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Epiroc focused on ‘connecting the dots’ to create mine of the future

Automation, IoT, Mining equipment, Mining events, Mining software, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ahead of Epiroc’s Capital Markets Day (CMD) and MINExpo 2024 at a hotel just outside of Las Vegas, Helena Hedblom, Epiroc President and CEO, was happy to tackle the industry’s big three: automation, digitalisation and electrification.

Hedblom, like the heads of her fellow OEMs, has big ambitions for these three technology pillars, but the way Epiroc is looking to meet these ambitions is different.

The company’s “agnostic” philosophy has been a key differentiator for the past years, and even as more OEMs start to open up their architecture and platforms to the wider vendor marketplace, it is this attitude that is likely to help it lead from the front.

“Our ambition is to provide mixed fleet automation,” Hedblom told IM last week. “That is what we have invested in quite heavily over the last two years; we have acquired two companies in RCT and ASI Mining to allow us to achieve this.

“This is how we see the future of mining when it comes to automation, having the capabilities to operate whatever type of equipment there might be in that mine, including utility vehicles.”

Epiroc has, as of the CMD last week, 3,100 machines running without drivers. This is up 29% from the last CMD in June 2023, with the company noting that there was “great potential to connect an even larger fleet” via Epiroc machines and/or units from other OEMs.

RCT, underground, has a track record of achieving such autonomy on a wide range of machines, while, on surface, ASI Mining has proven it can do the same with the fleet at Roy Hill, in Western Australia.

Epiroc is currently converting Roy Hill’s mixed fleet to driverless operation in Australia, with 78 autonomous haul trucks made up of Caterpillar and Hitachi trucks, and over 200 utility vehicles.

Roy Hill remains the sole case study on surface, but Hedblom says the company will soon transition to the ‘scale’ of its “nail and scale” process that leads to adding more mine sites to its agnostic automation platform.

Hedblom is convinced the ability to automate the entire fleet – whether the machines are “digitally connected” or not – plus integrate the highest levels of collision avoidance solution, will go far in eradicating the need to allow autonomous and staffed equipment to operate in the same zones underground and on surface.

“If you have all the utility vehicles automated, that is the key,” she said. “It is more than just automation; through the Mernok acquisition, we’re now able to bring in Level 7, 8 and 9 collision avoidance technologies.

“Technology-wise, it is all coming together.”

IM Editor, Dan Gleeson, met with Epiroc President & CEO, Helena Hedblom, ahead of the company’s CMD and MINExpo 2024 in Las Vegas

Electrification

The big stats in terms of electrification include:

  • 42% of the offering in “fossil free” versions;
  • Battery-electric vehicles deployed at 34 sites;
  • An active electric fleet of rigs, loaders and trucks totalling over 600 units (of which a large portion is historical fleet, including cable);
  • Recurring battery-electric vehicle orders from 12 sites; and
  • A three times increase in the utilisation rate of battery-electric vehicles during the last 12 months.

The other statistic of note is that, as it stands, Epiroc group revenues related to electrification amount to just 4%.

This indicates both Epiroc and the industry are still in the initial stages of this transition; an opinion backed up by claims from the Electric Mine Consortium that Sandvik’s battery-electric truck population across the globe represents only 15% and, as it stands, no battery-electric load and haul equipment has been sold commercially in one of the biggest underground markets: Australia.

Hedblom, here, sees parallels with the automation uptick in the industry.

“This transformation is happening in the same way that automation evolved,” she said. “A couple of years ago, we had some customers that had greenfield operations and decided to go fully electric. Now we see more customers looking at repeat orders.”

The automation analogues also come with the fact that Epiroc – unlike other OEMs – is offering a mid-life rebuild option to convert some of its existing diesel-powered load and haul fleet to battery-electric operation.

Epiroc has plans to offer this conversion option across its full existing diesel-powered load and haul fleet by 2030.

The addition of ‘fossil free’ in the Epiroc lexicon over the last few years reflects the need to put multiple options on the table for miners.

“We see that there will be different types of solutions needed during the coming 10 or 20 years, depending on mining method, type of application, etc,” Hedblom said.

This was made apparent on the floor at MINExpo where Epiroc showcased the MT66 S e Drive, a Pit Viper 271 E and a SmartROC D65 BE. The former is a diesel-electric haul truck that uses both diesel engine and electric drivetrain to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, the SmartROC D65 is a battery-electric down-the-hole drill demonstrator that trams on battery yet is plugged in for drilling, while the Pit Viper 271 E is currently envisaged as a unit connected to the site’s renewable electricity infrastructure for that ‘fossil free’ operation.

The Minetruck MT66 S e Drive

“We believe there will be a combination of different energy sources in this mix,” Hedblom said, reeling off the likes of battery-electric, cable, trolley and hybrid options. Additionally, biofuel ‘drop-in’ solutions are already available for conventionally powered machines in its offering.

She added: “Sometimes the discussion is all about benchmarking diesel against a fossil-free machine, but the reality is that every machine we are developing now cannot just be on par with its diesel counterpart. It must be better – faster up the ramp, filling the bucket faster, etc – to ensure we provide productivity benefits and a lower total cost of ownership for customers.”

Digitalisation

From an M&A perspective, digitalisation has been a key focus area for Epiroc since the Atlas Copco spinoff in 2018, with many of the 27 acquisitions since listing tied to this trend.

This, as well as many organic initiatives, has led to the company building up a revenue base for its Digital Solutions division of SEK2.4 billion ($234 million).

“Our digital solutions are agnostic, working on different types of machines and systems, so this opens up many ways to engage with our customers,” Hedblom said, noting that the platforms it had created are being used by existing Epiroc equipment customers, as well as those with fleets from other OEMs.

“The areas of high interest are around collision avoidance, situational awareness and mixed fleet automation,” she said. “I see that digitalisation creates that transparency needed to drive productivity.”

Digitalisation, itself, represents an easier ‘sell’ for Epiroc due to its seamless nature – ie not creating multiple change management issues – when compared with adopting automation and electrification technologies, Hedblom added.

Going forward, she is convinced a digital backbone will become more important with the increasing uptake of automation and electrification.

“Today, a lot of the different tools mining companies are using – for the mine plan, for maintenance, etc – are still not connected,” she explained. “You don’t use all data at the same time for the best type of decision.

“A lost hour of productivity is a lost hour of productivity; we are seeking to avoid this through increased digitalisation.”

This is where the individual solutions Epiroc has acquired through the likes of Mernok (collision avoidance), RCT and ASI Mining (agnostic automation solutions), Meglab and JTMEC (battery-electric chargers and infrastructure) could combine with its digitalisation platforms to optimise the overall mining process.

“By connecting the dots, there are many more optimisation opportunities to be had,” Hedblom said.

The difference here is that Epiroc is willing to look outside of its own four walls to the broader industrial space to ‘connect these dots’, meaning the idea of a fully-electric, fully-autonomous, fully-digitalised mine could be much closer to becoming a reality.

Epiroc lays out plan for first Minetruck battery-electric conversions

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An articulated underground truck with a 32.6 t capacity is the next vehicle Epiroc is looking to provide a battery-electric conversion kit for, the OEM confirmed at its Capital Markets Day today.

The Minetruck MT436B set for an electrification conversion is suitable for medium to large underground operations, according to the company.

Epiroc has, to this point, provided battery-electric conversion kits for two of its underground loaders. The first up in its conversion project was the diesel-powered Scooptram ST1030 loader, followed by the ST14 LHD – which Epiroc already provides a new battery-electric option for.

Jess Kindler, President Parts & Services division, told attendees at the CMD that several machines were currently under conversion. At least two converted diesel ST1030s are due to go to Evolution Mining’s Red Lake gold operation in Ontario, Canada, as part of the company’s first order for the solution.

Epiroc’s Anders Johansson, Product Line Manager – Midlife services and Custom Engineered Solutions, told IM last month that more than one ST14 unit had been converted using another newly developed conversion kit, with one machine undergoing testing.

Both converted model types have been developed at the same Epiroc location in Lively, Ontario, according to Johannsson, where there is plenty of highly experienced Midlife services rebuild project experts. The battery conversion specialists, FVT, which Epiroc recently acquired, is also located close by.

Neither of Epiroc’s two main underground mining equipment competitors have a formal battery conversion offering, but Kindler was enthusiastic about the potential market uptake of these solutions.

“I believe we have a truly special window of opportunity here over the next few years,” he said. “As I briefly mentioned, the average lifespan for an underground piece of equipment is four-to-seven-years – give or take – and, by offering conversions, we can increase the speed of our customers taking on battery technology and we can also speed up the rollout of our batteries to the market.”

He added: “We’ll roll out more and models and, to be honest, there is nothing standing in the way of us doing conversions on other OEMs equipment, as well. We have the knowledge to do it.”

Growth and innovation on the agenda, Epiroc’s incoming CEO says

Automation, Environmental, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining people, Mining services, Mining software, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , ,

The timing of the announcement of Helena Hedblom becoming Epiroc President and CEO might have caught investors off-guard, but the actual appointment is no big surprise.

The news came just 12 days after the company held its second annual Capital Markets Day where Hedblom and Per Lindberg, current President and CEO, gave investors an update on the progress the company has made on its strategy since starting operations under the new brand in November 2017.

Hedblom, who currently heads up the mining and infrastructure divisions for Epiroc and is due to take on the top role from March 2020, has been a major part of Epiroc’s Group Management team since it was formed. Her ties to Atlas Copco, meanwhile, date back to 2000, with her roles including Head of Research and Development and General Manager for rock drilling tools business Secoroc and, then, becoming President of Atlas Copco Rock Drilling Tools.

Epiroc has launched a number of new initiatives in the mine automation, digitalisation and electrification spaces since the end of 2017, and Hedblom has been instrumental in all of these, spelling out the business case to investors, making sure the engineering capacity is available and taking all of the technical questions that may come Epiroc’s way.

With mining making up 76% of order intake for Epiroc in the nine months to the end of September – and the company keen to build on its leading position in the sector – it is logical for someone with Hedblom’s experience to take the top job following the successful establishment of Epiroc under Lindberg.

On a conference call today following the announcement, Ronnie Leten, Chairman of Epiroc, said current company head, Per Lindberg, had achieved the goals set for him by the board and that Hedblom had been given a new mission: to achieve “higher levels” of growth for Epiroc.

That is a bold statement considering the company has achieved a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10% over the period from 2015 to 2018 through a number of organic and inorganic investments, and a 14% CAGR in the 12 months to end-September 2019. This is all while retaining a comparatively high average operating margin of 18.3% and 20.1%, respectively, over those same timeframes.

Hedblom, speaking to IM shortly after that call, explained the growth mission given to her by her incoming Chairman.

“It’s a combination of organic initiatives within the company, as well as inorganic initiatives,” she said. “But, of course, within that, the big technology shifts with automation, digitalisation and electrification give us an opportunity to help our customer gain safety, productivity and energy benefits. That is a big focus area for us.”

She is also looking to grow the company’s aftermarket business – which already accounts for 65% of revenue – explaining: “This is where we can make a difference with our customers and really be a productivity partner. It also gives us resilience across the cycle.”

Looking to the “initiatives”, specifically, she said there could be some organic product developments to close some “gaps we have in the portfolio”, but also strengthening “our presence… in some areas where we don’t have the market reach today”.

While these growth initiatives will most likely be in markets the company has already deemed to be core, she said all divisions within the company had a roadmap looking into opportunities that are “adjacent to core”.

One area of Epiroc investment Hedblom was keen to talk up was R&D, which in recent years has enabled the company to retain a leading position in the likes of autonomous surface drilling, battery-powered underground vehicles, and mine digitalisation and automation.

“We have a good level of investment in R&D,” she said, adding that, at the moment, it is heavily skewed towards automation, digitalisation and electrification.

“Bear in mind that 65% of our revenue is in the aftermarket and we are already investing 2-3% of revenue in R&D – that represents quite a big investment on the capital equipment side,” she said.

She concluded: “That (R&D investment) is needed. For me, innovation is key. That is how we stay ahead of technology leaders in all of these areas.

“I expect R&D investments to stay at this level, and this is extremely important to creating sustainable growth for the company over the long term.”

Nornickel reveals ambitious technology – as well as production – plans

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Technology looks like playing a pivotal role in Norilsk Nickel’s ambitious growth plan to boost its mined ore volumes at the renowned Taimyr operation, in Russia.

After revealing a target to up production to 30 Mt/y by 2030, from 17 Mt/y in 2017, at its Capital Markets Day in London this week, IM spoke with First Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, Sergey Dyachenko, to find out how technology was helping the company achieve this target.

Dyachenko listed off several impressive feats the company has achieved in the past 18-24 months that would pave the way for this growth.

First off, Norilsk has digitised nearly all of its operations as part of its Technological Breakthrough program – aimed at designing, planning and operational controls of its mining activities.

It has shifted its mine planning from a shift-based system to an hourly scheduling program, is carrying out dynamic simulations of mining activities on an as-needed basis to visualise the effects of mine plan changes, has installed proximity detection and collision avoidance systems (with a 50 m personnel detection range) at all of its underground mines, and has commissioned a real-time dispatch system to optimise its operations.

With digital centres built or being built in all of its major mining hubs, and Wi-Fi rolled out across its underground operations, all of its processes are now very much ‘connected’.

Dyachenko said these initiatives were already paying off, with a 7% increase in nickel-equivalent production between 2017 and 2019, partly attributable to the digitisation and automation programs. He could also point to a productivity increase – the output of nickel equivalent per employee rising 15% over this same timeframe.

While the company has come a long way since it started its Technology Breakthrough program in 2014, it is ready to leverage more technology over the next five years (and beyond).

Dyachenko spoke of transitioning from dynamic 3D mine models to the use of digital twins for mine plan optimisation at all of its mines and, excitingly, plans for a “fully autonomous smart digital mine” at its Skalisty nickel-copper-PGM underground project at the Polar Division, Norilsk’s key production asset on the Taimyr Peninsula.

Skalisty, at more than 2,000 m below ground, will be the company – and one of Russia’s – deepest underground mines. This fact is making Norilsk reconsider its normal mine development and operation route.

The company is currently engaged on a prefeasibility study at Skalisty, however it has already carried out 966 m of shaft sinking to bring the #10 ventilation shaft down to 2,056 m, and plans to start horizontal development at the project next month. Completion of the main shaft is scheduled for 2021.

“We have a task to make our Skalisty underground mine an autonomous mine,” Dyachenko said, explaining that the depth and accompanying temperature that comes with it made it a difficult environment to operate in.

Added to this, Dyachenko said the “demographics” of the future workforce and the need to provide an “interesting environment” at Skalisty made it a necessity to at least relocate machine operators to a control room on surface.

Norilsk will not be working on this ‘task’ alone. In addition to using consultants for the prefeasibility study, it is has also engaged an OEM with experience of automating underground operations in Mali and Sudbury (Canada) at this stage.

“We want to have a very clear concept…and find out the economic impact and best configuration for the mine,” Dyachenko explained.

The Norilsk COO said engaging such an OEM at this point in the mine development process also provided the manufacturer with the required time to “customise” a solution that fitted the Skalisty orebody and infrastructure.

“Not all of this will be off-the-shelf,” he commented on the equipment and infrastructure required for Skalisty, adding that battery-electric vehicles could also come into the mining equation.

Speaking of time, Dyachenko said the company expected to recover the first ore from development at the deep mine in 2023, followed by first “production” ore in 2024.

The new Skalisty mine is expected to eventually ramp up to production of ~2.5 Mt/y.