Soma Quarry: Switching to Electric Trucks
One of the projects implemented to reduce our carbon footprint is the replacement of diesel trucks with electric ones at our Soma Quarry in Turkey. The quarry has a unique topography, with a 390-meter elevation and a 3.5-kilometer distance to the primary crusher. This allows the electric trucks to harness the gravitational potential energy during descent and recharge their batteries, which then power the ascent when empty.
After four months of operation, the electric trucks have eliminated the monthly diesel cost and emissions, while also reducing maintenance and labor hours. Soon, three more diesel trucks will be replaced by electric ones.
Cedarville Site: Deploying Battery-Electric Railcars
Another project contributing to our decarbonization efforts is the deployment of battery-electric railcars at our Cedarville Site in Michigan, USA. We have teamed up with Intramotev, a technology company building autonomous zero-emissions rail solutions, to deploy its TugVolt technology at our mining site. The TugVolt is a kit that can retrofit existing railcars to become battery-electric and can operate without a locomotive pulling it.
The deployment of three TugVolt railcars is estimated to eliminate up to 55,000 gallons of diesel consumption and 617 tons of vehicle-level CO2 emissions.