TECHNOLOGY

Kirkland to trial Sandvik battery truck at Fosterville

Toronto-based Kirkland Lake Gold plans to trial Sandvik’s LH518B battery-powered loader at the Fosterville mine in Victoria, Australia, in 2021.

Sandvik's LH518B battery-powered loader was launched in September

Sandvik's LH518B battery-powered loader was launched in September

The annoucement came during a presentation by chief mining engineer Rob McLean at the IMARC 2020, where he laid out the company's intent to turn the operation into a fully-electric mine.

The Swedish engineering group launched the 18-tonne LH518B in September. It is equipped with Autoswap, a patented self-swapping system for the battery pack. 

McLean told the audience that Kirkland is pursuing its goals of zero harm and a reduced environmental footprint at Fosterville by harnessing technological advancements to improve and optimise its processes.

He pointed to the Wi-Fi installation project at the mine which entailed setting up hundreds of acccess points underground, calling it an "enabler technology".

Kirkland plans to introduce a surface teleremote set-up in 2021, with a view to eventually operating loaders and production drills from the surface, McLean said. 

Since late last year, the miner has also been working with Mobilaris Mining Intelligence to implement its situational awareness products at Fostervillle, featuring tags on mobile equipment and workers' caplamps, providing live 3D location imformation.

The company is also implementing a smart ventilation project as it seeks to improve efficiency and monitor air quality. The second phase of this will be automated and involve ventilation on demand, McLean added.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Exploration Report 2024 (feat. Opaxe data)

A comprehensive review of exploration trends and technologies, highlighting the best intercepts and discoveries and the latest initial resource estimates.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Future Fleets Report 2024

The report paints a picture of the equipment landscape and includes detailed profiles of mines that are employing these fleets

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Digitalisation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations that use digitalisation technology to drive improvements across all areas of mining production

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Automation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations using autonomous solutions in every region and sector, including analysis of the factors driving investment decisions