault

Boliden’s sustainable metals supply strategy on show at Rävliden

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.

Tackling the big mine electrification questions

“There is consensus in the industry that once we start doing electrification, we will innovate much more in other areas of the mining space.”

If anyone in the mining sector thought electrification was not in their wheelhouse, Theo Yameogo’s words might make them think again.

Yameogo, Partner and National Mining & Metals Co-Leader at EY Canada, made such a statement during The Electric Mine Virtual Conference earlier this week. The event, organised by International Mining Events, brought leaders in the electrification space together to discuss the latest developments in the industry, of which there were many.

The stage was set for mine electrification reveals, and Henrik Ager, President of Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology (soon to be Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions), did not disappoint, acknowledging that the company is currently working on development of what would be its largest underground truck: a battery-powered 65 t vehicle.

This was all part of the company’s aim to have a “full range electrified offering by 2022”, he said.

Azizi Tucker, Co-Founder and CTO of XING Mobility, was next up, providing an overview of the Taiwan-based company’s offering in his presentation: ‘Electrification from prototype to mass production’.

With a remit to provide commercial, industrial and specialty vehicle makers with modular, high power and safe battery and powertrain technologies, XING is making an entrance into the mining space at just the right time.

Tucker talked attendees through the elements that make the company’s IMMERSIO™ battery solutions ideal for the mining sector: “With the modular size and shape of our batteries, we can really suit any vehicles. We find this very popular with the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as they can utilise their existing chassis.”

The elimination of corrosion, ability to operate consistently in high-temperature environments, a variety of sealing techniques and the use of nickel-manganese-cobalt lithium-ion chemistry has allowed the company to provide the safe and enclosed battery solution miners are looking for.

He concluded by saying XING was in conversation with a variety of mining companies, mining OEMs and mine site operators about deploying solutions in the space.

Attendees were then treated to a demonstration of Tembo 4×4 e-LV’s Electric Cruiser via video during the session: ‘Green conversions: the Tembo 4×4 e-LV electric light utility vehicle platform’ (pictured below). They got up close and personal with the battery-electric utility vehicle as it travelled on- and off-road close to the company’s Netherlands HQ.

After a 15-minute demo showing off the Electric Cruiser’s attributes, Paul Smeters, Tembo 4×4 e-LV’s Marketing Manager, and Alexander Haccou, Tembo 4×4 e-LV’s Technical Director, joined the event to answer audience questions.

The inevitable query came up early during the live Q&A: have you tested this vehicle in an underground mine?

Haccou was prepared for this, explaining that Boliden’s Tara underground zinc-lead mine in Ireland was the first recipient of the company’s Electric Cruiser, and a unit had been operating there for a few years now observing many of the maintenance benefits battery-electric machines are becoming renowned for.

The Electric Cruiser has also been tested in Australia and Canada with the help of Tembo 4×4 e-LV partners in those regions, he added.

“We don’t use fast charging or battery swapping,” Haccou said in response to another question. “What we have seen in several mines is the daily amount of usage is less than the battery’s full capacity.”

After several questions related to an active thermal management system for batteries had come up in previous sessions, Nicolas Champagne’s entrance to the virtual event proved timely.

His presentation, ‘Battery thermal management system using a highly advanced dielectric fluid’, homed in on the use of a dielectric fluid with specific features to allow direct cooling of the battery electrochemical cells.

Champagne, Formulation Team Manager of the R&D department for TOTAL Lubricants, revealed results from use of the fluid in bench tests and simulations at the battery pack level, extrapolating what these results could mean for battery-powered vehicles in the mining sector.

He said the company is in discussions with at least one mining customer about deploying its fluid on a battery-powered vehicle.

After previous sessions had discussed the potential for fast charging and battery swapping, Champagne made clear that TOTAL Lubricants’ solution would prove beneficial in all battery-powered applications throughout the mining sector.

 

Following a lunch break, it was the turn of Epiroc’s Anders Hedqvist (Vice President of R&D, underground) and Franck Boudreault (Electrification Transformation Lead, underground) to deliver a scoop (pun intended).

The pair, during their presentation, ‘From one generation to the next – learnings from zero emission mining’, took it in turns to provide updates.

Boudreault revealed the company’s plan to create battery-electric conversion kits for not only Epiroc diesel-powered equipment out in the field but other OEMs’ machines, before Hedqvist disclosed the company’s in-development battery-electric 18 t LHD would be trialled at LKAB’s Sustainable Underground Mining (SUM) project in Sweden. Epiroc has already delivered a diesel-powered Scooptram ST18 to be trialled in autonomous mode at the SUM project.

It was Yameogo, a mining engineer with much experience operating in underground mines in Canada, that provided the event’s big picture talk in his presentation, ‘Will electrification spark the next wave of mining innovation?’

He talked up the need for industry collaboration between miners, OEMs and service providers in not only electrifying equipment and operations, but also other types of technology.

“That type of collaboration and co-creation framework will actually help mining companies also think about innovation and other items part of electrification and equipment, in general,” he said.

The focus narrowed slightly to open-pit electrification during Dr Bappa Banerjee’s talk, ‘An electric future for mine haulage’. Dr Banerjee, General Manager of Mining Equipment for Wabtec, emphasised from the off that there was no one-size fits all solution to going electric in this sector.

“It’s becoming clear to us…that perhaps it will be a combination of technologies that really help us get to a solution that is feasible,” he said.

This solution, he said, depended on the mine application and haulage scenario, underlining the need for technology flexibility.

In his presentation, Dr Banerjee pitted a diesel-powered haul truck with 2,500 horsepower (1,864 kW) as his baseline solution against a hybrid solution with a 2,500 hp diesel engine and 200 kWh battery as one alternative, and all-electric truck platforms equipped with trolley assist (with 800 kWh battery) and stationary charging (1,200 kWh battery).

The energy cost versus productivity outcome he showed proved his earlier point about different applications suiting different solutions, with varied results depending on if these trucks were deployed on downhill, uphill or flat hauls.

GE Transportation, since merged with Wabtec, has previously demonstrated a battery-diesel hybrid solution on a Komatsu 830E-1AC and Wabtec has plans to release trolley solutions for Komatsu 830E-5 and 930E-5 haul trucks in 2021, so this analysis includes hard industry data.

Dr Banerjee concluded on the decision-making aspect of going electric: “These are not just point in time decisions we have to make regarding the CAPEX and where we are in the lifecycle of the mine, but decisions across decades sometimes.

“Perhaps the best way to approach this would be to start with a technology that is more flexible up front or has more options.”

Brian Huff, Vice President of Technology for Artisan Vehicle Systems, a Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology business unit, used his presentation to reinforce that battery-powered solutions were the way forward in the underground environment.

‘Rethink the machine, not the mine’ was the title of his presentation and Huff stayed true to it from the off: “The basic message is that this is not as hard as you think it is. There is a real big change coming to the mining industry, but it may not be as difficult as you think to accomplish a conversion to battery-electric equipment.”

Similar to Hedqvist’s mention of the newfound freedom available to engineers when designing these next generation battery-electric machines, Huff explained that Artisan’s generation three BEV blueprint started with a battery-electric driveline and built from there.

“Major parts of the frame can be removed to facilitate swapping…[and you can have] double to triple the power density of the machine (compared with the diesel-powered equivalent) to improve performance,” he said.

He moved on to tackle the usual range anxiety question head on, displaying a video of a 13 km haul on a one-in-seven grade. Within this, he showed that the ability to swap batteries during the uphill haul meant there was no loss in haulage productivity when compared with the a similar payload diesel-powered machine.

The time losses related to battery swapping – around six minutes per swap with the Z50 – were more than offset by the increased haulage speed, according to Huff. “It is about 10% faster on the climb,” he said when comparing the BEV unit with a conventional diesel truck.

Productivity could be further boosted with the introduction of Artisan’s patented AutoConnect system. Fitted on the company and Sandvik’s newest 18 t payload LH518B LHD, this system allows the battery swap to be completed in well under five minutes, according to Huff. IM understands an AutoConnect retrofit option could allow the Z50 haul truck to match that swap time.

Add to this productivity benefit, decreases in operating cost and total cost of ownership, and it is hardly surprising Barrick recently signed off on a trial of four of these Z50s at its Turquoise Ridge joint venture gold mine in Nevada.

Safety, cost, maintenance, productivity and even battery life; you name it, The Electric Mine Virtual Conference discussed it.

The good news is a second dose of electrification talk is only four months away, with The Electric Mine 2021 conference taking place on March 15-16, 2021, in Stockholm, Sweden.

Epiroc’s battery-electric experience continues to expand as it targets retrofit market

Epiroc has been prepared to electrify the underground mining industry for more than 30 years, so it is no surprise its battery-electric solutions are now firmly taking hold in the sector.

Anders Hedqvist, Vice President of R&D at Epiroc’s Underground division, and Franck Boudreault, Electrification Transformation Lead for Epiroc’s Underground division, made this clear during The Electric Mine Virtual Conference, hosted by International Mining Events, yesterday.

In a presentation titled, ‘From one generation to the next – learnings from zero emission mining’, the pair discussed the evolution of the company’s battery-electric offering. While the company’s first Scooptram ST7 Battery was manufactured in 2013 (then under Atlas Copco), the electrified thinking started decades before this, according to Hedqvist.

“In the 1980s, we had the first [electric] concept available, but the market was not ready then,” he said.

The market is certainly receptive now, according to Boudreault.

“Initially, we had a relatively small market segment for these battery-powered vehicles; now, we’re much more into a global offering,” he said.

This has seen the company deliver battery-electric vehicles to six continents, he said, including North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

And, in the process, Epiroc has amassed more than 120,000 operating hours from battery-electric machines that include 7 t, 10 t and 14 t LHDs; 20 t and 42 t trucks; and a range of battery-electric mid-sized drilling equipment including face drilling, production drilling and rock reinforcement rigs. The company also offers a 4 t LHD to the Chinese market, and has plans to test an 18 t battery-electric LHD at the LKAB-led Sustainable Underground Mining (SUM) project, according to Hedqvist.

Looking at these numbers in more detail, it is clear to see the company’s electrification efforts have accelerated.

Back in November 2018 when the company launched its second generation of zero emission equipment, Epiroc said it had more 65,000 hours of battery-electric operations under its belt. It has almost doubled that amount in the space of two years.

This pace is expected to step up again in the future, with Boudreault saying the company is now taking aim at the retrofit market.

“We’re not only satisfied by selling new equipment; we have quite a huge fleet out in the world that has left our factory with a diesel engine,” he said. “What we are doing is creating conversion kits so machines can be converted from diesel to battery power out in the field, meaning we are actually reducing the utilisation of diesel in the mining industry in an active way.”

Helena Hedblom, President and CEO of Epiroc, told IM recently that the company had developed its first battery retrofit kit for a diesel-powered ST1030 LHD.

Boudreault was also keen to point out that Epiroc’s OEM-agnostic message extended to electrification of equipment outside of the company’s current offering.

“We don’t have all of the products that our customers may require, so we are partnering up with other companies that don’t have the strength of developing their own electrical solutions,” he said. “We are basically taking our (electric) solutions and putting them on other OEMs’ machines.”

After Boudreault concluded the presentation with the benefits that came with adopting the company’s battery-electric equipment – an up to 70% reduction in energy consumption and 10% boost in productivity – Hedqvist responded emphatically to a question about the potential for Epiroc’s third-generation machines: “The beauty with electrification is the sky is the limit in terms of what you can do, speaking freely.

“This is not only about batteries, but also about electric drive lines and technical solutions that can enable you to design a machine that is completely different to the design of the original diesel versions.”

As miners look to mineralisation at increasing depths to sustain operations, a major equipment design overhaul from one of the industry’s biggest OEMs could be just what is needed to generate an economic mine plan.