dynaCERT Inc says that its dealer H2 Tek LP has provided an update on sales of dynaCERT’s proprietary HydraGEN™ technology to several Tier 1 players in the global mining industry. The patented technology creates hydrogen and oxygen on-demand through a unique electrolysis system and supplies these gases through the air intake to enhance combustion, resulting in lower carbon emissions and greater fuel efficiency.

Zinc miner Nexa Resources, with six mines and three smelters in Brazil and Peru has purchased four HG1s for highway transport haul trucks in Brazil and six HG2 Units on three trucks in Peru with double HG2s per vehicle for trials, which successfully demonstrated the benefits of the HydraGEN technology to the satisfaction of Nexa Resources.

Global iron ore and zinc miner Vale has purchased from H2 Tek four HG6C HydraGEN™ Units for a single large diesel power generator to be installed at the remote Voisey’s Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador nickel mine to be used on a 4.5 MW generator. Copper mining giant Codelco and H2 Tek have completed a successful pilot of two HG6C HydraGEN™ units on large Komatsu 930E haul trucks at the Division Ministro Hales (DMH) mine in Calama, Chile.

Antamina, one of the largest mines in the world, and the largest Peruvian producer of copper concentrate, has purchased from H2 Tek three HG6C HydraGEN™ Units to be installed in large mining haul trucks. The Collahuasi copper mine in Chile (Anglo American 44%, Glencore 44%) has also said it is looking at the technology for its mining trucks.

Over the past two years, dynaCERT says it has received input from its dealers and customers and the larger HydraGEN™ Technology Units, the HG4C and HG6C, have been significantly modified and improved. The HG4C and HG6C Units are designed to meet the growing need and demand for improved fuel efficiency along with a significant reduction in GHGs of resources companies

Joao Araujo, Partner at H2 Tek, stated: “At H2 Tek, we are committed to helping our clients complete their projects in a safe, profitable, and environmentally sustainable manner. With a focus on mining, forestry, agriculture and power generation, we are pleased to support our clients in providing the products and infrastructure that people need while reducing the environmental footprint, fuel consumption and maintenance costs for all diesel equipment. The HydraGEN™ Technology of dynaCERT helps us meet our ESG goals and will contribute as a major step forward in reducing GHGs.“

Ed Cordeiro, Director of Sales, Americas, of dynaCERT, stated: “As global diesel prices soar, dynaCERT continues to serve the mining sector in Canada and internationally, as well as the forestry industry and private sector users of internal combustion engines in the construction industry. Our products help users to achieve sustainability and reduce global Greenhouse Gas Emissions. I applaud the clients of H2 Tek for their vision and commitment to contributing to a greener planet by reducing emissions.”

Dry-type transformer specialist Trafo Power Solutions has recently been given a ‘hill to climb’ in terms of design and logistics with a request to supply three units to an underground gold mine in South Africa.

The mine required the transformers to operate in the usual demanding conditions of dust, moisture and heat, according to Trafo Power Solutions Managing Director, David Claassen. However, there were a range of other challenges – not least the weight and height restrictions of a deep mine. While two of the transformers are relatively small – 250 kVA and 630 kVA – the third is a substantial 3,150 kVA.

“The transformers are to operate at about 1 km below surface, and will have to be transported through both an incline shaft and vertical shaft,” Claassen says. “Especially with the larger unit, we had to work very closely with our Italian technology partner TMC to reach a design that could be moved within these constraints.”

Trafo Power Solutions also designed the enclosures locally in a manner that would allow them to be transported in manageable components before being re-assembled underground. The enclosure design had to ensure that, while dust and moisture were kept out, there was still enough air circulation to cool the unit. The dry-type transformers will be supplying loads for a refrigeration plant.

“Trafo Power Solutions conducted the complete designs, which were then verified and vetted by TMC,” Claassen says. “This quality control is central to our approach in ensuring fit-for-purpose solutions.”

He emphasised that the design and manufacture of the units was carried out according to schedule and they are on track to be supplied within the customer’s required timeframes.

“On-time supply is an increasingly important aspect of success for mining companies,” he says. “Mines’ capital expenditure is planned according to the expected returns on any project, and supplier delays can undermine these forecasts.”

Trafo Power Solutions also designed the specialised skid bases for the transformers, to facilitate moving the units to their operating destination. These accommodate the considerable weight of the units, particularly the 10-t mass of the large 3,150 kVA unit.

Delivery of the transformers is expected to take place by the end of the year, with Trafo Power Solutions supervising the installation and commissioning process.

Michelin North America, Inc has launched MICHELIN MEMS Lite, it’s newest offer in connected tyres for surface mining and quarry vehicles. MICHELIN MEMS Lite is an entry-level tyre MEMS solution that combines Michelin’s proven liquid-proof sensors to deliver periodic tyre pressure and temperature readings. Tyre sensors are mounted inside the tyres, where data is captured periodically as vehicles drive by fixed reading stations strategically located at the mine site. The data is then sent remotely to connected devices through a local server or secure cloud server.

“As part of Michelin Better Mining, we strive to provide the mining industry with innovative services and solutions, beyond the tyre, that add value for users. We designed this new entry-level MEMS offer to meet the needs of customers who want to start using a TPMS with basic features to improve their operations,” said Hugo Morales, Mining MEMS business development manager. “We found that miners running 100-150 ton trucks were looking for a simple, robust plug-and-play solution with alerts sent to their mobile devices should an issue arise, which will be supported by a trusted technical network.”

MICHELIN MEMS Lite requires no hardware installation on trucks. It is an easy-to-install and operate tyre monitoring solution that adds both safety and savings to operations, giving operators better control of their equipment and making it a budget-friendly solution for mine owners. Michelin says MEMS Lite helps mine operators:

• Strengthen safety by monitoring tyre pressure and temperature remotely, keeping personnel at a safe distance from equipment.
• Save on budget by extending the life of the tyres and reducing unplanned maintenance. Tyre budgets represent up to 20% of maintenance costs for equipment fleets. For tyre budgets of $1,000,000 annually, a TPMS can deliver annual savings up to $200,000
• Increase productivity by keeping machines running through improved tyre data

As a result, mine operators can drive performance and elevate mine operations to the next level. “One of our primary goals is to provide the mining industry with multiple options to help owners and operators achieve maximum efficiency within their budgets. We designed this new entry-level unit to meet the needs of customers who want to start using a TPMS with basic features to improve their operations,” said Sarah Robinson, Regional Segment Manager, Michelin North America. “With costs being an ever-increasing concern for the mines today, Michelin feels that the MEMS Lite will ultimately increase efficiency and at the same time help lower costs. It’s a win-win for the mines.”

MEMS Lite is easily upgraded to MEMS4, as they both use the same platform and communication protocols that are currently available in North America.

US-based bulk material processing and handling systems specialist, Superior Industries Inc, is planning to showcase more than 250 tons (227 t) of products at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada, in March, with at least eight of the products representing brand new launches.

Included among this new product offering is an expanded cone crusher portfolio, with two brand-new cone models introduced and shown alongside Superior’s Patriot® Bushing Cone.

Superior explained: “First, the Dakota™ Bearing Cone, which will earn credibility for its efficient use of horsepower per tonne, a straightforward lubrication system, and a wide range of liner profiles. The other new cone crusher will be called the Endeavor™ Spider Bushing Cone. Operationally, it’s an uncomplicated design that accepts a wide range of feed sizes with an adjustable stroke for fine tuning.”

Superior also plans to display its Liberty® Jaw, Valor® VSI, and Sentry® HSI crushers.

In addition to this, Superior plans to debut a new quick-to-erect modular wash plant.

According to Superior, its increasingly broad portfolio of Fusion® Modular Platforms are a good match for aggregate producers seeking semi-static plants that are easy to install and maintain with a more economical price tag than portable plants or design-build projects. On display, the company plans to erect a 8 x 20 ft (2.4 m x 6.1 m), three-deck Guardian® Horizontal Wet Screen Fusion Platform with an Aggredry® Dewatering Screen attached to one of the discharge points.

In 2023, it will mark the eighth time Superior will display its famed TeleStacker® Conveyor (pictured) at CONEXPO-CON/AGG – and each show there is new technology to showcase and new success stories to share. With radial travel, variable height and a telescopic conveyor, TeleStacker Conveyors stockpile material in a way that overcomes material segregation. This show, Superior will display a 42 in (1.06 m) x 170 ft (52 m) XTP Swing Axle model with a working automation panel that visitors can interact with in the booth.

Lastly, Superior will display a wide variety of its own conveyor components, with the manufacturer planning to show more than three dozen individual idlers, pulleys, scrapers and other conveyor accessories. New products include a redesigned line of Exterra® Belt Cleaners with some brand-new options, a modular Load Zone Skirting System for dust and spillage control, and unique Application-Specific Idler Bearing Seals for longer-lasting idlers in demanding conditions.

BHP has submitted a revised non-binding indicative proposal to the Board of OZ Minerals Limited (OZL) that, subject to a successful four-week due dilligence period, could see the major miner acquire the mid-tier base metal-focused miner.

The offer to acquire 100% of OZ Minerals by way of a scheme of arrangement for a cash price of A$28.25/share ($18.9/share) is a 13% increase on the offer BHP previously put forwad and was rejected by the OZ Minerals Board. It, according to BHP, represents the best and final price the mining major is willing to offer under, in the absence of a competing proposal.

The OZ Minerals Board has confirmed to BHP that it intends to unanimously recommend the revised proposal to OZ Minerals shareholders as being in their best interests in the absence of a superior proposal, subject to the parties entering into a binding scheme implementation agreement (SIA) following completion of BHP’s confirmatory due diligence and an independent expert concluding that the revised proposal is in the best interests of OZ Minerals shareholders, it said.

The proposed transaction, valuing OZ Minerals at an enterprise value of A$9.6 billion, is expected to deliver significant value creation for both BHP and OZ Minerals shareholders, BHP says, explaining that OZ Minerals shareholders would receive an offer price significantly above trading levels and average broker price targets, prior to BHP’s initial proposal on August 5, 2022. At the same time, BHP shareholders would gain increased exposure to future-facing commodities, adding copper and nickel resources that are essential to support the global megatrends of decarbonisation and electrification.

The deal would also create a South Australian copper basin, which, according to BHP, could unlock potential operational synergies due to the proximity of OZ Minerals’ Carrapateena and Prominent Hill operations with BHP’s existing Olympic Dam asset (pictured) and Oak Dam development resource.

The West Musgrave project, meanwhile, will add a large greenfield nickel option to BHP’s Nickel West premier nickel sulphide resource position in Western Australia.

BHP has now entered into a Confidentiality and Exclusivity Deed with OZ Minerals in relation to the revised proposal. This has seen OZ Minerals grant BHP four weeks to undertake exclusive confirmatory due diligence and negotiate a binding SIA reflecting the key terms of the revised proposal. The four-week period is expected to commence on or around November 21, 2022.

BHP CEO, Mike Henry, said: “BHP’s proposal represents a highly compelling offer for OZ Minerals shareholders, providing certainty at a time of macroeconomic uncertainty and market volatility, and increasing risks for the industry.

“The combination of BHP and OZ Minerals’ assets, skills and technical expertise provides a unique opportunity not available under separate ownership, with complementary resources including the Oak Dam exploration prospect and existing facilities within close proximity, backed by BHP’s strong balance sheet, capital discipline and commitment to sustainable development.”

OZ Minerals Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Cole, said: “BHP’s revised proposal is a clear reflection of OZ Minerals’ unique set of highly strategic, quality assets in quality jurisdictions and an enviable multi-generational growth pipeline of copper and nickel
assets in strong demand due to global electrification. We look forward to working with BHP in a collaborative way to progress the revised proposal in the best interests of OZ Minerals’ and its stakeholders.”

Many hydrometallurgy plants that employ solvent extraction (SX) as an upgrading and purification step, have to contend with the formation of crud within the SX circuit. Effective management of crud is essential to prevent build-up in the settlers and the adverse effects on metal recoveries. ProProcess’ integrated Crud Forx™ system is a solids removal solution designed for the online removal of bottom solids from SX settlers.

The compact system comprises a multi-piped slurry suction head, which is partially or fully immersed in the SX settler. The slurry suction head can either be connected directly to a removable flexible hose coupling to remove solids from the sides of a settler, or to one or more modular lengths of rigid transfer piping to access areas further within the body of the settler for removal of solids.

A study conducted at Glencore’s Mutanda site in 2014 showed that due to a change in solids throughput in their leaching section, the total suspended solids (TSS) entering the SX circuits via the PLS increased. These solids deposited in the refineries SX settlers. The Crud Forx system was then employed from March of the same year and a copper mass transfer improvement of 7.8% to 16.2% was realised in respective SX circuits. Mutanda’s copper production rate was stated as 200,000 t/y. At an average copper price of $3/kg this translates to a saving >$46 million in copper annually.

Jinchuan’s Ruashi Mining SX circuits also experienced high levels of TSS, which were mainly attributed to the talc content of the ore. The primary operational challenge experienced by their SX operators was related to impurity transfer. The Crud Forx was used in one of the HG SX settlers and a reduction of >50% in organic-to-aqueous entrainment in the raffinate was realised after using the technology for a 24 hour period. Not only are operational costs reduced by optimising reagent usage, the fire risk posed by preventing the organic from reporting to other circuits (especially electrowinning) are minimised.

At First Quantum’s Cobre Las Cruces copper mine in Spain, the PLS stream contains saturated levels of calcium, resulting in gypsum precipitation in the SX circuits. The application utilises deep settlers that result in deep, high density, compact SX bottom solids. The Crud Forx in these applications requires start-up assistance to create a crater in the SX bottom solids bed. This allows an adequate amount of the aqueous phase to dilute the solids and thus alter the density in such a manner that the solids can be mobilised. This was achieved by implementing the Crud Forx system in conjunction with a standard diaphragm pump crud removal. Once the crud bed in the Cobre Las Cruces settlers was initially disturbed, the crud removal from one settler occurred within three hours.

In each of the trials the Crud Forx proved to be successful in its application, and has since been deployed to many other refineries using SX technology by ProProcess, who have been granted the legal rights to this technology, developed and patented by Darren Megaw.

MACA Interquip has been awarded a A$39.7 million ($26.3 million) engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the refurbishment of the Three Mile Hill (TMH) processing plant at the Coolgardie gold project, in Western Australia.

Focus Minerals, the owner of the project, paused production in 2013 in response to lower gold prices to concentrate on the exploration of the wider Coolgardie area, yet, with operations now resuming, MACA Interquip is scheduled to reach commissioning of the refurbished plant by mid-2023.

MACA General Manager, Ben Thomas, said the MACA Interquip team have begun site works with the construction team ramping up throughout November. “The TMH plant will be refurbished to safely operate at its original nameplate of 120,000 tonnes per annum. We look forward to delivering value for our client, Focus Minerals.”

Focus issued a new life of mine plan for the Coolgardie gold project, in October, outlining a plan to produce 402,000 oz of gold over a seven-year mine life.

GHH is not in the business of forcing its customers to move in one direction or another; it is focused on delivering solutions that work for operators and mine sites today while offering options for what may come tomorrow.

The Schmidt Kranz Group-owned company has made a habit of supplying market niches across the globe, creating machines for the low-profile mines of southern Africa or narrow-vein operations in Latin America.

It has done this while retaining a key focus on the soft-rock sector in its German homeland – one dominated by a major salt and potash player.

Now, having assembled an impressive line-up of new machines over the last three-or-so-years and re-birthing a 10-t loader that the company expects to garner appeal across some major mining markets, GHH is out to claim more significant hard-rock mining share than it has in the past.

“Solid as a rock” is not just a catchy tagline the company attaches to its logo; it is also representative of the GHH machine point of difference.

“Robust, durable and reliable” are the three standout qualities the company highlighted at its most recent product launch in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. One can add to these traits an in-cab operator focus that isn’t always top priority for its fellow OEMs.

The latter element is reflective of the types of customers GHH has traditionally served in the mining space, as well as the need to treat operators with the respect they deserve – especially when there is less of them available to service mining operations in line with the global skills shortage.

The robustness and durability are easy elements to unpick given the company’s standard operating procedure for underground loaders is to allow them to run for 20,000 hours, carry out a machine re-build and let them work for another 15,000 hours thereafter, Ingo Rath, Product Manager for Loaders at GHH, explained.

“In fact, we sometimes have machines that are re-built a third or a fourth time and continue to operate in the field,” he told IM, emphasising this durability.

The reliability benefit is tied to the company’s careful engineering and design, aiming to remove unnecessary electronics that can lead to machine downtime and focusing on hydraulics wherever possible.

Some of the only electronics on-board your average GHH machine are specifically designed to improve uptime.

Take GHH inSiTE, for instance, a condition monitoring solution operating around the globe. This platform – in simplified terms – highlights potential issues that could lead to time in the workshop, while also reporting on individual machine performance.

On top of this, the company can provide real-time brake wear via sensor-based solutions. This is a critical element for both safety and maintenance.

It is not only the sparing use of electronics that bolsters GHH machine uptime.

Take the company’s tethered loaders as an example. Here, the company has designed the cable reel to be carefully distributed and retracted via a vertical coiling mechanism, as opposed to the horizontal equivalent some other manufacturers have elected to use.

This allows the company to offer cables up to 250-300 m in length that have drastically improved cable life, according to Jan Petzold, CEO of GHH Group.

“We’ve analysed the two options – vertical and horizontal reel configurations – and see that we can improve the lifetime of the cable more than twice with the vertical reel due to the reduced tension from controlled spooling,” he told IM.

Design for an outcome

The clever design goes beyond the robust, durable and reliable pillars GHH has built its reputation on.

The introduction of z-link kinematics on the body frame of the new LF10-NEO – as well as relocating the steering cylinders – has allowed the company to boast a 10-t-payload loader with the highest tipping height in its class. It is also a full 0.5 m above the tipping height offered by its predecessor, the LF10.

This is a significant point of difference in this popular class of underground loader and one that the company is confident will be appreciated in key markets like Latin America where the machine will be able to three-pass load not only the company’s MK-30 truck (to be launched next year), but also any other 30-t-payload underground truck on the market.

While the company has earned a reputation for delivering machines tailored to the application, it has also been attempting to incorporate more modular design into its newest models to improve maintenance times and reduce assembly durations.

The LF10-NEO, for instance, has the same cab as the larger LF14. It also has left- and right-hand saddles that are bolted onto the back of the loader and can be removed and replaced if required for underground shaft transport.

Within this modular blueprint, GHH is also able to offer a choice of engines on the same block from Volvo Penta or Mercedes for the LF10-NEO, ranging from EU Stage 3, to US Tier 4 Final and EU Stage 5.

This modularity is enabling the company to turn around machines quicker, which proves highly valuable when bidding on contracts from new hard-rock mining clients.

All the while, the company can design a tailored machine for a specific application should the right client come knocking. This was displayed when touring the factory in Gelsenkirchen, where a low-profile SLP-14E tethered electric machine was in the shop awaiting final build and factory acceptance testing.

This machine, like others in the company’s range, came about from collaboration with one of its key strategic customers in the underground mining space.

Pull, not push

GHH is focused on reducing engineering and maintenance complexity on its machines for its clients, but also wants to offer advanced options to those further down the road on their digitalisation and automation initiatives.

Thanks to the help of Schmidt Kranz Group company, Nerospec SK, the company provides an interface to be able to bolt on Level-9 compliant collision avoidance systems to any machine. This, according to Harald Bornebroek, Business Development Manager at Nerospec, represents the first level of automation, with the neroHUB on board these machines able to automatically take over the braking function should an impending accident arise.

The company is also able to offer OEM-agnostic teleremote applications where machines are operating in particularly dangerous areas of a mine – where high seismicity has been observed as an example – but it can also help fully automate loading or haulage operations.

Eric Pohlmann, CEO of Nerospec, highlighted two such applications in Germany – one at an underground salt mine in Germany where a GHH loader is dumping into a crusher and one at a quarry involving a fully-autonomous load and haul pairing from the Germany-based OEM.

And, on the topic of automation, GHH can also claim a world first, having, with the help of the University of Chile’s Advanced Mining Technology Center, run a loading operation at a room and pillar mine without any human interaction in the South American country.

The difference between GHH and most of the other OEMs it is competing with is that GHH is not actively ‘pushing’ these solutions on clients. It is reacting to their evolving needs.

Petzold brought up an excellent example of this when questioned about if the company will create a battery-electric loading and haulage line-up in the future.

To this point, the company only has one machine, the LF19-EB, that has a battery on-board. The battery, however, is used solely for relocating the machine between one loading area and another. Most tasks are carried out with the machine tethered to the existing mine power network via a cable.

This machine has been performing well for one of GHH’s key soft-rock customers and, recently, has come to the attention of one of Europe’s biggest underground hard-rock mining companies – interest that could soon result in a machine order.y

For Petzold, this is a much more realistic way of introducing electrification to the underground sector, allowing mine operations to utilise existing power infrastructure as opposed to forcing them into a major redesign.

“While battery-electric loaders may have their application, the need to recharge a whole fleet of them and put extra pressure on the grid means most operations will not be able to support them with their existing power infrastructure,” he said. “With more flexible cable-electric solutions, like that offered with the LF19-EB, this is not an issue.”

Petzold added that higher diesel prices, on top of the need to decarbonise operations, will lead more mining companies to look at these ‘entry-level’ cable-electric solutions sooner rather than later.

For the time being, GHH Group is happy to stick with this philosophy knowing the niche it is mining in the sector continues to make it stand out for all the right reasons.

Martin Engineering has announced a factory-direct replacement program to deliver freshly-moulded polyurethane cleaner blades for conveyor belts.

Custom fitted on-site and installed free of charge, customers pay only for the replacement blades.

The program from Martin Engineering assures customers of accurately sized and professionally installed replacement blades that are matched to their specific application, providing optimum cleaning performance and service life to minimise the cost of ownership, the company says.

It explained: “Manufactured in-house for the highest quality assurance, Martin’s replacement blades are made with specially formulated, colour-coded urethane to suit virtually any application. The blades have up to 53% more urethane in the wearable area than competitive designs, extending equipment life and durability. To achieve consistent cleaning throughout all stages of blade life, Martin’s patented Constant Angle Radial Pressure technology incorporates a specially engineered curved blade to maintain optimum cleaning performance and efficiency.”

Martin Engineering says it is the only belt cleaner supplier that has designed its own equipment to manufacture moulded blades. This system maximises quality control and eliminates shipping and labour costs by having the new blades delivered and installed direct from the factory.

The company explained: “The need for conveyor belt cleaning is well established, delivering long-term benefits in both safety and production. Properly maintained belt cleaners reduce the accumulation of carryback under the conveyor and minimise dust build up on rollers and other components. Excessive dust and spillage can foul rolling components and cause abrasion on the belt, reducing the life of equipment by as much as 30%. Even though a multiple-cleaner system can be abrasive when in contact with the belt, it contributes less than 5% to the overall belt wear, delivering a significant net benefit.”

While the progress of SANY and XCMG with the supply of battery wide body mining trucks has been well publicised recently, both for Chinese customers but also export customers like Vale and CSN in Brazil, Yutong in Zhengzhou, Henan Province is an increasingly important player. The group told IM that it has trials ongoing with its battery trucks in Thailand, Chile, Indonesia and Kazakhstan, plus estimates its share of the Chinese BEV wide body truck market at 50%. Therefore taking its installed fleet as a whole it is one of the most significant OEMs today contributing to Scope 1 emissions reduction at minesites.

It argues that its market differentiators include having battery mining truck models going back to 2008, therefore having 15 years of practical customer experience and products which are more mature. It also has several established models – its battery trucks including 60 t (YKY90E), 70 t (YKT105E) and 80 t (YKT115E) models. The company says its can offer either fixed chargers or battery swapping to mining customers. On sales and service in some locations it is using its own direct after sales team but follows up with establishment of a full local subsidiary and/or local distributor.

But the underlying strength is its global importance in supplying the BEV bus market. Yutong started electric technology development for buses back in 1999 and today there are more than 170,000 battery buses and other battery vehicles in China and overseas markets; this includes 888 battery buses and other vehicles operating in Qatar for FIFA during the World Cup.

To give some important domestic mining project examples, earlier this year after two months of trial operation in 5,200 m-altitude Huatailong copper-gold mining area in Tibet, Pizu Group decided to purchase a large fleet Yutong BEV mining trucks. Also in Tibet, Zijin Mining’s world class Julong copper mine has used Yutong BEVs in development works, again at well over 5,000 m. In coal mining, customers include Mongolia Energy Corporation while it also supplies BEV trucks to the limestone mining operations of some of China’s leading cement producers such as China United Cement Corporation (CUCC), China National Building Material Group (CNBM) and Esheng Group. Another major customer is bauxite and alumina group East Hope Group.

A notable new export market is Chile – SQM has deployed a Yutong 28 t ZKH5310ZLJP6BEV with a 422 kWh battery pack. With a range of up to 200 km and 28 t of capacity, Chile’s first electric mining truck will be used at SQM’s operations in the Antofagasta Region. In collaboration with the mining company, project partner Enel X is also installing a high capacity charging station unlike any other in Chile.

The new E-truck is expected to make 86 km trips from the Coya Sur potassium nitrate plant in María Elena to the port of Tocopilla, travelling an estimated 7,500 km per month. The production system at Coya Sur uses intermediary salts of sodium nitrate taken from Nueva Victoria, and potassium chloride from the Atacama salt flats. Enel X and SQM developed a leasing model for the purchase of the electric truck and the installation of a 150 kW charging station that can fully charge the truck’s battery in three hours. The charging infrastructure will be installed at the Coya Sur plant in María Elena, guaranteeing almost 200 km of operation.

If the project is successful, the companies will add the Salar de Atacama-Carmen Lithium Chemical Plant route to the initiative. This is the highest traffic route for the lithium process, with 230 trucks in service. SQM work sites could replace 320 high-capacity diesel trucks with electric vehicles, 90 of which are used on the same route as the first truck, over a five-year period.