Minerals are needed. They get mined and the easiest to access are always the first to be mined. They are, therefore, the first to become exhausted. That has been the case since the Bronze Age; Cornishmen mined tin and Phoenicians sailed from the ends of the Mediterranean to trade for it. There is now no easily extractable tin left in Cornwall. The same is happening today on a much greater scale. As the demand for metals and minerals increase, the resources that remain to us are increasingly hard to extract.
And demand has certainly never been higher. Demand for nickel and other rare earths has jumped by up to 8%, while copper supply is projected to fall short of demand by 30% by 2035, according to the International Energy Agency. Demand for potash is also forecast to climb 70% by 2050.
To find and extract these, mines are being dug deeper as ores must, therefore, be raised further to reach the surface. The hoisting equipment for that task becomes ever more complex and sophisticated.
Since the hoists must lift from deeper, they must also lift faster. That is a consequence of simple arithmetic: to maintain the same rate of production from twice as deep you must either go to the huge expense of digging a second lift-shaft or, more likely, you must make your existing shaft and hoist work twice as hard; you must either double its speed or double the volume and weight it can lift at each journey.
All of which increases production costs. These have increased by nearly 30% globally over the past five years, according to Pricewaterhouse Coopers. Therefore, these new hoists must also lift more efficiently with less wasted energy. That implies higher-efficiency motors and also intelligent digital controls to use them to best advantage: hoist operation must be integrated with the rest of the underground production system to avoid product pile-up and delays. It’s also essential to increase operator safety as mining has always been a hazardous operation and remains so today.
This might be one of the lower-hanging fruits for mining operations to gain. As recently as 2021, the Digital Acceleration Index, produced annually by the Boston Consulting Group, found that the metals and mining industry was 30% to 40% less digitally mature than comparable industries such as automotive and chemicals.
One example of developments to remedy this comes from mining giant ABB with a suite of three systems. Their NGX Hoist Control is an optimised and unified hoist control system; it works together with their Smart Hoisting system which identifies, categorises and prioritises hoist KPIs such as capacity flow, motor speed and others. If deviations exceed site-specific thresholds, alarms are triggered that notify site personnel and ABB experts who are monitoring the system remotely.
All emergency stops are analysed to ensure a controlled and approved retardation. A too high retardation can result in rope slip and a too low retardation can result in over winding, both of them highly undesirable. Hoist control monitors position checkpoints, overspeed margins and the like; field data – speed, position, brake pressure, temperature, time, actuator position and so on – and test results can be sent to the Smart Hoisting suite for analysis to allow site engineers to identify any discrepancies or opportunities and take remedial actions.
Even more important is ABB’s SIL system. With it, a series of mine hoist systems have recently attained the highest SIL3 functional safety certification. SIL stands for Safety Integrity level and is an independent internationally recognised quantifier and certification for mining. ABB’s safety systems cover speed and position monitoring, additional protections that use emergency stop functionality that incorporates mine shaft safety devices and a SIL 3-certified mine hoist brake system. This, says ABB, is the first fully SIL 3 certified mine hoist solution with highest level of safety on the market and is completely adaptable to existing hoist installations and easily retrofittable.
Safety, performance and efficiency
Hoist safety, performance and energy efficiency are inextricably linked – as is sustainability. “Sustainability goals have become inevitable across all industries. The use of the end product must be sustainable – but so also its means of extraction must be sustainable,” says ABB.
Renison Tin Mine in Tasmania can serve as an illustration. It is Australia’s largest tin mine, and ABB is delivering a significant modernisation of the main production hoist. Global tin demand is expected to reach 420,000t annually by the end of the decade; the mine is now operating at greater depths, and hoist modernisation became essential to maintain reliability, maximise productivity and extend the life expectancy of critical machinery vital to the operation.
The upgrade from ABB will replace a legacy hoist system that was installed at the mine in the 1990s. The design will address space constraints in the existing winder house, using an innovative layout that retrofits new equipment into the current switch room and introduces a new surface-mounted room for control and safety systems.
As part of the modernisation ABB will also deliver their Safety Plus hoist control platform, the digitally integrated control system we have described above to ensure reliable performance, reduce downtime and streamline machine maintenance. At the same time the new system will enhance energy efficiency to provide a more sustainable, cost-effective haulage solution for deeper mine operations.
ABB will also be supplying a new DC converter, brake stands, hydraulic power system, shaft communication system and a full suite of engineering and commissioning services. “This is a tailored solution that not only upgrades the mine’s infrastructure but does so in a smart, future-ready way that balances safety, performance and sustainability,” said Brian McDonald, ABB Australia sales engineer for hoisting. “The upgrade of the hoist system just made sense. The hoist provides benefits beyond just moving ore; it is also helping to reduce heat load and congestion and achieving production costs not seen with other material haulage solutions.” The upgrade began in the first quarter of 2025 and commissioning is expected this year.
Going deeper is not simply a question of digging deeper. “The challenge with going deeper is not the hoist mechanics or the electrics. You can make them as big as they need to be,” says Tim Gartner, global sales manager for ABB. “Once you start getting beyond 3.3km, the weight of the rope itself that is suspended in the shaft starts to become a significant proportion of the payload.”
If rope technology is developed to weigh less, with hybrid or composite or synthetic material, then more of these deeper orebodies can be exploited. “There is no question the rope is the limiting factor.”
A recent paper ‘Composite Steel Wire Ropes for Mine Hoisting Applications’ by Rebel and others highlights the potential of such lighter hoisting ropes in extraction. “A 20% reduction in rope mass per metre for a typical 48mm hoisting rope increases the skip’s capacity by about 30% at a suspended rope length of 3,000m,” they say. “Such gains in shaft output, without any significant changes to the shaft or winder design, can of course have major implications for the feasibility of future deep mine projects. The technical challenge for rope manufacturers is how to get rid of 20 to 30% of the rope mass while keeping the breaking strength and modulus of elasticity of the whole rope constant,” says the report. Mine rope specialists CASAR are currently developing steel wire rope constructions where the steel inner core has been replaced with high strength, high modulus but lighter synthetic fibres. The reduction in rope mass per unit length, and an increase in rope breaking strength, will give greater hoist skip capacity and hence increase mine shaft output.
Going large
Capacities must become larger. This, too, ABB can demonstrate, but this time in Canada. They are delivering a hoist with the largest production capacity in the world. The client is the BHP Jansen Potash Project in Saskatchewan. Potash, used in fertiliser, has been in the news recently as one of the key products affected by the Strait of Hormuz closure and is crucial for both more sustainable farming practices and food security. Demand, as we have said, has been rising and Canada is a key producer.
The hoist will transport payloads of 75 metric tonnes, which is a world record. The shafts are a kilometre deep. Its six ropes will be able to lift the loads at a maximum speed of 18.3m/s; dual 7,700kW motors will power it.
Three friction hoists are being delivered to the project, as well as an electrical system for a fourth service hoist. The service shaft and production shaft have both been sunk in preparation for the hoisting systems. ABB has delivered two hoists to the service shaft, including the cage, as well as the hydraulic braking system and the electrical controls and powertrain for a temporary cage hoist being commissioned in the production shaft, which will be in operation for two years while the higher capacity Kuyper (friction) production hoist is prepared. The latter will then be installed and is expected to be up and running for production use by 2027. The project represents a breakthrough in enhanced productivity. It too will have one of the highest levels of safety available, with fully SIL 3 certified ABB Ability Safety Plus for hoists.
Installation of the initial two hoists is currently in progress; the further two hoisting systems are being prepared for installation and commission between 2026 and 2027.
DIGGING DEEP IN SWEDEN
Swedish mining, metals and smelting company Boliden has decided to invest in a new hoist system at its mine at Garpenberg in the centre-north of the country. Garpenberg is already the world’s most productive underground zinc mine with lead, copper, silver and gold also present and extracted. The investment, which amounts to SEK4bn ($430m) will strengthen the earnings capacity of the unit and lay the foundation for exploiting further future opportunities.
“Garpenberg is a world-class deposit, and the investment we are now making once again demonstrates how confident we are that we will be able to build on the already significant value creation at the mine,” says Mikael Staffas, president and CEO. “We see significant potential and enhanced value creation, together with a lower climate footprint.”
Many years of successful exploration have resulted in very large mineral resources and reserves being identified at the site. The hoist system will be built near where a large part of the new mineralisation has been identified. The investment is expected to be carried out during 2028–2029. Once operational, the new hoist will enable production rates of 4.5Mt per year.
It enables production from new, deeper levels with world class productivity. It also facilitates a switch from diesel to electric hauling. At present some extraction between underground levels is by diesel truck haulage up spiralling ramps. The hoist will help to eliminate that: the new mineralisation able to be mined with high productivity beyond 2030.
The hoist shaft will be 1,700m deep and located close to the newly identified orebody. The investment includes a new crusher and underground skip loading as well as ore transport on the surface. The shaft will be constructed in six stages, and commissioning will be in 2032.
Without the new hoist, Garpenberg would not be able in the long term to sustain its production of 4.5Mt per year and production would become increasingly costly. In addition, there is currently no redundancy in the hauling system, which the new hoist will provide.
The investment will also create greater flexibility in production. Boliden has obtained an environmental permit to produce 4.5Mt/y in Garpenberg, but more is hoped for. In parallel, work is continuing to identify the best possible production rate based on the deposits that have so far been identified. Exploration efforts in the area are continuing, with the aim of discovering further deposits. The investment in the new hoist system is part of such a potential future expansion.
GOING FOR GOLD
Uzbekistan’s mining sector last year marked a major milestone with the commissioning of the country’s first 1,000m vertical skip shaft. The 6.5m wide skip shaft at the Zarmitan underground gold mine is designed to hoist up to 1.4 million tonnes of ore annually. Operated from a centralised control station and equipped with automated diagnostics and real-time monitoring systems, it is a step-change in capacity, efficiency and safety.
Navoi Mining & Metallurgical Company (NMMC), the world’s fourth-largest gold producer, operates the facility. “The skip shaft is a vertical mine shaft specifically designed for hoisting ore from underground workings to the surface,” says chief engineer Atabek Ravshanov. “At Zarmitan, ore from various underground levels is now gathered below ground at the 240m level, from which it is centrally hoisted to the surface.”
This project includes two shafts: the skip shaft and the cage shaft. The skip shaft is equipped with two 20t ore bins designed exclusively for hoisting ore to the surface. The cage shaft facilitates personnel transport and equipment delivery to and from the surface across nine underground levels, at roughly 60m intervals, down to 480m.
Both shafts are fitted with advanced information and communication systems. Operations are controlled from a centralised operator station, enabling real-time monitoring of production processes and precise tracking of hoisting operations through automated data analytics. The system is also designed to detect and prevent operational anomalies via early warning alarms and diagnostic protocols, ensuring a high level of safety and reliability.
The new shaft significantly increases ore hoisting capacity, reduces operating costs and has already resulted in the creation of 90 new jobs. Once in full operation, the shaft will deliver approximately 1.4Mt of ore annually to Processing Plant No. 4. The estimated annual economic impact from the project is about $1.5m.
Ukrainian companies were responsible for the project: NKMZ supplied the hoist system and the winder; Preobrazovatel-Complex supplied the control system.
