Epiroc partners up for EU-sponsored carbon-neutral mining

Swedish mining equipment manufacturer Epiroc has announced a new European Union-funded collaboration project together with several mining companies, equipment producers and universities.

Dubbed "Nexgen Sims," the project will support new technologies, methods and processes that aim to enable more sustainable and carbon-neutral mining operations.

Read more: Coronavirus pandemic has increased demand for mining tech advances

One key aspect of the project is to develop autonomous mining processes such as through the use of battery-electric mining operations, full utilisation of 5G for optimal connectivity positioning, and autonomous material handling, AI-powered traffic and fleet control and machine collaboration.

Significant improvements towards health and safety in order to ensure the wellbeing of the "miner of the future," as the company calls it are also coming in as part of these overhauls.

These include developing autonomous mine inspection technology and increased emphasis on safety measures.

In order to deliver these goals, Epiroc has teamed up with other key mining players, such as Bolidenm, Agnico Eagle, KHGM, K+S and OZ Materials as well other players in the technology field such as Ericsson and Mobilaris.

Many of the processes will be based on research endeavours overseen by Luleå University of Technology in Sweden and RWTH Aachen University in Germany

This comes a week following Epiroc's acquisition of software developer MineRP to allow for a push towards increased mine productivity, allowing for integrated planning, execution and analytics.

“Collaboration and partnership among stakeholders that have different areas of expertise is increasingly important to successfully advance complex digital and automated systems that will improve the mining industry’s environmental impact, work environment and productivity,” says Helena Hedblom, Epiroc’s President and CEO.

“We are proud to be part of and to lead the NEXGEN SIMS project, which will play a crucial role in this positive development," she added.

Epiroc is not the only mining player pushing towards greater technological advances this week.

Anglo American is today (May 11) set to present a technology and innovation update to its investors.

It will focus on paving the way for its FutureSmartMining initiative and comes following the mining giants pledge towards a green future.

Read more: Anglo American and ENGIE explore South African hydrogen valley

The miner also demerged its coal mining operations last month in an attempt to distance itself from the fossil fuel industry as it attempts to up its decarbonisation efforts.

The mining industry is considered to be a "key industry" for decarbonisation and its responsible for between 1.9 and 5.1 gigatons of CO₂ equivalent annually, according to McKinsey. 

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