BHP funded study confirms an EcoHoist value proposition.
EcoHoist announces that BHP’s Think and Act Differently group has commissioned an impartial consultant to perform a commercial analysis of the EcoHoist at a BHP Copper SA proxy mine.
The study (summary included below) was based on a mine producing 10 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of ore from 1000 metres underground. The study considered the expansion of the mine’s production rate by 2Mtpa, up to 12Mtpa. In the base case, this expansion required 10 additional diesel haul trucks and the construction of an additional access decline. The EcoHoist case required the construction of two small diameter mine shafts and the installation of an EcoHoist continuous bucket elevator running on clean electricity.
The capital cost for the trucking base case included expenditure for 10 trucks at A$3M each, and $100M for the decline for a total capex of $130M. In the EcoHoist case the estimated capital cost for the full system was A$75M including 3 trucks to transport ore to the loading station. The capital cost for the EcoHoist system was provided by EcoHoist. Based on this, the EcoHoist scenario delivered the extra 2 Mtpa of ore to the surface for a saving in capital cost of A$55M (42% cheaper).
Importantly, EcoHoist also almost halved operating costs. The base case haulage cost was A$13.3/tonne whereas the haulage cost in the EcoHoist scenario was A$6.8/tonne, including an additional underground loader, and underground crusher.
The study found that the lower capital cost and lower operating cost of the EcoHoist resulted in a significantly higher nominal incremental Net Present Value (NPV) of A$131M (US$82M).
Separate to the significant economic benefits, EcoHoist offered substantial reductions in trucking CO2 emissions with the base case estimated (by EcoHoist) to produce 17kt CO2 per annum, while the EcoHoist scenario only produced 2kt CO2 per annum.
EcoHoist’s next step is to build a technology demonstrator to confirm its capability to support BHP and other mining companies achieve their goals of maximising production of key commodities like copper, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and delivering attractive shareholder returns.
About EcoHoist
EcoHoist is an Australian SME, based in Adelaide, South Australia. EcoHoist’s product is a vertical bucket elevator that can operate inside two small diameter mine shafts, dramatically reducing the cost of vertical material transport. EcoHoist can help underground trucking operations who are struggling to hit production targets as a result of long underground haul distances, traffic congestion or ventilation constraints. EcoHoist is currently preparing an industry consortium in collaboration with ReThink Mining to finance the development of the planned 30% Scale EcoHoist Demonstrator. ReThink Mining is a Canadian organisation that facilitates innovation in the mining industry. EcoHoist is actively seeking additional mining companies with underground assets to join the consortium.
