Digging the First Hole – Mega Vans & Lakes of the Future
Step one of building a clean industrial civilization is very advanced: pick up a rock. Step two: put it somewhere useful. Do that a few billion times — quietly, electrically — and the empty space becomes a lake, the rock becomes a factory, and your children ask why mines ever used to smoke.
Why a hole becomes a lake (on purpose)
Old mining left scars because the plan ended at “take stuff out.” Our plan ends at “leave something better.” As we move earth to feed clean smelters, we shape the void with gentle benches and a waterproofed basin. When the rock has told its story, water tells the next: a reservoir for cooling, aquaculture, recreation, and climate-buffering for the surrounding town.
- Benches & slopes reduce landslide risk and give wildlife terraces to return.
- Littoral shelves (shallow rims) turn the shoreline into a biodiversity superhighway.
- Treated tailings become engineered walls, roads, and building blocks — not waste.
- Water budget favors local rainfall + transfers from clean process water loops.
Meet the electric fleet (quiet thunder)
🛻 Mega Vans (Haul Trucks)
Custom, mass‑produced, 200 t payload. No diesel, no smoke.
Battery 3–5 MWh Peak power 2–4 MW Onboard flywheel (10–50 kWh) for burst power & regen smoothingFlywheels handle the brutal spikes (launches, dumps). Batteries handle the miles.
⛏️ Electric Shovels / Excavators
High‑duty machines on shore power. Think “industrial gym equipment,” but it lifts mountains.
Rated 5–20 MW (duty‑cycle limited) Fast‑swap wear parts Telemetry + auto‑dig profilesTethered to the microgrid for ruthless efficiency per ton.
🧠 Autonomy & Orchestration
A local “relay” network coordinates loading, paths, and charging. The site supercomputer optimizes routes, balances power draw, and schedules charge windows so the solar plant hums instead of spikes.
Geofenced platooning Collision‑proof V2X Predictive maintenanceBack‑of‑the‑envelope (numbers you can hold)
Example site: “Lake Zero”
Scale check: 50 million m³ is a respectable regional lake and a serious thermal buffer for nearby industry.
Energy per ton to move earth
Hauling is mostly physics. Lifting mass up a grade + rolling resistance − downhill regen:
E ≈ m·g·h (grade) + Crr·m·g·d (rolling)
With smart regen on the downhill, net energy is modest.
- Base case (2 km @ 5%): ~0.54 kWh/ton (net)
- Typical planning range: 0.5–1.0 kWh/ton (terrain & layout dependent)
What that means on a clock
Move all 90 Mt in ~300–320 days with a sensible fleet:
- Fleet example: 20 trucks × 200 t × 3 trips/h × 24 h ≈ 288,000 t/day
- Hauling energy (fleet avg): ~6.4 MW (≈155 MWh/day)
- Site envelope incl. shovels/pumps: design for ~12–20 MW average
That’s “a small data‑center” worth of continuous power — perfect for a solar‑first microgrid.
Pre‑calculated scenarios (static — Shopify friendly)
Scenario A — Small Lake
500 m × 500 m × 30 m, bulk density 1.8 t/m³.
- Avg hauling power: ~1.6 MW
- Other loads (est): 3–6 MW → 5–8 MW site avg
- PV nameplate (min): ~34 MWp • growth: 50–80 MWp
- Storage for 12 h: ~80 MWh (fleet adds ~40 MWh if 4 MWh/truck)
Scenario B — Lake Zero (Base)
1 km × 1 km × 50 m, bulk density 1.8 t/m³.
- Avg hauling power: ~6.4 MW
- Other loads (est): 5–10 MW → 12–18 MW site avg
- PV nameplate (min): ~74 MWp • growth: 110–200 MWp
- Storage for 12 h: ~173 MWh (fleet adds ~80 MWh if 4 MWh/truck)
Scenario C — XL Lake
1.5 km × 1.5 km × 60 m, bulk density 1.8 t/m³.
- Avg hauling power: ~19.3 MW
- Other loads (est): 10–20 MW → 30–40 MW site avg
- PV nameplate (min): ~176 MWp • growth: 260–400 MWp
- Storage for 12 h: ~412 MWh (fleet adds ~160 MWh if 4 MWh/truck)
Energy‑per‑trip cheat sheet
200‑t payload, empty mass ~190 t, 10 m/s cruise, 90% drivetrain eff, 70% downhill regen.
| Route | Energy / trip |
|---|---|
| Short & gentle • 1 km @ 3% grade | ~37 kWh |
| Base case • 2 km @ 5% grade | ~107 kWh |
| Longer haul • 3 km @ 5% grade | ~161 kWh |
| Steeper • 2 km @ 8% grade | ~156 kWh |
Rule of thumb: grade hurts more than distance, and regen gives most of the downhill back.
How fast do we finish? (Lake Zero mass: 90 Mt)
| Fleet | Throughput (t/day) | Days to finish |
|---|---|---|
| 12 trucks • 200 t • 3 tph | 172,800 | ~521 |
| 20 trucks • 200 t • 3 tph | 288,000 | ~313 |
| 30 trucks • 200 t • 3 tph | 432,000 | ~208 |
| 40 trucks • 200 t • 3 tph | 576,000 | ~156 |
| 60 trucks • 200 t • 3 tph | 864,000 | ~104 |
Throughput = trucks × payload × trips/h × 24. Numbers assume smooth dispatch & minimal queuing.
PV & Storage sizing (quick picks)
PV minimum assumes ~5.5 “peak‑sun hours” and 85% system efficiency. “Growth” adds margin to power more factories.
| Scenario | Daily energy (MWh) | Avg load (MW) | PV min (MWp) | PV growth (MWp) | Storage 12 h (MWh) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Lake | ~159 | ~6.6 | ~34 | ~51–80 | ~80 |
| Lake Zero (Base) | ~347 | ~14.4 | ~74 | ~110–200 | ~173 |
| XL Lake | ~824 | ~34.3 | ~176 | ~260–400 | ~412 |
Fleet batteries double as distributed storage: ~4 MWh per truck → add 40–160 MWh depending on fleet size.
Powering the pit (solar first, forever)
We start by building a solar‑panel factory right next to the site — the seed factory. Those panels power the pit, which supplies materials to expand the factory, which makes more panels. It’s a loop, not a line.
Microgrid sketch
- PV field: see table above (base: ~75 MWp minimum; we’ll likely install 110–200 MWp for growth)
- Storage: site batteries sized for ~12 h average load (base: ~170–200 MWh), plus the truck packs
- Dispatch: shovel tethering + scheduled truck charges flatten peaks
- Backup: green hydrogen turbines or grid tie (optional)
Why it feels unlimited
Earth absorbs ~170,000 TW of solar. Our entire clean industry needs single‑digit TW long‑term. We will play in terawatts — by manufacturing land‑area collectors faster than we can invent excuses.
Geometry, safety, water & dust
Safe pit profile
- Bench height: 10–15 m; bench width: 15–25 m
- Overall slope: 30°–45° depending on rock & geology
- Haul roads: ≥ 3× truck width, gentle curves, passing bays
- Drainage: lined sumps, permanent dewatering wells during ops
Air & water are sacred
- All‑electric fleet means no diesel exhaust, minimal NOx/PM.
- Misters & electric water trucks suppress dust; water recirculated.
- Baselining groundwater, lining where needed, and transparent monitoring.
- Plant trees as if your kids breathe here (because they will).
FAQ
Isn’t mining… dirty?
Where do the electrons come from?
Why flywheels on trucks?
What happens when the hole is done?
Up next: Sorting the Earth — From Rocks to Ores (Post 2). Spoiler: magnets, vibrations, and a machine that politely says “you are not ore” 10,000 times a second.