Two heavy duty electric vehicles head underground in Victoria gold mine trial

At a gold-mining operation east of Bendigo, sandwiched between dense hills of Ironbark and the gentle twists of the Campaspe river, two brightly coloured vehicles that make almost no sound are about to be sent underground.

The two vehicles, a cheerful red Sandvik Battery Electric Loader and a vivid turquoise Rokion R400 crew carrier, are among the first fully-electric mining vehicles in Australia, joining the likes of the world’s largest battery-electric underground mining truck, which went underground at AngloGold Ashanti Australia’s Sunrise Dam gold mine in WA in May this year.

Over the next year they’ll be trialled by Agnico Eagle, the parent company of the Fosterville Gold Mine, with the goal of transitioning to an electric mining vehicle fleet in the future, if all goes to plan.

Heavy-duty mining equipment can run on battery-power, too

The initiative was launched in August and announced in a press conference this week at the mine by Federal Member for Bendigo Lisa Chesters alongside Minister for Climate Change Chris Bowen and the Fosterville Gold Mine’s general manager, Lance Faulkner.

The Fosterville mine is the first on Australia’s East Coast, and third in the world, to trial the Sandvik LH518B underground loader, which will be used much like conventional mining loaders to move material and clear rubble. The Rokion R400 on the other hand is a nine-seater crew carrier that will help ferry mining employees underground.

The mining sector has a long, dirty history in Australia, both in terms of carbon emissions and environmental damage. But mining is also a crucial cornerstone of Australia’s economy.

It’s crucial, too, for the transition to renewables, since many of the core components of batteries and other renewable electricity infrastructure come from metals and minerals buried deep underground. These include lithium, a key component of the lithium-ion batteries most EVs rely on, and Australia is the world’s largest lithium producer. It’s essential, then, that the sector cleans up its act.

Three key benefits of going electric in mines

According to Agnico Eagle, using EVs for mining has three key benefits. Firstly, the vehicles produce no direct carbon emissions. Secondly, they produce far less heat than diesel-powered mining vehicles, keeping conditions within the mine better for workers and reducing the need for energy-consumptive ventilation within the mine – a major carbon emissions source and key area identified as a target for emissions reduction in the sector.

Finally, the vehicles produce less noise and vibration, improving working conditions for drivers and miners – that’s important, because hearing loss is one of the biggest occupational hazards for long-time mine workers.

The Sandvik LH518B is an 18-tonne loader with the dimensions of a conventional 14-metric-tonne diesel loader, meaning it packs more loading power into a tighter space. It runs on a lithium-iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery, which offers a longer lifespan, lower maintenance and improved charge and discharge efficiency than most other lithium batteries. According to Sandvik, it comes with an easily relocatable charging system that can move as operations move.

The Rokion R400 crew carrier is similarly fitted with an LiFePO4 battery and a smart charging system that detects any problems in the battery pack and can shut itself down if necessary.

Climate, health and safety

“As a company, we’re committed to exploring new technologies to further enhance our extensive health and safety programs and to fully integrate sustainability into everything we do,” said Faulkner.

“And so, we’re delighted to be putting the LH518B into service at Fosterville. We’re interested to see just what kind of difference it can make in terms of efficiency and the underground working environment, and we look forward to working closely with Sandvik.”

Faulkner says the trial is a small first step towards what will hopefully one day become a more tangible, industry-wide change, with the Sandvik loader currently making up one of the company’s seven-strong loader fleet.

“It’s part of the journey, and this is our first key step in the journey,” he said. “So, having the Sandvik Loader on site and the Rokion nine-seater vehicle is all about that – starting the journey, trialling new equipment to see how effective and efficient they are in our work environment, and then look to how we build our mines for the future.”

Faulkner says the vehicles will be trialled underground over the next year under the same operating conditions that the mine’s traditional diesel mining vehicles work under, with their performance assessed and any flaws or faults identified before the vehicles come into standard use.

“Over that period we’ll understand what works for us and what we need the manufacturers to look at for the future,” he said.

Despite the move to decarbonise the mine’s vehicle fleet, the Fosterville Gold Mine’s CO2 emissions have risen steadily since 2018 according to the mine’s most recent sustainability reports published by its previous parent company Kirkland Gold (which has since merged with Agnico Eagle).

“This is just one small part of our overall plan to deal with carbon emissions,” said Faulkner. “And for us, the use of battery electrical equipment will enable us to reduce our ventilation within the mine, and that will have a huge impact on our overall carbon footprint.”

Climate emergency, or golden opportunity?

Minister Bowen said he hoped the trial will be replicated across Australia, and said the government would be willing to consider co-investing in EVs of this type, like the $A2.8 million loader, as part of the Albanese government’s new Powering the Regions Fund.

“I’d like to see vehicles like this in mines all across Australia,” Bowen said. “Many companies are making the big investments themselves. For some companies they’ll need a little bit of assistance in co-investment along the way. And that’s what those funds are there for.”

Similar initiatives at small-scale are already rolling out in other mines across Australia, including Zero Automotive’s battery-electric mining Ute which, as of August 2022, had six units in production and two already in operation at OZ Minerals’ Carrapateen gold mine in South Australia.

Minister Bowen also said he hoped the electric vehicle sector would become Australia’s golden opportunity to accelerate, and cash in on, the transition away from fossil fuels.

“I’ve said many times that the world’s climate emergency is Australia’s jobs opportunity,” Bowen said. “Perhaps I could say the world’s climate emergency is Australia’s gold mine, because we have a lot to contribute.

“We are the world’s largest source of many critical minerals and rare earths that are absolutely necessary for batteries and for the renewable energy technology. Mining is absolutely essential for the change to our Net-Zero Economy.”