Conuma Coal, which operates three metallurgical coal mines in northeastern British Columbia is electrifying its fleet of haul trucks at one of its mines.
The company plans to replace its fleet of diesel trucks with five electric mine haul trucks made by Komatsu at its Wolverine mine.
While electrifying the fleet will reduce carbon emissions, it’s actually costs and efficiency that are driving the decision to convert to electric trucks.
Electric vehicles require less maintenance and are more durable, the company says in a press release.
“Based on comprehensive engineering and financial analysis, Conuma determined that the deployment of new Komatsu 830E-5 haul trucks at Wolverine would meaningfully increase production at the mine, largely due to the improved overall availability of the Komatsu electric drive haul trucks,” the company said in a news release.
The first Komatsu electric truck arrived at the mine in August. The other four trucks are expected to arrive at the mine sometime in the next two months.