Big contract for Epiroc’s autonomous, electric mining equipment

Epiroc AB said it has won a contract to deliver a major fleet of fully autonomous and electric surface mining equipment to Fortescue in Australia. The company said it is the largest order contract in its history. The equipment order contract is valued at SEK 2.2 billion (U.S. $224 million) over five years. A first portion of the contract is expected to be booked in the second quarter of 2025.

Fortescue is an Australia-based technology, energy and metals group that has focused on accelerating the commercial decarbonization of industry. One of the world’s largest iron ore producers, the company has ordered a fleet of Epiroc blasthole drill rigs; the cable-electric Pit Viper 271 E and the battery-electric SmartROC D65 BE. The equipment will be used at the company’s iron ore mines in the Pilbara region in Western Australia. The driverless machines will eventually be operated fully autonomously, overseen from Fortescue’s Integrated Operations Centre in Perth, Australia, more than 1,500 km away.

The machines are expected to eliminate around 35 million liters of diesel consumption annually, according to Fortescue.

An Epiroc SmartRoc D65 E drill. (Photo: Epiroc)

Epiroc’s President and CEO Helena Hedblom and Fortescue Metals CEO Dino Otranto held a contract signing ceremony at Fortescue’s headquarters in Perth.

“Fortescue is on the forefront of the mining industry in reducing emissions from operations, and in using automation to strengthen safety and productivity, and we are proud to support them on this important effort,” said Helena Hedblom. “Not only is this the largest contract we have ever received, but it is also a major step forward for our electric-powered surface equipment. We look forward to contributing to Fortescue’s continued success now and in the future.”

Fortescue Metals’ Chief Executive Officer Dino Otranto said: “We’re thrilled to be joining forces with Epiroc to bring cutting-edge electric mining equipment into our operations. The deployment of this new fleet of electric drills will immediately start reducing our carbon footprint, cutting over 90,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually once the fleet is operational.”

“To decarbonize, we’re aiming to swap out around 800 pieces of heavy mining equipment with zero emissions alternatives by the end of the decade, as well as deploy 2-3 GW of renewable energy and battery storage across the Pilbara,” Otranto said.

The Pit Viper 271 E rotary blasthole drill rig, manufactured in Texas, has zero emissions and a patented cable feed system that the company said prolongs component longevity and reduces operational costs. The SmartRoc D65 BE, manufactured in Örebro, Sweden, is the new battery-electric version of the proven SmartRoc D65 drill rig. The company said the new machine combines the experience gained from the development of Epiroc underground battery rigs with the many intelligent features of the original version.​