Sweden’s Epiroc is maintaining impetus on three key growth fronts – autonomous and electric equipment, and surface drilling – with a US$40 million sale in Africa.
While it couldn’t identify the mine, owner or even country for the order, Epiroc said it would start delivery of a fleet of cable-electric surface blasthole drills soon. The whole fleet is expected to be delivered by the end of 2027.
Epiroc said the drills would be operated fully autonomously.
CEO of the manufacturer, Helena Hedblom, said Epiroc was at the forefront of mining automation and electrification.
She said in the company’s latest annual report customer interest was strong in automation, mixed‑fleet automation, digital safety solutions and electrification.
By the end of 2025 there were more than 3900 machines around the world – Epiroc and non‑Epiroc equipment – running with the company’s automation technologies, up 13% year-on-year. “To the best of my knowledge this makes us the world’s largest enabler of autonomous mining machines,” Hedblom said.
She said Epiroc’s global fleet of electric drill rigs, loaders and mining trucks also exceeded 600 units at the end of last year. Forty mine sites had ordered BEV equipment and of those in operation more than 40% had placed repeat orders. “Electrification” accounted for 3.8% of revenues – circa-US$257 million – in 2025, down slightly from 4.2% in 2024.
“The electrification trend is accelerating and our ambition is clear, to offer a complete range of emission‑free equipment by 2030,” Hedblom said.
“By year‑end 2025, 43% of our fleet was available in emissions-free option.
“As the BEV installed base grows so do aftermarket opportunities. All BEVs are delivered with service contracts, many with extended premium offerings such as battery‑as‑a‑service and battery‑with‑service. We expect continued growth not only in electric equipment but also in electrical infrastructure, which becomes increasingly critical as fleets expand.”
Hedblom said Epiroc’s largest ever order logged in 2025 – Fortescue’s US$235 million purchase of autonomous, electric surface drill rigs – was a “clear signal that automation and electrification have moved from pilot projects to implementation at full industrial scale”.
