New Eco-Friendly Vehicles Deployed at Kiyzassky Open-Pit Mine
10 new coal trucks powered by liquefied natural gas will begin transporting coal this month
One of Kiyzassky Open-Pit Mine’s contractors has added new coal haulers to its fleet of vehicles specifically to meet the company’s requirements. Ten N342 coal trucks manufactured by C&C TRUCKS with load capacities of 32 tonnes will deliver coal from the mining site to the coal loading station, a distance of 25 kilometers. Each truck will be able to transport about 9,000 tonnes of coal per month.
Kiyzassky Open-Pit Mine first switched to eco-friendly transport at the end of 2020. At that time, the company agreed with a contractor that 20 N342 dump trucks from C&C TRUCKS, which run on liquefied natural gas (LNG), would be deployed at the mine. The Kiyzassky Open-Pit Mine plans to systematically abandon the use of diesel transport so that 100% of its equipment eventually runs on natural gas and electric engines.
An important benefit of using this kind of coal truck is its environmental friendliness. When diesel trucks burn one tonne of fuel, 3.15 tons of greenhouse gases are emitted, but this figure is 1.5 times lower with LNG. In addition, the use of modern fuel will reduce exhaust gas emissions into the atmosphere, as natural gas does not produce solid particles and sulfur compounds during combustion. It is also the most economical and safest type of fuel.
The coal haulers are fueled with liquefied natural gas at mobile filling stations located at the Kiyzassky Open Pit Mine next to the coal transportation route. The fuel is supplied by the only LNG producer beyond the Urals, which is situated in Kuzbass’ Novokuznetsk Region.
Drivers must undergo special training on the operation of gas-cylinder equipment in order to work on gas-powered coal trucks. Currently, coal truck drivers are being actively recruited to accommodate the upgraded and expanded fleet.
Thirty coal haulers that run on liquefied natural gas will consume about 3,200 tonnes of LNG per year. This is opposed to about 2,900 tonnes of diesel fuel that would have been burnt by the older trucks, which would have emitted almost 1,500 tonnes of carbon monoxide, more than 150 kilograms of hydrocarbons, and over 90 kilograms of nitrogen oxides into the air.
Today, the Kiyzassky Open-Pit Mine is the only company in Kuzbass that transports coal by general-purpose coal trucks powered by LNG.