Category: Equipment & Technology

Swedish mining equipment company Epiroc has said demand for automation, digitalisation and electrification solutions remained high in 2020 amid “significant” impacts on other sectors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2020 rose to SK2.21 billion (US$265.89 million) from 2.02 billion in the same period a year earlier, stated the company in an interim report. The value of orders received increased 1% to SK9.3 billion, an increase of 13%. “The COVID-19 pandemic affected us significantly in 2020, yet we managed to adapt our way of… Read More Here

The newly ordered equipment, Scooptram ST14 Battery and Minetruck MT42 Battery machines, will be used both in LKAB’s main mine for production and in the Konsuln test mine, a testbed that is created in LKAB´s underground mines. The order comes as a result of the SUM (Sustainable Underground Mining) collaborative project where participating companies have formed an alliance to achieve the goal of setting a new world standard for sustainable mining at great depths. The partners* are working together to find new methods and smarter solutions for mining operations of… Read More Here

indurad has successfully implemented its iTruck autonomous haulage system (AHS) on Bell Equipment articulated dump trucks (ADTs) at a voestalpine-owned mining operation in Austria. The system was developed as part of a close collaboration with indurad’s long-standing partner voestalpine in Austria, to which indurad delivered its first 3D radar for installation in a blast furnace in 2013 after several years of joint R&D. Bell Equipment’s headquarters in South Africa significantly reduced the project implementation time through collaboration with indurad on establishing the drive-by-wire interface and their joint vision on interoperability.… Read More Here

For a long time, drones were almost exclusively used by countries in matters of public safety. However, they are now being bought by and used for a diverse range of reasons across the African continent. In French-speaking Africa, the governments of Morocco, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Madagascar have decided to prohibit the use of these flying machines by the general public and reserve them for their own security services and administrations. Used in agriculture, essential for infrastructure maintenance and capable of saving lives, civilian drones are still far from being accessible… Read More Here

Swedish mining engineering company Sandvik has released a compact, single-boom electro-hydraulic underground drill rig designed for narrow-vein drifts. The DD212’s compact size and narrow-vein capabilities enable multipurpose operations in tunnels as small as 2.5mx2.5m, said Sandvik. This drill is an upgrade of the Sandvik DD210 development drill rig. The rig, which uses a telescopic feed that can retract from 6-12 ft, also features a new drilling control system called the THC562 with torque control and reaming hole selection. Together the features help the new rig achieve a 20% reduction in boom positioning time and… Read More Here

American steelmakers and machinery producers surged on speculation that Democrats securing control of Congress paves the way for President-Elect Joe Biden to pass a wide-ranging infrastructure stimulus bill. Investors in the metal used in everything from skyscrapers to highways to bridges and tunnels are wagering that control of the House and Senate will give Biden the support he needs to make good on infrastructure and clean energy campaign promises. Democrats won control of the U.S. Senate after two runoff victories in Georgia. The S&P Supercomposite Steel Index, which includes U.S. Steel Corp., Nucor… Read More Here

Oxbotica has announced that it has raised $47m in investment for new autonomous software to be deployed at mines across the world, with energy major BP and investment firm BGF among the backers. The company, which began as a spin-out from Oxford University, is developing what it calls an “open autonomy software platform for the mining industry”, which will enable vehicles of all sizes and functions to communicate with one another and operate without human input. The company also offers a companion cloud-based vehicle and data management platform, which can… Read More Here

The electric off-road vehicle Tembo 4×4 E-LV on Toyota basis becomes a multifunctional platform: Several versions, from the classic Hilux and Land cruiser pickup to the station wagon, are already available – and another one with an extra large personnel cabin is now being added to the offering. The designers have given the Tembo, which is sold in many parts of the world by the manufacturer of construction and mining machines GHH, a leading edge with the new extra large 10 personnel carrier. It is specifically targeted to applications, where… Read More Here