Rail-Veyor Technologies Global Inc (RVTG) has announced that PJSC Sukha Balka, a major Ukrainian mining company, has signed a contract to purchase the Railveyor® material handling system for their Frunze underground iron ore mine.

The agreement was signed by Jim Fisk, Executive Chairman for Railveyor, and Vitaliy Bash, General Director for Sukha Balka. Also in attendance were Lisa Youngblood, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for RVTG, and Serhii Lopatin, Deputy Director for PJSC Sukha Balka.

As part of Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih iron ore complex, Sukha Balka has recently attained production of up to 65% Fe commercial ore. Manufacturing of the Railveyor system will begin in 2022 with completion of the first phase in 2023 and completion of the second phase in 2026.

“This agreement is an excellent step forward for both of our companies,” says Fisk. “For Rail–Veyor’s part, we’re proud to mark the third contract signed since late 2019 with mining companies in this region of the globe. We believe that more successful applications will lead to many more agreements like this.”

Vitaliy Bash of Sukha Balka first gained interest in the Railveyor system during a tour of Agnico Eagle’s Goldex mine. Although the tour was originally designed for representatives of Sukha Balka to evaluate other mining equipment in use at that site, they were intrigued by the promise of a cost-saving and environmentally friendly haulage system.

After extensive vetting, including a sixteen week engineering study undertaken with the participation of the SE “UkrNIPIIpromtechnology” design institute, Rail–Veyor’s Engineering Department (led by Tim Wiitanen, VP of Project Engineering) and Igor Piltek, Chief Engineer for Sukha Balka, the Railveyor system was the chosen technology to bring the material haulage at Sukha Balka’s Frunze mine into a more cost-effective and sustainable future.