
“It is clear that the energy needs of modern mines simply cannot be met sustainably with diesel machinery alone. We work hand-in-hand with our clients and partners to convert existing mines from fossil fuel energy to all electric,” says Erik Pretorius, Head of Sales: Africa and Australia, ABB.
ABB Ability eMine makes the all-electric mine possible, with fully-integrated electrification and digital systems from mine to port, including a focus on supplying power to mining vehicles, with fit-for-purpose electrification. In addition, the solution integrates with ABB Ability applications to plan, monitor, and control processes to optimise operations and energy usage.
A key component of keeping the all-electric mine running is ensuring that the equipment performs when required and that trucks can charge when they need to. “We provide charging station solutions to meet the needs of modern mining operations and interface with all vehicles. eMine is vehicle type and OEM agnostic in that it supports an interoperable approach based on proven standards to provide any solution needed to charge battery electric vehicles (BEVs),” Erik adds.
Driving Energy Transition
A new pilot innovation known as ABB Ability eMine FastCharge is set to become the world’s fastest and only fully-automated charging system for haul trucks, offering up to 600kW of power. Designed for the harshest environments, this flexible system can be easily installed anywhere to charge a truck without human intervention, and at the highest power on the market today to minimise downtime.
The solution includes ABB Ability eMine Trolley System technology to reduce diesel consumption by up to 90% while haul trucks are on a trolley system, which also reduces energy costs and environmental impact. In addition, electrified trucks run at a higher speed for a better speed-on-grade. Current trolley technology is based on diesel hybrids and can be supported by ABB’s Trolley System to assist with the successful transition to an all-electric mine. The system is ideal for heavy-duty vehicles such as those used for inclined hauling, an application that battery-only solutions cannot cater for at present.