A fleet of battery-powered Sandvik Z50 electric haul trucks charged with hydroelectric power will be hauling high-grade gold ore at Pretium Resources Inc.'s Brucejack Mine in Northern British Columbia.

"Replacing our diesel-fueled fleet with zero-emissions electric haul trucks delivers significant environmental benefits and extends the advantages from our use of low-carbon hydro-electric power at Brucejack," said Pretium Resources President and CEO Jacques Perron.

This decision to transition to battery-electric haul trucks follows a six-month trial that demonstrated the Sandvik Z50 not only met the sustainability desires of Pretium but also the production needs of the 3,800-metric-ton-per-day operation at Brucejack.

The Sandvik Z50 boasts among the smallest envelope size of any 50-metric-ton capacity underground truck on the market, while at the same time generating twice the peak horsepower and 1/8th of the heat of a similar capacity truck powered by diesel.

With less heat and no diesel exhaust, having battery-electric trucks hauling waste material and ore through underground passages means less ventilation is needed, which means fewer ventilation shafts will need to be constructed and the cost of operating ventilation systems, a major expense for underground mines, is less.

Getting a first-hand look at the benefits battery-electric underground equipment can offer Brucejack, Pretium has put in an order for seven more Sandvik Z50 haul trucks, with the option for an eighth.

"The implementation of the battery-electric Sandvik Z50 haul trucks is expected to improve operations at Brucejack, including the potential reduction of ventilation requirements and increased haul capacity," said Perron.

Sandvik, which also has four different battery-electric loader models, foresees more underground mining operations converting to electric equipment.

"The success of the Sandvik Z50 battery truck at Pretivm is indicative of an expected trend we will see with underground mining operations in the pursuit of productive technologies that reduce overall costs, while significantly reducing environmental impact," said Dale Rakochy, business line manager for Sandvik's load and haul division. "We are proud to support Pretivm in their pursuit of sustainable technologies."

To further support this shift to battery-powered equipment, Sandvik now offers batteries-as-a-service, a turnkey solution where Sandvik takes full responsibility for battery maintenance, replacement, and disposal. For battery-electric equipment partners such a Pretium, this eliminates the risk and expense of owning batteries.

Pretium Resources Inc.

Crews installing the transmission line that began delivering hydroelectric energy to the Brucejack Mine in 2017.

Sandvik says it will begin delivering Pretium's` battery-electric vehicles next month, with the final truck of this order slated for delivery early in 2023.

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Shane Lasley, Publisher

Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.

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