The Scooptram ST14 battery electric loader from Epiroc.
Glencore has bought an ST14 battery electric loader from Epiroc which will be unveiled at the CSA copper mine in New South Wales this month.
The loader features Epiroc’s SMART technology, allowing for fewer emissions, lower energy costs and better safety for the operator.
CSA mine general manager Peter Christen said the smart loader’s use would allow for even smarter technologies to be built.
“The copper we produce at CSA mine is a key enabler of the low-carbon economy, and is an essential commodity that goes into electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy technologies like wind turbines and solar panels,” he said.
The mine produced over 43,000 tonnes of copper in 2019 and employed 610 people including contractors.
Glencore’s sustainability goals include an aim to reduce its emission footprint by 40 per cent by 2035 and Christen said the electric loader was a small part in that.
“We are committed to reducing emissions across our own operations and our investment in the ST14 battery loader is an important step in the broader transformation of mining in a lower-carbon future,” he said.
“I’m pleased to see the loader has already generated significant interest from our operators who will start using it later this month.”
The loader implementation also follows a $5 million government grant awarded to Glencore’s Carbon Transport and Storage company (CTSCo).
The CTSCo’s carbon capture use and storage (CCUS) project, valued at $210 million, was developed to capture carbon from the Milmerran coal-fired power station.
The project is one of Australia’s leading CCUS projects and Minister for Energy and Emissions Reductions Angus Taylor said projects like these were integral to a low-carbon future.
“Analysis by the International Energy Agency shows that half the global reductions required to achieve net zero will come from technologies that are not yet ready for commercial deployment,” he said.
“That’s why we’re partnering with industry to accelerate new projects and unlock the emissions and economic benefits of carbon-capture technology”