Epiroc wins largest contract ever for autonomous and electric-powered mining equipment

Epiroc AB – a leading productivity and sustainability partner for the mining and construction industries – has won a significant contract to deliver a major fleet of fully autonomous and electric surface mining equipment to Fortescue in Australia. It is the largest order contract in Epiroc’s history.

The company has valued the equipment order at MAUD 350 (SEK 2.2 billion) over five years. Epiroc expected the first portion of the contract to be booked in the second quarter of 2025.

Fortescue is an Australia-based technology, energy and metals group that is focused on accelerating the commercial decarbonization of industry, rapidly, profitably and globally. The company – which is also one of the world’s largest iron ore producers – 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.

Fortescue expects the driver-less machines will eventually be fully autonomously, overseen from Fortescue’s Integrated Operations Centre in Perth more than 1 500 kilometers away. The machines will eliminate around 35 million liters of diesel consumption annually, according to Fortescue.

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

Helena Hedblom stated: “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,” 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’ CEO 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.”

Otranto added: “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 2-3GW of renewable energy and battery storage across the Pilbara.”

More information is posted on www.EpirocGroup.com.