Technical-economic analysis of replacing diesel truck fleet with electric trucks in Yura quarries

Arias-Quispe F.; Vega-Milón G.; Huahuachambi-Calsina H.; Velarde-Loayza P. · Proceedings of the LACCEI international Multi-conference for Engineering, Education and Technology (2024) · DOI: 10.18687/leird2024.1.1.464

Resumen

Currently, in open-pit mining, transportation by mining trucks is a fundamental part of the mining cycle, since they travel long distances several times a day. The cost of such transportation operation has a high impact on the operating costs of mining exploitation, due to the high prices and massive fuel consumption by diesel trucks. On the other hand, the use of other renewable energy sources in mining equipment is an imperative need, which is why in the present study the replacement of diesel transport equipment with electric equipment was diagnosed, which was determined by applying the Choosing by Advantages (CBA) method. The application of the CBA allows the analysis and decision making to choose the alternative of continuing with diesel trucks or replacing them with electric ones, taking into account factors such as operating costs, productivity and specific criteria such as the technical viability and economic feasibility offered by each equipment. The technical-productive evaluation showed that electric trucks have a better performance (148% more torque) and offer 10% more production compared to diesel equipment. Furthermore, it was economically demonstrated that electric trucks provide an 80% saving in energy consumption and operating costs were reduced by $292/Hr, providing an optimization of 34.78%. This research shows that electric trucks are economically viable for the mining operation under study and offer better profitability over time than diesel trucks.