The Future of Mining Equipment Transportation?

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As the mining industry continues to look to technologies used by other industries to drive productivity and efficiency, will airships be included in that list?

In an effort to reduce operational costs associated with building extensive and expensive roads, mining companies are exploring alternative transport options for heavy equipment. A recent article in Bloomberg discusses how Air Ships may be used by the mining industry in the future to transport heavy equipment to remote areas. 

Here is an excerpt from the article:

Robin Young of Amur Minerals Corp. wants to dig for nickel and copper in Siberia where forbidding winters and poor roads make it tough to haul in equipment. His best option: fly it in with zeppelins.

Otherwise the London-traded explorer would have to spend about $150 million building a 350-kilometer (218-mile) road to truck in heavy construction gear, Chief Executive Officer Young said in an interview. Peter Hambro, executive chairman of gold producer Petropavlovsk Plc, said he invested in a maker of the airships and foresees the mining industry adopting them.

“To build a bridge to take a Toyota Land Cruiser isn’t horrifically expensive,” Hambro said. “To build a bridge that will take a Caterpillar 777 is very, very expensive,” he said, referring to the 87-ton dump truck used in mines.

Zeppelin and blimp manufacturers need mining contracts to creep back to life, 76 years after the Hindenburg burned and crashed in New Jersey, ending most buyer interest for decades. With better designs and a buoyant gas that can’t ignite, makers such as Worldwide Aeros Corp. and Hybrid Air Vehicles of the U.K. say they’re negotiating their first sales to the $960 billion mining industry to complement truck and rail transport. Read More.

Learn More about technologies used by other industries to drive productivity & efficiency in mining.  

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