The requirement for sustainability in the mining industry is increasing, the emission regulations are becoming stricter and there are electric vehicle incentives in different countries.
Normet wants to be and is at the forefront of that change. The company’s technological development is focusing on three categories: sustainability, automation and digitalisation.
In spring 2019, Normet launched its battery electric vehicle (BEV) architecture called SmartDrive. BEVs do not produce damaging emissions on-site and use less energy than dieseldriven equipment, and, therefore, do not only benefit the on-site carbon footprint, but also profitability.
The BEVs are helping to increase productivity as there is less need for maintenance and repair. Many maintenance-heavy components such as the gearbox, dropbox and shafts of the machine are eliminated, and the hydraulic circuit is reduced to a minimum.
Often, only the diesel savings are thought to be the BEV’s benefits. As the BEVs are fully emission-free on-site, there are also savings from reduced-cooling and ventilation costs that must be considered.
With mines that are expanding deeper and deeper, the ventilation costs when using diesel equipment can be too high for profitable mining. The only solution is to use BEVs.
As the BEV does not generate heat or have any exhaust emissions on-site – but does have lower noise level – the benefits for health and safety are also significant.
What you can expect
Normet provides its customers with the very best in underground mining equipment but, at the same time, it keeps the focus on sustainability within the industry.
The Normet SmartDrive BEV fleet utilises the long-life industrial-grade lithium-ion battery technology with fast charging capability, and the battery is divided into separate modules. So, if one unit is not working properly, the operation can still be continued.
The SmartDrive vehicles are also equipped with on-board charging – operators can plug into any existing connection to charge the vehicle and charging can happen while it is in operation. For example, when spraying concrete, battery charging can be completed.
The battery can also be charged with this on-board capacity from 0% to 80% in two and a half hours from any standard underground AC socket. The SmartDrive vehicle’s batteries can also be charged when travelling downhill with the on-board regenerative-braking functionality. Utilising the rapid charge, the batteries can be charged from 0% to 80% in half an hour.
There are two versions of Normet’s SmartDrive all-in-one charger cabinets: the CC150 and CC300. They can be installed on-site either underground or on the surface.
Company insight
The SmartDrive fleet has many key vehicles:
■ Normet Utimec MF 500 Transmixer SD: this provides the highest productivity of its size class. The Utimec MF 500 Transmixer SD has a large concrete transport capacity and extremely high-output power to ensure high-tramming speed when it is fully loaded.
■ Charmec MC 605 VE SD: this presents a new era of charging in underground mines. Normet SmartDrive battery electric vehicle technology integrated to the state-of-the-art
emulsion-charging technology offers the highest value to customers in terms of safety, ergonomics and productivity, with zero local emissions.
■ Charmec MF 605 V Long End SD: this provides a place for an external emulsion unit in a size capable of both underground development charging and production charging. Normet BEV technology offers zero local emissions and high-tramming speed, even when fully loaded.
■ Utilift MF 540 SD: a scissor lifter based on Normet SmartDrive technology, the Utilift series offers reliable performance for lifting and installation needs of underground
mining. A 4.5t maximum lifting capacity enables installation among some of the
heaviest ventilation fans used in mining. Normet SmartDrive BEV technology, in addition to zero emissions, provides a platform for high-tramming speed and fast transits from site to site in underground installation works.
■ The Multimec MF 100 SD: this is Normet’s equivalent of a mining utility vehicle. It can be used for several tasks in mining operations such as transporting materials and workers, along with maintenance duties and vehicle fuelling with a slide-on/slide-off
cassette system.
■ Spraymec MF 050 VC SD: a mobile concrete sprayer for mining, developed with decades of experience in concrete spraying in mining environments. Spraymec MF 050 SD is based on proven low-pulsation concrete-spraying technology and a durable SB500
spraying boom.
■ The Spraymec 8100 VC SD: for concrete spraying in larger tunnels, the Spraymec 8100 VC SD is an electro-hydraulic self-propelled mobile concrete sprayer that optimises
concrete spraying in tunnel projects with variable tunnel cross-sections. It provides efficient spraying from one set-up, in tunnels of up to 10.3m in height and 16m in width. The maximum vertical spraying reach is 14m. The compact design enables the mobile
sprayer to perform spraying in tunnels with cross-sections of 15–140m2.
This is designed for high-performance sprayed concrete applications and the use of alkali-free accelerators. It features the latest state-of-the-art control system of the spraying process, the NorSmart 3.
The NorSmart 3 concrete sprayer control system provides efficient, productive and high-quality concrete spraying with functions like low-pulsation concrete spraying and pumping; accurate and reliable accelerator dosing (accelerator dosing integrated into concrete output); accurate and fast spray boom and nozzle movements and positioning; real-time control and diagnostics of the spraying process, including an optional kit for accelerator, concrete and ambient temperature control; logging of all spraying process related data and USB data transfer; comprehensive vehicle fault diagnostics; and optional SmartSpray semi-automatic concrete spray boom control.
