A technical review released in January 2025 by Australian consulting firm Mining Plus through the Canadian Mining Journal reveals that underground mines can significantly reduce life-of-mine costs by switching from diesel truck haulage to fully electric material-handling systems once the true price of ventilating diesel exhaust is factored into project budgets Canadian Mining Journal.
Mining Plus compared four haulage options—diesel trucks, conveyors, shaft hoists, and the electrified Railveyor light-rail system—over a 24-year mine plan. After modeling capital, operating, and crucially, ventilation expenses, the consultants found that eliminating diesel engines reduces airflow requirements so dramatically that the Railveyor system emerges as the lowest-cost solution.
By year six of a representative mid-depth operation, diesel trucks force the excavation of a second raise and the installation of larger fans to meet statutory airflow volumes. The electric Railveyor, by contrast, needs only one raise and smaller fans, yielding an estimated life-of-mine saving of approximately US $81 million at an 8 percent discount rate.
Early in the evaluation, trucks appeared cheapest because of their flexibility and relatively modest upfront price tag. But once engineers added the full cost of powering, maintaining, and expanding a high-capacity ventilation network, the balance shifted decisively toward electric haulage.
The Ventilation Cost Factor
Ventilation sits at the heart of underground economics because regulations mandate minimum cubic metres of fresh air per diesel engine operating below ground. Fans, ducting, and raises are therefore sized around the worst-case fleet count. Mining Plus quantified the number, diameter, and depth of raises—and the power draw of the associated fans—for each haulage scenario, then embedded those figures in the discounted cash-flow model. The exercise revealed that ventilation can add tens of millions of dollars to the notional price tag of a “cheap” diesel fleet.
That insight forms the study’s core message: traditional trade-off studies often ignore or underestimate ancillary ventilation costs, leading mine planners to favour diesel when an all-electric alternative could deliver better economics, lower emissions, and fewer bottlenecks.
Railveyor’s Structural Advantages
The Railveyor option—a narrow-gauge, remotely driven train of interconnected buckets—benefits from several structural advantages. With no onboard combustion, its passage through production headings requires only enough airflow to clear dust and heat rather than toxic exhaust gases. Smaller fans translate into lower energy bills, reduced surface noise, and less infrastructure crowding underground. They also free up capital that can be redeployed elsewhere in the mine.
Electric propulsion stabilizes energy budgeting because mine operators can negotiate long-term power contracts or generate electricity from renewable sources on site. Diesel prices, by contrast, remain exposed to volatile global oil markets. The study notes that many companies aiming for Paris Agreement net-zero targets by 2050 view diesel displacement as both an environmental obligation and a hedge against fuel-price swings.
Production Expansion and Ventilation Constraints
Mine expansion plans further amplify the economic case for electrification. When production rates rise, a diesel fleet demands proportional increases in airflow, potentially triggering multi-million-dollar fan upgrades and larger raises. The Railveyor’s minimal ventilation footprint allows operators to ramp up tonnage without hitting an airflow ceiling, removing a common bottleneck in mature workings.
While conveyors and shaft hoists also eliminate diesel emissions, Mining Plus found that Railveyor achieved comparable or better economics thanks to its lighter infrastructure requirements and ability to follow the orebody along declines. Conveyors may remain attractive in straight-line orepasses, but their fixed nature can be a drawback where headings shift laterally or vertically.
Financial Performance Across Scenarios
The 24-year model assumed an 8 percent discount rate, reflecting typical industry hurdle rates. Even under those financial constraints, Railveyor matched or exceeded traditional truck-and-loader combinations at nearly every sensitivity tested. The largest differential—approximately US $81 million—arose in the trucking scenario that employed orepasses and twin declines, largely because of the second raise and larger fan set mandated by diesel exhaust volumes.
Mining Plus cautioned that each deposit presents unique geometry, labour costs, and power prices. However, the firm argued that integrating ventilation metrics from the outset produces a more realistic hierarchy of options. In many mature operations, legacy ventilation systems already run near capacity. Swapping diesel fleets for an electric system can postpone or even avoid major fan overhauls, delivering immediate capital relief while shrinking the mine’s carbon footprint.
Operational and Safety Considerations
Railveyor’s proponents also point to operational safety. Reduced diesel equipment underground means lower heat load and fewer ignition sources, potentially allowing miners to work longer shifts in fresher air. Autonomous control further minimises human exposure to moving machinery, aligning with industry drives toward zero-harm workplaces.
Critically, the new analysis confronts a long-standing gap in feasibility studies. Historically, mine planners have tended to separate ventilation design from materials handling, leading to parallel work streams that merge only late in project definition. By then, equipment choices may be locked in, and redesigning to accommodate a cleaner haulage concept becomes prohibitively expensive or schedule-risking. Mining Plus recommends that ventilation engineers sit alongside production planners from pre-feasibility onward so that the compound benefits of electrification become visible in early capital requests.
The Railveyor’s hybrid character—mobile like a truck fleet yet permanent enough to exploit regenerative braking—secured the top rank in the study. Its modular power stations draw modest amperage and can connect to the grid or renewable sources. The low-profile cars fit within narrow headings, reducing ground support costs and leaving more room for ore development.
Implementation Challenges and Solutions
The transition does not come without challenges. Electric systems require an upfront capital infusion for track installation, power reticulation, and controls integration. Maintenance teams must acquire new skill sets in motors, inverters, and remote-diagnostics software. Nevertheless, the study contends that these hurdles are offset by the avoidance of heavy-duty diesel maintenance, fuel logistics, and the constant upscaling of fans and raises.
Looking beyond the balance sheet, many mining houses have incorporated Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions targets into executive incentive schemes. Railveyor and other electric haulage technologies can deliver measurable carbon reductions that align with corporate ESG reporting, potentially enhancing access to green-bond financing and lowering insurance premiums tied to underground fire risk.
Analysts caution that regulatory environments vary. Some jurisdictions already restrict diesel usage at depth, accelerating the case for electrification, while others maintain higher permissible exposure limits. Market observers therefore expect adoption rates to track not only economics but also evolving legislation and investor pressure.
Industry Trajectory
Even under conservative growth scenarios, the Canadian Mining Journal article predicts a steady uptick in demand for low-emission haulage solutions as miners chase deeper orebodies where ventilation constitutes an ever-larger slice of operating cost Canadian Mining Journal. Firms that optimise ventilation early could gain a structural margin advantage over peers locked into diesel architecture.
The Mining Plus findings tap into a broader industry pivot: electrification is moving from pilot projects to mainstream procurement. Battery-electric loaders and drills have entered production fleets in Canada, Australia, and Scandinavia. The logical next step is to decarbonise bulk haulage. By quantifying ventilation as a cost driver rather than a mere compliance line item, the new study sets a benchmark for future trade-off analyses.
For underground operators weighing their next fleet replacement, the message is straightforward. If ventilation is properly priced, diesel may no longer be the cheapest option. Railveyor and similar electric systems offer not just environmental upside but a compelling financial case—one that could redefine best practice in mine design over the coming decade.
Sources
- https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/news/less-ventilation-puts-electrical-haulage-systems-ahead-on-cost-sustainability/
