Misra’s five-year target to use EVs in place of replacement-due machines
Sweden’s mining equipment manufacturer Epiroc Rock Drills AB and Finland’s machinery manufacturer Normet Group Oy are helping Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) shift to electric vehicles (EVs) for both underground operations and surface mobility for employees.
Making their way to replace diesel and fossil fuel based vehicles at Hindustan Zinc’s mining locations will be state-of-the-art zero emission electric vehicles, said HZL, India’s only and among world’s leading integrated zinc-lead-silver producer.
The EVs deployment is progressing under MoUs signed with Epiroc and Normet last year.
The company recently added to its fleet of electric vehicles, including electric scooters for security staff, passenger EVs at locations, and underground service EV for mines. All these vehicles are in addition to the MoUs that Hindustan Zinc has already signed to introduce Battery-based EVs in underground mining operations.
“Our decarbonization journey is not only substituting underground frontline vehicles with electric alternatives but also making this shift in service vehicles, LMVs, and passenger vehicles across our locations,” Hindustan Zinc CEO Arun Misra said on 11 Mar 2022.
“Our aim is that in the next five years’ time all machines due for replacement are only replaced with battery-operated vehicles to realise our vision of zero emission and carbon free mining,” he said.
In a pioneering move to decarbonise mining activities in India, Hindustan Zinc is introducing battery-based electric vehicles across its underground mines in Rajasthan.
At Hindustan Zinc, sustainability is an intrinsic aspect of the company’s operations and all business decisions. The company is on an ambitious sustainability journey, led by its Sustainability Goals 2025 and driven by the vision of ‘ZERO HARM, ZERO WASTE, ZERO DISCHARGE’.
In this ESG journey, HZL has planned US$1 billion investment to go green in the next five years while continuously leading decarbonisation practices. Hindustan Zinc’s commitment to ESG and sustainable reporting practices have also earned them 5th rank globally in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index 2021 among Metal and Mining companies.
The Udaipur-headquartered HZL, a Vedanta Group Company, is one of the world’s largest and India’s only integrated producer of Zinc-Lead and Silver. It is self-sufficient in power with captive thermal power plants and has ventured into green energy by setting upwind power plants.
The Company is ranked 1st in Asia-Pacific and globally 5th in Dow Jones Sustainability Index in 2021 amongst Mining & Metal companies. Hindustan Zinc is a certified Water Positive Company, a member of the FTSE4Good Index & S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook 2022 and a Bronze Medal winner at the S&P Global Sustainability Awards. fiinews.com
