Mining Engineering Students Explore Electrification Options for Red Chris Mine Expansion

A team of final-year UBC Mining Engineering students—Endo Cui, Gabriel Demers, Angelica Gonzales del Valle Solis, Billy Ruan, and Tom Terblanche—recently completed a comprehensive electrification feasibility study for the Red Chris Mine in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle. The project was conducted in collaboration with Newmont Corporation, which is evaluating a $2 billion expansion to transition the open-pit copper-gold mine into a block cave operation capable of processing nearly 15 million tonnes of ore annually.

The students assessed 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.

This project exemplifies the integration of sustainability considerations into mining engineering education and highlights the potential for electrification to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the mining sector.

For more details on this project, visit the UBC Engineering Spotlight.