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Fully electric haulage system Railveyor has been incorporated into multiple key elements of NioCorp’s updated feasibility study for its Elk Creek critical minerals project in Nebraska.
NioCorp’s August NI 43-101 Technical Report confirms an integrated role for Railveyor within the mine design, Railveyor CEO Tas Mohamed said Wednesday.
“This fully electric, automated system is ultimately planned to become the principal underground-to-surface haulage solution on the project,” she said.
The updated Elk Creek project study envisages an integrated underground mine and processing operation producing niobium, scandium, titanium and magnetic rare earth products.
The mineral reserve supports a 40-year production life, with the project designed to process 46 million short tons of ore. At steady state, the mine is targeting 3,047 tons per day of production.
Two-ramp design
The revised design replaces the twin-shaft concept considered in the earlier feasibility study with two ramps. The South Ramp is dedicated to Railveyor haulage, while the North Ramp provides personnel, equipment and service access.
The fully electric, automated material-handling system comprises underground loading stations, surface discharge loops for ore and waste, a maintenance facility, track switches and automated control infrastructure. The feasibility study also allows the Railveyor ramp to form part of the mine’s overall ventilation architecture.
The updated mine design gains substantial economic benefits from the twin-ramp configuration, the company said. An earlier NioCorp scoping study estimated that the concept could reduce initial underground capital by 53% compared with the shaft configuration. There are also savings in operating costs of some $0.63 per tonne.
NioCorp COO Scott Honan said the Railveyor system is well suited to the underground mining environment and can be operated and maintained by people with a basic underground mining skill set.
Mine electrification strategy
Railveyor technology also aligns closely with Elk Creek’s wider electrification strategy. The feasibility study prioritises battery-electric underground equipment to reduce emissions, heat load and ventilation demand. Railveyor itself is electrically powered, and its inclusion means a significant component of underground bulk haulage can operate without a conventional diesel truck fleet.
“The mining industry has traditionally asked: How do we replace this diesel machine with an electric machine?” Mohamed said. “I think the better question is: How do we design the mine differently if electricity is our primary source of energy?”
In 2024, Agnico Eagle Mines implemented the Railveyor system at its Goldex mining complex in Val-d’Or, Quebec, reporting it had reduced carbon emissions by 39% and lowered opex by up to 75%.
