Epiroc says it has banked its largest contract ever with an settlement to provide a big fleet of electrical drill rigs to Fortescue Metals to be used on the miner’s iron ore operations throughout the Pilbara.
The five-year, circa-SEK2.2 billion ($220 million) contract will see the corporate ship each cable-electric Pit Viper 271 E (PV271 E) blasthole drill rigs, in addition to battery-electric SmartROC D65 BE drill rigs, ranging from subsequent yr. Greater than 50 machines can be provided.
The contract, which doesn’t at present embrace any aftermarket/assist companies, surpasses Epiroc’s earlier file, booked within the September quarter of 2023, which amounted to SEK700 million and was for the Kamoa-Kakula copper operation within the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The announcement was made at a signing ceremony at Fortescue’s headquarters in Western Australia, the place each Fortescue Metals CEO, Dino Otranto, and Epiroc President and CEO, Helena Hedblom, had been current.
Fortescue has dedicated to get rid of fossil fuels with a goal to attain Actual Zero terrestrial emissions (Scope 1 and a couple of) by 2030, with out carbon offsets. To do that, it has put in a big quantity of renewable energy infrastructure, in addition to dedicated to main agreements with OEMs comparable to Liebherr (autonomous and electrical vehicles), MacLean Engineering (battery-electric graders) and XCMG (battery-electric wheel loaders, wheel dozers, water carts, float prime movers and graders) for zero-emission gear.
Otranto stated: “To decarbonise, we’re aiming to swap out round 800 items of heavy mining gear with zero emissions options by the tip of the last decade, in addition to deploy 2-3 GW of renewable power and battery storage throughout the Pilbara.”
Epiroc has been social gathering to this, having introduced the handover of Australia’s first PV271 E at MINExpo 2024 in Las Vegas.
Marking a key milestone in Fortescue’s decarbonisation journey, the PV271 E has since been deployed at Fortescue’s Pilbara iron ore operations. It’s anticipated to begin drilling quickly, making it the primary electrical PV271 E in Australia to function on a mine web site.
This versatile drill rig is designed to reinforce productiveness whereas eliminating the necessity to function on diesel. With the flexibility to drill single-pass holes as much as 18 m deep and 270 mm in diameter, the drill rig has a 34 t bit load capability, guaranteeing dependable operation throughout various mining situations, Epiroc says.
Enhanced automation options additionally maximise security and productiveness, making the PV271E a vital step ahead for decreasing emissions in mining practices, Epiroc says.
Wayne Sterley, Epiroc Australia Common Supervisor and Managing Director, stated the corporate is already a frontrunner in floor drilling automation and that electrical drilling (through cables) is already being carried out at mining operations in international locations together with Canada and Zambia.
“On prime of that, we already function 32 Pit Vipers at numerous Fortescue operations, working alongside competitor fleet,” he stated. “This order will present us with full market share throughout the Fortescue fleet.”
A SmartROC D65 BE demonstrator, primarily based on the SmartROC D65 floor drill rig, is predicted to start testing on the Sukari gold mine in Egypt later this yr as a part of an settlement between Epiroc and contractor Capital Drilling.
Apart from the low emissions, this rig is billed as offering the identical vary of on-board good options, and delivers excessive security, reliability and efficiency – in a quieter working setting – because the diesel-powered equal. The demonstrator is supplied with a battery which drives the tramming motors and an electrical cable to hook it as much as present energy for drilling.
Using these electrical drill rigs might get rid of some 35 million litres of annual diesel consumption at Fortescue’s operations, the miner says. The rigs are additionally anticipated to be operated autonomously with oversight from Fortescue’s Distant Operations Centre in Perth.
Helena Hedblom, President and CEO of Epiroc, stated this main order is the fruits of a detailed working relationship between the 2 corporations.
“Fortescue has been a significant buyer of ours for a few years and has been a key expertise collaborator,” she stated. “It’s pleasing to see them proceed pushing boundaries and bringing the entire expertise advances collectively by committing to fully-autonomous and fully-electric mining operations.”
Epiroc has beforehand partnered with Fortescue to check and consider the autonomous SmartROC D65 MKII at its Iron Bridge operation, whereas Epiroc’s first off-grid cell resolution – out there in 10-25 kW models which might be powered by Radlink Communications batteries and genZ Power photo voltaic match out conversions – was developed in collaboration with Fortescue.
“We hope extra miners witness what Fortescue is doing to steer the business on mine automation and electrification,” Hedblom added.
