Tag Archives: Onaping Depth

Epiroc records ‘best quarter ever for electrification’

Automation, Environmental, Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, Mining finance, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In a quarter of record revenues and adjusted operating margin, Epiroc’s battery-electric equipment orders and market demand for electrified mining solutions again came to the fore.

The company posted revenues of SEK11.9 billion ($1.2 billion) in the June quarter, 22% up on the same three-month period of a year ago. Its adjusted operating margin came in at 23.6%, compared with 22.6% a year earlier.

Epiroc’s aftermarket division continued to dominate the balance sheet, accounting for 73% of revenues, which itself was up on the 69% registered in the June quarter of 2021.

Included within this revenue is the company’s growing mid-life battery retrofit solution, which it launched last year to provide a second electrified life for its diesel-powered machines. Able to convert existing machines to battery-electric versions, CEO Helena Hedblom said the offering continued to find favour with existing mining customers.

“With brownfield operations, there are great opportunities to bring battery-electric solutions into the fleet with our retrofit option when, for example, existing diesel-powered machines go in for their mid-life upgrades,” she said.

To this point, the company has devised readily available battery-electric retrofit options for its diesel-powered Scooptram ST1030, Scooptram ST14 and Minetruck MT436 machines, but Hedblom said the company was working on offering this option across its entire diesel-powered fleet, with the machine retrofit rollout plan determined by the size of the installed base in the marketplace.

The company also won several major equipment contracts in the June quarter that included battery-electric solutions.

Its electric machines are set to feature on major projects such as Odyssey and Onaping Depth in Canada. Closer to home in Sweden, the Epiroc battery-electric fleet will grow at LKAB’s underground iron ore operations and Boliden is set to use several of zero-emission truck and loaders at numerous mine sites.

Epiroc labelled Q2 as its “best quarter ever for electrification”, and Hedblom was equally effusive about the company’s offering, saying it was built for both greenfield and brownfield mines.

“We have a strong position in the electrification market; both for equipment sales, retrofit and electrical infrastructure,” she said.

The company’s infrastructure proposition was strengthened during the quarter with the acquisition of JTMEC, an Australia-based company specialising in providing mines with electrical infrastructure.

This comes on top of the company’s recent purchase of Meglab, a Canada-based company with expertise in providing electrification infrastructure solutions to mines, meaning it has electrification infrastructure expertise in two major mining hubs.

One of the battery-electric orders received during the most recent three-month period was from Boliden for the Rävliden, Kristineberg and Renström mine sites in northern Sweden. Included within this order was an Scooptram ST18 Battery that, the company previously confirmed, will include the incorporation of Scooptram Automation, representing one of the first times these battery-backed machines will receive an automation upgrade.

While a solution for automating the battery charging or swapping process remains some way off, Hedblom sees the convergence of the two – electrification and automation – getting closer in the future.

“Electrification and automation go hand in hand, with companies that are high on electrification also typically being high on automation,” she said.

MacLean details battery-electric vehicle order for Glencore’s Onaping Depth

Base metals, Environmental, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, Power supply for mines, , , , ,

With the Onaping Depth Project in Ontario, Canada, advancing towards production, MacLean has announced that its battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) have been selected by Glencore’s Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations (Glencore Sudbury INO) as one of the mobile equipment suppliers for this deep mine under the existing Craig Mine in Onaping, a longtime base metals mining hub in the Greater Sudbury region.

These details follow on from an announcement from Peter Xavier, Vice PresidentGlencore, Sudbury Operations, announcing the fleet details at the ‘BEV In-Depth: Mines to Mobility’ conference in Sudbury, late last month.

The MacLean BEV fleet at Onaping will consist of support units across the mining vehicle categories of explosives charging, secondary reduction, shotcrete spraying, concrete transport and utility vehicles, MacLean said.

MacLean launched its EV SeriesTM product line in 2016 and, since that time, the company has gone on to design, manufacture and commission over 40 pieces of mobile mining equipment in five provinces across Canada, as well one state in the United States and one BEV unit recently shipped to South Africa for trialling in that country’s mining sector.

Collectively, the MacLean full-fleet electrification solution has amassed over 120,000 working hours underground. Connecting the mining cycle to the battery cycle with the right amount of best-in-class battery, on-board charging and vehicle telemetry technology has allowed the company to rapidly progress its product development and introduction of MacLean BEVs into the industry, for customers looking to maximise the operational benefits of a diesel-free mining.

“The 100-plus employees at the MacLean service and support branch in Sudbury, along with the underground Research & Training Facility just down the road in Lively, are an integral part of the economy in Sudbury and this local footprint will be a cornerstone for our project support to Glencore Sudbury INO across the life of this mine,” Stella Holloway, MacLean Vice President of Northern Ontario Operations, said. “Onaping Depth is an example to the mining world for how to successfully develop and operate a diesel-free, deep mine, so we are keenly aware of the high bar that has been set and are excited to step up and ensure the success of the MacLean EV Series fleet as it contributes to the wider success of the Glencore project as whole.”

MacLean President, Kevin MacLean, said: “We are deeply honoured to be chosen by Glencore Sudbury INO as one of the mobile equipment suppliers for this keystone project, as they advance towards production. I spent my early years growing up in Levack, when my father was working underground as a Division Foreman at the former Levack Mine, so this BEV fleet sale to Onaping Depth has special meaning for me. MacLean is committed to doing its part to ensuring the success of this project, as the entire mining world looks on.”

Glencore’s ‘net-zero emissions’ 2050 pathway includes use of BEVs

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Glencore has become the latest mining major to plot a path to reach “net-zero emissions”, with a plan that includes the use of battery-electric vehicles at one of its underground operations in Canada and renewable power at its South Africa ferroalloy sites.

The company has committed to reducing its total emissions footprint – Scope 1, 2 and 3 – by 40% by 2035 compared with 2019 levels, with an ambition of achieving “net zero” on its total emissions footprint by 2050.

It says it will achieve this by managing its operational (Scope 1 and 2) footprint; reducing Scope 3 emissions through investing in its metals portfolio, reducing its coal production and supporting deployment of low-emission technologies; allocating capital to prioritise “transition metals”; collaborating to enable greater use of low-carbon metals and support progress towards technological solutions; supporting uptake and integration of “abatement”; using technology to improve resource use efficiency; and taking a transparent approach to its sustainability reporting.

Ivan Glasenberg, Glencore Chief Executive Officer, said: “A significant portion of Glencore’s earnings is derived from the metals and minerals that enable the transition to a low-carbon economy. As the world prioritises renewable technologies, battery storage and electric mobility, our business is well-positioned to meet the growing demand for the commodities that underpin these future-focused industries. Our ambition to be a net zero total emissions company by 2050 reflects our commitment to contribute to the global effort to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.”

Getting down to specifics, Glencore, in a supporting presentation, singled out its ferroalloys business. These operations, in South Africa, represent the highest Scope 1 and 2 emitting industrial business within Glencore.

The company said it had set a specific target of a 10% reduction of its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2025 based on a 2016 baseline as part of the “broader Glencore commitment”.

It said the business was currently investigating the feasibility of working with a third-party independent power purchaser for the installation and supply of around 400 MW of renewable power, with the potential to reduce Scope 2 emission by some 1.17 Mt/y.

Glencore said its Rhovan open-pit mine and smelter complex, which mainly produces ferrovanadium and vanadium pentoxide, was, furthermore, working on a potential community involvement project to install a solar farm on-site that will deliver 11 MW for nearly nine hours a day at 80% efficiency.

“The ferroalloys business is also investigating a number of projects to convert waste gas into power at its smelters,” it added. This most likely includes the work it is carrying out with Swedish Stirling and its container-based PWR BLOK 400-F energy recycling solutions.

Looking to the uptake of new technologies to speed up its decarbonisation transition, Glencore referenced its Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations, in Canada, and, specifically, its Onaping Depth project.

This deep nickel-copper mine includes the construction of a winze from the 1,200 m level laterally off the workings of Craig mine to access some 14 Mt of ore 2,500 m from surface. Currently under development, it has been designed to utilise state of the art battery-electric mobile mining equipment, maximised real-time remote operation, and monitoring and management utilising advanced Wi-Fi systems, Glencore said.

The benefits of using such technology include the elimination of diesel emissions and the reduction of noise pollution.

“The design includes the use of innovative ventilation technology, with cooling systems designed to be energy efficient, while coping with ambient rock temperatures that can reach 400°C at depth,” Glencore said.

On battery-electric vehicle technology, specifically, the company said it expects these zero-emission vehicles to play an increasingly important role in underground operations. It added: “going forward, new mines will look to utilise this technology”.

Glencore previously tested a proof-of-concept battery-electric vehicle trial based on the Cat R1300G LHD at one of its Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations’ underground mines, which could have helped form the basis for the application of this technology at Onaping Depth.

After this trial, the company said: “Through using electric vehicles, Onaping Depth is expected to reduce its energy usage by 44% for ventilation systems and by 30% for cooling equipment, compared to an equivalent diesel-fuelled operation.

“Using EVs, Sudbury INO’s new mine will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 44% and deliver considerable cost savings through reduced fuel and energy usage.”