Globally diversified miner South32 has chosen Sandvik Mining and Rock Options to produce 22 battery-electric automobiles as a part of a 42-unit underground gear fleet for its greenfield Hermosa important minerals undertaking in Arizona.
Sandvik’s largest-ever BEV fleet order, booked within the June quarter of 2025, consists of six Sandvik DS412iE bolters, 5 Sandvik DD422iE improvement drills, 4 Sandvik DL422iE longhole drills, 4 Toro® LH518iB loaders and three Toro TH665iB vehicles (the AutoMine®-ready model of the TH665B).
The South32 order additionally consists of 20 items of standard gear: 5 Toro TH551i vehicles, 5 Sandvik DS422i cable bolters, 4 Toro TH663i vehicles, 4 Toro LH517i loaders and two Sandvik DU412i longhole drills. A number of of the standard items ordered could finally be manufactured and delivered as BEVs.
Deliveries are anticipated to start within the December quarter of 2026 and proceed via 2030.
“We’re proud that Sandvik BEVs will assist contribute to an elevated provide of important minerals, supporting the continued electrification of society and international inexperienced transition,” Mats Eriksson, President of Sandvik Mining and Rock Options, mentioned. “Decrease gas bills and upkeep prices coupled with longer gear lifespan will allow a extra environment friendly, economical and sustainable mining operation at Hermosa.”
With Hermosa, South32 is anticipated to turn out to be a globally important producer of important minerals important to a low-carbon future. The polymetallic underground improvement undertaking is situated in a historic mining district in southern Arizona’s Patagonia Mountains, about 80 km southeast of Tucson and fewer than 20 kms north of the US-Mexico border. It’s presently the one superior US mine improvement undertaking that would produce two federally designated important minerals important for powering a clear vitality future, manganese and zinc, South32 states.
South32 is creating Hermosa’s zinc-lead-silver deposit to be a multi-decade operation with first manufacturing anticipated in 2027.
“Zinc is crucial for nationwide safety as there’s a rising zinc hole worldwide,” Pat Risner, President of South32 Hermosa, mentioned. “We estimate a 4 Mt hole by 2033 and solely 6% of zinc is presently mined in the US. Our zinc deposit is the one deposit of its dimension found previously 10-plus years. Zinc is used to galvanise metal which is required for wind generators, photo voltaic panels and different vitality infrastructure like transmission routinely uncovered to the weather.”
Past the zinc deposit, Hermosa additionally features a battery-grade manganese deposit and a extremely potential land bundle with intensive exploration potential, together with a copper-lead-zinc-silver goal and additional polymetallic and copper mineralisation.
South32 is designing Hermosa to be its first ‘subsequent era mine’, harnessing automation and expertise to drive efficiencies, minimise environmental affect and finally to focus on a carbon-neutral operation in keeping with the miner’s purpose of attaining web zero operational carbon emissions.
“Expertise and innovation play an important position in serving to to enhance security and efficiency, and scale back our emissions,” Risner mentioned.
“We’re dedicated to sustainable improvement of the sources at Hermosa, which we’re designing as a small footprint underground mine with dry-stack tailings and lowered water consumption to attenuate environmental affect. A battery-electric underground gear fleet helps our ambition for Hermosa to set a brand new normal for sustainable mining. Sandvik BEVs will meet our security, reliability, vary and functionality necessities.”
Headquartered in Perth, Western Australia, South32 produces bauxite, alumina, aluminum, copper, zinc, lead, silver, nickel and manganese from operations in Australia, Southern Africa and South America.
