Epiroc CEO Helena Hedblom has lamented the pace of progress with the company’s electric vehicle equipment sales in the global mining market, saying “there is still quite a lot ahead of us when it comes to transforming this industry together to become more sustainable”.
Speaking at Future Minerals Forum 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, she said the level of driverless vehicle rollout in mining had reached a tipping point despite the relatively low overall proportion of automated equipment in the industry.
“The last five, 10 years we have been busy rolling out autonomous solutions globally,” Hedblom told the forum.
“We have more than 3000 driverless machines across the globe. Of course, that means safety. It takes away people from the dangerous places in mining.
“On electrification it goes slower.
“We have committed ourselves that we will have our full assortment [of underground and surface battery electric] machines ready by 2030. Today we have 40% in a fossil-fuel-free version.
“But it’s only 4% of our revenue.”
Hedblom, speaking on a panel focused on potentially disruptive effects of technology on mining and its key markets, said automation was “in full rollout across the globe and that’s very good to see”.
“It’s going very, very fast,” she said.
“We’re up 30% in one year when it comes to driverless machines.
“What I would like to see is the same thing happening now when it comes to the fossil-free versions that we have.”