LKAB Increase Its Sandvik Electric Loading Fleet

LKAB has ordered 12 Toro™ LH625iE cable-electric loaders and five Toro™ LH621i loaders, all equipped with Sandvik’s AutoMine® solution, for its iron ore underground mine in Kiruna, northern Sweden.

The orders were booked in the June and December quarters of 2023, with deliveries scheduled from January 2024 through the end of 2025. The investment follows a study by Sandvik’s Trans4Mine team and calculations by Polymathian that identified opportunities for Kiruna to increase production by as much as 15 percent through automation of its large electric loader fleet.

“Toro™ LH625iE has proven itself at the Kiruna mine, delivering an unrivaled production capacity of up to 500 metric tons per hour. Not only are these automated loaders extremely productive, they improve underground conditions and operator comfort with less heat, fewer vibrations and lower noise levels. Our partnership will create value for LKAB for years to come, and we look forward to continuing to support LKAB’s goals to mine more sustainably and productively.” said Mats Eriksson, President of Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions.

Developed in 2020 as a collaboration between LKAB and Sandvik to replace Kiruna’s aging fleet of 17 Sandvik LH625E loaders, the 25-metric-ton-payload Toro™ LH625iE is a revamped version of the industry’s largest-capacity underground loader.

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