Which underground mining equipment delivers the lowest ventilation requirements for diesel-free zones?

The adoption of diesel free zones has become a common practice in modern underground mining operations. Increasingly strict air quality regulations, rising ventilation costs and the focus on worker health have driven operators to rethink their fleet choice. In a diesel free zone, diesel engines are either limited or banned. The goal is to select equipment which, without contributing significantly to heat load or generating any emissions at all, is able to meet production demands. Tuoxing Heavy Machinery has spent over 30 years developing underground trackless machinery that does just that. Their range of electric LHDs and accompanying machines has the smallest ventilation requirements possible for a diesel free environment.

Electric Scooptrams for Zero Emissions and Reduced Heat Load

The simplest approach to meeting diesel free operational requirements is electric machinery. The Tuoxing Electric LHD produces no exhaust gases whatsoever and produces much lower heat load than the equivalent diesel driven LHD. It is powered via a trailing cable, and since there is no internal combustion engine no particulates, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides enter the stope. Ventilation requirement for a stope utilizing an electric LHD needs only to address dust and ambient ground gases, potentially reducing the air quantity requirement of the ventilation system by up to 50%. For deep or remote mines where ventilation is expensive, electric LHDs have the potential for an immediate significant improvement in operating cost and allow workers to operate in stopes of any size without breaching air quality regulations.

Battery Electric Options for Cable-Free Flexibility

Trailing cables are a reliable way to supply power to electric underground LHDs and trucks; however, some diesel free environments have requirements for machines that are not tethered by trailing cables. Tuoxing Heavy Machinery is developing and incorporating alternative energy solutions such as battery electric power systems into our trackless underground machinery. These battery LHDs and trucks are capable of producing no emissions as well as producing substantially lower heat load than diesel machinery. With rapid advances being made in battery electric technology and capacity, these machines provide low ventilation, low heat load operation where the movement of an unrestricted machine is essential to the production rate of a stope.

Matching Equipment Size to Ventilation Capacity

The impact on the ventilation system is not only dictated by power source but also by the LHD capacity and duty cycle. Smaller capacity machines, as well as moving smaller quantities of material, generally carry a smaller footprint in the stope, disturb less dust and thus have a lower requirement on the airflow directed into a stope. Tuoxing Heavy Machinery has designed their range of TX series underground trucks and LHDs to allow clients to select an LHD capacity and thus a throughput for its individual ventilation constraints. An unnecessarily large underground LHD will only increase the required ventilation quantity in the stope as more dust will be disturbed and higher heat load generated. When selecting machinery for a diesel free zone, choose the smallest LHD that meets the stope’s production tonnage. This reduces total ventilation energy requirement, lowers capital expenditure, and cuts ventilation costs.

Scalers and Service Vehicles for Support Roles

The requirements for a diesel free operation extend beyond just the mucking and hauling cycle, support equipment must also meet these regulations. Tuoxing is already building electric driven scalers and support prying trolleys for use in diesel free environments. Tuoxing is also working on developing underground service vehicles which can be operated as battery electric machines, thus allowing the elimination of diesel machinery throughout the entire operation. By utilizing this strategy no machine in the operation needs to comply with different ventilation and exhaust gas monitoring requirements, therefore providing simpler design and better working conditions.

The Role of Ventilation-on-Demand and Smart Controls

While electric LHDs don't produce any emissions, the most efficient solution to utilize any LHD's output is through a Smart Ventilation system integrated via 5G connectivity or an equivalent communication protocol. When a working electrical LHD is identified entering a stope, more air can be directed to that stope while air is reduced when it is identified as vacant. This method will again lower the overall ventilation load of the operation as ventilation is utilized more efficiently when it is needed most. The optimal and therefore low ventilation underground working is achieved with smart machinery and a smart ventilation system both designed to complement the energy source.

Building a Complete Diesel-Free Fleet

No one machine can generate a diesel free operation, as a complete fleet of machines is needed to move the product and support the operation. Tuoxing manufactures the TX Series of diesel free Underground LHDs, Battery powered trucks and a range of support equipment such as underground scalers and scaling trolleys as well as underground service vehicles; all in configurations capable of being operated with minimal or no ventilation requirements.