The first pit is dug – "megavans" and future lakes
The first step in creating a clean industrial civilization is very advanced: lift the stone. The second step: place it where it will be useful. Repeat this several billion times — quietly, electrically — and empty space becomes a lake, stone becomes a factory, and your children ask why mines once smoked.
Why a pit turns into a lake (on purpose)
Old mining left scars because the plan ended at "take out what is valuable." Our plan ends with "leave something better". Moving soil to feed clean smelting furnaces, we shape the void with gentle steps and a waterproofed basin. When the rock tells its story, the water tells another: a reservoir for cooling, aquaculture, recreation, and a climate buffer for the surrounding town.
- Stairs (terraces) and slopes reduce landslide risk and provide terraces for wildlife to return.
- Coastal shelves (shallow edges) turn the coast into a biodiversity corridor.
- Processed tails become engineering walls, roads, and construction blocks — not waste.
- Water balance relies on local precipitation + transfers from clean technological water cycles.
Meet the electric fleet (silent thunder)
🛻 Mega vans (quarry dump trucks)
Specially designed, mass-produced, 200 t payload. No diesel, no smoke.
Battery 3–5 MWh Max power 2–4 MW Built-in flywheel (10–50 kWh) for power surges and regeneration smoothingFlywheels "absorb" harsh shocks (starts, unloads). Batteries cover kilometers.
⛏️ Electric shovels / excavators
Heavy-duty machines powered from the grid. Think "industrial trainers," but moving mountains.
Rated 5–20 MW (limited by duty cycle) Quick-change wearable parts Telemetry + automatic digging profilesTied to the microgrid — ruthless efficiency per ton.
🧠 Autonomy & orchestration
Local "relay" network coordinates loading, routes, and charging. The site supercomputer optimizes paths, balances power draw, and schedules charging windows so the solar plant hums steadily instead of jumping.
Geographically restricted convoy driving Collision-resistant V2X Predictive maintenanceCalculations "on the envelope" (numbers you can "touch")
Sample site: "Lake Zero"
Scale check: 50 million m³ — a solid regional lake and a serious thermal buffer for nearby industry.
Energy to move one ton of soil
Transport — mostly physics. Mass lifting on grade + rolling resistance − downhill regeneration:
E ≈ m·g·h (grade) + Crr·m·g·d (rolling)
With smart regeneration, the net energy demand is small.
- Base case (2 km @ 5%): ~0.54 kWh/ton (net)
- Typical planning interval: 0.5–1.0 kWh/ton (depends on terrain and layout)
What this means in terms of time
Move all 90 Mt over ~300–320 days with a smart park:
- Park example: 20 trucks × 200 t × 3 trips/hr × 24 hr ≈ 288,000 t/day
- Transport energy (park average): ~6.4 MW (≈155 MWh/d)
- All site demand, incl. shovels/pumps: design for ~12–20 MW average
This is the constant power level of a "small data center" — 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.
- Average transport power: ~1.6 MW
- Other users (estimate): 3–6 MW → 5–8 MW site average
- PV nominal (min.): ~34 MWp • growth: 50–80 MWp
- Storage 12 h: ~80 MWh (park adds ~40 MWh if 4 MWh/truck)
Scenario B — Lake Zero (baseline)
1 km × 1 km × 50 m, bulk density 1.8 t/m³.
- Average transport power: ~6.4 MW
- Other users (estimate): 5–10 MW → 12–18 MW site average
- PV nominal (min.): ~74 MWp • growth: 110–200 MWp
- Storage 12 h: ~173 MWh (park 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.
- Average transport power: ~19.3 MW
- Other users (est.): 10–20 MW → 30–40 MW site average
- PV nominal (min.): ~176 MWp • growth: 260–400 MWp
- Storage 12 h: ~412 MWh (park adds ~160 MWh if 4 MWh/truck)
Memo: energy per trip
200 t payload, empty weight ~190 t, 10 m/s cruise, 90% drive efficiency, 70% descent regeneration.
| Route | Energy / trip |
|---|---|
| Short and gentle • 1 km @ 3% slope | ~37 kWh |
| Base case • 2 km @ 5% slope | ~107 kWh |
| Longer haul • 3 km @ 5% slope | ~161 kWh |
| Steeper • 2 km @ 8% slope | ~156 kWh |
Rule: slope "hurts" more than distance, and regeneration returns most of the descent energy.
How long until we finish? ("Lake Zero" mass: 90 Mt)
| Fleet | Throughput (t/d) | Days until completion |
|---|---|---|
| 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 × useful load × trips/hr × 24. Numbers assume smooth dispatch and minimal queue.
PV and storage selection (quick picks)
PV minimum is based on ~5.5 "peak sun hours" and 85% system efficiency. "Growth" adds a buffer to power more plants.
| Scenario | Daily energy (MWh) | Avg. load (MW) | PV min (MWp) | PV growth (MWp) | Storage 12 hr (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 |
Park batteries together act as distributed storage: ~4 MWh per truck → +40–160 MWh, depending on park size.
Pit energy (primarily sun, always)
We start by building a solar module factory next to the site — a seed factory. Those modules feed the pit, which supplies materials for factory expansion, which produces even more modules. It's a loop, not a line.
Microgrid sketch
- PV field: see table above (base: ~75 MWp minimum; likely we'll install 110–200 MWp for growth)
- Storage: site batteries ~12 hours at average load (base: ~170–200 MWh), plus truck packs
- Control: cable-powered excavators + planned truck charging smooths peaks
- Reserve: green hydrogen turbines or grid connection (optional)
Why it feels boundless
The Earth absorbs ~170,000 TW of solar energy. Our entire clean industry eventually needs a single-digit TW. We'll play with terawatts — producing planar collectors faster than we can come up with excuses.
Geometry, safety, water, and dust
Safe pit profile
- Bench height: 10–15 m; bench width: 15–25 m
- Overall slope: 30°–45° depending on rock and geology
- Haul roads: ≥ 3× truck width, gentle turns, passing bays
- Drainage: lined collection pits (sumps), continuous dewatering wells during operation
Air and water — sacred
- A fully electric park means no diesel emissions, minimal NOx/particulates.
- Sprayers and electric water trucks suppress dust; water is recirculated.
- Establishing an underground water base, covers where needed, and transparent monitoring.
- Plant trees as if your children will breathe here (because they will).
FAQ
Is mining... dirty?
Where do the electrons come from?
Why flywheels in trucks?
What happens when the pit is finished?
Next: Earth sorting — from rocks to ores (Entry 2). Spoiler: magnets, vibrations, and a machine that politely says "you're not ore" 10,000 times per second.