Tag Archives: Sandvik

LKAB plots carbon-free pathway with direct reduced iron switch

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LKAB has presented its new strategy for the future, setting out a path to achieve net-zero carbon emissions from its own processes and products by 2045, while securing the company’s operations with expanded mining beyond 2060.

Jan Moström, President and CEO of LKAB, said the plan represented the biggest transformation in the company’s 130-year history, and could end up being the largest industrial investment ever made in Sweden.

“It creates unique opportunities to reduce the world’s carbon emissions and for Swedish industry to take the lead in a necessary global transformation,” he said.

The strategy sets out three main tracks for the transformation:

  • New world standard for mining;
  • Sponge iron (direct reduced iron) produced using green hydrogen will in time replace iron ore pellets, opening the way for a fossil-free iron and steel industry; and
  • Extract critical minerals from mine waste: using fossil-free technology to extract strategically important earth elements and phosphorous for mineral fertiliser from today’s mine waste.

The transformation is expected to require extensive investments in the order of SEK10-20 billion ($1.2-2.3 billion) a year over a period of around 15 to 20 years within LKAB’s operations alone. The company said the new strategy was a response to market developments in the global iron and steel industry, “which is undergoing a technology shift”.

The move could cut annual carbon dioxide emissions from the company’s customers worldwide by 35 Mt, equivalent to two thirds of Sweden’s domestic greenhouse gas emissions, it said.

Developments under the HYBRIT project, in which SSAB, LKAB and Vattenfall are collaborating on a process to enable the reduction of steel from iron ore using hydrogen instead of carbon, will be keenly observed following the miner’s announcement.

On top of this collaboration, LKAB is working with Sandvik, ABB, Combitec, Epiroc and several other industry leaders to develop the technology that will enable the transition to fossil-free, autonomous mines, it said.

Moström added: “The market for iron and steel will grow and, at the same time, the global economy is shifting towards a carbon-free future. Our carbon-free products will play an important part in the production of railways, wind farms, electric vehicles and industrial machinery.

“We will go from being part of the problem to being an important part of the solution.”

The market for steel is forecasted to grow by 50% by 2050. This growth will be achieved by an increase in the upgrading of recycled scrap in electric arc furnaces, according to LKAB. Today, the iron and steel industry accounts for more than a quarter of industrial emissions and for 7% of the world’s total carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to an IEA report.

The company said: “The global market price for recycled scrap is now twice that of iron ore pellets. The carbon-free sponge iron that will in time replace iron ore pellets as LKAB’s main export product is suitable for arc furnaces, allowing the company to offer industries throughout the world access to carbon-free iron.”

Moström said the switch from iron ore pellets to carbon-free sponge iron was an important step forward in the value chain, increasing the value of its products at the same time as giving customers direct access to “carbon-free iron”.

“That’s good for the climate and good for our business,” he said. “This transformation will provide us with good opportunities to more than double our turnover by 2045.”

During the transformation period, LKAB will supply iron ore pellets in parallel with developing carbon-free sponge iron.

To reach the new strategy’s goals, rapid solutions must be found for various complex issues, according to the company. These include permits, energy requirements and better conditions for research, development and innovation within primary industry.

Moström said: “Our transformation will dramatically improve Europe’s ability to achieve its climate goals. By reducing emissions primarily from our export business, we will achieve a reduction in global emissions that is equivalent to two-thirds of all Sweden’s carbon emissions. That’s three times greater than the effect of abandoning all cars in Sweden for good.

“It’s the biggest thing we in Sweden can do for the climate.”

Göran Persson, Chairman of the Board of LKAB, said: “What Swedish industry is now doing, spearheaded by LKAB, is to respond to the threatening climate crisis with innovation and technological change. In doing so, we are helping to secure a future for coming generations. This will also create new jobs in the county of Norrbotten, which will become a hub in a green industrial transformation. Succeeding in this will create ripples for generations to come. Not just here, but far beyond our borders.

“Now we are doing, what everyone says must be done.”

More OEMs join the ICMM’s Innovation for Cleaner, Safer Vehicles initiative

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The Innovation for Cleaner, Safer Vehicles (ICSV) initiative – a supply chain collaboration between the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) – has made significant progress towards understanding what is needed to transform today’s fleet of mining vehicles into tomorrow’s new generation of cleaner, safer vehicles, members of its CEO Advisory Group announced today at IMARC Online.

The ambitions of the ICSV initiative are to introduce greenhouse gas emission-free surface mining vehicles by 2040, minimise the operational impact of diesel exhaust by 2025 and make vehicle collision avoidance technology available to mining companies by 2025.

Two years on from announcing these ambitions, eight new OEMs have joined the initiative, taking the number of participating OEMs to 19, the ICMM said. This includes 3MTech, Behault, Future Digital communications, MTU, Miller Technologies, Miller Technologies, Nerospec, Newtrax and Torsa, the ICMM confirmed to IM.

ICMM members, representing around 30% of the global metals market with over 650 assets, have undertaken assessments to establish a clearer view of the progress made at site level towards each ICSV ambition. These assessments indicate ICMM members are generally at early stages of maturity in the journey, and show what progress will look like for each ambition, the ICMM said.

“This significant representation of industry can speak with an aligned voice, on aligned objectives with OEMs and third-party technology providers,” it added. “In its first two years, the ICSV initiative has achieved the critical step of sending strong signals to OEMs and third-party technology providers on their requirements, and on what is needed to accelerate development and adoption of technology across the industry.”

The initiative is led by a CEO Advisory Group comprising each leader of BHP, Anglo American, Gold Fields, Caterpillar, Komatsu and Sandvik, several members of which spoke today at IMARC Online about the collaborative model.

Nick Holland, Chief Executive, Gold Fields (and Chair of the CEO Advisory Group), said there was a critical need to advance work on cleaner, safer vehicles in mining, which will have important health and safety benefits and contribute towards the pressing need of decarbonising the mining industry.

“It is recognised that there are measures we can implement now, but other, more impactful, interventions are reliant on technology pathways that are still evolving,” he said. “This will undoubtedly take time, but the industry’s collaboration with OEMs, through the ICMM, is critical as we look for these long-term, sustainable and integrated solutions.”

Mike Henry, Chief Executive, BHP, added: “Safer, cleaner mining equipment is important for our people and the world. No one party can tackle this on their own though. The ICSV initiative brings together equipment manufacturers and ICMM members to accelerate the innovations required to improve equipment safety and reduce emissions. This is a great example of the collaborative industry-level effort that can help bring about the scale and pace of change that is needed.”

Denise Johnson, Group President, Caterpillar, said the OEM was committed to helping customers operate safely and sustainably, with the ICSV initiative helping it collaborate even more closely with the mining industry in these important areas.

“Its progress to date has helped to form a shared understanding of where the industry is on its journey and demonstrates that by working together we can more quickly accelerate the pace of change,” she said of the initiative.

Tom Butler, CEO, ICMM, added: “Partnership and collaboration fuels long-term sustainable development, and is crucial to addressing some of the mining industry’s biggest sustainability challenges. Progress made on the ICSV initiative has been building the widespread confidence needed to accelerate the level of innovation investment required to scale up commercial solutions. The initiative will benefit the entire industry and is open to all OEMs who would like to join.”

ICMM has developed tools to support the industry, OEMs and third-party technology providers to meet the initiative’s ambitions, it said. These tools include an ICSV Knowledge Hub that, the ICMM says, facilitates knowledge sharing of industry innovations, provides technical and practical resources including case studies, standards, regulations and a technology and solutions database.

Additionally, a set of “maturity frameworks” that help to “map, motivate and measure” progress against the ambitions have been published, with the intention to stimulate conversations within companies that drive thinking, decision making and action, it added.

In 2021, ICMM’s company members will focus on integrating the initiative’s goals into their corporate planning processes, allocating internal resources and effectively leveraging external resources such as synergies with other industry initiatives and collaboration between member companies, the ICMM said.

Sandvik and Barrick confirm Artisan Z50 trials at Turquoise Ridge gold mine

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Sandvik and Barrick have confirmed the signing of a partnership agreement for trialing and enhancing battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) for underground hard-rock mining.

During a three-year production trial, Sandvik will deploy four Artisan Z50 BEV trucks at the Turquoise Ridge gold mine, part of the Nevada Gold Mines joint venture (JV), Sandvik said. Barrick is the operator of the JV, which is the single-largest gold-producing complex in the world, forecast to produce a total of 3.4-3.65 Moz of gold during 2020.

The announcement follows an acknowledgement of such a deal by President of Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology, Henrik Ager, earlier this month.

The Z50 haul truck, with a 50 t payload capacity, is a ground-up design that seamlessly integrates the most capable and proven battery electric powertrain available in the mining industry with the latest and most coveted features of any haul truck on the market today, according to Sandvik.

It is equipped with AutoSwap, a patented self-swapping system for the Artisan battery pack. This makes battery swapping faster and easier with a minimum amount of manual handling: changing the battery only takes about six minutes, and it can be done in a passing bay or old re-muck bay with no overhead cranes or external infrastructure needed.

In phase 1 trials, the Z50 truck already achieved more than 1,400 hours of production with over 1,400 loads, according to Sandvik. It reached production operation of up to 18 hours per day, with speeds of over 10 km/h observed on the ramp to the tip.

Some of the key performance indicators in the new partnership will include the performance of the BEV technology in a production environment, mechanical availability, average lifecycle cost and overall production cost, Sandvik said.

“We are always looking at ways to improve our performance, both in terms of sustainability and operational efficiency,”  Mark Bristow, Barrick’s President and CEO, said. “This partnership with Sandvik is exciting and will give us first-hand experience in BEV technology in our own production environment. It is a significant step to furthering our BEV strategy across the group.”

Ager added: “I am very pleased that Barrick and Sandvik have teamed up to perform these extensive trials in a daily production environment. It gives us the possibility to prove the performance of our BEV technology.

“The purely battery-powered truck helps to reduce heat and emissions underground, helping mines reach their sustainability targets and reduce ventilation costs. This raises the bar for what is possible and enables an all-new level of production and cost reduction for underground hard rock mines.”

A dedicated site project team will be jointly working with the Barrick operations team during the trial period to ensure that all data is captured and the experience from both Sandvik and Barrick is used to ensure the uptime and productivity targets are met, Sandvik said.

Sandvik Canada to inspire mining customers to go ‘green’

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Sandvik will transition to a more agile footprint in Ontario, Canada, to, it says, better serve customers throughout the province and reduce its carbon footprint.

The OEM plans for a “greener, more agile future” for its organisation in Canada and will begin the process of this transition in Ontario before the end of the year.

The company’s vision of its future operations in Canada is as an organisation that is flexible and can respond to customer requirements, wherever they may be, while minimising harm to the environment they operate in.

“This transition will not happen over night, but it begins with a few key changes that will support some more immediate needs of our customers and will jump start our sustainability initiatives,” Peter Corcoran, Vice President of Sandvik Canada, said.

Sandvik’s climate action plan includes offering customers carbon reduction pathways through battery-electric vehicle (BEV) technology, and reducing the carbon footprint from Sandvik’s own operations, and the company will take specific actions in Canada to address these goals.

“BEVs are a large part of Sandvik Canada’s sustainability plans,” Corcoran says. “We envision ourselves as an enabler of zero emissions-mining through our battery-electric offerings.”

In order to enable the industry’s transition to cleaner technology, investment is required in education to expand the industry’s capacity to maintain BEVs. These machines require a “unique technical skillset” to support as they have fewer mechanical components and more electrical components, Sandvik says. To support the transition to this cleaner technology, Sandvik has partnered with Northern College to develop a BEV technician education program and build a new generation of service specialists to support the industry in mining.

“This program is really a win-win for a cleaner industry and our communities,” Corcoran explains. “Servicing these machines requires specialised knowledge of both mechanical and electrical systems. We are investing in educating this next generation of service specialists because we forecast an increase in demand for technicians in this field in the future. We also want to invest in the local talent pool as the benefits of hiring locally and developing sustainable capacity in the community cannot be understated. This partnership addresses both of those areas.”

On top of this, physical footprints will be re-evaluated in Ontario throughout 2021, with a focus on the corporate head office in Mississauga, to improve energy consumption at Sandvik’s facilities. The company says it has already taken preliminary measures to improve energy consumption at its facilities such as switching to LED lightbulbs, and it will take more impactful measures in the coming months and years.

One such action is to consolidate its Kirkland Lake and Lively operations to leverage the established infrastructure in Lively and transition its Kirkland Lake resources into agile field service agents that are ideally situated to support the needs of BEV customers, it said.

The company anticipates this action will lead to an improvement in energy consumption and that the increased support in BEV field service will encourage more customers to consider a low-emissions solution like battery technology.

Varel becomes Terelion as it refocuses on mining sector

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Varel Mining and Industrial is changing its name to Terelion, as the drilling company looks to focus solely on the mining sector.

The new brand will continue to design, manufacture, and deliver quality drill bits and complementary products for its blasthole drilling clients around the world, it said. Terelion is headquartered in Carrolton, Texas, USA, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sandvik Group.

“With the recent sale of their oil and gas division, Terelion has developed a new business strategy allowing them to focus solely on the mining industry,” the company said. “While rotary drill bits and down-the-hole products for surface mining will be the core part of their business, drill bits for water well, construction, and other industrial applications will also be included in the Terelion portfolio.”

Terelion’s President, David Harrington, said: “Terelion will continue to build on the proud heritage of the Varel brand. Refining our product line allows us to strengthen our R&D and marketing efforts, while continuing to supply world-class products and services for our mining customers.”

With an established presence in all the major surface mining markets around the world, the company is already well placed to serve its global customer base, it said. The company said it is looking forward to a phase of dynamic expansion, innovation and collaboration with stakeholders.

Sandvik and Glencore agree on ‘innovative’ equipment, services partnership

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Sandvik is to supply Glencore Queensland Metals’s underground mobile mining equipment and aftermarket parts under a deal struck at the end of June this year.

The agreement, valued at SEK1.4 billion ($160 million) over a six-year lifespan, will see Sandvik become the key provider of drills, loaders and trucks for Glencore’s metalliferous mines in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. Sandvik will also provide parts, service, rock tools, and digital and automation technology for the new Sandvik fleet.

Following the signing of the agreement on June 30, Glencore placed an initial equipment order totalling SEK300 million, which was reported in the June quarter report, with a Sandvik DD421 development drill the first piece of equipment supplied under the deal on September 1, 2020.

Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology’s Global Account Manager for Glencore, Tim Redmond, says the deal comes after more than a year of negotiations and follows Glencore issuing a heavy mining equipment tender in 2018. Glencore requested an additional response to the tender in early 2019 asking the company to deliver a more innovative and collaborative solution.

Redmond explained that Sandvik was happy to rise to the challenge.

“We spent nearly a year working closely with the Glencore team to identify exactly what was needed for the long-term success of their assets,” he says. “Our solutions enabled us to optimise the upfront capital costs and provide a competitive supply of aftermarket services moving forward.”

Glencore Queensland Metals General Manager − Mining, Simon Pope, says the agreement is significant with all heavy mobile mining equipment at Glencore Queensland Metals sites being supplied by the one OEM, replacing the status quo where equipment from multiple suppliers was used.

“This innovative partnership with Sandvik will help us improve the way we operate and maintain mobile equipment in our underground mines by providing us with a real reduction in the total cost to operate our primary fleet, an important factor in enabling a sustainable future for our mining operations,” Pope says.

As a leading mining equipment manufacturer, Redmond says Sandvik is committed to improving customer’s productivity and profitability.

“Sandvik showcased technologies solutions for collision avoidance, tracking of assets and automation to Glencore and other industry players at the Digitization in Mining conference in Brisbane in 2019,” Redmond says.

Having a fleet with a single technology platform ensures Glencore is in a good position to undertake mine intelligence projects and promote additional automation and vehicle interaction controls moving forward, according to Pope.

“We look forward to working with Sandvik to share operational and maintenance insights through new and emerging technologies and unlocking further improvements in safety for our people and the productivity of our mines,” he said. “Sandvik machines have played a key role in our operations for a number of years and have a proven track record for productivity and reliability.”

Redmond concluded that the Australia Glencore deal creates a model that can now potentially be duplicated in other markets and with other commodities.

“Rather than each party simply trying to get the best price, this agreement adds new value to the relationship and creates benefits for everyone,” he said.

LKAB warms to Sandvik’s ‘renewed’ LH625iE as second electric LHD heads to Kiruna

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Having been on a journey to electrify its operations with Sandvik since the mid-1980s, LKAB says the latest addition to its electric fleet, a Sandvik LH625iE, is performing well at its flagship Kiruna iron ore mine in northern Sweden.

The company took delivery of the “renewed” Sandvik LH625iE electric loader for field testing earlier this year and, according to Per Brännman, Section Manager for sublevel caving at LKAB in Kiruna, the machine’s performance has picked up recently after some adjustments, mainly to the cable reeling system.

“It has completed 350 hours without any error codes or stops, and loaded over 140,000 t of crude iron ore,” he said.

The machine in question is operating down on block 15, level 1022, at the iron ore mine, and the company is expecting to put another LH625iE into action on this level in early November.

“The future looks bright and carbon dioxide free,” Brännman said.

The underground loader, which features a 9.5 cu.m bucket and 25,000 kg payload capacity, is designed specifically to operate in the world’s largest underground iron ore mine. It comes with a total length of 14 m, bucket width of 4 m and cabin height of 3 m.

The basic LH625iE design is well-proven (and based on the LH625E), according to Sandvik, with the equipment manufacturer delivering electric loaders powered by a trailing cable for more than 35 years.

In addition to using the proven design and robust structures, Sandvik says its LH625iE belongs to its i-series, featuring advanced technology, the latest digital solutions and smart connectivity. This sees the new Sandvik LH625iE equipped with Sandvik Intelligent Control System and My Sandvik Digital Services Knowledge Box™ as standard. To use the payload capacity it offers, the loader can also be fitted with Sandvik’s Integrated Weighing System, as well as AutoMine® and OptiMine® solutions, Sandvik said.

Sandvik to form new crushing and screening business area

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Sandvik has decided to spin off its Crushing and Screening division into a new business area called Sandvik Rock Processing Solutions (SRP).

The reason for this structural change, which will happen as of January 1, 2021, is to further accelerate profitable growth within rock processing, based on Crushing and Screening addressing separate parts of the value chain and facing different competition to the other Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology divisions, the company said.

“Sandvik is market leading within rock processing and our Crushing and Screening division is a well-performing business with exciting growth opportunities,” Stefan Widing, President and CEO of Sandvik, said. “The business is today already operating quite independently from the rest of Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology, with its own manufacturing, sourcing and aftermarket. By establishing Rock Processing Solutions as a business area we will improve transparency and strengthen our growth ambitions within the area.”

In line with this move, Sandvik has appointed Anders Svensson, President of the Crushing and Screening division since 2016, to President of the business area Sandvik Rock Processing Solutions and a new member of the Sandvik Group Executive Management, as of 1 January 2021. Svensson joined Sandvik in 2008 and has, prior to his current position, had several different management positions within Sandvik and in Metso Minerals.

The crushing and screening business had, as a division within Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology, about SEK7.4 billion ($837 million) in sales and a 15.9% operating profit margin in 2019 with about 2,000 employees.

The Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology business area will continue to be led by Henrik Ager and will, as of 1 January 2021, change name to Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions (SMR), the company added.

Sandvik and Northern College to help train BEV service technicians of the future

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Sandvik and Ontario’s Northern College have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to, they say, work collaboratively to enhance existing battery technician training modules, and develop a new program to educate service technicians and support the growing requirement for specialised battery-electric vehicle (BEV) technicians in the mining industry.

The Northern College Battery Electric Vehicle Technician training program for service technicians should prepare them for employment in this field.

BEVs are increasing in popularity in the Canadian mining industry due to the improvements they offer in operating environments, maintenance costs, efficiency and productivity, yet specialised BEV technicians are required to support the growing fleet of BEVs in Canada.

“It’s important to be aware of the fact that the technology powering battery-electric vehicles is considerably different than that of diesel machines,” Dr Audrey J Penner, President and CEO of Northern College, said of the new technology.

“Servicing and maintaining these fleets requires a different skillset than what is required for a diesel-powered fleet because BEVs have fewer mechanical components and more electrical components. For that reason, the Canadian mining industry requires a new generation of service technicians who are trained in servicing electrically-powered machinery and Northern College is responding to that call for talent and training.”

Northern College and the Haileybury School of Mines will develop a program with Sandvik and their partners to educate participants in BEV technology. Sandvik will serve as a subject matter expert on the topic of BEVs in a mining application to ensure program graduates are educated in areas relevant for the mining industry.

Peter Corcoran, Vice President Canada, Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology, said: “This program is really a win-win for a cleaner industry while also supporting resource development in the communities close to the mines using BEV technology.

“We are investing in educating this next generation of service specialists because we forecast an increase in demand for technicians in the BEV field as more operations transition to zero-emissions equipment. We also want to invest in the local talent pool as the benefits of hiring locally and developing sustainable capacity in the community cannot be understated. This partnership addresses both of those areas.”

One industry proponent of BEVs in mining is Kirkland Lake Gold, which has deployed many battery-powered units at its Macassa gold mine in Ontario.

“Using BEVs at our Macassa Mine benefits us in a number of ways, including significantly lowering greenhouse gas emissions, improving working conditions and reducing capital requirements for ventilation,” Evan Pelletier, Kirkland Lake Gold’s Vice President of Mining, said.

Pelletier explains that Kirkland Lake Gold was among the first to bring electrification to the mining industry and the company has seen significant improvements in BEV technology in a relatively short timeframe.

Based on Kirkland Lake’s experience, Pelletier believes the participation of both original equipment manufacturer and mining companies in the development of a technician training program will be an important contributor to the program’s success.

“Working with colleges will help Kirkland Lake Gold further develop our technicians in this field,” Pelletier explains. “The program will not only develop new technicians, it will help to establish BEV standards in the industry that will lead the way for future advancements.”

Anglo’s remote multi-pass drill wins plaudits for work at Dawson coal mine

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Anglo American has been recognised for the development and testing of a world-first remotely operated multi-pass drill at its Dawson coal mine, with the company recently taking out the JCB CEA Innovation (Miner) Award at the 2020 Queensland Mining Awards in Mackay.

Driven by a commitment to make its open-pit operations safer by removing operators from the field, the team at Dawson produced the first known rotary blasthole drill rig to be able to complete multi-pass operations remotely.

General Manger of Anglo American’s Dawson Mine, Clarence Robertson, said the team had worked tirelessly over around 18 months to deliver the project.

“Our project team did an incredible job upgrading the (Sandvik) D90K drill rig by giving it a new control system and mechanical modifications,” he said. “This allows the drill rig to continually add and remove multiple drill rods during the drilling process without operator intervention, making it more efficient and consistent.”

He explained: “The drill can reach depths up to six times deeper than a standard single-rod drill, including angled and vertical holes, to reach the coal seams more easily.

“Most importantly, the innovation is improving safety by removing our people from an operational area where they could be exposed to noise, dust, vibrations and vehicle movements. They now work from a site office environment, where a remote operations centre has been setup for them to use new one-touch drilling technology.”

Robertson said the drill rig is now delivering beyond benchmark performance, and the operation is in the process of automating two more drill rigs in the next six months.

Tyler Mitchelson, CEO of Anglo American’s Metallurgical Coal business, said the project was a great example of the positive impacts innovation and technology can have on daily operations.

“The remote multi-pass drill is a strong demonstration of how technology, digitisation and remote operation can come together to make our operations safer, more sustainable and more productive.

“Congratulations to our team from Dawson Mine on their achievement, which has made a significant impact on the way we operate.”

Presented by the Bowen Basin Mining Club, in partnership with the Queensland Resources Council, the bi-annual Queensland Mining Awards recognise industry excellence across the categories of productivity, safety, innovation, environment, collaboration, product launch, community, staff engagement and equal opportunity initiatives.

Anglo American was also recognised as finalists the following Queensland Mining Awards categories:

  • Innovation Award (Miner):
    • Dawson Mine’s world-first remote multi-pass drill; and
    • Development of first electronic tablet device certified for use in underground coal mining.
  • Community/Staff Engagement Award:
    • Anglo American LIVE online concert series.
  • Equal Opportunity Award:
    • Moranbah North Mine’s Balancing the Team female trainee program.
  • Collaboration Award:
    • Mitchell Services/Anglo American for innovation in underground coal gas drainage UIS drill rig.