
First electric ute engineered in Australia for use in mining and agribusiness - clouddrover
https://thedriven.io/2019/10/24/first-electric-ute-engineered-in-australia-for-use-in-mining-and-agribusiness/
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taneq
I don't know if "engineered in Australia" is a fair description, it's an
electric conversion for 79-series Landcruisers, which are already widely used
as light vehicles in the mining industry.

Mining LVs are a good match for electric vehicles, though, because they spend
a lot of time traveling at low speed or sitting around idling, and they can be
recharged from the plant's main electrical power source (which can be
augmented with renewables) instead of using diesel which needs to be trucked
in over hundreds of kilometers.

Edit: Also while the sticker price seems high, if the maintenance is lower by
any significant amount then mining companies will love them. Equipment costs
are a small fraction of site operating expenses.

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Animats
There's some mining operation with battery electric trucks where the mine is
above the unloading point. So the heavy loads all move downhill, the trucks
use regenerative braking, and they don't need external charging.

~~~
taneq
[https://www.autoblog.com/2019/08/26/edumper-electric-
mining-...](https://www.autoblog.com/2019/08/26/edumper-electric-mining-truck-
self-charging/)

I think these are the ones you're talking about?

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Jedd
> It’s available in 20 to 120 kilowatt hour battery packs, with modular
> battery packs in it, and has a 700 Newton meter electric motor in it,” said
> Possingham.

I bet you he said Newton metre.

It's an extra kicker that people who don't use metric units also get to change
the spelling of metric units the rest of us are using.

~~~
mieseratte
> I bet you he said Newton metre.

Are `meter` and `metre` pronounced differently?

> It's an extra kicker that people who don't use metric units also get to
> change the spelling of metric units the rest of us are using.

Assuming you are referring to the US, we use metric. We just don't use it for
everything.

What a strange high-horse you sit on.

~~~
Jedd
> Are `meter` and `metre` pronounced differently?

I wouldn't imagine so.

Bit like how cheque and check aren't pronounced differently -- so not really
homonyms, as the meaning is the same (or at least in the North American
interpretation usage, one of the meanings matches the meanings of the standard
English word / spelling).

In English, meter is a device used to measure something, and it's convenient
to distinguish that by spelling (rather than relying on potentially ambiguous
context) from the SI unit for length -- the metre.

Similarly, a thousand x 1kg (SI unit for mass) gives you a tonne -- this is
also easily distinguished from the myriad variations of 'ton' that may refer
to mass or volume (eg UK, US, long, short, harbour). Seeing US publications
regularly use the phrase 'a metric ton' provokes a similar reaction of despair
for my horse.

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tomhoward
For non-Australians, "ute" is the widely-used abbreviation for "utility
vehicle".

~~~
elitistphoenix
Need to 'muricanise it more... It's a sort of pickup truck.

~~~
campfireveteran
Here, let me translate to American ;D - Chevy El Camino or Ford Ranchero.

 _" Two^ nations divided by a common language" \- (someone famous)_ ^Four,
really.

~~~
maxerickson
The Land Cruiser platform in the article is similar in size to the more
contemporary Ford Explorer Sport Trac:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Explorer_Sport_Trac](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Explorer_Sport_Trac)

It's also probably more comparable mechanically.

~~~
Nition
Do you guys get the Toyota Hilux[1] in the USA? That's a classic "ute".

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Hilux](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Hilux)

~~~
HeyLaughingBoy
We used to. I had the 4x4 version and I miss that truck. It was absolutely
bulletproof and would go anywhere and get back home in one piece.

Since 1993 or so it's been replaced by the Tacoma which might be even better,
but not as simple mechanically.

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tjmc
Very expensive. AUD200K is over USD$136K

~~~
toomuchtodo
Cheaper than running it on petrol you have to haul in. Have to look at total
operating costs, not just vehicle sticker.

~~~
flashman
I wonder how quickly it charges. Vehicles in mine sites are often in use
around the clock, which is fine if you can quickly top them up with fuel, but
if it takes a few hours to recharge them, you're going to need more vehicles.

~~~
toomuchtodo
The bigger the battery, the faster it can charge to 80% or so. The last 20% is
the slow charge, but if the vehicle is always plugged in when not moving, it’s
not a concern.

~~~
dsfyu404ed
Most of the time a mining vehicle (or any other vehicle used in a similar
setting) is not moving it is nowhere near a plug. It's not like buses or
delivery vehicles where they only ever stop when they're at some sort of "home
base" where they can charge. A mining vehicle is sitting around somewhere
remote while the operator gets out and surveys something or fixes something
(or it sits there with HVAC blasting while they do paperwork).

~~~
toomuchtodo
While a mine itself is remote, they typically either have utility power or on
site generation. Many mines are moving to renewables for local generation for
cost savings reasons. Anything you have to bring to a remote location is
expensive, including power or fuel.

~~~
dsfyu404ed
How the mine gets its power is irrelevant. The point is that these vehicles
are rarely stationary at any sort of base where they can charge. Most mines
run 24/7 (though often not at full capacity during the "off" hours). The duty
cycle is much higher than buses and delivery vehicles.

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redact207
I find it sadly ironic that the industry that's responsible for most emissions
and actively influences political position in this country to put profit
before the environment is the one that this zero emissions car is being
targeted at.

With that said, bravo on the implementation and using the 79 as a very solid
platform. The sales pitch of the article doesn't sound very compelling though,
so I wonder how much success they'll have. Until they can hit a cost parity
with diesels, it could be a bit of a slog.

~~~
roenxi
(1) Most of the mines in Australia aren't coal mines. Maybe there is a case
that Asia could prosper as they do without coal (I doubt it, but maybe) - but
there is no way they could have prospered like they have without vast amounts
of iron ore and copper. The environment absolutely takes a back seat to that
outrageous level of prosperity. And even then, Australian mines are pretty
environmentally sensitive.

Also, Australia seems to be ~40% of world's lithium production [0]. Probably
not going to complain about the emissions those mines kick up.

So basically, don't be sad. Maybe try for proud wonder.

(2) You'll often see solar panels in mines too (setting up infrastructure to a
grid is hard work) and I suspect mine rehab would often be a good place to
erect some windfarms.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining_in_Australia#Statistica...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining_in_Australia#Statistical_chart_of_Australia's_major_mineral_resources)

~~~
phs318u
Even when not directly responsible for emissions, the Australian mining sector
has been notoriously and effectively climate denialist. As an industry, miners
actively and successfully lobbied against the “carbon tax” implemented by the
Gillard Labor government [0]. In fact, the then CEO of my former employer
(Western Mining Corp, 90’s) Hugh Morgan, was then and still is an absolutely
single-minded climate change denialist, despite WMC being primarily a nickel
and uranium miner (at the time).

But what’s even more ironic is the fact that in the election earlier this
year, eventual PM Scott Morrison was lambasting the Labor leader Bill Shorten
for his proposed policy of a ICE vehicle phaseout, saying that Bill wanted to
take away people’s utes and “end the weekend” [1].

[0] [https://www.afr.com/policy/tax-and-super/miners-dig-deep-
to-...](https://www.afr.com/policy/tax-and-super/miners-dig-deep-to-battle-
carbon-tax-20110816-i4c7y)

[1] [https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-09/utes-electric-
cars...](https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-09/utes-electric-cars-and-
politics/10983298)

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DubiousPusher
Wow, that's a beautiful truck. I wish American utility vehicle designers would
go back to a boxier design.

Edit: I'd kill for a truck that had Land Rover looks with Ford or Toyota truck
reliability.

~~~
pgreenwood
The truck in the article is a converted 79 Series Toyota Land Cruiser. I would
have thought you could get one in USA?

~~~
DubiousPusher
That's funny, this got me googling around and I discovered my mistake. I
thought that looked like a retro Toyota grill. Definitely in love with the
Land Cruiser 70.

Unfortunately we can't get them in the states. Truly rugged bare bones
vehicles have sold so poorly in the U.S. that a base Ford pickup is about the
simplest thing you can buy here.

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rasz
$200K sounds like a lot, but thats about as much as a Landcruiser with Duramax
conversion (in AU).

