Boliden, Epiroc, others collab on autonomous drilling

Epiroc has confirmed that it has joined together with Boliden, Algoryx and Orebro University with a shared goal of achieving autonomous face drilling. The equipment maker said the heart of the work for the involved parties will be the construction and employment of a digital twin of a mine – a simulated testing environment – for machine learning, thereby greatly…

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Kamoa Copper turns to Epiroc for expansion needs

Epiroc has won its largest-ever order from Kamoa Copper for the expansion of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Mining Complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kamoa Copper has ordered Minetruck MT65 S haulers as well as Scooptram ST18 S loaders, Boomer 282 face drilling rigs, and Simba E70 S production drilling rigs. The machines have several advanced features, such as…

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Orica ORBS takes remote blasting underground

Orica’s next-generation centralised blasting system ORBS has made a leap into the digital world, allowing customers in the underground mining segment to now experience its benefits. ORBS, or the Omni Remote Blasting System, is now available to i-kon and eDev customers. It is designed to provide operations with the ability to safely initiate multiple development headings and production blasts concurrently…

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Sandvik delivers autonomous drilling tech to Boliden’s Kevitsa

Boliden has selected Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions to supply two Leopard DI650i down-the-hole (DTH) drill rigs and AutoMine surface drilling systems to enable fully autonomous surface drilling at its Kevitsa mine in northern Finland. Delivery of the two Leopard DI650i drill rigs is scheduled for the current quarter, and the mine’s order also includes a five-year parts and services…

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Galan Lithium kicks off pond construction at Argentine project

Australian-based Galan Lithium has commenced full phase 1 pond construction at its flagship Hombre Muerto West (HMW) lithium brine project in Catamarca Province, Argentina, with the goal to deliver lithium chloride production in the first half of 2025. The first milestone is to build, line and fill with brine the first pond of the system by Q1 2024. The pond…

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BHP Xplor program seeks next cohort

BHP Xplor, a six-month accelerator program in the pursuit of unlocking critical minerals, has started a global search for its 2024 cohort of early-stage explorers and startups. The program is designed to provide selected participants with the opportunity to accelerate their exploration concepts through funding, mentorship and coaching. Selected companies will receive up to US$500,000 cash payment from BHP, together…

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Teck, Norden collab on curbing emissions via freight

Coal, copper and zinc producer Teck Resources has teamed with transport firm Norden for an agreement that will reduce CO² emissions in Teck’s steelmaking coal supply chain. The agreement is expected to reduce annual emissions from Teck shipments handled by Norden by 25%, or up to 6,700 tonnes of CO². The latter will achieve emission reductions with a range of…

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