Genius Aussie plan to make underground mining greener

Adelaide-based company is working on making underground mining safer.

Voltra eCruiser.

Australian company Voltra is finding ways to help miners breath easier.

In response to growing concerns about the effect of diesel fumes on underground miners, the Adelaide outfit has built its first zero-emission underground mining vehicle dubbed the Voltra eCruiser.

Based on the tough Toyota LandCruiser 70-Series, the electric workhorse has had all internal combustion engine components removed and replaced with an electric drivetrain.

Retro-fitting an electric drivetrain to a 70-Series — which has remained almost unchanged since its inception in 1984 — was no mean feat for Voltra’s technical team.

Engine shock: Voltra has replaced the mechanically complicated diesel engine with a simpler electric motor.

“Integrating the battery electric drive system into the LandCruiser provided a good challenge on the engineering front,” says a Voltra engineers.

“As with any retrofit, the original equipment manufacturer didn’t design the vehicle with an EV conversion in mind. With some good computer aided design and well-known application requirements, the resulting kit is a simple and robust upgrade to the conventional combustion engine and driveline.”

With a reliable renewable energy source to charge the battery, the electric ute enables remote mines to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

The first of Voltra’s light electric vehicles is on trial at BHP’s Olympic Dam mine in South Australia, one of the world’s largest underground copper mines. A second vehicle will join BHP’s fleet in the coming months.

Environmentally friendly: BHP is trialling the new electric eCruiser.

“Our first ever light electric vehicle (or LEV) is joining the existing underground fleet of 240 light vehicles with a second expected to join the fold in the coming months,” BHP says.

The mine’s 800-odd underground employees are exposed the fumes from drilling and ore handling equipment as well as the 240 diesel vehicles currently on fleet.

The LEVs may look just like a conventional LandCruiser but, BHP says, they are “at the heart of our work on low emissions technology. Importantly, as they are battery-powered, our team’s exposure to the diesel particulate matter generated by traditional diesel engines is significantly reduced.”

BHP will decide whether to expand the project at Olympic Dam and further locations in the next year after analysing performance results

“Olympic Dam’s switch to LEVs in its operations will reduce emissions, exposure and costs — as well as influencing the rollout of similar initiatives in our other locations,” the mining giant says.

“A decision on wider deployment at Olympic Dam is expected to be made in the coming financial year.”

Tesla is currently the only car brand to have committed to making an electric-powered light commercial vehicle. However, that isn’t expected to enter production until at least 2020.