INTERVIEW solutions since 2019 to enable its customers to become sustainable operators by 2030 .
“ For many people , that sounds very long ,” Schulz said . “ In the mining industry , it ’ s not .”
Factor in the two-to-three years to build a pilot plant to prove such technology , two-to-three years to get a full-scale plant approved and the associated construction time , and a decade has passed .
Sustainability represents the ‘ long game ’ for mining OEMs , and technology is the key to achieving that sustainability , Schulz said .
Which brings us back to the thyssenkrupp mining business acquisition .
One of the big pillars
FLSmidth , in adding thyssenkrupp mining to its portfolio , is providing a whole host of decarbonised options for its mining customers to consider in their own sustainability drive .
It is adding mine planning expertise to its portfolio , ensuring that the IPCC and continuous surface mining technologies it puts forward are optimised for the operation at hand . These technologies are further complemented by semicontinuous and mobile crushing options from thyssenkrupp mining , adapted to the pit profile at hand .
Heavy-duty overland conveyors from thyssenkrupp mining complement other bulk handling solutions FLSmidth might be providing at stockyards or ports to reduce truck haulage and shift the transport dynamic to ‘ green ’ grid power .
Then , when it comes to comminution , a crushing ( including primary jaw crushers ) and screening portfolio , plus smaller milling options and expertise in high pressure grinding rolls ( HPGRs ) through the globally renowned Polysius business , is bolted onto FLSmidth ’ s own crushing and grinding ( including vertical roll milling technology ) portfolio . This puts the combined offering up there with any global OEM around , while also providing the potential ‘ dry grinding ’ technologies the industry has been on the lookout for .
All these solutions come with sustainability benefits that can be felt throughout the mining value chain .
They also provide options and flexibility to an industry that cannot just suddenly retire a fleet of ultra-class haul trucks at a deep open-pit operation in favour of a fixed IPCC solution , or build a new process plant fitted with HPGRs to replace a typical SAG and ball mill grinding circuit .
“ For us , as a lifecycle provider , it is important that we offer to our customers at any point in time and any point of our offering , the right solution to make more money ,” Thomas Schulz says
Schulz said as much to IM .
“ One of the big pillars of the whole acquisition lies in sustainability ,” he said . “ Normally , the process plants where we play big are all electrified , so if the energy resource coming into these plants is a green one , the process is already sustainable .
“ When we look into the pit , in-pit crushing and transporting of material is where we can focus a lot .
“ I ’ m not saying you can replace every truck , but some of the surface mines and the ones
underground can be made significantly more continuous and sustainable from a transport perspective .
“ thyssenkrupp is leading in that . They are quite big in the pit ; we are quite big in the processing plant . Both , together , are complementary .
“ If we can integrate the offering – and we will do – and make it more sustainable , that is a big step towards the 2030 MissionZero target .”
This increased spread of solutions will also provide FLSmidth with more opportunities to refine the entire flowsheet , providing further sustainability benefits to its customers .
“ When we design solutions , or offer replacement equipment or a new process , we can now rely on expanded competences to look at what the best overall system for the entire flowsheet is ,” Schulz said . “ For instance , if we change the gyratory on a mine site and then look into the pit , we know how to size the equipment in the pit and the concentrator upstream .”
This increasing flowsheet focus must be complemented by an aftermarket approach that ensures the process remains efficient and
sustainable throughout a product ’ s , solution ’ s or mine ’ s lifetime .
This was one of the obvious disparities between the two companies when the announcement was made in late July . It is also one of the biggest opportunities that comes with the planned transaction , according to FLSmidth .
Whereas capital business represented 37 % of mining revenue in 2020 for FLSmidth , it was 66 % of revenue for thyssenkrupp ’ s mining business . Services represented 63 % and 34 % of the two businesses ’ 2020 revenue total , respectively .
Schulz has seen such a contrast – and opportunity – before , referencing his arrival at FLSmidth in 2013 .
“ When I came here to FLSmidth , it was actually quite similar ,” he said . “ I was at Sandvik for 16 years where the aftermarket was actually seen as the most important . They realised the importance of the customer relationship : the capital equipment sales team may meet the customer for a few hours per year , but the service technician has that interaction over weeks and months in terms of aftermarket .”
He also recognises the cultural shift needed to capture many of the profitable aftermarket dollars that the company is forecasting with the planned acquisition .
“ The culture in project service companies is you are the hero if you come to the table with the next big project ,” he said . “ In product service companies , you are the hero if you come with the next big profit .
“ You need both – we need profit , and our customers need profit to invest , while you need the projects to spur these aftermarket opportunities .
“ We calculated what the aftermarket potential of the thyssenkrupp mining business is and understood it was not covered as they were all looking for the next big project , which we understand .
“ But this is not what we will accept in the future . We have to have a strong aftermarket and strong customer link .” Which all comes back to MissionZero . “ If you focus on MissionZero , then you invest there where you can impact MissionZero . Wherever you have aftermarket , you impact MissionZero . Where you don ’ t have aftermarket , you don ’ t impact MissionZero .”
At the same time , Schulz is not losing sight of the company ’ s end goal with all the business it coordinates in the mining sector .
“ Whatever we do with the customer , they have to be more efficient , more productive and make more money .”
It just so happens that in doing this , the mining sector will become that much more sustainable . IM
SEPTEMBER 2021 | International Mining 119