As one of mining’s most respected OEMs, Epiroc is always ahead of the curve when it comes to industry developments and advancements. Now, the company takes the ESG plunge.
Epiroc is becoming an important player in mining’s decarbonisation hunt, as the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) hones its products and offerings to enable mining companies to advance their practices.
The mining industry is amid a fast-paced transition to work smarter, safer and more sustainably, and as a trusted supporter of the sector, more is being asked of Epiroc every day.
To ensure it sustains its reputation as one of mining’s leading OEMs, Epiroc is placing a particular emphasis on its environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards.
Evolving sustainability is a critical cog to ESG, and Epiroc safety, health, environment and quality (SHEQ) manager David Galbraith says renewable energy is playing a big part in the company’s green push.
Epiroc has more than 16 service centres across Australia located in capital cities, regional hubs, and key mining and drilling sites.
Deploying greater renewable energy across the company’s branches has been an expansive but united operation, as all stakeholders understand its urgency and importance.
“I think our renewable energy (usage) was at 14.2 per cent at the beginning of 2021. It’s now at 55 per cent and we’re working on projects to get that to 80 per cent in the next two years,” Galbraith says.
“To get to where we are now, it was a matter of going back to our providers and saying, ‘Can you give us green energy and for a minimal cost?’. It was quite achievable so that’s the way we’re going with most of our branches.”
The renewable energy push forms part of Epiroc’s sustainability goals, whereby the company has an objective of halving its CO2 emissions by 2030 across four different areas – operations, transport, products and suppliers.
Galbraith says the embrace of renewable energy is proving important to decreasing emissions in Epiroc’s operations, while in transport the company is transitioning from air freight to sea freight where it can. Remanufacturing is also playing an important role.
“Some of the other measures we’re looking at include remanufacturing (reman). While reman is something we’ve always done, we didn’t initially think we did it that well until we took a closer look at it,” Galbraith says.
“We actually reman a lot which does reduce what comes into the country. And it depends on the components; we will try and source them locally where we can, but in other situations we’ll have a reman hub set up and used products will go back to that particular location.”
Mining customers can sign up to Epiroc’s dedicated Reman Program, where they will have the opportunity to return used components in exchange for remanufactured components, giving parts a new lease on life.
Epiroc upgrades the used components at its purpose-built facilities, ensuring the latest OEM engineered improvements are made.
Once remanufactured, components go through a testing process to ensure no shortcuts are made on product quality or longevity.
The Reman Program offers customers a lower-cost option to purchasing new parts and reduces their footprint in the process.
As the technology becomes more readily available, battery-powered vehicles will form a quintessential part of Epiroc’s decarbonisation ambitions going forward.
A battery-driven electric fleet facilitates savings on maintenance, ventilation and cooling, as one of the biggest expenditures in many mining operations is the cost of ventilation related to the use of diesel. With electric machinery, that cost can be cut by at least half.
In 2021, the company deployed its first Australian battery loader to a copper mine in Cobar, New South Wales. The Scooptram ST14 front-end loader is assisting the mining company to reduce its diesel emissions without losing out on productivity.
Epiroc also has battery-powered trucks and drill rigs in the pipeline in Australia, and as part of its 2030 sustainability goals, the company will continue to explore more ways of how it can increase electrification in its machines.
“One of our targets is to offer a full range of emissions-free products. That doesn’t mean that every product will be non-diesel but there will be an alternative available as a battery pack or hybrid option,” Galbraith says. “By 2030, we want to have all of our machines available as either battery or electric.”
Battery conversion will also become more commonplace as Epiroc seeks to provide flexibility for its customers.
In Canada, Evolution Mining ordered the conversion of two diesel-powered Epiroc Scooptram ST1030 machines for use at its Red Lake gold mine.
Conversion kits for other machines will follow, including for the ST14 loader which is already being tested as a converted version.
Epiroc will offer a quick turnaround time for the conversion, which is included in a midlife rebuild and puts machines back on site ready for heightened performance without unnecessary disruptions to production.
Health and safety is another important consideration for Epiroc’s ESG ambitions, and the company is constantly honing its technologies in this regard.
Galbraith says the ability to create operator-free environments is becoming more sought-after in today’s increasingly dangerous mining landscape.
“This is where automation comes in. That takes the operator out of the line of fire,” Galbraith says. “There is always the chance the machines will fall over or a roof fall will happen, so if there’s no operator there, there’s no risk for human injury.”
“Autonomous or remote control are both big factors here. Our production drill rigs are known to go into those high-risk areas, and for a long time we’ve had them remotely operated so an operator could stand 200 metres back from the machine and operate it remotely.
“Now with automation, they can be on the surface and reviewing the operation from there.”
As Epiroc evolves its ESG standards, the company is also becoming more accountable, with regular work in progress (WIP) meetings taking place – something that was less of a focus in years gone by.
“We have a quarterly review meeting with our president – we had four of those last year. That’s how serious we’re taking it globally; I’ve got to report back to our president who is based in Sweden every quarter with where we’re up to, what we’re doing, and they’re happy with how we’re progressing,” Galbraith says.
This forms part of Epiroc’s commitment to its code of conduct, where the company sets out principles for how its stakeholders engage with one another, including employees, customers, shareholders, business partners and society more broadly.
Epiroc is striving to increase the presence of females across its workplace, with the goal to double the number of women in operational roles by 2030.
The Epiroc workplace is a hub for growth, with the company offering a range of individual development opportunities for its staff.
Whether it’s research and development (R&D), manufacturing, purchasing or sourcing, or sales and services, Epiroc strives for a dynamic workplace, where employees can specialise in different areas.
With a proud history dating back to 1873, Epiroc has created a proven business model based on innovation, commitment and collaboration.
In 2022, as Epiroc continues to advance and create new and uncharted mining solutions, the company’s ESG scope will ensure it is doing so more intelligently than ever.
This feature appeared in the February issue of Australian Resources & Investment.