A pair of 18,000-tonne self-driving electric Sandvik loaders are working underground in the New Afton gold and copper mine outside Kamloops, B.C.

Sandvik is deploying new autonomous electric mining technology at a gold and copper mine in British Columbia.

The Toronto-headquartered mining company New Gold Inc. operates three mines in North America, including two in Canada. The company’s New Afton mine, located 10 kilometres outside Kamloops, has put into underground service two 18,000 tonne Sandvik autonomous electric loaders. It is one of the earliest deployments of a large piece of autonomous electric machinery in an underground mine in Canada.

North America’s first fully automated battery-electric loaders represent a significant milestone in Canadian mining: their introduction highlights “the potential of automation and electrification in mining,” reads a Sandvik release on social media.

“This will enable New Afton’s operations to enhance cycle times and reduce heat, noise, and greenhouse gas emissions.”

Late last year the autonomous, electric Sandvik loaders went into service in a testing area of the mine. New Gold expects to move the loaders into real-world operation areas of the mine early this year.

Safety first

The New Afton mine is Canada’s only “block mine.” It employs a technique for extraction where the ore is caused to fall in on itself into a chamber where it is then loaded and hauled out.

The autonomous Sandvik electric loaders will remove the ore once it has fallen into the chamber. This reduces worker deployment in high-risk areas and improving workplace safety.

Electric Autonomy reached out to New Gold to request an interview on the Sandvik loaders. We did not receive a response in time for publication.

Other autonomous vehicles

A few other mines across Canada are also experimenting with autonomous zero-emission mining equipment.

The open-pit Côté Gold mine in Ontario is aiming to have a fleet of 23 haulers in service in the coming years (currently 14 autonomous haulers are in operation).

Giga Metals Corp’s Turnagain open-pit mine in British Columbia is anticipating using autonomous trolley and haulage systems when its mine is built. But an operation date has not yet been set.

Meanwhile, Agnico Eagle is testing multiple autonomous technologies (not only vehicles) at its LaRonde mine in Quebec.