Again in December 2021, Sandvik introduced a daring technique: to steer the business improvement of underground sustainability and productiveness options in electrification, automation, digitalisation and end-to-end optimisation.
One of many actions it took in direction of this was the creation of Digital Mining Applied sciences division inside the Sandvik Mining enterprise space, which, at that time, included Sandvik Mining automation options and the Newtrax telemetry and collision avoidance options.
Deswik, a supplier of mine planning software program, quickly got here below this umbrella when Sandvik acquired it in April 2022.
At the moment, Sandvik Digital Mining Applied sciences brings collectively a portfolio of options throughout the mining worth chain from planning and design to optimisation and analytics, to autonomous execution. Deswik serves as a pure upstream entry level to this ecosystem, extending Sandvik’s attain into mine planning and enabling true end-to-end optimisation.
At this level, when it comes to electrification, the corporate was very a lot main the best way. The acquisition of Artisan Automobile Techniques was embedded into its battery-electric considering, with the corporate claiming it had the most important energetic battery-electric car fleet working underground. It solidified this management place by launching the most important battery-electric underground truck, the TH665B, in 2022, and asserting it had a trial lined up in Western Australia.
When it got here to automation, 22 years of AutoMine® installations had the corporate on the prime of this market. The corporate had simply celebrated its largest ever AutoMine take care of Codelco, too.
When it comes to digitalisation, the addition of Deswik, which at that time got here with greater than 10,000 software program licences, propelled the corporate up the mine planning and scheduling charts to – if not a number one place – no less than a top-tier supplier. This was complemented by Newtrax’s increasing market share.
Finish-to-end optimisation was the most important space that wanted addressing.
4 years in the past, the corporate was restricted on this course of by way of a semi-siloed strategy: a few of its options have been ‘open’ and speaking to different components of the worth chain that Sandvik didn’t serve by way of its acknowledged interoperability coverage; others have been solely speaking to platforms inside Sandvik’s ecosystem.
This strategy, to be honest to Sandvik, was widespread among the many business.
Having lately visited two of the cornerstone corporations acquired as a part of this ongoing drive, IM can now report that the Digital Mining Applied sciences division is making vital progress, with that end-to-end optimisation management place in sight.
The optimisation glue
“The Digital Mining Applied sciences division has now grown to assist itself and is being measured in opposition to all different divisions inside Sandvik Mining,” Riku Pulli, President of Sandvik’s Digital Mining Applied sciences, defined throughout a tour of Deswik and Common Discipline Robots’ (UFR) amenities in Brisbane, Australia, in March.
“I see us because the ‘glue’ between most of the divisions, optimising the varied gear and options we offer the mining sector,” he mentioned.
Pulli made this clear on the 2025 Capital Markets Day when he talked up a double-digit development outlook to 2030 for the division, together with sturdy leverage for Sandvik gear and the aftermarket enterprise.
The slide that accompanied his remarks additionally mirrored on a 30% compound annual development fee from 2019-2024 – a interval that included the acquisitions of Newtrax and Deswik, in addition to Polymathian and UFR.
The place Newtrax allowed Sandvik Mining to additional strengthen the corporate’s “main place in areas associated to automation and digitalisation”, Deswik elevated the corporate’s upstream mining protection, enabling alternatives for that all-important end-to-end optimisation.
The Polymathian options for automated resolution making and course of optimisation additional complemented the Deswik providing, whereas the latest addition – UFR – helped to “enhance the addressable marketplace for Sandvik by making AutoMine totally OEM agnostic and additional strengthen…the market place of Sandvik AutoMine”.
Speaking about Deswik, particularly, Pulli mirrored on how the acquisition had opened a “new space within the mining worth chain” Sandvik was not beforehand serving.
This a part of the mining worth chain is very wanted, as observers and traders would have taken be aware of with latest high-profile acquisitions of RPMGlobal and Micromine by Caterpillar and Weir, respectively.
Deswik’s platforms, which span mine design, scheduling and planning, at the moment are in use at over 1,330 websites throughout the globe. These software program options are complemented by greater than 200 mining engineers that act as consultants for the enterprise, who work together with the software program builders to make sure options are buyer pushed and have a foundation in actuality.
Andrew Pyne, CEO of Deswik, instructed IM: “Consultancy is a giant a part of the worth proposition we ship to our clients. This varies from coaching companies to advanced research the place we are going to help shoppers with selections on easy methods to get the optimum outcomes from their operations.”
In lots of circumstances, the corporate works along with clients to assist them in enhancing their expertise and efficiencies utilizing its instruments.
“We merely received’t advocate an answer to our shoppers if the worth proposition doesn’t stack up for his or her operation,” Pyne mentioned. “Our engineers take satisfaction in constructing a majority of these relationships with our shoppers.”
Sandvik has revered this bond within the 4 years because it acquired the corporate, holding the enterprise at arm’s size to make sure client-driven relationships are usually not affected.
It has additionally broadened the Deswik consumer base by, in some situations, changing OptiMine Scheduler clients to the Deswik OPS mine scheduling software program, as Elen Toodu, Director, Enterprise Growth for Sandvik’s Digital Mining Applied sciences, defined. “Through the renewal course of, we have now really helpful Deswik OPS to lots of them, acknowledging that it’s a superior product for most of the purposes we serve,” she mentioned.
This course of showcases Sandvik’s appreciation for not solely the options Deswik presents, but in addition its agnostic and interoperable strategy to product improvement.
Eradicating the mixing friction
Toodu mentioned Deswik OEM-agnostic options present Sandvik with a “closed loop” from mine design, to operations, linked fleet after which autonomous execution.
That is greatest seen in a number of the integrations with the AutoMine platform – integrations that allow clients to focus strictly on guide or distant loading efficiencies relatively than planning selections, in accordance with Toodu.
As an illustration, Deswik ORB can now assessment the MCS (Mission Management System) load level availability to find out out there loading areas (eg guide or distant permissions). This sees AutoMine-enabled machines obtain optimised draw orders immediately in MCS from Deswik ORB, with ORB receiving real-time cycle knowledge to progress draw orders and concern subsequent orders immediately when the earlier job is full.
Previous to this integration, it was widespread observe to sequentially work by way of a listing of orders with out consideration of the urgency and priorities.
Toodu defined: “This replaces loads of guide duties, which precipitated pointless delays, with there being an apparent development between orders robotically. It additionally permits the execution in opposition to strategic aims, relatively than a static begin of shift orders.”
This closed loop works not solely within the Sandvik sphere, but in addition within the wider vendor ecosystem.
For instance, at a mine in Indonesia, the corporate has built-in Deswik ORB, the world’s first extremely automated quick interval management answer for manufacturing block cave dispatch, with Caterpillar’s MineStar system that share draw order info, drawpoint standing info and cycle knowledge. “This integration signifies that no guide knowledge entry is required, enabling steady optimised dispatch of kit,” Pyne defined.
This instance additionally embodies the ‘open’ philosophy that underwrites Deswik options.
“Deswik is customer-requirements pushed, so we are going to combine with different OEMs when requested by our clients,” Pyne mentioned. “Sandvik helps this OEM-agnostic strategy as it’s pragmatic.”
And whereas Deswik’s options are broad ranging, they don’t cowl the whole mining worth chain, which means it has needed to ‘play good’ with the answer suppliers filling different gaps on this chain for a while. Pyne defined: “A few of our friends on this area generate geological info, in addition to present the mine planning and scheduling piece. We, nevertheless, take knowledge from corporations modelling orebodies and design mines for essentially the most optimum extraction final result.”
Whereas the injection of this orebody modelling knowledge into Deswik options is comparatively simple, Pyne admits the reconciliation of downstream and upstream knowledge does include “friction”.
“That’s a part of what we’re engaged on for the time being: the flexibility to take away that friction and additional enhance the worth chain integration,” he mentioned.
Coupling functionality with ease of use
One would count on this course of to be helped by an ongoing plan to simplify the construction of Deswik options, which have traditionally been constructed for knowledgeable mine planners and engineers.
The lately launched Deswik NOVA product for open-pit planning presents a glimpse into how its wider software program options may perform sooner or later. Amanda Forbes, Principal Mining Advisor at Deswik, defined: “NOVA simplifies advanced processes by offering a guided workflow tailor-made to open-pit metals. This decreased complexity helps customers navigate the mine planning course of extra successfully, no matter their expertise stage.”
Extra broadly, Glenn Wylde, Chief Know-how Officer, mentioned: “Deswik is called a really refined suite of software program instruments, however we realise that we have to couple functionality of the device with ease of use. Particularly, we’re figuring out the place our expertise may be improved to assist extra environment friendly workflows.”
One among these areas is underground drill and blast. Right here the corporate is trying to seamlessly combine drill plans constructed on Deswik UGDB with the interface on Sandvik drill rigs to allow clients to keep away from guide file switch.
On floor, it additionally has goals to take measure whereas drilling knowledge from Sandvik gear and show this both on the My Sandvik Onsite interface or DeswikCAD to supply extra info for blast engineers to help with cost design.
A cloud migration may also assist enhance workflows, the corporate believes, with its Deswik.MDM product lately changing into the primary such answer out there in a desktop various.
These are simply a number of the enhancements the corporate is engaged on, all of that are predicated on offering extra worth to clients, whereas additionally showcasing that Deswik supplies open and agnostic options for all the mining area – not simply the underground mining area of interest many customers know the corporate for.
Pulli concluded: “Including Deswik to our portfolio was important for our digital technique. It had confirmed supply capabilities previous to the acquisition, and it has since gone to show these once more below Sandvik possession.
“With the additions of Polymathian and UFR since, we have now a strong platform throughout the mining worth chain, in addition to an open providing that ensures we will serve fashionable mining operations throughout the globe.”
