Two Vale mines in Canada adopted Epiroc’s new Batteries as a Service (BaaS) offering.
With BaaS, the supplier and the customer develop and follow a battery management plan designed to increase the uptime and availability of battery-electric mining machines. Epiroc technically owns and monitors the rechargeable batteries used by the customer, and replaces and updates them as needed. Battery lifespan is guaranteed, and battery status is carefully tracked by Epiroc with the goal of reducing downtime, according to the company.
Epiroc said the service should help customers maximize the benefits of using battery-powered solutions while farming out some of the accompanying challenges.
“BaaS helps our customers benefit from the latest battery technology without having to worry about facilitating upgrades and removals,” said Fredrik Martinsson, products and services, Epiroc. “They can focus on their business and we make sure they have all the power they need.”
Vale also contracted Epiroc to provide 10 battery-electric vehicles: four Scooptram ST14 loaders, two Boomer M2C drill rigs, two Boltec MC bolting rigs and two Minetruck MT42 trucks. The miner also bought three charging cabinets and seven charging posts.
The equipment will be delivered by the end of Q1 2021.
