## [Red Chris Mine electrification study](/spotlight/student-project/red-chris-mine-electrification-study) ![Mining](/sites/default/files/styles/max_480w/public/spotlight-images/2025-05/md8_10466.jpeg.webp?itok=IH-PcNim) ## Endo Cui, Gabriel Demers Angelica Gonzales del Valle Solis, Billy Ruan and Tom Terblanche Share- [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2F"e= "Share on Facebook") - [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?source=https%3A%2F%2F&text=:%20https%3A%2F%2F "Tweet") - [ ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2F&title=&summary=&source=https%3A%2F%2F "Share on LinkedIn") - [ ](mailto:?subject=&body=:%20https%3A%2F%2F "Send email") - **Community Partner:** Newmont Corporation - **Degree:** - Bachelor of Applied Science - **Program:** - [Mining Engineering](https://engineering.ubc.ca/programs/undergraduate/mining-engineering "Find out more about Mining Engineering") - **Campus:** Vancouver ## Our project [Newmont Corporation](https://www.newmont.com/home/default.aspx)’s [Red Chris mine](https://operations.newmont.com/canada/red-chris-canada) is an open pit mine located in an area of British Columbia known as the Golden Triangle. Newmont is considering investing upwards of $2 billion to expand the gold and copper mine to a block cave operation that could process just under 15 metric tonnes of ore per year. > Newmont provided us with a design of the proposed mine expansion and asked us to assess the feasibility of electrifying the mining fleet, including a review of the infrastructure requirements of each option, an economic assessment and a trade-off assessment. [Newmont Corporation](https://www.newmont.com/home/default.aspx) [Red Chris mine](https://operations.newmont.com/canada/red-chris-canada) ## Our design solution and process We began by looking at the equipment (trucks and load haul dump (LHD) loaders) that would be required to move 40,000 tonnes of ore per day, reviewing options for a diesel fleet, a hybrid fleet and a fully electric fleet (including both battery electric vehicles and tethered options). > After selecting the vehicles required for the operation, we used a program called HaulSim to build simulation models of how the equipment would function over the proposed mine life of just over 30 years, taking into account different phases of production through different areas of the mine. We also looked at auxiliary requirements for the different fleet types. For example, while electrical equipment requires charging stations, diesel equipment requires fuelling infrastructure as well as extensive ventilation systems. Our economic analysis looked at capital and operating costs for the three main scenarios, and we also conducted an environmental analysis of the options. Ventilation costs associated with the diesel fleet were a major factor in shaping our final recommendation. In the end, we proposed a tethered LHD solution as there are no battery electric loaders large enough to manage the volumes of ore that need to be moved. Our proposed solution will require modifying the mine design given that tethered equipment restricts maximum haulage distance and may require redesign of the tipple access. Our secondary recommendation if Newmont is looking for a fleet that could be implemented without requiring modifications to the mine design is a hybrid fleet. ## The challenges we faced This project had a very wide scope, which made it both challenging and rewarding. The first part of the project was primarily spent trying to narrow the scope and determine what would be feasible for us to do. > It required us to integrate knowledge and experience we have from our courses and co-op work terms to conduct what turned out to be a detailed engineering analysis of options. There were no readily available rimpull curves for the electric equipment (a rimpull curve defines the speed at which equipment can operate given different load conditions). We took the time to model this out for the electric equipment based on weight and speed ratios – which ended up being very satisfying! ## What we’re most proud of > This project exemplifies the power of collaboration. We worked well as a team and we enjoyed collaborating with our contacts at Newmont, who included one of the directors of innovation and a business development lead. We also benefited from input from our professors and representatives from Sandvik, an equipment company that provided some simulation data. ## Our project’s future We presented our final report and recommendations to our contacts at Newmont. > In May, the company will be flying all of us out to the Red Chris mine so we can present our findings to the mine manager and technical services team. It’s been so exciting to be part of a real – rather than theoretical – project based on actual data and designs for a proposed upgrade to the mine site. [ UBC Mining Engineering ![UBC Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering](/sites/default/files/styles/max_325x325/public/2026-02/ubc-mining-engineering-shortname-332x28.png.webp?itok=EM9yVACO) ](https://mining.ubc.ca "UBC Mining Engineering") - [Student Project](/spotlight-type/student-project "Student Project") - [Engineering](/topics/engineering "Engineering") - [Student Experience](/topics/student-experience "Student Experience") - [Women in Engineering](/topics/women-in-engineering "Women in Engineering")