Ivanplats, a subsidiary of Canadian mining company Ivanhoe Mines, has ordered several Boomer M2 battery face drill rigs and Scooptram ST14 battery loaders for its Platreef underground mine, which will trial the emissions-free machines during its initial development phase.

Ivanplats has the ambition to use all battery-electric vehicles in its mining fleet at Platreef, which will produce palladium, rhodium, platinum, nickel, copper and gold.

The order exceeds R150-million in value.

"It is encouraging that Ivanplats is considering going all battery-electric at Platreef and we are proud to support them on this journey,” says Epiroc president and CEO Helena Hedblom.

She notes that battery-electric equipment is increasingly being embraced by mining companies as it provides a healthier work environment, lower total operating costs and higher productivity.

She adds that the technology is now well established and that Epiroc is “driving this change toward emissions-free mining”.

“We want to be at the fore-front of using battery electric, zero-emission equipment at all of our mining operations,” says Ivanhoe Mines president and CFO Marna Cloete, who adds that the partnership with Epiroc for emissions-free mining equipment at the Platreef mine “is an important first step towards achieving our net-zero carbon emissions goals, while mining metals required for a cleaner environment”.

The Boomer M2 battery face drill rigs and Scooptram ST14 battery loaders are built in Sweden and are automation-ready and equipped with Epiroc’s telematics solution Certiq. The equipment will be delivered early in 2022.

Epiroc will also provide on-site operator and maintenance training to Ivanplats.

Epiroc will offer its complete fleet of underground mining equipment as battery-electric versions by 2025, and its full fleet for surface operations as battery-powered versions by 2030.