It’s only a few weeks till The Electric Mine 2022 face to face conference kicks off in Stockholm, Sweden. The event looks at mine electrification on both the underground and open pit fronts; and Gold Sponsor Komatsu Mining has confirmed two in-depth presentations, covering how mining companies can action their zero emissons targets on the ground with their surface mining fleets. In August 2021, Komatsu announced it has teamed up with several of its customers to form the Komatsu Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Alliance – namely Rio Tinto, BHP, Codelco and Boliden.
Through the alliance framework, Komatsu’s GHG partners will work directly with Komatsu to actively collaborate on product planning, development, testing and deployment of the next generation of zero-emission mining equipment and infrastructure. The alliance’s initial target is advancing Komatsu’s power-agnostic truck concept for a haulage vehicle that can run on a variety of power sources including diesel-electric, electric, trolley (wired), battery power and even hydrogen fuel cells.
First up at the conference we have Don Lindell, Komatsu Ltd Director, GHG Alliance and Sustainability, presenting Developing Practical Strategies for Zero-Emission Open-Pit Mining. He told IM that creating a customised strategy for zero-emission success requires collaboration with people further along in the journey. In this presentation, he will discuss building a “Discovery to Deployment” framework for planning and analysis that can transform a green mining vision from reverie to reality. “Each step gathers information from external and internal experts through a series of milestones for decision making and action. Through this process, you can guide your strategy development and achieve your vision.”
Swedish mining major Boliden recently commissioned an electric PC7000 Komatsu excavator at its Aitik copper mine in Sweden, with a second unit set to be delivered in 2023. The loaders complement a fleet of 290 t Komatsu 930E-5 trucks at the mine which are in the process of being AHS-enabled. Not only that, Boliden operates the world’s largest wheel loader – the 38 m3 bucket L-2350 – at the operation, which is equipped with an integrated SR Hybrid Drive system for the lowest possible fuel consumption levels. The operation also runs Komatsu P&H 4100XPC electric rope shovels, some of the world’s largest, with a 45 m3 bucket.