CanmetMINING’s battery electric vehicle team have been working to test the performance of new battery electric load haul and dump vehicles (LHDs) and compare them to conventional diesel-powered LHDs. This work began in 2021 when the team visited the New Afton Mine in British Colombia to study and collect data from both types of vehicles.
To test if battery electric LHDs could perform as well as their diesel equivalents, energy/fuel consumed and energy captured were measured during testing scenarios. Environmental measurements of dust and temperature were also collected to better inform the ventilation requirements needed for battery electric LHDs.
The results showed that both types of vehicles were able to move equivalent amounts of material in similar amounts of time. Studies such as this one are crucial for supporting mine electrification and decreasing the carbon emissions produced by mining. In order to fully implement an electric transition, we need data to understand and balance the supply of energy (battery size, charging strategy) and demand (production targets).
The results of these tests were presented at CIM MeMO in 2022 and then most recently published in April 2024 in the CIM journal. The full article and results can be accessed here.