At The Electric Mine 2026 conference last month in Lisbon, Portugal, IM Editorial Director Paul Moore had the opportunity to connect with the management team at Isle of Man-headquartered global mining technology provider MMD to talk in more detail about its landmark recent announcements. These include acquiring the global rights to intelligent material handling system, TraxIQ, from Anglo American; partnering with Chinese autonomous haulage leader CiDi to integrate advanced autonomous driving technology within the TraxIQ platform – and to offer those solutions to other clients outside of China; and finally, a new agreement with existing materials handling solution partner, DHHI.
Simultaneous with these developments, MMD has launched the MMD Centre of Excellence (COE), marking the next steps in the company’s journey. The COE is dedicated to advancing the next generation of mining technologies. By bringing together a team of engineering experts, MMD says the COE will strengthen its position in the mining industry with a comprehensive suite of material handling solutions and systems to meet the diverse needs of existing and new customers. It will also provide essential support to its global sales offices, ensuring that each solution is perfectly aligned with the specific requirements of every project.
The following is based on a discussion with Martin Vorster, Group Managing Director of MMD Group. Also present at the event were Chris Pearson, MMD Group Business Development Director; Luke Smith, MMD Centre of Excellence Programme Director – Mobile Equipment who has been involved with TraxIQ from the start – initially at Anglo American; and James Percy-Hughes, MMD’s new Head of Operations for TraxIQ, who was formerly with Anglo American and then First Mode.
While much of the detail around TraxIQ in particular remains confidential, broadly it upends the basic operational assumptions of conventional load and haul in mining by reframing key areas such as weight distribution, symmetry and modularity. Details on next steps, including trials and pilots, of the first systems and units are expected to be released in due course, but this serves to give some insight into the concept and its potential.
Q You just acquired the global rights to TraxIQ – which is an innovative mobile and modular rubber-tyred haulage solution. Traditionally, MMD has focused on large in-pit semi mobile, fixed and fully mobile sizer stations and feeders – why have you taken this decision now to diversify?
At MMD, we see this as a natural evolution of our innovation strategy. We are increasingly seeing demand for system-level optimisation, not just solutions based on the performance of individual equipment units – and TraxIQ answers that demand. In the past, and today, the mining industry has relied on large payload rigid mining trucks loaded by equally large rope shovels or hydraulic excavators – along with the very high operating and energy costs that come with that approach. TraxIQ challenges that model. It provides a more efficient, scalable, modular and low emission approach to material handling – one that still delivers the flexibility of trucks but around a new type of mining fleet ecosystem. Based on internal modelling of a specific case study mine – TraxIQ has the potential to offer approximately 50% faster cycles, approximately 70% less energy use per tonne hauled, plus potentially more than 45% cost reductions per tonne. It creates a significant opportunity to improve material flow across a wider range of mining applications and provide a larger offering to customers. Mid-Tier miners and major quarry operators for example, will be able to access the same benefits from TraxIQ as Tier 1 miners – whereas in the past both markets have been approached very differently by equipment suppliers, when in fact the challenges related to more efficient and greener haulage of mined materials remains the same.
Q What was it about this particular solution that made it a good fit?
Firstly, the solution aligns closely with how the industry is developing – there is a general realisation that the status quo in terms of full stack, truck OEM-led autonomy systems and hard to electrify ultraclass mining trucks is increasingly being re-evaluated as the industry looks to improve emissions reduction, flexibility and adaptability. TraxIQ offers a modular, scalable, and autonomous approach to haulage and system optimisation. We saw strong potential to integrate autonomy, electrification and digital coordination into a single efficient platform and create a continuous material movement system. It also complements well established mining infrastructure as well as our current product range.
Q Some major miners have talked for some time about their willingness to look at smaller mining trucks where it makes sense, in combination with solutions like the MMD Fully Mobile Surge Loader – do you think today’s miners are more willing to look at things differently?
Absolutely, the mining industry is becoming more open to alternative haulage models because of the challenges it will face going forward. Operators are under pressure to improve efficiency, energy use and operating costs – and to address the issue of attracting workers willing to take on roles at remote sites. We’ve also seen over the last few months how volatile both fuel and metal prices can be. The industry wants answers now, not in five years’ time. Mindsets are changing and there is growing recognition that bigger is not always the most efficient answer. Electrification and autonomy have changed this picture – and what is happening in China, where thousands of smaller battery electric and hybrid trucks are already operating autonomously – is increasingly attracting interest from other mining regions. Smaller payloads mean less energy per tonne and more units mean more continuous flow. Narrower roads reduce mine development costs and complexity; and the swarm model increases flexibility and scalability. You mentioned the MMD Fully Mobile Surge Loader (FMSL) – with our iFMSL platform – combining the surge loader concept with sensor-based ore analysis, we can offer much greater orebody control, where the FMSL has effectively become an ore analysing platform, as well as a step change in in-pit material flow. In combination with TraxIQ the potential we believe is far reaching – and we believe it is the right offering to respond to the increased interest in flexible, system-based approaches that optimise the full mining cycle.
Q Is there still room for a full IPCC-based mine with no truck haulage in certain situations?
Absolutely there is, as every operation has different requirements, constraints and economics. TraxIQ just expands the range of solutions available. At MMD, our focus – as it always has been – will be on providing the best system for each application. That is what has driven success at MMD to date, and will also continue to be the case. In some cases, a true IPCC offering may still deliver the right solution depending on many factors – pit geometry, mine planning, energy costs, comminution method etc. But increasingly, operators are seeing some kind of combination between the best of IPCC with a new paradigm in terms of the truck fleet, as the way forward.
Q You have also partnered with CiDi, a leading OEM agnostic autonomy company, for automation of the TraxIQ platform – what was it that impressed you at MMD about their capabilities and approach in terms of what you saw in China?
We were primarily impressed by the pace of development and practical deployment of autonomy solutions. Their technology is operational in a wide variety of applications across China, and it was incredibly impressive to witness first-hand. CiDi demonstrated to us strong technical capability and a flexible approach to integration. Not only that but CiDi is a very well-established autonomy provider with more than 1,500 trucks deployed, covering over 16 million kilometres of fully autonomous Level 4 driving, supported by an advanced AI-driven MetaMine fleet management system. Significantly, MMD is now the preferred provider of their autonomy solution outside of China, utilising our 20+ locations for after support and maintenance of their systems. So CiDi’s AHS will not only be deployed on TraxIQ but also retrofitted to other solutions too. This is important, given that many existing mines are looking to different options beyond the status quo of truck OEM-led full stack AHS – options that are more flexible and adaptable, and proven with new energy haulage options as that market develops.
Q MMD also just signed a new cooperation agreement with DHHI in China – DHHI is famous globally for its materials handling capabilities including in mining and shiploading – can you summarise how their solutions complement MMD’s core expertise in sizers, feeders and other technologies?
MMD and DHHI have highly complementary capabilities across material handling systems. With almost 50 years of delivering innovative solutions, MMD brings expertise in sizing, feeding and material processing. DHHI brings large-scale conveying and bulk materials handling capability. Together, this strengthens our ability as partners and collaborators to deliver integrated mining solutions across the full material flow chain – potentially together with TraxIQ as well. DHHI also provides downstream stacker and reclaimer solutions that complement MMD’s expertise in providing turnkey packages. Our relationship has already enabled MMD in collaboration with DHHI to install complete systems at the Simandou iron ore operations in Guinea, as well as further projects in Pakistan and Morocco. So, there is track record of collaboration – we have worked together on a number of projects globally which have shown how well we align in engineering capability and delivery approach. They have highlighted the value of combining complementary technologies and expertise. Our new agreement creates a stronger framework for future collaboration and integrated solutions development.