Global mining services provider Perenti and Sandvik have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at MINExpo INTERNATIONAL 2024 centered on developing cutting-edge diesel-electric equipment for underground mines. This collaboration aims to enhance sustainability, efficiency and productivity in underground mining operations.
Under the agreement, the companies will work together to optimize underground diesel-electric loaders and trucks. Through Perenti’s leading underground mining business, Barminco, the collaboration partnership will focus on improving Barminco’s operations and generating valuable insights and data to further refine Sandvik’s diesel-electric technology.
The initial phase of the collaboration involves establishing a shared vision for optimizing Sandvik’s diesel-electric machines to meet Perenti’s requirements. Perenti will contribute to the machine design and provide feedback at various testing stages, including pre-factory testing, operational testing and trial testing.
Diesel-electric mining equipment is seen by many within the industry as a way of achieving cleaner, more sustainable and more reliable mining, without the structural changes required for a fully electric operation.
Sandvik first announced last year that it was moving ahead with developing a diesel-electric range of underground loaders and trucks to complement its leading battery-electric offering. The decision followed the showcasing of Sandvik’s Toro™ diesel-electric truck demonstrator to customers at a technology workshop in Turku, Finland in 2022.