Swedish base metals miner Boliden says it has entered into a “cooperation agreement” with car and truck maker Volvo to use the manufacturer’s battery-electric trucks for heavy underground transport starting this year.
Electrification of transport would play a “critical role” in Boliden’s mine decarbonisation plans this decade, it said. The trucks are also expected to improve workplace health and safety by eliminating vehicle exhaust emissions and cutting noise.
Boliden said: “The new cooperation agreement between Boliden and Volvo Trucks means that two heavy, electric Volvo trucks will be used in Boliden’s Kankberg mine, outside Skelleftea in northern Sweden.
“If all trucks in the mine were to be electric, the CO2 emissions from the mine could be reduced by more than 25%.”
The first truck to serve the Kankberg mine, a Volvo FH Electric, will be used to transport rock bolts and other equipment down into the mine and will be put into service in 2023, according to Boliden.
Based on the experience with the first truck, another Volvo FH Electric will later be put into operation and used for underground transport of rock and ore.
