First new all-electric mine dumps diesel; cuts costs, pollution

Nouveau Monde Graphite

21/06/2018 16:51

By Susan Taylor and Barbara Lewis
    CHAPLEAU, Ontario/LONDON, June 21 (Reuters) - Hundreds of
feet below thick boreal forest blanketing the Canadian Shield, a
squad of near-silent, battery-powered machines are tunneling
toward gold in a multimillion-dollar mining experiment to ditch
diesel.
    Goldcorp Inc  G.TO   GG.N  is building the world's first new
all-electric mine, a high-stakes gambit to replace noisy,
fume-belching equipment being closely watched by a
diesel-dependent industry.
    A rough-hewn tunnel, some 800 feet underground, seems an
incongruous setting for revolutionary technology, but front-line
workers call it a game changer.
    "It would be a challenge to go back," said jumbo drill
operator Adam Ladouceur, noting the air quality and lack of
noise at the Borden project, northwest of Toronto, is "amazing"
compared to the 23 mines where he previously worked.
    Stung by a multi-year slump in commodity prices that began
recovering in 2016, miners remain desperate to keep operating
costs down. Going electric could slash energy expenses, while
reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
    Borden will save about $9 million annually on diesel,
propane and electricity. Productivity gains are also possible,
from equipment that can keep working while gas from dynamite
blasting clears, for example.
    Electric equipment should help keep mine workers healthier.
Studies show an elevated cancer risk for underground miners
exposed to diesel exhaust, classified as carcinogenic by the
World Health Organization. 
    Health issues are "a big problem" and particularly acute in
long-running underground mines with older equipment, said
IndustriALL Global Union director Brian Kohler. 
    Beyond Borden's battery-powered scoops and vehicles,
underground workers will wear tags linked to a
ventilation-on-demand system, moving air only where needed.
    Going electric carries a 25-30 percent premium on equipment,
but could halve the cost of energy-hungry ventilation, which "is
like trying to have air conditioning in an enormous old house
with leaks," said Goldcorp vice-president John Mullally.
    When commercial production on the 100,000-ounce-per-year
mine starts in the second half of 2019, further savings could
come from lower maintenance costs, said project manager Luc
Joncas, noting diesel machines typically have 1,000 more parts
than electric.
    
    "STONE-AGE TECHNOLOGIES NOT SEXY"
    Borden is set up so that it could someday be remotely
controlled, joining a handful of automated mines around the
world. 
    Automation is taking off in mining, but electrification is
lagging, said Patrick Murphy, a president at Sandvik AB
 SAND.ST , supplying electric mining equipment to Borden.
     That is because old mines can be retrofit to add automated
elements, like robots, quite efficiently, while full payback
from all-electric operations requires customization of
new-builds. 
    Still, it has not been easy planning around Borden's
challenges, including a long, steep road that will extend 4
kilometers (2.5 mile) into the mine.
    To help power its 40-ton electric trucks, which cannot run a
full shift hauling ore out of the mine without recharging,
Sandvik is developing a fast-charge system, expected in 2020.
    Goldcorp still needs to truck material to its processing
plant, two hours away, and is studying alternatives to diesel
vehicles.
    Today, a trickle of fully electric mines are planned. 
    Diesel still makes economic sense at big open pit
operations, where there is no ventilation savings and vehicles
need big batteries that eat into haulage space.
    As the world's near-surface mines are depleted, production
is moving deeper underground, where high temperatures and
ventilation costs make diesel impractical.
    Early this year, global miners Glencore  GLEN.L  and Vale
 VALE3.SA  approved projects more than 5,000 feet below ground
in Sudbury's nickel belt. Nouveau Monde Graphite  NOU.V  aims to
build the first all-electric surface mine in Quebec.
    Mining companies may find that going electric appeals to the
millennials needed to replace an aging workforce, said Michel
Serres, a vice president at mine supplier ABB Ltd  ABBN.S .
    "Mining needs a revolution to avoid retention or employment
issues," said Serres. "Working with stone-age technologies is
not sexy for technicians or engineers coming out of school."

 (Reporting by Susan Taylor in Chapleau, Ontario and Barbara
Lewis in London; Editing by David Gregorio)
 ((susan.taylor1@thomsonreuters.com; +1 416 941 8083; Reuters
Messaging: susan.taylor1.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))