Maintenance, safety, reliability: we know already that these are three crucial elements to the success of drive systems at the mine site. NAM digs down to the details with Hägglunds on how to keep a system at the top of its operational game – and it starts with an industry staying out of its own way.
by Donna Schmidt
Drive systems are themselves driven by optimal uptime, high reliability levels and a successful plan to keep the hardware – and the relationship between the mining operation and the system support technician – solid. However, there is more to these systems continuously operating at peak productivity and uptime – sometimes it comes down to helping mines evolve and adapt in preparation to work better.
To find out how evolving technology is shaping mining’s opinions of change, and the challenges to making technologies a part of the “new” way of doing business, we spoke to Ashok Amin, Hägglunds HD sales market segment manager.
Minimum effort, minimum return
Amin said that many mines get so caught up and busy with their everyday maintenance ad production that they just keep running the same plans. The problem becomes when those plans only provide the bare minimum for the site. Forget going online and looking for training or ideas for increasing efficiency, he noted.
“Somebody needs to guide them right, because they don’t have a whole lot of time? The websites are flooded with information overload, so they kind of get lost and then they give up, saying, ‘I don’t want to go through this!’ after digging through the information to find what they need in order to do better. So, they just continue to do what they’re doing.”
He said that the company has worked to combat that with mor formal events with its reliability group; in fact, he added, he will be hosting the Army Corps of Engineers in 2026 to aid its staff in learning more about the technology that has been in place for their locks and dams for more than four decades. His group, through the training, can examine motors in the shop environment, train technicians and share what’s available in today’s technology to solve operational issues.
“We do what we can do together to move forward,” he said.
Evolution of AI, digital technology
While Amin admitted that artificial intelligence is still in its infancy as it relates to his sector of the industry, its influence will evolve and change how mining is done. While it is not a core consideration now, there is a focus on it and its potential impact. Some want to practically apply these technologies, but as Amin noted, it is possible to “overdo things” at the plant level. What does that lead to? A mine team that gets scared and skeptical, he said. As with many other areas of industry, with mining no exception, the implementation of AI can still mentally equate to many with being replaced by a computer.
“People think they’ll lose their jobs, so they don’t want to allow these kinds of opportunities because they [fear for] job security. So, it’s a little bit of psychological, too,” he said. Really, while it’s no different than the emergence of computers 30 years ago to an environment today where they are normal and part of every single day, he pointed out, adjustments will take time as well with technologies like artificial intelligence and “it’s going to take some time…there’s skepticism.”
Getting past the skepticism
Amin said that overcoming what is, at least, hesitation and skepticism as the industry evolves, crossing that hurdle to acceptance is becoming an art of sorts. In some scenarios, less than 10% of the people that need to adapt to the change will approach it with open arms.
Mining, known more for its reluctance to change at times versus its capacity to embrace it, has opportunities to gain this new knowledge, but as he noted, much of it – such as conferences – can be cost-prohibitive, never mind the time away from a site that would be needed to be present for such an event.
What suppliers such as Hägglunds can do is share with its customers what needs to be done technologically to improve performance, optimize reliability by sharing its ideas and launching new solutions to expand their product portfolio to meet a broadening need.
“Thirty years ago, we had a large motor that could produce 200,000 foot-pounds of torque; now, we have a 2-million-foot-pound torque product,” he said, noting that the systems are in demand more than ever because hardware like haul trucks are getting bigger. What was huge 50 years ago, a 60-ton truck, is now self-driving with a 400-ton capacity.
One factor that must play into the evolution of any technology in mining is the greater challenges of mining itself, as the “low-hanging fruit,” as Amin called it, has been extracted and left the industry with new challenges, new demands and a need to do things in a new way.
“Now we mine in [more] difficult places, [more] difficult weather conditions,” he noted, and that’s not to mention the new obstacles the industry is now taking on such as seabed mining.
“It’s not that there are no minerals; they’re not going to run out. They just have to figure out how to mine it.” Of course, the economics are certainly there, as mineral prices are increasing and supply continues to be limited, so demand is stronger than ever. “We have to explore more and more ways to get it,” he added.
Another tactic will be relying on word of mouth when that word comes from experienced customers. Those who have seen the features of a system and its benefits, and have accepted the risk and tried out a newer technology, serve as a great megaphone for suppliers and mines alike. A mine who has never heard of a technology is more apt to give it a chance, try it out, or give it more thought when the “peer pressure” of sorts is present.
Amin pointed to a global customer that put a gearless hydraulic drive system to work at the largest iron ore mine in Europe and, with that risk, was able to find more and more applications for it. They continue to grow their use of the systems, and other companies have taken notice.
“[They] respect that, and then they adopt it,” he said. “The references work. You present these success stories, that builds the confidence and remove the skepticism.”
Pushing forward
The success of technologies moving into the future, and mining’s willingness to adapt, is very customer-specific, Amin said. What the technology change is, how the information is shared, and how it applies to their specific scenario, are all facets that must be considered.
Consider this: some mining operator CEOs push for reliability. Some push for profitability. Others still push for environmentally better methods to do business. The message is carried and pushed, flowing down through an entire team. The approach used is different for every company, so what will be present technologically down the road for one miner might not catch on for another. “One size does not fit all,” he said.
What it all means
What does that mean for companies like Hägglunds and their products? It means, he said, that they continue to solve the challenges of the industry while also solving the challenges of design. For example, he noted, a hydraulic motor today in some cases is one-fourth what it was a few decades ago, and what was an 8,000-pound motor now weighs 2,000 lbs. or even less – and does better work, greater output and with a longer lifespan.
“In mining, this equipment costs so much money, and you can’t maintain a 30-, 40-year-old machine. You have to replace them with what is more efficient,” he stressed. What’s more, pairing the right manufacturer with the right machine or application is sometimes what makes or breaks companies, so they must keep up.
“We have our R&D team constantly working, year-round, doing different things and putting out research [to] do things that will help us all in future – all being done behind the scenes,” Amin said.
“The problem is how to show it to the world, or even just one customer, who both need to know that something is coming. R&D is important [and is] what keeps our company up to date.”