The first underground battery-electric vehicle (BEV) fleet to be deployed in India will soon be on its way to the customer, Hindustan Zinc, from OEM Sandvik, the companies confirmed after inking a new memorandum of understanding (MoU).

While no financial details were released, it is known the equipment will include a LH518B loader and three TH550B trucks as well as a DD422iE drill rig with Sandvik’s unique and patented ”charging-while-drilling” technology. The customer operation is the Sindesar Khurd mine. 

Sandvik will also provide batteries, charging systems and a full-range on-site battery and equipment service team. The loader and the trucks will be equipped with Sandvik’s patented battery self-swapping system AutoSwap to allow battery changeouts in just a few minutes.

Deliveries of the fleet machines are scheduled to begin in the first quarter 2023.

Henrik Ager, president of Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, said the TH550B truck and LH518B loader are based on the Artisan technology, which Sandvik acquired in 2019, and enriched with the latest Sandvik mining technology, contributing to overall productivity improvements of up to 20%. 

The machines will also be equipped with state-of-the-art battery telemetry solutions enabling automated, on-premise as well as remote health and performance monitoring.

Source: Sandvik.com