In early March, the primary two SANY SKT105E battery electrical huge physique vehicles arrived in Sweden from China for deployment at LKAB’s Svappavaara operations with earthmoving contractor Snells Entreprenad AB, provided by Swedish SANY supplier Nordkust Maskin AB, primarily based in Luleå. They had been modified primarily based on Snells expertise, some native and website necessities referring to lighting and fireplace safety; plus all of the parts checked for CE-certification compliance and Swedish mining trade SWEMIN’s regulation compliance.
IM Editorial Director Paul Moore caught up with Nordkust CTO Johan Gustafsson on what’s a big electrical mining tools undertaking for the entire of Europe. He states: “By mid-March the 2 vehicles went into manufacturing following extra coaching for operators on condition that they had been now working with battery as an alternative of diesel vehicles. As soon as in operation, numerous info has been gained on the precise regeneration ranges on downhill hauls being achieved, in order that additional changes and enhancements may very well be made, together with liaising with drivers on tips on how to maximise effectivity.”
Nordkust CTO Johan Gustafsson and Linda Dittrich, COO at bauma 2025
Gustafsson defined that the vehicles perform each uphill loaded hauls and downhill loaded hauls they usually perform two important duties. One haul takes iron ore that is delivered to Svappavaara by rail from Kiruna for mixing with the Svappavaara ore. That is stockpiled and blended then the SANY vehicles transport their 72 t payload 1.8 km uphill with an elevation of 70 m to the Svappavaara pelletising plant. The opposite route is taking Svappavaara ore from the Svappavaara processing facility on a 2.5 km downhill haul, shedding 70 m of elevation again to the rail spur as it’s then transported to Kiruna for mixing necessities forward of pelletising there. There are additionally different shorter hauling routes which can be successfully dealt with by the SANY vehicles. The relative actions of each rely on LKAB’s altering manufacturing necessities.
The vehicles run 20.5 hours a day however are additionally charged in the course of the non-working interval. Throughout operation extra charging is required about 4 instances a day if the truck is doing the uphill responsibility cycle however is simply wanted each 10 hours for the downhill responsibility. The battery pack is a CATL 564 kW LFP battery charged with two Siemens SICHARGE D 400kW charging stations situated beside the Svappavaara pellet plant. The battery is throughout check interval used till 20% cost stage earlier than recharge. These chargers had been additionally provided by Nordkust as part of the hauling system.
Thus far the vehicles have moved over 500,000 t with an electrical energy consumption of roughly 300 MWh and availability of over 98%. Their operation has seen over 250 t of CO2 emissions eliminated through the use of electrical mining vehicles as an alternative of diesel-powered ones. Gustafsson says the machines have delivered in accordance with plan – proper from the beginning. The haulage cycles have taken place on all the things from chilly winter days to heavy, muddy spring roads and there was no important influence on operation or efficiency regardless of chilly and winter situations. The direct torque of the electrical motors offers clean and quick acceleration and naturally there’s an improved working surroundings – with no noise, no exhaust fumes, no dealing with of diesel.
He provides: “With all of the data we now gained with introducing electrical machines, we at all times begin new tasks with a feasibility examine to have the correct parameters – energy provide, vitality limitations, workers planning and an actual scanning of street situations and slopes mixed with the wanted common tonnes per hour and peak tonnes per hour. This strategy helps our shoppers to know tips on how to implement electrical hauling successfully and see the actual influence when it comes to lowered price/tonne and CO2 /tonne.”
He continued: “Snells and LKAB have taken that onboard and adjusted their manufacturing planning across the new vehicles, so it has labored very effectively. Long run, the vehicles can have a lot decrease upkeep prices and we foresee numerous potential for extra vehicles being added not simply at this website however different mining and industrial operations throughout Sweden and elsewhere in Europe.”
Nordkust has a contract with Snells to supply 5 SANY SKT105E vehicles, primarily based on the primary two proving their effectivity and efficiency in operation, which is able to then be adopted by three extra in 2026.
Each these machines and different SKT105Es being deployed by Rental Group in Norway are creating an actual buzz within the mining market in northern Europe. Gustafsson: “We’re seeing enormous curiosity from the entire mining trade on this area. There was numerous scepticism from individuals on whether or not the SANY vehicles would carry out within the Swedish local weather in relation to low temperatures and snow significantly, however they’ve performed so and really effectively – it’s price remembering they’ve already been working in massive numbers in China in Inside Mongolia the place they get even colder winters than in Sweden.”
The vehicles even have a battery-powered heating system to maintain them on the right working temperature in chilly situations however in our case this isn’t typically used because of the brief nature of the hauls and the warmth which is generated throughout charging. With this sort of operation the truck has three states; Operation, Charging or Service. It’s by no means parked within the chilly winter with out charging as one would do with a automobile, subsequently the battery system performs effectively within the Arctic local weather. In hotter situations, the batteries and motors used a cooling system which is predicated on antifreeze.
There has additionally been scepticism concerning the huge physique truck idea versus inflexible vehicles in Swedish mining, however the extra they’re used the extra this may change – plus basically the inflexible vehicles are considerably costlier. This features a battery huge physique truck being less expensive than the equal class of diesel inflexible truck.
In service and help phrases Gustafsson said: “With this undertaking for Snells and LKAB, we and our engineering staff have been by the entire means of delivery the vehicles from China, and readying them for the Swedish mining market, then commissioning them and supporting them and coaching the operators. So we all know what’s required to make sure our prospects get the tonnes and hours they want from the machine. It hasn’t been a simple journey, however now we’re there, we predict will probably be an trade sport changer.”
