Feds give Glencore $11M to help develop all-electric underground mine

The federal government is giving Glencore $11 million in carbon tax funding to help with the company’s plan to run its Onaping Depth Project only using battery-electric equipment.

“Glencore has been leading and pushing the industry and this is a good example now that, with the rebate that we provide for the carbon pricing for individuals, we’re also now having a rebate for the industry,” Nickel Belt MP Marc Serré said at Friday’s announcement.

“This is a great example of Glencore … working with the federal government and also pushing the industry, because 10 years ago, the EV underground machinery for mining didn’t exist.”

Onaping Depth was discovered decades ago, but a plan has only been in place since 2017 to develop the project. Glencore VP Peter Xavier said a major milestone was reached in December with the last vertical blast of the shaft taking place.

A refrigeration plant has been built and the main tram hoist room that services the shaft is also in place.

“We’re just on the cusp of that large milestone and that’s really where the EV equipment really starts to be utilized as part of the project,” Xavier said.

The federal government is giving Glencore $11 million in carbon tax funding to help with the company’s plan to run its Onaping Depth Project only using battery-electric equipment. (Supplied)

Due to space constraints, there are currently nine pieces of BEV equipment currently being used onsite, including three bolters and one loader. Xavier said eventually the fleet will consist of about 100 vehicles.

Training staff on using the new electric equipment has already begun.

“Get the maintenance training up to snuff and we’ll start deploying that equipment off shaft and start developing, essentially, at the bottom of the shaft to develop the mine,” he said.

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“That’s where we’ll take it to develop all of the permanent infrastructure needed to do all the services -- like shops, ore and waste bins, the conveyor setup and so on -- to enable the full mine capacity to be achieved.”

While the project isn’t slated to be complete until 2025/2026, Xavier said they are producing ore. Replacing the diesel-powered equipment in the mine will result in a reduction of more than 5,500 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.