Tag Archives: Toro

Perenti and Sandvik to collaborate on underground diesel-electric equipment

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Global mining services provider Perenti and Sandvik have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at MINExpo INTERNATIONAL® 2024 centred on developing cutting-edge diesel-electric equipment for underground mines.

This collaboration aims to enhance sustainability, efficiency and productivity in underground mining operations, Sandvik said.

Under the agreement, the companies will work together to optimise underground diesel-electric loaders and trucks. Through Perenti’s leading underground mining business, Barminco, the collaboration partnership will focus on improving Barminco’s operations and generating valuable insights and data to further refine Sandvik’s diesel-electric technology.

The initial phase of the collaboration involves establishing a shared vision for optimising Sandvik’s diesel-electric machines to meet Perenti’s requirements. Perenti will contribute to the machine design and provide feedback at various testing stages, including pre-factory testing, operational testing and trial testing.

Mark Norwell, Perenti Managing Director & CEO, welcomed the agreement, saying Perenti was excited to explore the full potential of diesel-electric solutions as part of its journey to decarbonisation.

“We are constantly looking for ways to improve the working environment and boost underground safety, efficiency and sustainability,” he said. “Diesel-electric equipment has the potential to do this. Collaborating with our partners is a critical step in the process, and we believe that working with Sandvik enables us to benefit from cutting-edge technology and also play a role in shaping the equipment that the wider industry will be using tomorrow. That’s good for us and it’s good for our customers.”

Mats Eriksson, President of Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, emphasised that the mutual benefits of collaboration often do lead to better products – and safer, more efficient operations.

“Perenti, through its businesses including Barminco, is one of the world’s leading mining services providers, and can provide us with design suggestions and fantastic insights into real-world mining conditions,” he said. “Together, we can create equipment optimised for Perenti’s working conditions while also developing the most advanced diesel-electric machines available anywhere in the world.”

Diesel-electric mining equipment is seen by many within the industry as a way of achieving cleaner, more sustainable and more reliable mining, without the structural changes required for a fully-electric operation.

Diesel-electric machines typically have a diesel engine that drives a generator which, in turn, provides electricity to motors responsible for movement and operating equipment. Unlike conventional diesel, diesel-electric machines generally have no torque converter and fewer rotating components, allowing for a more flexible design, requiring less maintenance and enabling lower operating costs while maintaining high availability.

Sandvik first announced last year that it was moving ahead with developing a diesel-electric range of underground loaders and trucks to complement its leading battery-electric offering. The decision followed the showcasing of Sandvik’s Toro™ diesel-electric truck demonstrator to customers at a technology workshop in Turku, Finland in 2022. This demonstrator is on the booth at MINExpo 2024, in Las Vegas, this week.

Sandvik presents new ‘trolley module’ for BEV trucks at MINExpo

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Alongside an announcement focusing on the introduction of an electric modular platform for its Toro™ underground loaders and trucks at MINExpo INTERNATIONAL® 2024, Sandvik has also presented a trolley module for a BEV truck in Las Vegas.

Trolley-electric trucks are expected to be used in large truck applications where the traffic flow is predictable, ramps are long and fleets are big, Sandvik says.

The company said a timeline for commercial availability of the trolley module was “pending customer interest towards testing and adopting the technology”.

The modular Toro platform approach for loaders and trucks, meanwhile, is expected to meet the diverse needs arising from the ongoing electric transition across Sandvik’s global customer base, the OEM says.

Sandvik aims to increase customer productivity, improve safety and support environmental sustainability while keeping ore moving efficiently with this platform approach. The vast range of customer needs requires agility and a multitude of co-existing technologies, as individual mines are adopting new technologies at varying paces, it said.

The backbone of the platform is the electric driveline. Built around it, the modular approach will cover all key machine elements starting from high-level architecture and continuing to the detailed module designs. Practical examples of modules include operator environment, critical steel structures and hydraulic systems, among others. Sandvik’s own BEV battery modules and charging stations complete the ecosystem.

Building on the electric platform, Sandvik expects its near-term load and haul offering to feature diesel-electrics, hybrids, battery-electrics, trolley modules and cable-electric solutions. While new innovations are developed, also current conventional diesel technologies will be further developed.

Sandvik retaining the platform approach for load & haul electrification

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Sandvik’s aim to electrify the underground mining space have been gaining traction over recent years, with single machine trials and deployments that typified the early stages of its mission now replaced by fleet-wide agreements that, if not already in operation, will be starting up underground in the years to come.

As with all transitions, the electric one has not been easy. There have been teething issues along the way; whether that is equipping batteries for the harsh nature of an underground mines, educating employees about best practice maintenance and operations of this equipment, or facing an onslaught of questions about potential battery fires witnessed in passenger vehicles via YouTube.

Just how much traction the company has been gaining was made clear late last year during its Capital Markets Day event.

Here, the company outlined that battery-electric vehicles accounted for 15% of all load and haul orders in the year to the end of October. On top of that, it displayed an impressive pie chart showing that, from January-October 2023, Sandvik had won more than 75% of orders for battery-electric equipment.

These numbers do not factor in the cable-electric loaders the company has been selling for decades, plus the underground battery-electric drilling equipment that trams on battery power at mining operations across the globe.

For all this positive momentum, battery-electric does not make sense for everyone…yet.

IM has documented a series of both diesel-electric and hybrid diesel-electric LHD sales in Australia recently, with at least one of these sales following the trial of battery-electric equipment.

Sandvik has made clear that it will have something in store for miners in transition between diesel and fully-electric operation, stating last year that it was developing diesel-electric trucks and loaders for the industry.

Unlike some of its peers, Sandvik is deliberately building this offering with fully-electric operations in mind.

“Currently we are developing diesel-electric solutions both for trucks and loaders,” Juha Virta, VP Sales and Marketing for the Load and Haul Division within Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, told IM. “We aim to maximise the customer value by utilising modular design in our equipment: battery and diesel-electric equipment will have commonalities eg in drivelines, hydraulics, electrics and spare parts.”

This approach will make it easier for customers to transfer from diesel-electric equipment to battery-electric equipment, Virta says. The “commonalities” could also prove beneficial in developing the skill sets required from service personnel.

“Energy storage elements are also included in our development portfolio, enabling, for example, hybrid solutions, delivering positive results in the area of fuel consumption and the equipment performance,” he added.

This is all part of an increasingly diverse offering from the OEM that Brian Huff, Vice President of New Technologies for the Load and Haul Division within Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, mentioned during the Capital Markets Day.

He said: “We’re taking the technology of our battery-operated drills, loaders and trucks, and expanding that with diesel-electric using the same motors, inverters and componentry in a modular approach that allows us to offer diesel solutions with the same electrified driveline from our battery-operated equipment.”

The developments the company is making as part of this project are being displayed on the TH66X diesel-electric demonstrator – a Toro diesel-powered truck that has been retrofitted with an electric driveline – that customers first saw in Turku, Finland, in 2022. This machine is currently in factory tests, according to Virta, saying that component validation and a variety of simulations were also being run.

“The program also includes a significant amount of testing in a real underground mine environment,” he added. “Developing new technology and ensuring its performance takes some time, and sufficient and careful tests are extremely important – we are in a very good progress with that currently.”

For this, Sandvik is using not only its Test Mine in Tampere, Finland, but also the Pyhäsalmi mine. Sandvik is using the latter operation – owned by First Quantum Minerals – as part of its involvement in the Callio consortium: a group of companies focused on developing ‘FutureMINE – the future digital test mine project’.

One of the other participants in this consortium is Byrnecut, who has been partnering with Sandvik based on a recent LinkedIn post by Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions.

“We have long traditions with working in close collaboration with different customers, and that will continue to be Sandvik approach also going forward,” Virta said when asked about this partnership. “Byrnecut is one of our customers and a very important partner for us, and, along with Barminco, will be one of the first companies to test the TH66X in the field.”

Considering the majority of the team focused on this diesel-electric demonstrator are based in Turku, one would expect this facility to have significant influence on the commercial offering that follows.

The facility is undergoing an expansion focused on incorporating an additional 7,000 sq.m of production and storage space previously occupied by Tunturi, a manufacturer of bicycles and fitness equipment. The whole of the plant for load and haul equipment is also set to be enhanced and modernised.

Petri Liljaranta, Supply Director for the Load and Haul Division within Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, says the expansion is progressing as planned with all but a few of the company’s finishing functions relocated according to its plans. “This final part of the project is expected to be finished in the June quarter,” he added.

One of the expansion project’s targets was to increase the manufacturing space at its facilities, and this target has already been achieved, with the company well equipped to respond to growing volume needs in the coming years, according to Liljaranta.

“Based on current views, the battery-electric vehicle manufacturing capacity is expected to meet expected market demand during 2024,” he said.

Sandvik’s Toro LH514E cable-electric loader receives AutoMine treatment

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Sandvik is introducing the AutoMine®-ready Toro™ LH514iE loader, a revamped version of its 14-t cable-electric loader.

The loader builds on its predecessor, the Sandvik LH514E, with several new updates to enhance safety and productivity.

Sandvik has been delivering electric mining loaders for more than 35 years. Building on this legacy and integrating the latest electrification, digitalisation and automation technologies, the Toro LH514iE is Sandvik’s latest solution for electrifying and automating underground loading.

It becomes the latest automated cable-electric loader designed with AutoMine integrated capabilities, offering customers flexibility to upgrade from manual to autonomous operations at any time in the equipment’s lifespan, the company says. From AutoMine Tele-Remote entry-level smart tele-operation, which offers standard features and capabilities, to AutoMine Core’s highly advanced automation system providing the most robust set of features for mass mining applications, customers can choose the right automation for their mine’s needs, the OEM says.

Unlike battery-electric vehicles that require battery swapping or quick-charging, or diesel equipment that needs refuelling, as long as the Toro LH514iE’s cable is plugged into the mine electric grid, the loader is ready for work. The high-capacity cable reeling system has an operating range of up to 330 m, the company added.

Sandvik said: “[The] Toro LH514iE loader can help improve working conditions underground for operators and other mine personnel. In addition to not producing diesel emissions, the electric motor contributes to improved working conditions by emitting lower levels of noise, vibration and heat.”

Sandvik to supply Pucobre with six Toro LH621i autonomous loaders

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Chile-focused copper miner Sociedad Punta del Cobre S.A (Pucobre) has selected Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions to supply a fleet of six Toro™ LH621i autonomous loaders equipped with AutoMine® Multi-Lite for its mining operations in northern Chile’s Atacama region, the OEM says.

Pucobre is among Chile’s largest underground copper miners, producing approximately 38,000 t/y of fine copper from its three mines near the northern city of Copiapó.

“We’re consistently exploring and implementing technologies that can enhance safety and productivity in our mines,” Sebastian Rios, Chief Executive Officer at Pucobre, said. “We have an ambitious goal to automate 75% of our stope operations, and this is a major milestone in that journey.”

Sandvik will supply the order in two phases. During 2023, Pucobre will receive four Toro LH621i loaders and the remaining two in 2024.

“We are pleased to support Pucobre in improving the safety, productivity and reliability of its mine operations with the deployment of our autonomous loaders,” Ricardo Pachon, Vice President, Sales South Cone and Andean at Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, said. “We look forward to working with Pucobre as it continues on its automation journey.”

Toro LH621i loaders feature a 21-t payload capacity. The loaders’ reliability, robust structure and Sandvik Intelligent Control System enable the use of highly advanced digital solutions, such as AutoMine. The Toro LH621i offers superior hydraulic power for fast bucket filling and drivetrain power for high ramp speeds and can quickly clear tunnel headings for rapid advance rates, according to Sandvik. Long-life components, specifically developed for the rough underground environment, contribute to low cost per tonne.

The AutoMine Multi-Lite system is a highly advanced automation system that enables system operators to remotely and simultaneously supervise multiple automated Sandvik underground loaders and trucks. It provides a powerful way to take advantage of the full machine performance, and helps improve productivity, safety and cost efficiency in underground mining operations, according to the company.

Sandvik to launch diesel-electric range of underground trucks, LHDs

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Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions says it is expanding its technology portfolio by developing a diesel-electric range of underground loaders and trucks to complement its battery-electric vehicle offering.

For more than 40 years, Sandvik has been driving electrification of underground mining equipment, starting with cable–electric loaders in the early 1980s and evolving to BEV equipment today, it said. Now the company is expanding its load and haul offering to include diesel–electric equipment.

“We see the future of underground mining as a combination of multiple coexisting technologies, with different solutions for varying customer needs,” Jari Söderlund, Product Management Director, Division Load and Haul, Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, said.“An immediate switch from diesel to battery-electric is not a feasible solution for every mine and application. Diesel-electric is another technology that can help our customers achieve their productivity and sustainability goals.”

Sandvik first showcased its new Toro™ diesel-electric truck demonstrator to customers at a technology workshop in Turku, Finland, in 2022, during which participants shared their expectations for diesel-electric technology, Sandvik said. The demonstrator has since undergone extensive performance testing and the Sandvik product development team is using feedback from the workshop to ensure its future offering meets customer and industry needs.

Customers can expect the diesel-electric equipment offering to boost productivity, reduce total cost of ownership, improve availability and extend component lifetimes, it said. The equipment will benefit from the experience Sandvik has gained with its BEV installed base, and will utilise many common platforms used for the Toro load and haul product series, which has thousands of units delivered around the globe.

The diesel-electric Toro loaders and trucks will be automation compatible and available with advanced Sandvik digital service solutions as well as remote monitoring services, to further improve productivity and safety while reducing total cost of ownership.

Sandvik to establish new production unit in Malaysia on underground LHD, truck demand

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Sandvik is establishing a new production unit in Malaysia for manufacturing underground loaders and trucks in an effort to answer growing demand for its battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), the company says.

Equipment production is planned to begin in the December quarter of 2023 following factory upgrades and other site improvements.

While the new production unit within Sandvik Mining and Rock Solution’s primary focus will be BEVs, it will also manufacture conventional loaders and trucks as well as battery cages. Annual manufacturing capacity is planned to increase gradually to 300 loaders and trucks and 500 battery cages by 2030.

The new facility in the 445-ha Sendayan TechValley business park, 70 kilometers south of Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur and 15 km west of state capital Seremban. The factory is 90 km southeast of Port Klang, Malaysia’s largest seaport and one of the busiest container terminals in the world.

Mats Eriksson, President of Sandvik Mining and Rock Solution, said: “Malaysia is among the most technologically developed countries in Southeast Asia and has abundant skilled labour, strong local industrial suppliers and reliable infrastructure. Our mining customers in Asia Pacific will enjoy shorter lead times for equipment manufactured to the same Sandvik standards for quality and safety.”

The new factory will span more than 8,000 m and include 15 versatile assembly bays. It will support the manufacture of all Sandvik load and haul equipment models and is independent of existing supplier chains, the company explained. Production ramp-up will begin later this year with Toro™ LH517i loaders followed by Toro™ LH518iB, Sandvik’s newly-announced automation-ready battery-electric loader, in the June quarter of 2024.

Patricio Apablaza, President of Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions’ Load and Haul division, added: “Demand for our loaders and trucks is exceeding our current production capacity at our existing factories. The establishment of our new production unit in Malaysia will enable flexible manufacturing of both conventional diesel and battery-electric mining equipment.”

Sandvik to take next mining productivity leap with automated battery-electric loaders

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Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions has been one of the key facilitators of mining’s electrification and automation transition underground, establishing a core offering of battery-electric equipment that leverages Artisan™ battery packs and electric drivelines, plus a wide offering of cable tethered machines, for the former; and the continued rollout of the renowned AutoMine® automation platform for the latter.

The company is now embarking on its next evolution with the integration of the two, which will soon culminate in the launch of the LH518iB – the AutoMine-ready version of the 18-t-payload LH518B.

Integrating electrification and automation is nothing new for Sandvik; the company has been providing AutoMine functionality on cable tethered loaders for over 10 years.

Automating a machine that operates off battery power only is a different proposition.

Although the battery swap process on the LH518iB can’t yet be fully automated, one operator can run the entire cycle from a surface chair, including tele-remote battery swapping. Human involvement underground is only required for connecting and disconnecting batteries from chargers.

“The LH518iB will be the first battery machine that will be automated, compatible with our AutoMine Lite and AutoMine Fleet offering solution as well as our Manual Production Monitoring system,” Ty Osborne, Product Line Manager Underground Automation at Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, told IM.

AutoMine Lite is an automation system for a single Sandvik loader or truck and a more advanced alternative for AutoMine Tele-Remote, while AutoMine Fleet – as the name would suggest – is an advanced automation system for a fleet of Sandvik underground loaders and trucks sharing the same automated production area.

Having delivered AutoMine automation systems since 2004 and accumulated a footprint of about 800 automated and connected units, the automation of Sandvik’s growing battery-electric fleet was always on the cards, according to Osborne, predating the launches of the AutoMine Concept Underground Drill – in 2022 – and the AutoMine Concept Loader – in 2020 – both of which are fully autonomous and battery-electric.

The changes involved with automating the battery-electric LH518iB mainly relate to “industrialising” the machine for autonomous capabilities and switching over to the iSeries platform for the added intelligence, Osborne said.

Sandvik already has mine sites lined up for field trials of this machine in North America and northern Europe. This is on top of a planned deployment of six LH518iBs over 2023-2024 in South Australia.

Operators of these machines will benefit from either being able to carry out the battery swap from within the cab or from a remote operating station, Osborne confirmed.

“However, at this stage, there still is a requirement for a person to connect the charging cable and cooling cables,” he said.

“In the future, this will be automated as we are constantly pushing the boundaries further and pioneering new technologies in the mining industry.”

Alongside this, Sandvik is working on battery management systems to enable operators and supervisors to see what level of charge the on-board battery has and the expected time to full charge of spare batteries to enable critical decision-making around when to swap the on-board battery.

The benefits that come with these types of datasets will enable these newly automated battery-electric machines to become potentially the most productive loaders on the market, according to David Hallett, Vice President, Automation at Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions.

“Automation and electrification go hand-in-hand,” he said. “The experience we are getting with the battery-electric equipment in the field shows that the performance of those automated machines versus those powered by diesel is already at a higher level.

“Going from drive lines to direct drive onto the wheel ends with battery-electric machines gives us a greater capability to control the equipment compared with what we had in the past. This should allow us to improve the automation of the equipment going forward.”

Bucket filling, as an example, should benefit from the integration of electrification and automation, with the two technologies allowing greater accuracy and consistency of bucket fill times and levels over the diesel-automated equivalent. The improved motion control of the machine from a hydraulics perspective is also another area Hallett highlighted.

He concluded: “These types of improvements are important and tangible benefits to highlight to customers from both an equipment performance perspective and the ability to carry out more remote operations.”

Sandvik LH202 joins the Toro family and moves to Stage V engine configuration

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Sandvik is upgrading its three–tonne loader for narrow-vein applications, offering the newly rebranded Toro™ LH202 with an EU Stage V compliant engine.

The Toro LH202 loader is, Sandvik says, a reliable workhorse designed specifically for narrow-vein underground mining applications. With its robust structure, very compact size and three–tonne payload capacity, the loader is tailored to meet productivity targets in challenging environments and is optimised to fit tunnel widths between 2 m and 2.5 m, to reduce dilution.

In addition to underground narrow-vein mines, the Toro LH202 is suited for tunnelling.

Due to its relatively light weight and the possibility to disassemble the equipment for transport, the Toro LH202 is ideal for projects located in remote areas with challenging access, according to the company.

The new Stage V engine from Deutz on board the machine delivers best in class MSHA and CANMET ventilation rates with ultra-low-sulphur diesel fuel while maintaining performance and fuel efficiency, Sandvik says. The Stage V engine aftertreatment is a diesel particulate filter (DPF), which uses passive regeneration during normal engine operation to oxidise the soot trapped in the DPF core. The other available engine configuration is a 50 kW air-cooled turbocharged direct injection diesel engine, also from the engine manufacturer Deutz, with catalytic purifier and muffler, the company added

In addition to traditional fossil diesel fuel, the Stage V engine can use paraffinic diesel fuels, meeting the requirements of EN 15940, which reduces emissions of CO, CO2, HC, NOx and diesel particulates. Further, these engines can also use biofuel blends (such as FAME) meeting requirements of EN 590. Higher blends may also be used after consulting with Sandvik representatives, the company says.

Sandvik cuts emissions and fuel consumption with upgraded EU Stage V Toro TH430

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Sandvik says it is upgrading its 30 t truck with the latest engine technology and adding TH430 to its Toro family.

This reliable, productive truck is now compliant with Stage V regulations, the most stringent emission regulations in the world. In addition to reducing emissions, the Stage V trucks can reduce fuel consumption by up to 3% compared with lower stage engines.

The Toro™ TH430 is a reliable, hard-working dump truck specifically designed for underground conditions, Sandvik says. With its robust structure, compact size and fit-for-purpose components, the truck is tailored to meet productivity targets in challenging environments.

High engine peak torque and torque rise allow less downshifting and better acceleration, while low overall machine weight and high power enable high tramming speeds on a decline, shortening cycle times. The Dana transmission’s automatic gear shift and torque converter lock-up ensure fast speeds, meanwhile.

The Toro TH430 truck has two engine configuration options: Stage V and Tier II/EU Stage II, both from Volvo Penta. Stage II has an output of 310 kW and Stage V has an output of 315 kW, making the Toro TH430 truck the most powerful underground truck in its size class, according to Sandvik.

In both configurations, the engine coolers are easy to clean and maintain, thanks to the swing-out fans. Designed for high ambient temperatures, the V-tube radiator has replaceable aluminium tubes for fast and easy repair. To help mines meet their targets to reduce fossil fuel consumption and exhaust emissions, both engine configurations can use renewable paraffinic diesel fuels that meet the EN 15940 standard, the company says.

The newly introduced engine option, the 13-litre Stage V engine, provides reduced emissions through a diesel particulate filter (DPF). Additionally, Sandvik Stage V trucks can operate with up to 3% less fuel consumption compared with lower stages. The other engine alternative, Tier 2/EU Stage II, is equipped with a catalytic purifier and muffler: it has been calibrated for use in high altitude conditions to maintain performance, low emissions and reliability.

To ensure maximum use of the rated payload on every trip, the Toro TH430 dump truck can be equipped with Sandvik’s Integrated Weighing System (IWS) for trucks. The IWS supports productivity by offering accurate real-time payload data for load and haul equipment operators. Using the IWS ensures full utilisation of the truck’s payload capacity on every cycle. Furthermore, using a 90% fill factor in the box selection ensures the truck can be loaded to its full 30-t capacity and reduces spillage during tramming. The smooth box design improves material flow during dumping, the company added.

“Sustainability is a key factor in all Sandvik designs,” Pia Sundberg, Product Line Manager Trucks at Sandvik, said. “Bringing the Toro TH430 truck with Stage V engine to the market takes mining one step further in its sustainability journey. We have also made several other improvements to the truck to make it even more reliable and productive.”