Editing Sandvik (section)

=== Mining and rock solutions ===

The mining and rock solutions{{buzzword-inline|date=April 2025}} business area provides vehicles for loading and hauling minerals, equipment for drilling, cutting and other rock excavation tasks, as well as supporting services and infrastructure like digital monitoring and automation systems.<ref name="AR2023" /><ref name="IM-Sandvik-Barrick">{{Cite news
|title=Sandvik and Barrick strengthen ties with extended global framework agreement
|url=https://im-mining.com/2024/01/22/sandvik-and-barrick-strengthen-ties-with-extended-global-framework-agreement/
|first=Daniel
|last=Gleeson
|date=22 January 2022
|access-date=28 April 2024
|newspaper=International Mining
}}</ref>

Sandvik is notable for developing battery-powered, remotely monitored and automated equipment. The vehicle TH665B, with a capacity of 65 metric tons, was the highest-capacity battery-electric underground mining truck in the world when it was launched in 2022. Besides the advantage of not producing any diesel exhaust gases, battery-powered trucks emit less heat than diesel-powered trucks, which is beneficial in underground mines, and tend to achieve higher uphill top speeds. Sandvik has developed systems for swapping battery packs of mining trucks and loaders to freshly charged ones, instead of charging the batteries while attached to the vehicle. The minimum time required for battery swapping is a few minutes. [[Rio Tinto (corporation)|Rio Tinto]], [[LKAB]], [[Boliden AB|Boliden]], Torex Gold, Foran Mining, Rana Gruber and Byrnecut are examples of mining companies that have been reported to use battery-electric Sandvik trucks and loaders.<ref name="IM-Sandvik-Barrick" /><ref>{{Cite news
|title=Sandvik introduces largest-capacity battery-electric truck for underground mining
|url=https://www.miningweekly.com/article/sandvik-introduces-largest-capacity-battery-electric-truck-for-underground-mining-2022-03-03
|first=Darren
|last=Parker
|date=3 March 2022
|access-date=28 April 2024
|newspaper=Mining Weekly
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news
|title=Sandvik's TH665B truck raises the bar for BEVs
|url=https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/featured-article/sandviks-th665b-truck-raises-the-bar-for-bevs/
|first=D'Arcy
|last=Jenish
|date=1 May 2022
|access-date=28 April 2024
|newspaper=Canadian Mining Journal
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news
|title=Sandvik begins TH665B truck trials at AngloGold's Australian mine
|url=https://www.mining-technology.com/news/sandvik-th665b-trials-anglogolds/
|date=20 September 2023
|access-date=28 April 2024
|newspaper=Mining Technology
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news
|title=Rio Tinto backs BEV use at Kennecott Underground with growing Sandvik fleet
|url=https://im-mining.com/2024/03/21/rio-tinto-backs-bev-use-at-kennecott-underground-with-growing-sandvik-fleet/
|first=Daniel
|last=Gleeson
|date=21 March 2024
|access-date=28 April 2024
|newspaper=International Mining
}}</ref>

As of 2024, Sandvik operates a working prototype of a fully automatic battery-powered autonomous drill rig in its test mine in Finland. The machine is capable of planning the drill procedure, optimizing its electric power usage, changing drill bits and automatically returning to a charging station when necessary. In addition to the potential for higher productivity, workplace safety is an area where this kind of technology may bring significant improvements.<ref>{{Cite news
|title=Amelia: the underground drilling conversation starter
|url=https://im-mining.com/2024/01/02/amelia-the-underground-drilling-conversation-starter/
|first=Daniel
|last=Gleeson
|date=2 January 2024
|access-date=28 April 2024
|newspaper=International Mining
}}</ref>