How to mine smart and efficiently
The skyrocketing demand for electrification metals requires intelligent mining. Sandvik delivers technologies that help the world reach net zero.
Mats Eriksson - President of business area MiningMining has been around since the birth of human civilization – and most likely helped build it. Today, the industry has the power to save civilization from the dire climate effects of burning too much carbon. Mats Eriksson, President of business area Mining at Sandvik is certain. “There wouldn’t be a green transition without mining. We want to electrify the world because it makes the world more sustainable and mining is essential to this effort,” he says and continues: “The new technologies behind more efficient machines and cars, batteries and chargers, solar panels, renewable energy transmission – in fact, most technologies that help make the world greener rely on raw materials provided by mining.”
Even without the need to reach net zero, more mining would be needed just to satisfy the demands of an increasing population and economic growth. The mine of the future, however, needs to be eco-efficient and completely aligned with sustainability goals. Fortunately, it already is, says Eriksson: “One of the big misconceptions about mining is that it is not environmentally friendly. But Sandvik can help with this.”
In explaining how that’s possible, Eriksson describes the operations of a modern underground mine. “It is invisible, autonomous, electrified, digitalized and optimizes itself in real time with continuous data collection. Automated battery-electric vehicles and software remove the need for people underground, and we’re on a completely different level compared to just ten years ago in terms of technology."
What about recycling? “Recycling is necessary but not sufficient to supply all the raw material needed for the energy transition.”
Marcus Johansson - Global Application Development ManagerDeclining ore grades
Another reason why mining needs to become more efficient is that many existing ore deposits are becoming depleted after sometimes more than a century of extraction. “The declining ore grades are a result of having already extracted the more easily retrievable deposits.”
As Marcus Johansson, Global Application Development Manager at Rock Processing, puts it: “The days of picking low-hanging fruit are over.”
The earliest deposits harvested by man were found on or near the surface and comparatively easy to retrieve without sophisticated instruments and powerful equipment. As the richest ore bodies become depleted, we need to utilize more lower-grade ore – ore with lower concentrations of the desired resource.
“Declining ore grades means more rock needs to be processed to recover a given amount of metals and minerals, let alone satisfy the needs of a growing population,” Johansson points out.
To solve the challenge and render mining more eco-efficient, Sandvik has developed new methods for crushing and screening excavated rock. “Our solutions make processes more efficient and enable the recovery of more ore with less waste, using less energy.”
Optimizing treatment of excavated rock
The processing of excavated rock normally takes place in three stages to arrive at the enriched concentrate used to produce pure metal or mineral. This is called comminution, which for industrial applications normally entails multiple stages of crushing and grinding, alongside screening and other means of classification to control the material size.
Johansson explains how Sandvik combines crushing and screening in a way that optimizes treatment of extracted rock material. “Our equipment is able to process more rock earlier in the enrichment process. The way you split rock matters greatly to both energy efficiency and the amount of metal recovered.”
Rock processing requires time, energy and manpower. Even getting just a few percentage more ore from every piece of rock has a direct effect on the bottom line of the mining operator, Johansson adds. “Mines represent huge investments at the front end, while the payoff and cashflow may take time. Adding more crushing and screening to the process shortens the payback period of a mining investment.”