A mining services company introduced electric storage technology to its heavy machinery fleet at two operations.
Byrnecut Group recently ordered six battery-powered loaders at OZ Minerals’ Prominent Hill and Carrapateena mines.
The group procured the 18 tonne, left-hand drive units from Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions – which installed Automine equipment automation and teleoperation systems.
They are promised to require fewer replacement parts and less frequent servicing, resulting in “major cost savings”. They are also promised to generate no underground exhaust emissions and less heat than traditional diesel engines.
“Eliminating emissions from loaders from the underground environment helps us create a better workplace, as does AutoMine technology that enables operators to work from comfortable remote control rooms,” Byrnecut asset manager Max Woods said in a public statement.
“We are expecting the loaders to provide greater throughput in both manual and automated modes while delivering a similar total cost of ownership per tonne delivered to their predecessors.”
The loaders will be delivered sometime in the years 2023 and 2024.
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