Electrification for a Sustainable Future: Workshop

Fossil fuels are expensive and limited resources and have been proven to pose health hazards. Electric mining technologies offer multiple advantages:

• A safer work environment• Reduced energy costs• Minimized environmental impacts• Enhanced productivity, efficiency, and performance

While there are many benefits, there are also multiple challenges that come with them, including energy consumption modelling, operational and infrastructure adaptations, and change management.

Industry Guidance

As battery technologies advance, many companies are seeing the benefits of adopting battery electric vehicles in underground mining operations to achieve goals such as carbon reduction, improving the working environment, and mining at greater depths.

The GMG Guideline on Recommended Practices for Battery Electric Vehicles in Underground Mining, published a few months ago, describes recommended practices for the use of battery electric vehicles in underground mining. Its intent is to provide guidance and an overall discussion about the benefits, drawbacks, and planning needed to design and implement a battery electric vehicle fleet within an existing or new mine. It aims to strike an appropriate balance between standardization and innovation by providing key considerations, questions to ask, and guidance on where to look for further information.

This guideline comprises seven core sections:

• Mine design• Vehicle design• Energy storage systems• Charging systems and methods• Types of charging and connection interfaces• Performance standards

Workshop focus

Though version 3 of the guideline published a few short months ago, this workshop is an opportunity to start discussing what further guidance is needed on this topic. For example, a need for greater information on battery safety, fire safety and battery design; chargers and protection levels for lithium batteries; calculating and comparing total cost of ownership for BEVs; and more.

Let’s discuss your needs and challenges to identify what areas you are looking for more guidance on to help determine future collaboration work on electrification.

Where

Norcat office – 1545 Maley Drive, Sudbury, ON P3A 4R7

When

September 30, 2022 | 8:30am-12:00pm EDT

Register here

MINING TRANSFORMED

While the GMG workshop is being hosted at NORCAT, the organization is also hosting Mining Transformed, the world’s first underground tech exhibition in an operating mine, where you will be able to see and touch the future of the mining industry. A variety of emerging tech companies will be conducting live demonstrations of their technology products and / or services underground, on surface, or within their innovation centre facilities at the NORCAT Underground Centre.  To learn more about the event and view confirmed participating tech exhibitors, please visit https://miningtransformed.norcat.org/. 

Mining Transformed tickets are limited and available by invitation only. Click here to register before tickets sell out. GMG has partnered with NORCAT to offer our members an exclusive 50% discount to attend the event. To take advantage of your 50% discount, please use the promo-code MINING50 at checkout to complete your purchase.