A reproducible factorial screening framework for energy and operational-carbon attribution in battery-electric underground mines

Underground-mine electrification alters traction demand and ventilation requirements for diesel exhaust and heat, yet sequential reporting prevents consistent attribution. This study presents a reproducible 2 3 factorial screening framework separating the effects of fleet type, ventilation control and operational coordination on annual final energy, operational greenhouse-gas emissions and purchased-energy expenditure. Eight deterministic scenarios represent an illustrative 1.20 Mt y −1 mine. Direct diesel and location-based electricity emissions were combined at a reference grid factor of 0.20 t CO 2 e MWh −1 . Compared with the diesel, fixed-ventilation, conventional-dispatch reference (18,767 MWh y −1 ; 4,488 t CO 2 e y −1 ), the battery-electric, dynamic-ventilation, coordinated case required 4,061 MWh y −1 and emitted 812 t CO 2 e y −1 , reductions of 78.4% and 81.9%. Mean final-energy effects were − 8,974 MWh y −1 for electrification, −5,268 for dynamic ventilation and − 494 for coordination; the fleet–ventilation interaction was − 735. A corrected like-for-like sensitivity applied the same grid factor to all scenarios and found no operational-carbon crossover over 0–0.80 t CO 2 e MWh −1 . At illustrative prices, expenditure fell 79.5%, excluding capital and production effects. The framework supports transparent screening; investment and safety decisions require site metering, ventilation-network verification and productivity validation.