Leveraging technologies born of modern electronics and the digital age, Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions has transformed its mining equipment over the past two decades to support the mining sector’s priorities of safety, efficiency and sustainability.

According to Deon Lambert, business line manager for load and haul at Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, the journey has encompassed rapid progress in key areas including automation, intelligent operations, engine technology and battery power.

“A major highlight some 20 years ago was Sandvik’s automated haul truck loop at the Finsch diamond mine in the Northern Cape,” says Lambert. “This was a pioneering step in South Africa at the time; it demonstrated that the application of driverless dump trucks underground was not only possible, but could improve production levels.”

The trucks autonomously navigated a haulage loop between the loading points at the block cave and the primary crusher near the main hoisting shaft. Their higher tramming speeds, combined with better equipment utilisation levels, allowed the mine to produce more ore, he explains. Safety was enhanced by operators being removed from hazardous areas, and the risk of equipment damage due to human error was also reduced.

“Automation also helped to address the challenge of fatigue faced by operators, improving working conditions as skilled operators could monitor the trucks remotely from surface,” he notes. “Another benefit was that fuel costs were reduced, as the trucks could maintain more consistent acceleration patterns when automated.”

Under these improved operating conditions, the working life of the trucks could be extended, he adds. This was a valuable contribution to controlling the equipment’s total cost of ownership – adding to its overall cost efficiency relative to production.

“Important developments were also taking place in the diesel engine technologies which Sandvik employed in its mining trucks and loaders,” he says.

“Moving from Stage 2 technology around the turn of the century through Stage 3 and into Stage 4 by 2021, this trend has achieved lower diesel particulate levels and emission gases in the working spaces. Stage 5 diesel engine technology is now available.”

In another global development, the production of lighter, stronger steels in the past decade gave Sandvik the opportunity to use these metals in the structure of its equipment. This in turn led to lower fuel consumption and resultant emissions, contributing to health and safety efforts by mines.

Continuing to embrace the progress in electronic and digital technology, Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions has evolved its automation trend into the realm of ‘intelligent’ equipment. This has allowed the installation of self-diagnostic features, so machines can measure and communicate key aspects of their own health in real time. Sandvik launched its first underground iSeries drill in 2014, and its series of underground trucks in 2018.

“Our intelligent Sandvik machines allow mines to analyse operational data such as pressures, run rates, hours worked and buckets loaded,” he says. “This data is quickly analysed and converted into useful information that management can use to improve the effectiveness of equipment.”

Importantly, the data also reports on indicators that predict the possibility of future failure. This gives the mine an opportunity to respond proactively to avoid any unplanned downtime.

In the past five years, the highlight in equipment evolution has been the progress made in applying battery technology, says Lambert. This has allowed a step-change in mine electrification, further improving the safety, efficiency and sustainability of mines. “What is exciting about our battery driven loaders and trucks is the bottom-up design of the electric driveline, including a re-engineered frame,” he says. “One of the most significant innovations is our patented AutoConnect and AutoSwap functions, allowing the battery to be changed in just six minutes.”

The driving factors behind the shift to battery technology include the mining sector’s sustainability agenda, which has seen mines moving away from fossil fuels to reduce their carbon footprints. Energy efficiency is also part of this priority, he says, and mines appreciate that the power ratio on battery powered machines is better than on diesel units. This means less power loss in converting input energy to productive output.

“Mines take into account a range of factors that must be balanced with the cost of moving to the latest technologies in mining machines,” he says. “Battery technology, for instance, supports the efforts of mines in achieving a healthier working environment with cleaner air and more comfortable working conditions.”

The broader environmental impact is also considered. Moving to battery technology allows mines to avoid dealing with diesel fuel and waste oil. Even the batteries themselves can be reused or recycled in an environmentally responsible manner.

“Our mining equipment has evolved to make mining more efficient and more profitable, but in ways that also contribute to safety and sustainability,” Lambert emphasises.

What the future holds Looking ahead to the next 20 years, Lambert admits that the rapid progress currently achieved makes it difficult to predict the future. However, he points to the concepts already developed by Sandvik as a useful guide.

“Our concept vehicle is a good indication of where the future of mining equipment lies,” he says. “It is a cabinless, battery-driven underground loader with an electric drivetrain, which can position itself in territories that have not been mapped before.”

This means that the mine can pick a starting point and an end point for the machine, and it will navigate through the underground mine on its own. It can sense the environment in three dimensions and in pitch-black darkness. The technology on board allows the loader to create a model of its environment, and to plan its own missions.

“It has its own built-in, self-contained safety system, but can also work with traditional safety gate systems,” he says. “This concept machine shows the way forward in how automated mining equipment can remove people from hazardous locations within a mine – while continuing to improve productivity.”

© All content copyright 1997 - 2021 Vuka Group, unless specified otherwise.