Magazine archive

El Teniente, located in the Chilean Andes, is one of the largest underground copper mines on the planet. It is also one of the most complex, with many geotechnical challenges. By using automated solutions, the mine has significantly improved safety and productivity. Now, together with Sandvik, state-owned company Codelco is creating the mine of the future. In the next few years, the goal is for El Teniente to only have automated trucks and loaders.

Gilbert Lamarche, Chief Operating Officer, Foran Mining Corporation, sat down with Solid Ground to discuss Foran’s flagship McIlvenna Bay project, the company’s vision for sustainable, responsible mining and the benefits of going all in on BEVs.

In the heart of Transylvania, Romania, lies a groundbreaking venture that has redefined the salt mining industry in Romania. Nestled just 12 kilometers from Dej, the Romanian mining company Salzbergwerk Ressourcen und Investitionen (SRL) started a pioneering project to establish the first private salt mine in the country. This project broke ground and started with excavation in 2022, marking a significant milestone in Romania’s salt-mining industry.

Boliden’s mine in Garpenberg in the middle of Sweden is the country’s most productive and oldest, still active mine. Here, Sandvik’s AutoMine® system used with the automated Toro™ loaders enable Boliden to ramp up ore production, attract a new type of operators, and become one of the world’s most modern mine sites.

Facing the challenge of acquiring expensive mining equipment for two short-term subway tunnel and station projects in Stockholm, Sweden, the Italian construction company Itinera found a solution with Sandvik’s rental offering; including equipment, parts and full-time service agreement. The result is a successful collaboration and partnership throughout the project.

Mo i Rana, Dunderland Valley. Eyeing the future of mining, Rana Gruber is making a gear switch and replacing its entire underground diesel fleet with battery electric vehicles from Sandvik. The goal? Becoming the world’s first CO2 emission-free mine by the end of 2025.

Kitimat-Stikine, British Columbia. With more than 18,000 operating hours, underground mining’s largest battery-electric haul truck fleet is delivering marked productivity and environmental improvements for Newcrest’s Brucejack gold mine.

With Sandvik’s AutoMine system on Toro loaders and trucks, Boliden achieves increased production efficiency through a human-centric approach to autonomous mining while enabling 24/7 operations in Sweden’s deepest mine – Renström mine.

Perhaps best known for hosting the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, mountainous eastern South Korea is now home to the country’s first automated mining truck. Since implementation, the truck has proven its reliability, carrying load after load of limestone from underground to surface.

Juneau, Alaska. Automated loading has helped Coeur Alaska’s remote Kensington Mine improve safety, productivity and cost.

Kamloops, British Colombia. The industry’s first 18-tonne battery-electric loader is helping New Gold’s New Afton operation improve cycle times while reducing heat, noise and greenhouse gas emissions in Canada’s largest underground mine.

Veladero, Argentina. Five unstoppable Sandvik D90 crawler mounted blasthole drill rigs have been prospecting for gold in one of the world’s harshest environments – high up in the Andes – for over 16 years. With more than 100,000 hours on them each, these drills have been kept in top form, thanks to planning, parts and patience.