Majors launch mine electrification initiative

Iron ore majors BHP, Rio Tinto and Vale have launched a global competition for tech innovators, aimed at developing new concepts to electrify the mining industry’s substantial haul truck fleet.

The Charge on Innovation Challenge, formed in partnership with mining equipment, technology, and services (METS) industry body Austmine, is seeking new concepts to electricity large-scale electric haul trucks, in a bid to reduce emissions from surface mine operations and improve operations.

In a joint announcement today, the companies said current stationary charging systems required substantial time to charge haul trucks, which resulted in significantly lowered productivity.

The solution, they said, would be multi-megawatt scale fast charging concepts capable of delivering about 400 kilowatt-hours to charge and propel a truck within the truck’s haul cycle (load, travel, dump, return, and queue).

Austmine chief executive Christine Gibbs Stewart said METS and miners were united on the goal to reduce emissions across the supply chain.

“With 80 per cent of METS companies supplying products and services outside mining, the Challenge [competition] leverages the experience and innovation of industries in the automotive, battery makers, aerospace, defence and other sectors,” she said.

“We are confident that we will find a solution to the delivery of electricity to trucks in the complex operating environment of a large surface mine.

“We expect the Challenge will attract companies from a broad range of sectors… to deliver selected charging concepts to create to create a standard product that can interface with all trucks.”

BHP’s Australian president Edgar Basto said he expected the competition to stimulate new innovative ideas – some of which could be immediately applied to diesel-electric equipment – and fast-track the implementation of longer-term solutions.

“We understand that these challenges will not be solved overnight, but together we can find the best concepts that can be applied across the industry,” he said.

Rio Tinto’s executive of safety, technical and projects, Mark Davies, said the competition called on innovators to change the way haul truck systems operated in the mining sector.

“Innovation is the key to decarbonisation, and we expect the Challenge will deliver exciting new concepts that could drive huge long-term benefits for our industry and the environment,” he said.

“Partnerships and collaborations across a diverse range of sectors can drive significant technological change.

“This is an important, industry-wide approach that has potential to create new jobs and opportunities for suppliers, both globally and locally.”

Vale ferrous engineering director Carlos Mello said mine electrification required considerable integration between mine planning and operations.

“We need to develop new charging solutions that can be incorporated into our operations in parallel to the development of battery trucks, to ensure we create a truly sustainable electric haulage system in all aspects – clean, competitive and flexible,” he said.

Expressions of interest for the Charge on Innovation Challenge will open on May 18, with short-listed candidates expected to pitch their concepts later in the year.