The successful underground test of a mining locomotive powered by new fuel-cell technology may put a North Bay mining equipment company in the driver's seat.
R. A. Warren Equipment Ltd., an underground-locomotive manufacturer, took part in an international collaborative research effort, which may have lasting benefits for the global mining industry.
The $2.1-million project was headed by the U.S. Fuelcell Propulsion Institute in Denver, Colo. partnered with Natural Resources Canada (NRC) and a number of academic institutions and mining industry players, including the
Mine Safety and Health Administration and Placer Dome Inc.
"It's kind of neat to be pushing the wheelbarrow," says Harry Bursey, president of Warren Equipment. Bursey became involved in the project about three years ago through Inco's mines research group.
Bursey provided the four-tonne locomotive used as a prototype to test the fuel cell.
In early September, the locomotive passed its underground trials at NRC's CANMET experimental mine in Val d'Or, Que., pulling a drag of five cars down a 600-foot test track.
The locomotive was scheduled to begin further underground testing and evaluation in mid-September at the Placer Dome mine in Red Lake before being shipped off to the U.S., to a major hydrogen testing facility for more extensive safety testing.
Though the automotive industry has been experimenting with fuel cells for years, it is the first piece of underground equipment to be powered by this source.
"The objective of the locomotive test was to prove you could take this quality of technology, put it on a piece of fundamental mining machinery and demonstrate it could work in an underground mining environment," says Bursey.
Future plans are in the works to extend fuel-cell technology to load dump machines and trucks.
Bursey says the intellectual capital invested in this shared-cost project was "amazing." The power plant was built by Sandia National Laboratories in California, the fuel cell was manufactured by Nuvera Europe of Italy and the technical expertise to put it all together came from South Africa, Germany, Canada and the U.S.
Fuel cells produce electricity through an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. The electricity is used to power a motor.
Though electric batteries have to be periodically recharged, fuel cells run as long as they have a supply of hydrogen, which can be carried on board the vehicle. The only emissions produced are heat and pure water.
"It's chemically, perfectly clean water," says Bursey. So clean that a miner could fill a canteen from its tailpipe.
The implications for the health and safety of underground miners is potentially enormous, he says.
And the timing is perfect with the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration introducing new compliance rules to protect underground miners from diesel exhaust particulate matter, considered a serious health hazard caused by diesel-powered equipment.
Even with ventilation, miners still face great risk for developing diseases such as lung cancer, heart failure, serious allergic responses and other cardiopulmonary problems caused by significant concentrations of particles from diesel exhausts.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has further released a landmark report linking diesel exhaust to lung cancer. The Bush administration has vowed to implement stricter rules for tailpipe emissions by requiring cleaner-burning engines and diesel fuel with ultra-low sulphur content.
It is expected Canadian regulatory agencies will eventually follow suit.
For Bursey, his company's involvement with this project and the associations may open new doors of opportunity for his 15-employee firm in manufacturing this new technology to the world's tunnelling industry.
"It's a very important step for us. It'll have quite an impact," says Bursey, who does not wish to elaborate on any detailed future plans for his company.
"What I'm interested in now for our business is the development of economical fuel- cell power plants for industrial applications.
"I can't speculate on anything right now, but there is a future for us in building fuel-cell powered equipment. But it's not going to happen instantly."
The technology is probably three to six years away from market use, he suspects.
"This new technology will propel our new technology in our locomotives into the world marketplace."
