Epiroc, a leading productivity and sustainability partner for the mining and construction industries, has won a large order for underground mining equipment, including battery-electric vehicles, from Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) in Kazakhstan. Several of the machines will be operated driverless (tele-remotely), and all of the equipment will be supplied with a collision avoidance system.
ERG, the world’s largest producer of ferrochrome by chrome content, has ordered a fleet of Epiroc loaders and mine trucks as well as drill rigs for face drilling, production drilling and rock reinforcement. The equipment will be used for expansion of the 10th Anniversary chromium mine, also known as ShDNK-2, in western Kazakhstan. Some of the machines will be battery powered, reducing ventilation needs and strengthening work conditions and productivity.
The order is valued at about MSEK 350 and was booked in the third quarter 2024.
“We have a common goal with ERG of making mining operations as safe and productive as possible,” says Helena Hedblom, Epiroc’s President and CEO. “We are happy to extend our almost two decades of collaboration, including incorporating battery-electric vehicles into their operations.”
The equipment ordered includes the battery-electric and automation-ready trucks and loaders Minetruck MT42 SG and Scooptram ST14 SG. Other machines include the Boomer S2 face drilling rig, Simba E70 S production drill rig, and Cabletec M10 S rock reinforcement rig, among other models.
Delivery of the equipment will begin in the first quarter 2025 and will continue into the second half of 2026.