Tag Archives: Epiroc

Epiroc hands over drilling consumables facility to Monark

Equipment maintenance, Mining consumables, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, , , , , ,

Epiroc has completed the divestment of its handheld drilling consumables manufacturing facility in Ockelbo, Sweden, less than two months after announcing the plan.

Epiroc sold the facility and its business to an affiliate of Monark AS, a rock drilling tools manufacturer based in Hof, Norway. The announcement of the planned sale in October came just before Epiroc said it had decided to restructure the manufacturing of its handheld rock drilling equipment and tools business in China.

The new owner will continue to supply Epiroc with products, mainly rods for handheld drilling, which are used by customers in construction and mining, Epiroc said.

The facility was part of Epiroc’s Rock Drilling Tools division and the approximately 40 employees who work at the facility were offered to transfer to the new owner.

Epiroc trusting its 6th Sense on mine automation, electrification, digitalisation developments

Automation, Communications in mining, Equipment maintenance, Explosives and blasting, IoT, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining people, Mining safety, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

During an enlightening Capital Markets Day, in Stockholm, Sweden, Epiroc backed up its credentials as a leader in the mine automation, digitalisation and electrification spaces, outlining its progress to date and its medium- and long-term plans to capture more market share.

A few weeks after putting on the investor showcase – but before Helena Hedblom was announced as the incoming President and CEO – IM spoke with President and CEO, Per Lindberg, and Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications, Mattias Olsson, to get some detail behind the presentation slides.

IM: Automation featured very widely in the capital markets day (CMD) presentations earlier this month: In general, how would you characterise the mining industry appetite for this new technology? Where is the average customer on your automation scale?

PL: First of all, the appetite is very large; most customers are looking at automation in one way or another.

It is hard to do a mathematical average when it comes to where the industry currently is, but the average miner is probably down on the left-hand side of that scale (pictured below) – somewhere in between tele-remote and single machine automation.

IM: Over the next five years, where do you see most potential growth for autonomous solutions in terms of underground or open-pit mining? What market dynamics are accelerating this uptake?

PL: Most likely it will happen in both surface and underground. The potential for productivity and safety improvements is probably greater in underground, though.

This trend is clearly driven by productivity, cost efficiency and safety. Those would be the key drivers for automation. It is about taking people out of the line of fire, as well as having close to 24/7 production.

IM: Following the 34% stake acquisition of ASI Mining last year, would you say the project Epiroc and ASI are working on at Ferrexpo’s Yeristovo mine is representative of how you envisage doing business together in the future?

PL: That is the reason that we initially acquired the 34% stake in ASI Mining; we wanted to go in that direction. In that respect, I think the Ferrexpo example is representative of how we will cooperate with ASI.

Of course, ASI can also offer a standalone solution without Epiroc being present on the automation side, so we are also promoting their offering too.

IM: How does Epiroc, as an OEM, balance its machine building and maintenance service offering? Does the ability to keep machines working longer through sophisticated monitoring systems and better manufacturing somewhat inhibit your ability to sell new machinery?

PL: To a certain extent, we are probably cannibalising our new machine sales with increased service intensity and improved servicing products. That is most likely the consequence. On the other hand, we also feel that it is only right to offer this type of aftercare and servicing.

Yet, you cannot continue to prolong the life of a piece of equipment forever. It needs to be replaced at some point.

Overall, the servicing offering works well for us and, we think, it is good for our customers in terms of increasing the life of their equipment.

IM: Factoring this in, what percentage of revenue is your aftermarket business likely to represent in the next 10 years (from 65% today)?

PL: It’s difficult to say if it is going to be higher, or not, but it is likely that the volume of service will increase. That is based on what we are talking about – the intensified servicing we are offering, the products we have developed and the fact that we are increasing the market share within our own fleet.

Whether it continues to be 65% of the overall business depends on activity in the rest of the group.

IM: Along these lines, how long does the company anticipate its new battery-electric loading fleets lasting compared with, say, the diesel-powered fleets you were selling 10 years ago?

PL: The wear and tear of the actual machine will be the same – that is not going to change because of the drivetrain.

But, having an electric drivetrain is different from diesel; we have to see what the long-term maintenance needs are compared with diesel. The life of the drivetrain also depends very much on the utilisation of the machine.

IM: Of the recent innovations the company has launched (or is about to launch) – 6th Sense, a semi-automated explosives delivery system (with Orica), Scooptram Automation Total, Powerbit, etc – which has the strongest business case in mining?

PL: I think 6th Sense is really a packaging of all of our different offerings within automation. In that regard, it is has the highest potential. Which components of 6th Sense have the highest potential? We’ll have to wait and see.

The semi-automated explosives delivery system with Orica is a very specific innovation, but we very much believe in automating this mining process because of the safety and productivity benefits it brings. But we are only just starting this development compared with 6th Sense, which has already launched.

Powerbit is, again, very specific, but…allows us to deliver a complete offering both in terms of machine and consumables that will enable higher productivity and automation. That should have a high potential in the market.

IM: What does the Epiroc mining roadmap look like for the next 10-30 years? I imagine wider adoption of hard-rock cutting, automation, electrification and digitalisation are in there, but what other technology evolutions are being planned for?

PL: We have to continue to work with all of those three – automation, electrification and digitalisation – as they will deliver significant benefits for the industry. That is where we need to focus over that 10-year timeframe.

These three also have the potential to further integrate the value chain in mining within the future digitalisation space. We need to both continue to work with these technologies and our customers to ensure we have greater market penetration in all these areas.

IM: And, hard-rock cutting? Is this as important as these three?

PL: For specific applications, mechanical cutting and the Mobile Miners have their relevance and work well. But we believe for the foreseeable future, the majority of hard-rock excavation will be carried out by drilling and blasting in the mining and tunnelling sectors.

IM: During the CMD there was mention of “cost per measure” contracts under the digitalisation heading. Could you go into some detail about how the company is offering these and if they are tied in with financing agreements for your equipment?

PL: In terms of cost per measure, one example would be cost per metre contracts in consumables and rock drilling tools.

MO: We also provide finance for equipment and it could be that the equipment is financed and we have a cost per metre contract in place. Those two are not connected or tied, though.

It could be that there is more of this ‘pay-for-performance’ type of contract in the future – where you charge per tonne of ore excavated, for example – but, if it does come, I don’t think it will happen quickly.

IM: Similarly Epiroc talked about “new business models” in 2020 for underground equipment at the CMD. What might these new business models be? What is the need for them?

PL: It could be revenue streams into software, to information management, to advanced service agreements, to Batteries as a Service for battery vehicles.

The reasons for establishing these models is the continuous development of software, new updates for machines, etc that require different models.

When it comes to Batteries as a Service, it is a different model again looking to transfer the energy cost of the battery from capex to opex in order to facilitate the timely decisions for customers and reduce the cost of operation for our customers.

These new models are all based on development of technologies.

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.”

Epiroc goes global with Tier 4 equipped PowerROC D60

Environmental, Explosives and blasting, Mining equipment, Mining services, ,

Following the launch of a Tier 3 version of the PowerROC D60 earlier this year, Epiroc has released the Tier 4 equipped PowerROC D60 drill rig onto the global market.

The PowerROC D60 hydraulic DTH-rig drills the largest holes in the PowerROC family, with this machine meeting the higher emission standards required to operate in countries with the highest emission thresholds.

The first unit was delivered to the US earlier this year and, after receiving positive feedback, has now been launched globally.

It can drill large holes ranging from 110 mm to 178 mm. In addition, the 5+1 Rod Handling System makes it possible to drill holes down to a depth of 30 m.

The rig features a pilot hydraulic system and straightforward electronics, which make the PowerROC D60 both easy to operate and simple to service, Epiroc says. The powerful rotation unit ensures that the PowerROC D60 can operate reliably in all types of rock conditions. In addition, a highly effective dust collection system ensures that the work environment is kept clean and safe, which protects both machine and personnel.

Epiroc charged up by automation, digitalisation and battery equipment wins

Automation, Communications in mining, Environmental, Equipment maintenance, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , ,

Epiroc’s second ever Capital Markets Day, in Stockholm, Sweden, was an enlightening affair, with the original equipment manufacturer backing up its credentials as a leader in the mine automation, digitalisation and electrification space.

Speakers including Per Lindberg, President and CEO; Helena Hedblom, Senior Executive Vice President Mining and Infrastructure; Sami Niiranen, President Underground Rock Excavation; and Jose Sanchez, President Drilling Solutions, with all of them reeling off a number of statistics worth highlighting.

For example, the company said around 60% of Epiroc equipment is now being delivered with its rig control system (RCS), a system that on Pit Viper blasthole drills is the next “evolutionary step toward fully autonomous mining”, the company recently said.

At the same time as this, 3,400 of its machines have been delivered with “connectivity”, Lindberg said, a transition that is allowing customers to monitor, in real time, elements of a machine’s performance. As recently as the company’s June quarter results release, Lindberg said more than 2,500 machines were ‘connected’.

When it came to automation underground, Epiroc said it had 43 projects on its books, with 600 drill rigs equipped for complete automation of the drilling process; the latter up from the more than 550 Lindberg quoted in the June quarter results.

Epiroc has also seen a 30% increase in utilisation of connected Simba production drills globally, according to Lindberg.

On surface, meanwhile, Epiroc was involved with autonomous and teleremote drilling in 16 countries on five continents, he said.

Among these automation projects were the fully autonomous electric drill at Boliden’s Aitik copper mine, in Sweden, an autonomous SmartROC D65 at Newmont Goldcorp’s Hollinger mine, in Canada, and autonomous Pit Vipers at the leading gold miner’s Penasquito mine, in Mexico.

A map shown by Sanchez also included first remote/teleremote operations in Morocco, Ukraine (see Ferrexpo Yeristovo story), Chile and Papua New Guinea. There was also mention of first autonomous solutions in South Africa (along with a first multipass autonomous operation) and a first autonomous drill in operation in Australia.

And, of course, the company provided an update on its battery-electric solutions, which Epiroc believes will improve health and safety, reduce emissions, lower total cost of operation and improve productivity for its customers.

Lindberg said the company had accumulated 100,000 hours of battery-electric machinery operation to date and, so far, customers had achieved a more than 70% reduction in energy consumption – mainly through reduced ventilation needs.

On the company’s recently-launched Minetruck MT42 Battery, specifically, Niiranen said Epiroc had observed 10% increased productivity through faster ramp cycle time at operations where the machine was being trialled/operating. One of these machines is currently being trialled at Agnico Eagle’s Kittilä gold mine, in Finland, as part of the EU-funded Sustainable Intelligent Mining Systems project (a project Epiroc is coordinator of).

Orica and Epiroc take first steps ‘towards automation of drill and blast operations’

Automation, Explosives and blasting, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , ,

Orica and Epiroc Rock Drills AB say they are working on a project to jointly develop a semi-automated explosives delivery system, enabling safer and more productive blasting operations in underground mines.

As mines go deeper and orebodies become more remote, the case for blasting automation becomes clearer, a case that Orica has continually made for the past few years.

Orica says its partnership with Epiroc will “bring together the deep expertise and experience of two global industry leaders” to address the growing demand from customers mining in increasingly more hazardous and challenging underground operations.

The first prototype system is expected in 2020, with the first commercially available systems to enter service in 2021, according to Orica, which said more details on the collaboration and technology will be communicated later.

Orica Chief Commercial and Technology Officer, Angus Melbourne, said: “This exciting partnership with Epiroc will allow us to leverage our exclusive wireless initiating system, WebGen™, to deliver the critical first steps towards the automation of drill and blast operations.

“Automation is a key pillar of our technology strategy and supports our vision of transforming drill and blast to unlock mining value by creating safer and more sustainable operations.”

Epiroc Senior Executive Vice President Mining and Infrastructure, Helena Hedblom, said: “This promising collaboration with Orica is an important first step on an exciting journey toward automating the whole drilling and explosives charging process.

“It is a vital part of both Epiroc’s and Orica’s vision of making the mining operation as safe, productive and cost efficient as possible.”

Orica says: “Orica and Epiroc are the ideal partners to optimise the explosives charging process for underground mining. Orica is the world’s largest provider of commercial explosives and innovative blasting systems to the mining, quarrying, oil and gas and construction markets, and Epiroc is the industry leader in developing innovative underground mining equipment, including face drill rigs and production drill rigs.”

Pucobre to employ Epiroc 6th Sense solution at UG copper mines

Automation, Base metals, Communications in mining, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , ,

Epiroc says it has signed a collaboration agreement with Sociedad Punta del Cobre SA (Pucobre) in Chile to digitalise the company’s mining operations, in turn, boosting productivity and safety.

The mining OEM is helping Pucobre to enhance its mining operations in the Atacama region of northern Chile, with the collaboration including defining new ways of working and new roles as well as development of an integrated information management system, it said.

Epiroc’s new 6th Sense Mine Management Solution will be included in this solution, combining Pucobre’s existing systems with, for instance, scheduler and other task management and reporting features, Epiroc said.

The new solution is already visible in Pucobre’s newly established Control Tower (pictured).

Helena Hedblom, Epiroc’s Senior Executive Vice President Mining and Infrastructure, said the 6th Sense collaboration with Pucobre would help modernise its mine operations and make it safer and more productive. “This represents the future of mining,” she added.

Sebastián Ríos, Pucobre’s CEO, said the company had high expectations for 6th Sense to continue improving the safety and productivity of its underground copper mining operations.

“We have strengthened our relationship with Epiroc, as we both target excellence in mining operations,” he said. “We rely on Epiroc’s strategic approach, its collaborative work and its professional team, which is regularly present at our mine site.”

The 6th Sense system can be connected to the customer’s existing machine fleet regardless of make or model, according to Epiroc.

“6th Sense is Epiroc’s new way to optimise customers’ processes through automation, system integration and information management – enabling a smart, safe and seamless operation,” the company said.

The collaboration extends the partnership between the companies. Pucobre’s Epiroc equipment includes Simba production drill rigs, Boomer face drilling rigs, and Scooptram and Minetruck underground loading and haulage vehicles, Epiroc said. The company also provides Pucobre with consumables and service.

Epiroc to close handheld drilling consumables factory in China

Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining services, , ,

Epiroc says it has decided to restructure the manufacturing of its handheld rock drilling equipment and tools business in China.

The company is exiting the business due to its unprofitability, with Epiroc saying the move was part of its ongoing actions to “optimise its product portfolio and exit non-core areas to increase focus and efficiency”.

The restructuring mainly involves closure of the production facility for handheld drilling consumables in Shandong, China, and divestment of certain assets. It is expected to be finalised by year-end.

The business has annual revenues of around SEK125 million ($13 million), and about 300 employees will be affected, Epiroc said.

Helena Hedblom, Senior Executive Vice President Mining and Infrastructure at Epiroc, said: “It is unfortunate that some of our employees are negatively affected. However, this restructuring is necessary to ensure our long-term competitiveness.”

As previously communicated, in September Epiroc completed the divestment of its geotechnical consumables product line.

The restructured and divested businesses are part of the Rock Drilling Tools division in the Tools & Attachments segment, and related costs of SEK179 million have been booked in the September quarter.

Epiroc starts work on ‘unique’ exploration drilling test centre

Mineral exploration, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining techniques, , , , , ,

Epiroc is about to start construction on a new Test Center in Örebro, Sweden, that, it says, will help perform different types of exploration drilling tests and data acquisition.

The centre is a close collaboration between industry, research institutes and academia, according to the company.

“With this Test Center, we can continue our way towards being the competence center within exploration drilling – and build networks within the industry,” Thomas Hallmén, General Manager Product Company Örebro, Epiroc Surface and Exploration Drilling division, said.

“It will create opportunities to cooperate with customers and universities as well as with researchers in order to improve our technologies and products for future requirements.”

The new Test Center, called Innovative Exploration Drilling and Data Acquisition Test Center (I-EDDA-TC), will provide a unique environment for the development of drilling, and related equipment and methods used for the exploration of mineral resources, such as borehole geophysics, according to Epiroc.

The goal for the future is to establish a leading centre that supports and creates innovation, Epiroc said, adding that it  features two boreholes each 1 km deep with fully characterised core samples.

Bjarne Almqvist, Project Leader for I-EDDA-TC and Researcher at the Department of Earth Sciences, Geophysics, at Uppsala University, said: “Effective exploration drilling for mineral resources is an area where industrial innovation plays an important role. Despite this need, there is a complete lack of test beds that allow industry to actively test novel drilling equipment.”

He added: “Our hope is that the Test Center becomes a focus for both small and large companies that work within exploration drilling and related technologies.”

The Test Center will be built next to the Epiroc Surface and Exploration Drilling division Production Center in Örebro.  It will be developed over three years and be available for customers from the beginning of 2022. The European Union has helped finance the project through the EIT Raw materials initiative.

The centre is a collaboration project between Uppsala University, Lund University, Luleå University of Technology, Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg, Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum , RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden) and Epiroc Surface and Exploration Drillling division.

Epiroc takes LHD automation to another level

Automation, Communications in mining, IoT, Mining equipment, Mining safety, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , ,

Epiroc’s has released a new offering for LHD automation that, it says, brings new standards of productivity and safety to underground mining.

Scooptram Automation Total allows for multi machine loader automation, with its Traffic Management System creating a common information environment that controls multiple fleets of loaders, according to the company.

“The Traffic Management system is the core of Epiroc’s Scooptram Automation Total package,” Epiroc said. “This system operates the fleet and eliminates the risk of collisions in common drifts.”

The automation area is fully isolated with safety barriers that shut off the system if personnel or unauthorised vehicles accidently enter. Yet, it is possible to bring new vehicles into the area and add them to the Traffic Management System without stopping production, using the check-in/check-out procedure, the company said.

Vladimir Sysoev, Global Product Manager Automation at Epiroc, said: “This is a great step forward in our development of world leading automation and information management solutions. Scooptram Automation Total is really a game changer when it comes to increasing safety for underground operators and at the same time levelling up the efficiency.”

The company says Scooptram Automation Total takes safety, productivity and cost effectiveness “to another level and makes superior performance a reality”. It allows operators to control and monitor vehicle progress throughout the mine from a safe distance in a comfortable operator station.

Scooptram Automation Total is part of Epiroc’s 6th Sense Transport offering, which the company launched earlier this year.

“Epiroc’s 6th Sense sets out to optimise our customers’ value chain by offering interoperability solutions that connect automation, system integration and information management to unlock the full potential of production gains at lower operating costs.”