WORLD PROSPECTS
Sandvik battery surface concept drill to be tested at Lloyds Metals
Having recently completed a trial at Boliden’ s Kevitsa mine in Finland – one that saw it drill 17.5 km in 542 drilling hours – Sandvik’ s battery-electric surface concept drill is set to soon start up in India.
The concept drill, first revealed in late 2023, can drill DTH holes up to 229 mm in diameter, and blends the autonomy of battery with the continuous endurance of power cable. The battery is primarily intended for tramming and drilling individual holes, while the bulk of a pattern is drilled using power from its 180 m tethered cable.
In trials at both Kevitsa and the company’ s test pit in Tampere, the drill has proven itself, Nells Subbiah, Product Manager, Rotary Drills, told delegates during his presentation,‘ From field trials to global momentum: The rise of electric surface drilling,’ at The Electric Mine 2026 conference in Lisbon, earlier this month. He said four main benefits have been confirmed during these tests when comparing the concept drill to Sandvik’ s own diesel-powered Leopard DI650i: a notable reduction in energy costs; increased operator comfort due to reduced noise / vibration levels; seamless, safe cable handling; and enhanced availability and maintenance efficiency.
Subbiah confirmed that the next stop for the rig as part of the company’ s“ product development process” was India and deployment at the Surjagarh iron ore mine, owned by Lloyds Metals.
Lloyds Metals is transitioning the mining fleet at this mine to electric power as a fundamental element of its Green Mine & Green Steel initiative, he said, adding:“ The customer is deploying all-electric equipment from the get-go, including trucks, shovels, drills and all the ancillary equipment.”
The operation – India’ s largest iron ore mine – will pose a very different challenge to the tests in Tampere and Kevitsa, enabling Sandvik to validate the rig’ s use in the high ambient temperature of Maharashtra. The OEM also hopes to post some trial numbers that showcase the electric rig’ s ability to enhance operational efficiency with optimal cost.
Subbiah said the three-month trial was set to take place from May to August,
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with the company then moving on to“ productising” the concept rig.
More broadly, Subbiah reviewed progress on the company’ s electric drilling offering, saying Sandvik now has the entire rotary drill line – from DR410iE through to the DR416iE( 152 – 406 mm) – available in either diesel powered or electric-cable options. He also homed in on a trial of the DR412iE at a large open-pit mine in Mongolia where the rig had completed 42,000 m of drilling.
He also said the company had completed tests on a retrofit kit for converting dieselpowered rigs to electric-cable operation at its own facility, estimating that the changeout time could be a“ few weeks”.
He added:“ You may ask: Why are we doing this? Why are we trying to focus on moving towards electric drills? That is because of the total cost of ownership [ benefits ].”
He said the expected capex increase of just over 2 % when compared with acquiring diesel rigs was more than offset by the lower energy cost(-12 %) and lower maintenance cost(-5 %), making for an overall 15 % total cost of ownership advantage. That is on top of a circa-17,300 t per rig emission reduction benefit associated with making a switch.
https:// www. home. sandvik /; https:// lloyds. in /
CRCHI TBM begins underground operations at Chambishi copper mine
On May 13, underground in NFCA’ s Chambishi copper mine in Zambia’ s Copperbelt, a mining TBM officially began operations with the slow start of cutterhead rotation. The TBM was developed by China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Corporation Ltd( CRCHI), based in Changsha, Hunan.
This represents CRCHI says not only the debut of China’ s first mining TBM exported to Africa, but also a historic milestone for underground mining construction in Africa – moving away from traditional drill-andblast methods and entering a new era of mechanised and intelligent tunnelling.
The tunnel of the Southeast Orebody Project at Chambishi extends up to 9.7 km and faces multiple challenges, including continuous hard rock conditions, fault zones and high ground temperatures. To overcome these complex geological challenges, CRCHI specially designed and manufactured this TBM with an excavation diameter of 5.63 m, an overall length of approximately 130 m, and a total weight of about 800 t.
The CRCHI R & D team adopted a series of innovative technologies, including a modular design, a targeted design for small radius turning, and a trackless backup system. The machine is designed with a minimum horizontal turning radius of 50 m and can adapt to a maximum gradient of
± 15 °, enabling flexible operation in confined underground spaces.
At the same time, the machine is equipped with an auxiliary gripper system, an immediate support system, and a geological prediction system, allowing it to effectively respond to complex geological conditions. In addition, the customised high-efficiency cooling system and the cutter monitoring system CRCHI says significantly enhance operator comfort and operational safety.
The deployment of the TBM will enable one-pass tunnel excavation and lining, CRCHI says fundamentally solving the longstanding problems of excessive overbreak and underbreak, as well as irregular tunnel profiles associated with traditional construction methods.
Mechanised operation will significantly reduce the number of personnel required at the excavation face, freeing workers from higher risk blasting and support operations. The project it adds also provides“ a model for transformative change in African mining construction.”
As an important part of Africa’ s first digital mining project, the deployment of this equipment will provide strong tunnel access support for the construction targets of Chambishi copper mine. NFCA plans to achieve an annual mining and ore processing capacity of 3.3 Mt and an annual copper concentrate output of 60,000 t of contained copper.
https:// www. crchi. com /
Testing of large XCMG battery prototypes in China for Fortescue ongoing
Following the official unveiling in February 2026 in Xuzhou of two super large battery electric machine prototypes for customer Fortescue – the XC9260BEWL( battery electric wheel loader) and a sister machine, the XC9260BEWD( battery electric wheel dozer) – testing of these units in China at XCMG’ s testing grounds continues before shipping to the Pilbara in Western Australia in the coming months.
They have now been joined by two additional machines – the XDE150E battery water truck, which is based on the XCMG
International Mining | JUNE 2026