From a single control room, operators in the Kiruna mine are now running six autonomous loaders from two different manufacturers. LKAB blasts in the mine each night. When the blasting gases have been evacuated and rock stresses have decreased, personnel can access the production area. With remote control machines, LKAB can load, haul and dump crude ore without having to worry so much about the consequences of nightly blasting. For the time being, the loaders are diesel powered, but battery powered Epiroc machines and Sandvik's larger electric loaders will be delivered this year. Safety and loading capacity will be tested and assessed, so that the vision of a carbon dioxide free LKAB can be realized. This summer the Konsuln mine will take delivery of its first battery-powered loader, the ST14 from Epiroc. Preparations are now under way, from planning of the drifts where batteries will be exchanged, to risk analyses and simulations. During 2021 three of Sandvik's larger 625IE electric loaders will also be delivered to LKAB in Kiruna.
From a single control room, operators in the Kiruna mine are now running six autonomous loaders from two different manufacturers. LKAB blasts in the mine each night. When the blasting gases have been evacuated and rock stresses have decreased, personnel can access the production area. With remote control machines, LKAB can load, haul and dump crude ore without having to worry so much about the consequences of nightly blasting. For the time being, the loaders are diesel powered, but battery powered Epiroc machines and Sandvik's larger electric loaders will be delivered this year. Safety and loading capacity will be tested and assessed, so that the vision of a carbon dioxide free LKAB can be realized. This summer the Konsuln mine will take delivery of its first battery-powered loader, the ST14 from Epiroc. Preparations are now under way, from planning of the drifts where batteries will be exchanged, to risk analyses and simulations. During 2021 three of Sandvik's larger 625IE electric loaders will also be delivered to LKAB in Kiruna.
