Tag Archives: Normet

Normet unveils advanced explosives charging, scaling, rock breaking solutions at MINExpo 2024

Mining equipment, Mining events, Mining services,

Normet has announced the launch of its latest equipment designed to enhance safety and efficiency in explosives charging, scaling and rock breaking. These new products are setting new industry standards, delivering improved productivity and increased safety for operations of all sizes.

At MINExpo 2024, Normet unveiled two machines specifically engineered for the unique requirements of the US aggregate mining industry, while also being adaptable for other underground operations with a large tunnel profile worldwide.

The Scamec LC Thor 135 T and the Charmec LF 1105 DA are engineered to elevate efficiency, safety and productivity. These purpose-built machines tackle critical challenges in scaling and ANFO charging, offering advanced features designed to meet the rigorous conditions of underground mining.

The Scamec LC Thor 135 T is a heavy-duty scaling machine designed for gallery sizes up to 12 x 12 m, featuring a robust chassis, low-emission engine technology and a high-reach boom. It is available with a rotary head cutter or a hydraulic hammer. Stability is ensured with a heavy-duty carrier and extendable, durable support legs, even when scaling the lowest side corners. The FOPS and ROPS certified cabin, designed with operator safety and comfort in mind, includes enhanced visibility and unique 750 mm lift and 25° tilt features.

Herkko Juntunen, Product Line Director of Scaling, said: “The Scamec LC Thor 135 T is engineered to endure intense mechanical forces while maintaining operational safety. With its powerful boom and durable chassis, it can tackle tough scaling tasks while ensuring the operator’s safety through advanced safety features. It’s not just about performance; it’s about doing the job right and keeping people safe.”

Meanwhile, the Charmec LF 1105 DA is a versatile ANFO charger featuring a robust basket boom, designed for gallery sizes up to 17 x 10 m. With a total bulk ANFO capacity of up to 2,270 kg, dual ANSI-conforming ANFO pots, and a 500 kg basket lifting capacity, it ensures a highly effective charging process.

Anssi Mykkänen, Product Line Director for Explosives Charging, said: “The Charmec LF 1105 DA with a high-reach, heavy-duty basket boom, extendable support legs and a robust carrier provides exceptional reach, stability and safety.”

The LF 1105 DA prioritises safety with features such as a FOPS and ROPS certified cabin, US-made antistatic charging hoses, comprehensive fire safety systems and a robust electrical design suited for harsh conditions. The onboard compressor and ANFO moistening system further enhance performance by ensuring high flow rates and reducing dust creation.

The introduction of these machines underscores Normet’s commitment to advancing mining technology. By focusing on safety, efficiency and reliability, the Scamec LC Thor 135 T and Charmec LF 1105 DA are set to redefine standards in both aggregate mining and other underground operations with a large tunnel profile, the company says.

Normet also introduced Xquick, a quick coupler system that marks a significant advancement in mining technology, at the show. This innovative system features automated, cabin-controlled tool changes, minimising the need for manual labor and reducing the risk of injuries. With secure connections and automatic operation, the system ensures clean, safe and reliable performance, streamlining operations and enhancing worker safety.

Jyrki Hyyrönmäki, Global Sales Director Xrock Breaker Product Line, said: “Driven by our commitment to customer-centric innovation, we are delighted to expand our product portfolio with this advanced tool. It not only enhances safety and productivity but also contributes to more sustainable mining practices. Normet Xrock product line, already recognized for its comprehensive rock-breaking solutions, has become even more formidable.”

He continued: “This groundbreaking tool is the result of a strategic partnership between Normet and OilQuick. The collaboration reflects our continuous effort to deliver technologies that benefit both customers and the environment. By leveraging each other’s strengths, we provide our clients with innovative solutions that enhance operational efficiency and promote sustainability.”

Alongside the new coupler, Normet is also expanding its Xrock portfolio of tool attachments. “Our solutions are designed to meet the evolving needs of the mining industry,” Hyyrönmäki stated. “Normet Xrock offers a comprehensive suite of rock-breaking technologies, and with the addition of new attachments, we offer our customers new, more efficient ways of working.”

Normet moves to acquire remaining stake in Finland-based start-up Lekatech

Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , ,

Normet, looking to lead the electric tranformation in the industry, has announced that it has acquired the full ownership of Lekatech.

Earlier in 2023, Normet announced its minority investment in Lekatech, a Finnish start-up company founded in 2018 with the ambition to revolutionise hammering technologies by introducing linear electric technology for hammering applications.

Lekatech calls itself a pioneer in electric hammering technologies used in the mining, quarrying and construction industries. The company has its premises in Iitti, Finland.

For Normet, the investment aligns with its overall strategy for expanding its electric offering portfolio and demonstrates its search for related, mutually beneficial technologies. The fully-electric hammer, combined with Normet SmartDrive® battery-electric architecture and Normet XRock® boom and breaker systems, will define the future of underground scaling and breaking.

Kari Hämäläinen, Executive Vice President, Strategic Business Development at Normet, said: “Lekatech’s revolutionary linear electric hammering technology further strengthens our resolve to lead the electric transformation in the industry. We are proud of what has been achieved at Lekatech and we now look forward to the next steps in the joint journey. We are excited to welcome Lekatech’s experts to Normet.”

Antti Anttila, CEO, Lekatech, added: “Normet enables us to expand and speed up the adoption of the electric hammering technology across industries on a global scale. Having collaborated with Normet for several years we have realised that there is a strong cultural fit and that we share the same values.”

Following the transaction, Lekatech will continue to operate as an independent company as part of the Normet Group.

IGO and Perenti herald ‘drop-in’ battery-electric, autonomous drilling solution at Nova

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The confluence of automation and electrification in underground mining was spoken of many times at The Electric Mine 2024 event, in Perth, Western Australia, last month, with a whole themed session dedicated to it.

One of the best examples of the two trends converging was observed in a talk titled, ‘Electrification and Automation at IGO’s Nova Mine: Implementation of the Sandvik DL422iE Production Drill.’

In this joint presentation, Brandon Cooper, Senior Mining Engineer of Projects at IGO Limited, and Paul Linabury, Manager of Electrification at Perenti Contract Mining, outlined how this new electric and automated longhole drill could provide the entry point underground miners require to understand the practicalities associated with incorporating such new technology.

“This isn’t the heavy hitter for greenhouse gas or DPM (diesel particulate matter), but what it does is allow us to operate a battery underground and get familiar with it,” Cooper said of the Australia-first DL422iE deployment at Nova.

The Sandvik DL422iE is a fully-automated, battery-powered top hammer longhole drill designed for underground mass mining in 4 x 4 m or larger production drifts, Sandvik says. It can drill vertical and inclined fans and single or parallel Ø89-127 mm longholes up to 54 m in depth using ST58 and ST68 tube rods.

The drill’s electric driveline includes a battery package and electric motor to allow for zero emissions while tramming and also reduced thermal load. The DL422iE also features Sandvik’s patented Charging While Drilling technology; an innovation for reduced battery charging time without the need for additional infrastructure.

Barminco, part of Perenti, purchased the Sandvik DL422iE, which was commissioned and put to work at Nova in July 2023 as part of Barminco’s existing services contract, with the surface drilling remote capacities operationalised in February of this year.

Nova, itself, is a remote operation in the Fraser Range of Western Australia that has traditionally relied on large diesel generators for power. The company has progressively transitioned to renewable generation, which has been reinforced by a 10 MWh lithium-ion battery. These two, alongside the site’s synchronous condensers, allow Nova to produce enough renewable energy to power the production plant and underground mine when the sun is shining, according to Cooper.

This is important for the context of introducing an electric drill to the fleet that is powered off a 75 kWh sodium nickel chloride battery when tramming and the mine grid – via cable – when drilling.

While the electric drill introduction represented an Australia first, Nova has been trialling and deploying battery-electric equipment for several years. It has three Zed 70 Ti light utility vehicles (battery-electric conversions of Toyota Landcruisers) in its fleet from Zero Automotive, has trialled the Bortana EV – another electric light vehicle – has one BME ITC L120H battery-electric integrated tool carrier to its name and is expecting to add another machine to its fleet by the end of the year – a Normet Charmec MC 605 V(E) SD battery-electric emulsion charge rig.

This breadth and depth of experience allowed Cooper to look across the industry’s underground mine electrification equipment offering and draw some parallels at the event.

“Introducing a battery-electric drill has, at this stage, a lot more chance of being seamless and successful with far less operational changes needed to be made compared with a truck or a loader,” he said.

The proof of this statement was in the presentation, and some of the specific operational highlights he and Linabury outlined.

From initial deployment in July 2023 to the middle of May 2024, IGO had drilled 50,750 m with this rig, with Cooper saying the site typically drills longholes to 45 m lengths. When compared with the diesel-powered DL421 rig the operation was previously using, the DL422iE was 20% more productive than the DL421 rig’s 12-month average drilling rate of 5,000 m/mth.

Looking at the automated elements on board the Sandvik rig – the first battery-electric vehicle equipped with Sandvik AutoMine® for surface remote drilling and automation – Cooper highlighted higher metres drilled, reduced hole setup times and increased flexibility.

He provided some colour here: “Auto fan drilling enables the drill and blast engineer to put a drill design on a USB stick and give it to the operator, where the operator plugs it into the rig’s USB port to view a digital map of what they’re drilling. The rig itself will automatically test each planned collar location and alert the operator if a hole needs to move; allowing them to shift the collar and leave the toe in place, or shift and drill a parallel hole.” These amendments to the original plan are recorded, with the engineer able to analyse the information on the updated file later.

Following this process, the rig can be setup to drill an entire fan without any operator input.

The second automation advance Cooper highlighted was the ability to carry out drilling from the surface in a cab. The company has been using this facility to drill during shift change or during re-entry. “That feature is netting us 770 m on top of what we have been getting every month,” Cooper said. “And I don’t think we are taking full advantage of it just yet; I think there are more gains to be had.”

While the machine is meant for battery-electric tramming, Cooper said there had been glimpses of the rig’s ability to also drill off battery, relaying one occasion where an electrician was able to repair a “jumbo box” at the same time as the operator carried out a 25 m long hole using battery power.

The battery-electric rig has also required some changes to the way operators work, with Cooper noting that the 75 kWh sodium nickel chloride battery did not provide enough power for the machine to tram 3.3 km (on a 1:7 incline) from the bottom of the ramp to the top. Nova operators had got around this issue by carrying out an opportunity charge 850 m from surface by the rod-storage cuddy, allowing the operator to offload drill rods at the same time.

“These BEVs require changes to the way we work,” he said. “If we can integrate those changes into our existing work practices to minimise the changes to the operators, we will get a better result.”

Linabury, meanwhile, highlighted how the services provider was identifying the new risks and opportunities that were emerging from battery electrification during deployments such as this.

Examples included recognising the increased number of electrical isolation points on a battery-electric drill and creating a live line indicator to identify when current is running through these, charging the battery to below full capacity to make the most of downhill regeneration and more closely interrogating classifications given by systems such as the battery management interface.

In the Q&A session at the end of the presentation, Cooper summed up the IGO rationale for bringing this new battery-electric and automation-enabled machine into the Nova fleet: “As we have shown with the DL422iE, you can essentially drop this in and change very little about the way you operate normally, but at the same time you get a chance to play around with: ‘What does my emergency response look like for this new drill? How do my supply chains have to change for parts? How do my skillsets need to change for people? What do the operators need to be made aware of?’

“You can solve all of those problems, and a lot of those learnings are then directly transferable for when you start tackling the bigger problems of heavy machines.”

Such learnings would allow the company to have a much clearer picture of what it would take to fully electrify an underground mine in the future, he concluded.

Centamin-Sukari

Centamin to boost Sukari underground fleet with Cat, Sandvik, Normet and Volvo units

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The transformation of Centamin’s Sukari underground mining operations looks set to continue, with the company having committed some $16 million of capital towards an underground fleet expansion in 2024 and 2025 as part of a push towards increasing mining rates.

Centamin issued a new life of mine plan for the asset in Egypt earlier this month, saying the plan would deliver long-term increased gold production, lower operational costs, reduced operational risk and significantly reduced carbon emissions, according to owner Centamin.

The underground operation, which the company transitioned to owner-operator status last year, is set to become a bigger contributor to the overall operation in future years. This will see underground output rise from 800,000 t/y in its 2022 financial year to 1.4 Mt/y.

This is a shade under the optimal mining rate of 1.5 Mt/y that came out of an underground expansion study completed in the December quarter of 2022, but Centamin said full engineering of this plan had provided opportunities to simplify the mine plan by removing the requirement to expand production by developing underground portals in the open pit, and therefore further reducing the delivery risk. Not only did this reduce the complexity of a potential expansion, it also brought the capital cost down to $16 million, from the $25-35 million previously mooted.

This capital will be deployed on a new equipment fleet for the operation, which includes three 63-t payload Caterpillar AD63 trucks, three 18.5-t payload Caterpillar R2900 XE diesel-electric loaders, one Sandvik DD421 face drill, two Sandvik DL421 longhole drills, one Normet Charmec emulsion charger, a Normet Spraymec concrete sprayer, two Normet Utimec material transporters and a Volvo L120F integrated tool carrier.

Earlier this year, a spokesperson for Centamin told IM that the company was assessing a staged approach from conventional diesel units to hybrid diesel-electric units in the interim at Sukari, with plans to move to full battery-operated loading and haulage units over the longer term.

The Caterpillar 2900 XE offers such an interim step, being a loader that features both a diesel engine and a switch reluctance electric drive system.

Normet presents Xrock range for rock breaking

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Normet says it is entering into a new market by launching Normet Xrock®, a line of hydraulic breakers, pedestal breaker booms and boom automation system.

The launch follows the acquisition of Rambooms, a manufacturer and supplier of rock breaker boom systems, and Marakon Oy, a supplier of hydraulic hammers and excavator attachments for the construction and mining industries at the beginning of 2023. These transactions have reinforced Normet’s long-standing technology experience and customer support network with world-leading products and solutions for rock breaking, it says.

This comprehensive, high quality product lineup, called Normet Xrock is designed to meet the demands of a variety of applications in underground and surface mining and in the construction business. Additionally, the intelligence of Xrock® Automation technology optimises operating processes in a responsible way, boosting productivity and improving safety and sustainability, it says.

“The comprehensive range of products blends advanced technology with sector-specific expertise and delivers exceptional value to a diverse clientele,” Normet added.

Normet’s Xrock hydraulic breakers are designed for tough jobs. A full lineup of breakers, from 335 kg to 7,250 kg, include the right breaker for every task, Normet says. These breakers can be used for different construction, tunnelling and infrastructure works, as well as to break rock and frost.

Normet’s Xrock breaker booms are used for gyratory crushers, mobile crushers, jaw crushers and grizzlies. Having a dedicated crusher boom reduces the total cost of ownership of the crushing process, and it is safe and efficient method to remove oversize boulders and blockages and increase process quality as non-planned stops are reduced, the company added.

Xrock Automation, meanwhile, is an advanced tele-remote and automation system for breaker booms, which combines hardware and software to provide excellent performance now and in the future. Xrock Automation includes an operator station and boom system, which support multi-operation and are fully scalable to the mine’s needs.

Normet Utimec XL 1100 Agitator ED set for debut at Olympic Dam mine

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Normet says its first Utimec XL 1100 Agitator ED has arrived in Australia, with final field tests currently being conducted ahead of deployment at BHP’s Olympic Dam mine.

The Utimec XL 1100 Agitator ED, part of Normet’s recently announced ElectroDynamic® electric driveline platform, has a concrete transportation capacity of 10.5 cu.m. It is designed for concrete transportation in underground mines and tunnels with a minimum tramming height of 3.3 m.

Tailor-made for harsh underground conditions, the vehicle is equipped with a voluminous, wear-resistant and remote-controllable concrete drum and a hydraulically-operated discharging chute, allowing for more versatile vehicle positioning, Normet says. Both mixing and unloading are controlled electrically and can be operated with zero local emissions by plugging the machine into the mine’s power grid. This increases operator comfort by significantly reducing heat output and noise and by eliminating underground emissions, according to the company. The XL 1100 Agitator ED comes with a spectrum of features such as both front and rear support legs to ensure maximum operating stability, a form oil system to prevent concrete from adhering to the vehicle’s surfaces and a high-pressure washer with a 500-litre on-board water tank.

The arrival of the first unit in Australia follows one-year-long extensive tests in Finland, Normet says. It is set to be operated at Olympic Dam by Redpath, which ordered several XL 1100 Agitator EDs for its operations after visiting Normet’s factory in Iisalmi, Finland, last year.

Normet launches new ElectroDynamic platform for higher payloads and compact dimensions

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Normet has expanded its product offering, introducing both the XL platform and its latest technology innovation, the Normet ElectroDynamic® powertrain architecture, at the AusIMM Underground Operators Conference 2023 (UGOPS), in Brisbane, Australia, complementing its new high-capacity platform and paving the way to what it says is the future of more sustainable underground operations.

By combining the best features of its battery-electric Normet SmartDrive® platform and state-of-the-art low-emission engine technology, the Normet ElectroDynamic architecture allows for increased payload capacity with compact outer dimensions, while also ensuring superior driving dynamics, high performance, superb fuel efficiency and less need for maintenance, the company said.

A key element of the ElectroDynamic technology is the removal of the drive shaft and gearbox through driving the externally-cooled mining axles with permanent magnet motors in a highly efficient direct-drive configuration. This not only renders a low and compact load end design, instant torque and economical electric retardation possible, but also significantly increases component lifetime, according to Normet.

Samu Kukkonen, Technology Director at Normet, said: “As we were developing our battery-electric SmartDrive equipment, we quickly realised that we can actually remove the drive shaft and gearbox from engine-powered equipment as well. This is monumental, because now we can utilise the space where the drive shaft used to be for increased payload capacity. This was achieved by utilising electric motors at the axles, powered by a low emission engine-generator set.

“What is more, we have years of experience with all the components used in the architecture not only from our SmartDrive equipment, but also from our engine powered equipment.”

The Normet ElectroDynamic architecture also enables one-pedal driving, where the vehicle automatically controls both acceleration and deceleration with the operator’s accelerator pedal input. Additionally, its advanced front axle suspension system and the new Normet 180° cabin with improved ergonomics and visibility, Normet says, set new industry standards for operator safety and comfort.

The completely new Utimec XL ED carrier, designed for heavy-duty underground transportation applications with its payload capacity of 24 t, is included in this new XL ED offering.

Built with some of the highest-quality powertrain components and robust frame structures, all XL ED units are powered with direct-drive electric motors, Volvo Penta Stage V engines, enabling clean and efficient operation, the company says.

The first applications of the technology are the Utimec XL 1100 Agitator ED, with a practical concrete transportation capacity of 10.5 cu.m, designed for concrete transportation in underground mines and tunnels with a minimum tramming height of 3.3 m.

Tailor-made for harsh underground conditions, the vehicle is equipped with a voluminous, wear-resistant and remote-controllable concrete drum and a hydraulically-operated discharging chute, allowing for more versatile vehicle positioning. Both mixing and unloading are controlled electrically and can be operated with zero local emissions by plugging the machine into the mine’s power grid. This increases operator comfort by significantly reducing heat output and noise and by eliminating underground emissions.

The XL 1100 Agitator ED comes with a spectrum of useful features such as both front and rear support legs to ensure maximum operating stability, a form oil system to prevent concrete from adhering to the vehicle’s surfaces and a high-pressure washer with a 500-litre on-board water tank.

By eliminating the need for a drive shaft, Normet ElectroDynamic architecture allows for a high carrying capacity with compact outer dimensions, the company says

Concrete agitators are especially popular in Australia, where customers are constantly looking for innovative solutions and technologies to improve their productivity, according to Normet. However, the combination of long driving distances and high demands for vehicles’ carrying capacities has until now, posed a problem. Larger machines reduce underground traffic and make daily operation more efficient, but the size and tramming height of tunnels naturally set maximum limits for those of underground equipment, too.

Allowing for both high-capacity transportation applications and compact outer dimensions, the new XL ED offering is the ideal, purpose-built solution to this dilemma, according to Normet.

Last year, Redpath Australia representatives visited Normet’s factory in Iisalmi, Finland, to see and feel the XL ED prototype. As one of the world leaders in safety and innovations in mining practices, the company was impressed by the value the XL 1100 could provide, and Redpath has now ordered several XL 1100 Agitator EDs for its operations, set to be delivered this year.

Normet said: “We are immensely proud of the new Normet ElectroDynamic technology and the XL offering, both reflecting our passion for continuously developing innovative solutions and technologies to meet and exceed customer and industry expectations for safety, productivity and sustainability. Designed and built to minimise its environmental impact as a key driver, Normet’s broad equipment offering pioneers the transformation into greener underground operations.”

Normet on developing the underground mine of the future

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A small town in central Finland with less than 5,000 inhabitants seems an unlikely place for a world-class underground research facility and advanced business ecosystem, but the Callio FutureMINE project is nonetheless at the cutting edge of mining and tunnelling R&D, according to one of the companies involved in the project.

The Callio FutureMINE project is intentioned to develop the Pyhäsalmi mine’s infrastructure into a digital test mine of the future, which can influence the electrification and digitalisation of the entire mining industry in Finland and internationally.

Pyhäsalmi itself is Europe’s deepest base metal mine, going down more than 1,400 m below surface.

Even before mining operations ended in August 2022, the location was developed as a research hub and multidisciplinary operating environment called Callio. For Normet, the opportunity to be involved in such a unique and important resource was a no-brainer.

“We have been using the mine for our personnel development and equipment testing for a long time,” Mark Ryan, Vice President Equipment Offering and New Technology at Normet, said. “Callio provides a safe environment for us to test new products in exact atmospheric conditions, and also for our customers to see our technology in action for themselves. The fact it also contains the world’s deepest sauna is a bonus.”

Normet is joined by Pyhäsalmi Mine Oy, Edzcom Oy, Sandvik Oy, M-Solutions Oy, Pyhäsalmen Kvanttikiinteistöt Oy, Kempower Oy, Oy Forcit Ab, Delta Cygni Labs Oy, Byrnecut Ltd and OZ Minerals Ltd on this project.

The conditions in the mine are useful because they exactly mimic the operating environments of Normet’s machinery around the world, while also being free from constraints such as stringent operational safety considerations related to normal mine production, Normet explained. The unique conditions present in the mine provide opportunities for research and development that are unparalleled, it claims.

“We have dedicated areas of the mine that we use to simulate the areas that our customers experience in their operations,” Ryan continued. “We can demonstrate and test applications in all parts of the mining process that Normet is involved in, from concrete spraying to explosives charging. There’s no better place to showcase and develop new mining technologies than in an actual mine.”

The forward-looking approach of Callio is indeed reflected in Normet’s proprietary solutions such as the Normet SmartDrive® electric vehicles. Being fully battery operated, the vehicles produce no local emissions and provide significant cost and energy savings.

Ryan explained: “Battery-operated vehicles are an evolution in mining. One of our visions is to use Pyhäjärvi (rebranded from the Pyhäsalmi mine) to showcase this with a visitors’ centre where customers can experience the product in action in a realistic environment for themselves. In the case of the SmartDrive, we can demonstrate how the charging stations work, the process and logistics, and how data collection can benefit the operator.”

This data collection is another big step towards improving mining efficiency. At Callio, visitors can see in the demonstration control room how Normet equipment captures operational data in real time and transmits it for analysis. The information from this process can be used to improve efficiency, reduce downtime and ensure a safe and productive work environment.

Other projects in Callio involve energy storage, underground rescue, and even edible insects, among others. In general, this environment creates many opportunities for cooperation and knowledge exchange, according to Normet.

“We can see real opportunities for mutual benefit in regard to development,” Ryan explained. “We are very open to additional partnerships and shared initiatives.”

And this unique project is in part a result of its location, Normet says.

Ryan concluded: “I think there is a real kind of innovative, entrepreneur type of thinking in Finland that gives us a competitive edge and enables Normet to offer our customers the best possible technologies and keeps us relevant. We see ourselves as process experts. The machines we sell are products that enable that expertise. Callio provides an incredible opportunity for us to demonstrate our unique abilities.”

Normet makes investment in electric hammer tech start-up Lekatech

Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining mergers and acquisitions, , , , , , , ,

Normet has continued its investments in electrification technology with an agreement to become a minority shareholder of Finland-based startup Lekatech.

Since 2018, Normet has collaborated with Lekatech, a company that believes that direct electric drive is the future in hammering. Given the successful collaboration in electric hammer field tests between the companies, Normet has become a minority shareholder in the company.

The investment supports continued growth of Lekatech and commercialisation of its groundbreaking fully-electric hammers, Normet said.

Lekatech CEO, Antti Anttila, said: “Our goal is to zero out the CO2 emissions of impact hammers used in mining and construction industry.”

Lekatech’s ambition supports Normet’s continued progress in mining electrification. The fully-electric hammer, combined with Normet SmartDrive® battery-electric architecture, will shape the future of underground scaling and breaking, the company says.

Samu Kukkonen, Technology Director at Normet, said: “Lekatech’s technology enables a quantum leap in hammering energy efficiency and impact performance. The hammer being a digital platform enables intelligent control features that just were not possible before.”

Lekatech’s fully-electric hammer is up to 60% more efficient than a conventional hydraulic hammer providing significant energy savings while doubling impact force, the company claims. Fully-electric hammer technology also enables continuous digital development.

Tuomo Peltola, Founder of Lekatech, added: “Cooperation with Normet has been natural from the beginning. Normet really understands how to introduce high technologies to global market. I appreciate Normet’s practical and entrepreneurial culture and solid technical know-how. Normet is committed to being a technology leader in its own area of expertise.”

Normet strengthens scaling and breaking market position with Rambooms, Marakon buys

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Normet says it has agreed to acquire Rambooms Oy, a manufacturer and supplier of rock breaker boom systems, and Marakon Oy, a supplier of hydraulic hammers and excavator attachments for the construction and mining industries.

The Rambooms and Marakon businesses, with a manufacturing facility in Lahti, Finland, form the Marakon Group. The group has a wide customer base, and its products are found in most mining and construction markets, according to Normet. Marakon Group had 35 employees and net sales of €26 million ($27.8 million) in 2022.

Ed Santamaria, President and CEO at Normet, said: “Rambooms and Marakon are known for their high performing quality products. With the acquisition Normet strengthens its position in scaling and breaking as well as supports advancing towards higher levels of automation and electrification for the mining and construction industries. We look forward to welcoming the Marakon Group employees to Normet and supporting them in their future growth and development.”

Tomi Veijalainen, President of MRB-Holding Oy, added: “Throughout the past 40 years Marakon and Rambooms have grown together with both our business partners and employees. We feel trustful in the fact that this acquisition will allow for these shared success stories to continue. As this milestone marks a step towards new opportunities to advance and succeed, we are excited to follow the future accomplishments of both companies.”

The acquisition is expected to be closed this quarter, subject to the fulfilment of customary closing conditions.