Category: Mining technology

Nouveau Monde Graphite and Caterpillar have signed an agreement pursuant to which Caterpillar will develop, test and produce Cat® “zero-emission machines” for the Matawinie graphite mine, in Quebec, Canada, with a view to becoming the exclusive supplier of an all-electric mining fleet for deployment at the mine by 2028. Looking to accelerate and tailor the equipment development, Caterpillar will engage with Nouveau Monde’s team to incorporate “voice of customer” throughout the development, and for testing of the zero-emission fleet and infrastructure prior to commercial production, the companies said. To this… Read More Here

Swedish mining engineering company Sandvik has added fully autonomous capabilities to its Leopard DI650i down-the-hole (DTH) drill rig by adding a new automation platform, iDrill. Sandvik said the addition of iDrill enables the rig to interact with the company’s AutoMine Surface Drilling automation system, meaning it can be operated fully from a control room. “The latest development is a major step on Sandvik’s DTH drill rig automation journey,” said Jari Läntinen, Product Manager, Surface Drilling. “This means shifting from individual automated tasks and sequences towards a genuine ecosystem of automation… Read More Here

Sandvik expects the market for battery-electric underground mining equipment to hit a higher gear in two to three years, as mining companies attempt to lower emissions and cut costs. With an electrification boom looming, Sandvik, whose competitors include Epiroc and Caterpillar, could sell more electric than diesel-driven underground mining kit in ten years, its mining business head said. Although Sandvik has some 30 battery-electric loaders and trucks in underground mine production, which it says is more than any competitor, these make up less than 0.5% of its total fleet of loaders and… Read More Here

Swedish mining equipment maker Epiroc plans to acquire Canadian surface mining wireless connectivity solutions provider 3D-P. Epiroc noted that the acquisition of 3D-P, which specialises in Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) and fleet connectivity solutions, would be important as its customers increasingly seek stronger wireless connectivity for automation and digitalisation. “The mining environment is changing all the time, and that is clear in almost all our automation projects,” Helena Hedblom, Epiroc’s President and CEO, told Mining Magazine. 3D-P’s Intelligent Endpoint system was designed and manufactured in Calgary. The company previously designed GPS systems… Read More Here