MINING
DIGGING DEEP IN SWEDEN
Swedish mining, metals and smelting company Boliden has decided to invest in a new hoist system at its mine at Garpenberg in the centre-north of the country. Garpenberg is already the world’s most productive underground zinc mine with lead, copper, silver and gold also present and extracted. The investment, which amounts to SEK4bn ($430m) will strengthen the earnings capacity of the unit and lay the foundation for exploiting further future opportunities. “Garpenberg is a world-class deposit, and the investment we are now making once again demonstrates how confident we are that we will be able to build on the already significant value creation at the mine,” says Mikael Staffas, president and CEO. “We see significant potential and enhanced value creation, together with a lower climate footprint.” Many years of successful exploration have resulted in very large mineral
resources and reserves being identified at the site. The hoist system will be built near where a large part of the new mineralisation has been identified. The investment is expected to be carried out during 2028–2029. Once operational, the new hoist will enable production rates of 4.5Mt per year. It enables production from new, deeper levels with world class productivity. It also facilitates a switch from diesel to electric hauling. At
present some extraction between underground levels is by diesel truck haulage up spiralling ramps. The hoist will help to eliminate that: the new mineralisation able to be mined with high productivity beyond 2030. The hoist shaft will be 1,700m deep and located close to the newly identified orebody. The investment includes a new crusher and underground skip loading as well as ore transport on the surface. The shaft will be constructed in six stages, and commissioning will be in 2032.
Without the new hoist, Garpenberg would not be able in the long
term to sustain its production of 4.5Mt per year and production would become increasingly costly. In addition, there is currently no redundancy in the hauling system, which the new hoist will provide. The investment will also create greater flexibility in production. Boliden has obtained an environmental permit to produce 4.5Mt/y in Garpenberg, but more is hoped for. In parallel, work is continuing to identify the best possible production rate based on the deposits that have so far been identified. Exploration efforts in the area are continuing, with the aim of discovering further deposits. The investment in the new hoist system is part of such a potential future expansion.
Even more important is ABB’s SIL system. With it, a series of mine hoist systems have recently attained the highest SIL3 functional safety certification. SIL stands for Safety Integrity level and is an independent internationally recognised quantifier and certification for mining. ABB’s safety systems cover speed and position monitoring, additional protections that use emergency stop functionality that incorporates mine shaft safety devices and a SIL 3-certified mine hoist brake system. This, says ABB, is the first fully SIL 3 certified mine hoist solution with highest level of safety on the market and is completely adaptable to existing hoist installations and easily retrofittable.
Safety, performance and efficiency Hoist safety, performance and energy efficiency are inextricably linked – as is sustainability. “Sustainability goals have become inevitable across all industries. The use of the end product must be sustainable – but so also its means of extraction must be sustainable,” says ABB. Renison Tin Mine in Tasmania can serve as an illustration. It is Australia’s largest tin mine, and ABB is delivering a significant modernisation of the main production hoist. Global tin demand is expected to reach 420,000t annually by the end of the decade; the mine is now operating at greater depths, and hoist modernisation became essential to maintain reliability, maximise
Due to ore deposits diminishing over time, deeper mineshafts must be dug with more efficient hoists to lift minerals out of the depths.
30 | May/June 2026 |
www.hoistmagazine.com
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