IN LISBON: The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) is focusing on what it takes to make electrification work in practice, as one of the key pathways toward decarbonisation.
Speaking to Mining.com.au amid the Electric Mine Conference held in Lisbon, Portugal, innovation manager Tariq Kareemulla says there is a lot of learning happening on the ground across ICMM’s members’ sites.
“We see significant value in fostering better collaboration between mining companies, vehicle and technology manufacturers (OEMs), infrastructure providers, regulators, and other partners on the critical enablers for mine site decarbonisation,” Kareemulla tells this news service.
Kareemulla adds that ICMM will be sharing practical early lessons from its Innovation for Cleaner, Safer Vehicles initiative and from the wider industry to show what’s possible through collaboration.
“We are keen to show how collaboration on charging connector interoperability, including through our partnership with CharIN, can help different parts of the system work together more smoothly,” he says.
“In simple terms, that means making it easier for vehicles, chargers and mine infrastructure to connect reliably, which is critical if electrification is to scale.”
The ICMM and CharIN partnership established the CharIN Mining Taskforce which aims to accelerate the decarbonisation of mining operations. The partnership enables ICMM to address technical bottlenecks around the interoperability of battery electric charging systems for the roll out of net zero emission mining vehicles.
Taskforce participants include mining giants such as BHP (ASX:BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO), as well as Shell (LSE:SHEL), ABB (OTCQB:ABBNY), and GHD.
According to the council, addressing interoperability and standardisation for charging solutions early on could help to reduce duplication in charging infrastructure for mines around the world. This is considered an important step in expediting the implementation of battery electric technology onsite, while also enabling increased operational efficiency, reliability, and safety.
Highlighting progress
Kareemulla notes that the ICMM is also excited to highlight real-world progress that makes electrification more practical for mines.
“That includes battery electric and trolley-assist haulage solutions, which can reduce diesel use and emissions in some of the most energy-intensive parts of mining,” he explains to this news service.
“It also includes progress on high-power charging systems, which are important because they can help large electric mining vehicles charge quickly enough to support demanding operations.”
According to ICMM, diesel-powered mining vehicles account for 30-50% of direct emissions at a mine site, and up to 80% in some cases. The council says electrifying these vehicles are considered crucial to achieving global decarbonisation goals.
The Electric Mine Conference, held between 5-7 May, brings together global mining executives at a critical point in the industry’s decarbonisation journey.
As previously reported, Electric Mine director of content Dan Gleeson says this year’s event will highlight the commercially ready steps to start electrification and decarbonisation.
“The ‘net zero’ goals to 2030-2035 that mining companies set many years ago showed that not all in the industry can make the fully-electric leap immediately,” Gleeson says.
More than 750 delegates across 35 countries attend Electric Mine, which serves as an essential platform for all companies involved in the mine electrification transition to showcase future-proofed solutions that will enable companies to achieve their interim and final emissions targets by 2050.
Mining.com.au is in attendance and on the floor at this year’s event.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: ICMM
