ELECTRA MINING REVIEW
Sandvik’s innovation drive aligned with mine safety As mining companies place greater emphasis on safety through initiatives such as Zero Harm and Zero Entry, equipment manufacturers are increasingly investing in technologies that enhance productivity and efficiency while reducing risk and worker exposure. Speaking to Modern Mining on the sidelines of Electra Mining Africa 2026, Olli Karlsson, Vice President, Mining Sales– Attachment Division at Sandvik Rock Processing, highlighted the growing focus on eliminating risk at its source through safer, more automated mining solutions.
Olli Karlsson, Vice President, Mining Sales Attachment Tools Division at Sandvik Rock Processing.
T hrough its Rock Processing business, Sandvik provides specialised hydraulic attachments and control solutions for managing oversize rock fragmentation in mining operations. “We provide attachments for oversize rock management, helping mines to address poor fragmentation and prevent disruptions to production. Our main solution is hydraulic hammers mounted on mining booms and powered by dedicated power packs. These can be operated remotely using a remote control or a tele remote solution, providing a safer and more efficient way to manage oversized material.” Discussing the drive by mines globally to keep people, equipment and operations safe, Karlsson explained that initiatives like Zero Entry aim to minimise the number of people entering mines, even to service products and equipment. “The Zero Entry drive is a global trend, with major mining companies increasingly focused on removing people from hazardous areas. Sandvik’s automation solutions have supported this shift for years, and we see further opportunities to automate our own products and their servicing, ensuring that operators can carry out their work without being exposed to hazards unnecessarily.” Zero-entry mining seeks to eliminate human presence in active extraction zones through technologies such as
autonomous fleets, tele-remote robotics and redesigned underground layouts. Sandvik plays a key role in supporting this objective, with innovation at the heart of its efforts to design and develop products and equipment that enhance safety. As part of this drive, Sandvik’s Rock Processing business is exploring ways to “transition stationary booms into semi-mobile units by designing recovery systems where an operator in a safe loader cabin can move a boom to a dedicated service area for maintenance”. “Given that our booms are stationary in underground applications, we are developing solutions that enable customers to easily remove and transport them to the surface for maintenance, eliminating the need for servicing underground. By making our products more mobile and providing the necessary attachments for loaders to recover them, we can help reduce the time operators and service technicians spend in high-risk underground environments. Moreover, our remote-control solutions allow attachments such as breaker booms to be operated from a safe distance, even remotely from locations such as Johannesburg.” Longer-term opportunities include automated product recovery and exchange, enabling equipment to be replaced
32 MODERN MINING www.modernminingmagazine.co.za | November 2026
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