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.
This marks a significant step in the market’s recognition of this automated haulage technology in the US, according to Railveyor CEO Tas Mohamed. NioCorp’s August NI 43-101 Technical Report confirms an integrated role for Railveyor within the mine design, says Mohamed.
“Rather than being treated simply as an alternative to conventional underground trucks, Railveyor is now embedded in the project’s primary material-handling architecture,” she said. “This fully electric, automated system is ultimately planned to become the principal underground-to-surface haulage solution on the project.”
The Elk Creek project is one of the most significant proposed US domestic critical minerals developments. The updated 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 scale and longevity of the operation make the haulage decision particularly important. Railveyor has been integrated into the mine from its access infrastructure through to production, said Mohamed. 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.
This 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 selection of Railveyor reflects a reconsideration of how material moves through the mine and how it is integrated into the overall mine infrastructure,” she explained. “The plan is to introduce the system progressively as underground development advances.”
The two-ramp option and the use of Railveyor to deliver mined ore to the process plant also saves as much as five months in the timeline to full commercial production – allowing the project to reach the market with its critical minerals even sooner than initially expected.
Primary haulage
Initial installation is planned at the 210 Level, with the first segment extending from that level to surface. Conventional truck haulage will continue to support development and areas not yet served by Railveyor, but during steady-state production the Railveyor system becomes the primary underground-to-surface haulage method.
The project features a production system of five 1,080 foot Railveyor trains with a nominal capacity of 340 tons per hour. Ore and waste from the 490, 690 and 930 levels will be transferred into the system through ore passes equipped with grizzlies, arc gates and vibratory feeders. Battery-electric LHDs will transport material from production stopes to the ore passes. According to Mohamed, the Railveyor concept combines continuous material movement with electrification and automation.
“The value of this solution comes from several areas,” she said. “These include simpler underground infrastructure alongside continuous and autonomous material movement – as well as lower energy consumption, reduced dependence on diesel and more economical operating and capital costs.”
Saving capital and operating costs
The updated mine design gains substantial economic benefits from the twin-ramp configuration. 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 US$0,63 per tonne.
“These findings are from the broader NioCorp study rather than Railveyor performance claims, but they demonstrate the potential impact of changing the mine’s haulage architecture,” she pointed out.
In his assessment of the Railveyor technology, NioCorp COO Scott Honan said: “The beauty of the Railveyor system is its simple and rugged design.” He also noted that it 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
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?” said Mohamed. “I think the better question is: How do we design the mine differently if electricity is our primary source of energy?”
Proven technology
NioCorp’s confidence in the technology has also been informed by operating experience elsewhere. Company personnel visited the Doe Run operation in Missouri, where Railveyor had an established operating history.
“That site visit helped demonstrate that Railveyor was more than a theoretical solution,” Mohamed says. “It has an operating history and a successful track record.”
She argued that Railveyor’s inclusion in the Elk Creek study in fact represents more than a project milestone. It provides a high-profile reference application in a major US critical-minerals development and demonstrates how electric autonomous haulage can be considered as part of mine architecture from the outset.
Mainstream planning
“The biggest message is that electric haulage is moving from the margins of mining into mainstream mine planning,” said Mohamed. “Electrification is not just about replacing diesel equipment; it is an opportunity to rethink the way a mine is designed.”
With Elk Creek’s 40-year operating horizon, multi-commodity production profile and strategic focus on US critical-minerals supply, Railveyor’s role positions the company at the intersection of mine electrification, automation and the emerging drive for more secure domestic mineral supply.
“The feasibility study provides validation of Railveyor’s technology at project level, and also a potentially blueprint for its application across other large-scale critical-minerals developments in North America and targeted markets globally,” she said.
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About Railveyor Technologies Inc.
Railveyor is the one of the world’s most innovative mining bulk material handling systems. Fully-electric and TrulyAutonomous, its narrow-gauge light rail system is propelled by low-horsepower stationary power plants adjacent to the rail route. Railveyor’s goal as an enterprise is to maximize efficiency of mines’ haulage operations, doing this in a safe, sustainable, and scalable way using the most durable and efficient mechanical system driven by a leading software solution.
