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Epiroc secures orders for electric mining equipment

by Kyle Molyneux  |  Thu 21 Apr 2022

Epiroc secures orders for electric mining equipment

Epiroc, a productivity partner for the mining and Infrastructure industries, has won a large order for battery-electric mining equipment from Assmang Proprietary Limited to be used at a manganese ore mine in South Africa. Epiroc has also won a large order for equipment, including battery-electric machines and automation solutions, from the Canadian Malartic Partnership, that will be used in a major new underground gold mine currently under construction.

In South Africa, Assmang has ordered several of Epiroc’s battery loaders and mine trucks – the Scooptram ST14 Battery and Minetruck MT42 Battery, respectively ­– that will be deployed at its Black Rock underground mine in the Northern Cape Province.

The order was booked in the first quarter 2022 and is valued at SEK120m or £9.7m. The deal extends Assmang’s and Epiroc’s collaboration to use state-of-the-art solutions for optimised operations at the mine. Assmang has previously ordered the same type of battery-electric machines for this mine, and in 2019 Assmang selected Epiroc’s Mobilaris Mining Intelligence digital solution, which provides superior situational awareness of the mining operation in real-time.

The Scooptram ST14 Battery and Minetruck MT42 Battery machines, manufactured in Örebro, Sweden, are built to face the toughest conditions and are packed with intelligent features. They will be equipped with Collision Avoidance System as well as with the telematics system Certiq, which allows for automated monitoring of productivity and machine performance.

In Canada, Malartic Partnership is constructing the Odyssey Mine in Malartic, Québec, which will become one of Canada’s largest gold mines. The ordered Epiroc equipment includes a variety of drill rigs, loaders and mine trucks. Some of the machines will be battery powered.

Automation features include Minetruck Automation and Scooptram Automation, which are part of Epiroc’s 6th Sense portfolio of digital solutions. By combining these solutions with Epiroc’s Traffic Management System, material handling is optimised within the mine, bringing benefits such as virtually eliminating the risk of collisions.

The equipment order also includes education and training using sophisticated simulators. This is the second equipment order from the Canadian Malartic Partnership. Epiroc also won a large order for drill rigs, loaders, and mine trucks in the third quarter of 2021. Epiroc will also provide service and spare parts, as well as expertise on electrification solutions.

The Odyssey Mine is located just west of the Canadian Malartic Partnership’s open-pit gold mine, which is still in operation, and to which Epiroc in previous years has provided powerful Pit Viper surface drill rigs. The equipment ordered during the first quarter includes battery-electric versions of the Boltec rock reinforcement drill rig, Simba production drill rig, and Boomer face drilling rig (jumbo). It also includes an Easer raise boring rig, Scooptram loaders, and Minetruck haulers. The machines will be equipped with Epiroc’s telematics system Certiq, which allows for intelligent monitoring of machine performance and productivity in real time.

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