IGO has progressed its ‘proactively green’ mining initiative by enhancing the mining technology used at its operations.
According to IGO’s 2020 sustainability report, the company upgraded the underground Wi-Fi system at the Nova operation in Western Australia during the 2020 financial year, improving the safety and communication of its underground operations.
It has also introduced remote bogging technology at Nova to enable automated underground bogging activities, preventing the need for operators to work in close proximity to heavy machinery.
IGO also completed a pilot for a battery electric light vehicle (BELV) at Nova in collaboration with Barminco.
The vehicle used was a Safescape Bortana BELV, built on the chassis of a diesel-powered Agrale Marruá.
IGO, which aims to be carbon neutral by 2035, said the trial was an important step in its target to electrify its mine plant and vehicles.
“Our assessment is that one of the most effective ways to both minimise emissions and improve safety and productivity will be through the future electrification of our mine plant and vehicles,” IGO stated.
IGO’s ‘proactively green’ mining is defined by introducing new technologies that lead to deeper mining and recovery of diffused mineral resources.
According to its sustainability report, IGO reduced its energy consumption by 10 per cent after introducing a 5.5 megawatt solar farm at nova in the 2020 financial year.
It is expected to save approximately 6500 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.