Case study
EcoHoist case study
The case study explores the commercial value created by installing an EcoHoist at an operating underground gold mine.
NPV increased by A$149 M
Project IRR of 167%
Over 100,000 tCO2e reduced
250 ktpa increase in production
7 fewer trucks
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Case study - executive summary
The EcoHoist is a vertical material transport solution for underground mines. It is an alternative to traditional skip hoisting and load and haul methods. The EcoHoist can increase production rates, lower the lifetime cost of mining and reduce operational emissions.
This case study compares three different scenarios for a hypothetical underground gold mine, focusing on the financial and environmental impacts of installing an EcoHoist. The three scenarios are compared by estimating the differences in capital expenditure, operating expenditure and carbon dioxide emissions, and then forecasting the mine's cash flow for each scenario. In the first scenario, the Base Case, the mine continues to operate as is, using diesel haul trucks to transport ore from underground. In the second scenario, named EcoHoist, a majority of the truck fleet is replaced by an EcoHoist and maintains the same production rate as the Base Case. The third scenario, named EcoHoist+, increases the mine’s production rate by 25% due to the removal of an assumed trucking bottleneck. The EcoHoist scenarios offered a compelling internal rate of return (IRR) relative to the Base Case, while simultaneously reducing the mine’s lifetime carbon dioxide emissions.
An additional set of scenarios were introduced to assess the common case of the ore reserve being increased. The additional ore reserve further increased the commercial improvement offered by the EcoHoist scenarios. This study illustrates how an EcoHoist can enhance the financial and environmental performance of an operating underground mine.
