Battery loaders go deeper as mines count the cost of ventilation
Removing diesel exhaust underground cuts one of a deep mine's largest energy bills, and battery loaders are finally big enough to do it.
In a deep underground mine, fresh air is expensive. Huge surface fans push air down shafts and through kilometres of tunnel, largely to dilute diesel exhaust from loaders and trucks. At some mines, ventilation accounts for close to half of total site electricity.
Oxbow's new UL18B battery loader carries 18 tonnes, putting it in the class that does most production mucking. The battery swaps in under ten minutes at an underground station, so the loader can run through a shift without a long charge.
A cooler mine
Battery machines also give off far less heat than diesels, which matters at depth where rock temperatures can exceed 50°C. Mines planning new levels are starting to design smaller ventilation systems on the assumption that the loader fleet will be electric.
“We're not buying battery loaders to save fuel. We're buying them so we don't have to sink another ventilation shaft.”
- Underground mining
- Battery electric
- Ventilation
