Sandvik has been awarded an order to supply a fleet of battery-electric trucks, loaders, drills and on-site service support for Foran Mining’s McIlvenna Bay project in Saskatchewan, Canada, which is designed to be the world’s first carbon neutral copper development project. The order, valued at $32mn, is Sandvik’s largest to date for battery-electric equipment, and will be booked in Q3 2022.
Under the contract Sandvik will supply a fleet of 20 battery-electric vehicles as well as Battery as a Service. The delivery of the equipment is scheduled to take place during 2023-2025. McIlvenna Bay is an underground copper-zinc mining project located in the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt with an objective to be carbon neutral. The project will be powered by clean hydroelectric power and designed to take advantage of Sandvik’s latest technological advances in sustainable mining.
In early July 2022, Sandvik said it completed testing of Cat HVO capable engines on mining and construction equipment.
“I am very pleased that we have been chosen by Foran Mining to deliver our leading battery-electric solutions for the pioneering McIlvenna Bay project. Sandvik sees very strong momentum for our mining electrification offering, which offers great potential in driving more sustainable mining, helping customers to boost productivity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve workers’ health,” Stefan Widing, President and CEO of Sandvik, said in a statement.
The order comes after Foran Mining conducted a thorough analysis during its 2020 pre-feasibility study to determine the investment case for battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) compared to diesel, the firm said.
Battery as a Service by Sandvik allows a mine to get the most out of its electric vehicles by relying on Sandvik’s expertise to manage the capacity and health of batteries and chargers throughout their lifecycle, it explained.
Later in July, Metso Outotec said it was delivering the world’s largest Premier grinding mills to Zambian copper mine, while Sandvik Rock Processing Solutions announced its new President.
