Looking at a typical mining site, wear steel is used as liners in hoppers, feeders and chutes, as well as for hammers in crushers or in screens for sorting.

Hardox® 600 is, SSAB says, a wear steel that performs well across a surprisingly wide range of abrasive materials, operating requirements and types of equipment, including for iron ore miner LKAB.

Hardox 600 has a nominal hardness of 600 HBW. Despite its hardness, it has a toughness that is rare for such a hard wear steel, according to the company. This gives it outstanding wear resistance, while enabling it to resist impact damage from rocks and other heavy loads. It is also through-hardened, with a minimum core hardness of 90% of the guaranteed minimum surface hardness.

As a major iron ore company, LKAB can’t afford any loss in productivity. Unscheduled downtime can severely impact throughput and, in turn, financial performance. It ships around 30 Mt of iron ore each year from its harbour in Narvik, above the Arctic Circle in Norway.

When LKAB started to experience too many unplanned shutdowns – and unwanted associated costs – it looked for a more durable wear steel for its skips and chutes. That’s why it chose Hardox 600, one of the hardest grades of Hardox steel. Before its decision, LKAB collaborated with SSAB on a performance optimisation project, which ultimately gave it the green light to go ahead with Hardox 600.

Due to the many factors influencing wear life in mining operations, SSAB says it always recommend a thorough assessment by wear specialists. For LKAB, a 600 HBW steel was the best choice. In most wear situations, there is a sweet spot where the wear rate drops significantly if the steel’s hardness is high enough relative to the severity of the abrasive material.