ASSESSMENT OF ALTERNATIVE POWER SOURCES FOR MOBILE MINING MACHINERY.

RESULTS ARE PRESENTED OF AN ASSESSMENT OF ALTERNATIVE POWERSOURCES FOR MINING APPLICATIONS, PRIMARILY MOBILE UNDERGROUND EQUIPMENT. EACH CANDIDATE ALTERNATIVE POWER SOURCE WAS ASSESSED IN TERMS OF THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS, WHICH WERE ESTABLISHED AS A FIRST STEP IN THE ASSESSMENT: ABILITY TO ACHIEVE THE DUTY CYCLE; ABILITY TO MEET GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS; AVAILABILITY (PRODUCTION READINESS); MARKET AVAILABILITY; AND PACKAGING CAPABILITY. AN INITIAL SCREENING REDUCED A VARIETY OF POSSIBLE CANDIDATES TO THE FOLLOWING, WHICH WERE EVALUATED IN MORE DETAIL: IMPROVED DIESEL; STIRLING; GAS TURBINE;RANKINE (STEAM); ADVANCED ELECTRIC (BATTERIES); MECHANICAL ENERGY STORAGE (FLYWHEEL); AND USE OF HYDROGEN EVOLVED FROM METAL HYDRIDES. THE CANDIDATE POWER SOURCES WERE DIVIDED INTO TWO CATEGORIES - HEAT ENGINES AND ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS. EACH ALTERNATIVE POWER SOURCE IS DESCRIBED BRIEFLY, INCLUDING ITS CURRENT DEVELOPMENT STATUS, SPECIFIC PROBLEM AREAS, AND POSSIBLE FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS.