Decarbonization: the Home Advantage
Electrifying Québec mines slowly, but surely
While there are no doubts that the electrification of the mining industry is underway, a thorough analysis of the components at play for mines to reach net-zero targets is needed. Selecting the right electrical technologies and products, their dimensioning, compatibility with existing infrastructure, and compliance with environmental standards is by no means a rapid (or cheap) undertaking. Having been around for decades, Québec miners and service providers are ideally placed to have the necessary hindsight to understand what the electricity transformation of off-grid mining to battery energy storage and renewables will require.
Mining is currently responsible for 4 to 7% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally, according to a McKinsey study. The 2022 GMG Mine Operator Roundtables – an independent coalition of mining executives across the value chain, from operators, and OEMs to academics – identified widespread electrification as a main priority to decarbonize the industry. Engineering firms like SNC-Lavalin or G Mining Services shared the joint assessment that electrification was a top priority for their clients.
Québec is in a unique setting to go electric, being the mining jurisdiction that benefits the most from its hydroelectricity potential. Eldorado’s Lamaque mine, one of the lowest GHG-emitting gold mines in the world, notably due to being powered by hydroelectricity, is an example. Osisko Mining’s Windfall will move away from diesel-generated activity, as Miyuukaa Corp (a Cree-owned organization) will operate a 69 KV dedicated transmission line that will support hydroelectricity to the project.
Rouyn-Noranda-based Adria Power Systems is dedicated to decarbonizing mines, and in October 2022 launched a new generation of high-power chargers. President Jean-Francois Couillard acknowledged that Québec was ideally placed to lead the industry shift towards battery-powered machines: “The electrical infrastructure is the main challenge that a lot of industries will face. In Québec, mining firms have a strong service entrance, with a lot of power available.”
"Automation-wise, we are on the right path in Québec. Every week I hear about new technologies being developed and I am very impressed with remote operations as we go deeper. Companies are using AI to automate ground support, and this is the area where we are the most exposed, so this is very interesting."
Christian Bourcier, VP Eastern Canada, Procon
Provincial competitive advantage
Energy generation will be a key component of the green transition’s success or failure. A leading supplier and manufacturer of hydroelectric energy, Hydro Québec is one of the largest hydropower producers in the world, with a system of over 60 hydroelectric generating stations connected to a robust grid with close to 260,000 km of transmission and distribution lines. Michel Frenette, business development and large industries lead at Hydro Québec, recalled Québec’s unique advantage: “Electrification is only truly sustainable if the energy is generated from renewable sources, and therefore, mining operations in Québec have a great advantage as there is the availability of hydropower.”
In Québec, the hydro-economics of mining will only grow more relevant. Hydroelectricity being relatively affordable and local, actors see operational expenditure advantages as opposed to the use of traditional diesel-powered operations. DGSC (Distributed Gas Solutions Canada) keeps innovation at the core of its offering to supply Québec with liquified and compressed natural gas to reduce GHG emissions. The firm’s VP business development and marketing, Andrew Wilkins, touched upon the expenditure advantages of hydroelectricity for mines: “Québec is blessed with relatively inexpensive hydroelectricity with a very low carbon intensity, which results in lower OPEX and carbon footprint as compared to virtually all other provinces.”
Over the past years, Québec has differentiated itself through its investments in infrastructure. Today, those capital moves pay off, as even the most remote parts of the province are connected through strategic routes. Minister Maïté Blanchette Vézina explained: “We invested hundreds of millions of dollars on the southern portion of the Billy Diamond Highway – which runs north to Radisson – to secure this strategic route.”
Such investments are critical to the success of a clean-powered industry in the long term. Sander Grieve, partner at Bennett Jones, forecasted infrastructure development to be a key trend in the coming years for the mining industry. Touching upon Québec’s case, he developed: “One of the key barriers to the industry across the country is infrastructure, and Québec, among others, has made material inroads to support mines.”
New offerings loading
On a mine site, the concept of electrification starts most often at the level of decarbonizing heavy-duty vehicles without impacting performance. In that sense, in-vehicle energy storage, fast charging, and even microgrid solutions are starting to crop up on the Québec mining landscape. As OEMs reveive pressure from end-users onsite, opportunities for equipment providers to see widespread adoption of their technologies will follow. As firms like Adria expect aggressive growth on the charging infrastructure side, another of Québec’s finest firms, Meglab, keeps making waves in the charging space. In 2022, the Québec government granted C$350,000 in financial assistance to Meglab to demonstrate and market its MegaCharge electric charging station, which will be in use in September 2023. Kim Valade, general manager, said: “Electrification solutions are increasingly being adopted in mines as companies are striving to increase their, productivity, sustainability, and safety goals.”
Electrification improvements lay the ground for automation discussions, and in the long term, it appears inevitable that we will witness AI in the driver’s seat of mining operations. In Québec, AI is already used for the predictive maintenance of mobile mining equipment. Kevin Urbanski, co-founder and COO of Rithmik Solutions, noticed a shift in recent years from mining customers regarding the penetration rate of AI-driven solutions. The company closed a first C$1 million+ investment round to commercialize its Rithmik Asset Health Analyzer – which offers uptime increases for mines – in 2021, and is now looking to raise another C$3 million to take its offering a step further and benefit Canada’s mines. “In experiencing what is possible with AI, the level of excitement and acceptance is rapidly gaining momentum” detailed Urbanski.
"We recently introduced a real-time system that has an integrated sensor that detects when machines lose a tooth. When they operate a bucket, it isn’t good for them to lose the tooth as it can break the crusher. Lots of firms have shown interest, as our system will be the most efficient in the market."
Serge Pilon, President, Robitaille Equipement
Bottlenecks down the (power) line?
Electrifying, automating, and digitalizing mines comes with its share of capital and technical challenges. When choosing contractors, operators must determine if the macro-environment is auspicious for important capex investments that bring returns down the line rather than immediate ROI. With clients like Eldorado Gold, Wesdome, and IAMGOLD, Procon is a trusted partner. Christian Bourcier, VP Eastern Canada for Procon, noticed that directing capex towards efficiency and safety was still the priority, rather than immediate electricity pushes: “Operators have big plans to go electric, but on the contractor side, what matters is cost, efficiency, and safety. Going electric will be a priority eventually, but it is not an immediate requirement for our clients.”
Besides capital allocation, what is less talked about when it comes to electrification is the grid’s capability to support several mines going electric. Charging machines, supplying power, and supporting underground vehicles must be done diligently and with the right balance. Indeed, going electric means the grid needs to be increasingly intelligent and capable of storing information. Avoiding energy peaks will be key, and this will most likely lead to the democratization of intelligence management systems. As put by Jean-Francois Couillard: “The grid challenge can be solved by having management systems to control which charging infrastructure will get power to prevent any peak.”
Will Québec’s world-class infrastructure and electric grid be sufficient for all new projects cropping up with the demand for new minerals? This question might well determine the province’s capability to supply the world’s green transition ambitions. Hydro Québec’s grid capacity is 40,000 megawatts, and the utility firm saw demand for 23,000 megawatts from new projects in 2023 only. Michel Frenette explained: “We have seen a significant increase in demand from new industrial projects coming online, and it will be a great challenge to connect all these projects as there is only as much availability.”
Through acts and bills, the Québec government is working on determining the future-facing projects that ought to benefit from hydropower. For mining firms, going electric represents the first hurdle of capex requirements, infrastructure improvements, and charging rates. But down the line, operational expenditure gains and CO2 emissions abatement justify being early adopters of future mining modus operandi.
Image by Andrei Orlov at Adobe Stock