ABB Mine Hoists to Boost Upgrade to Garpenburg Mine

Swiss automation technology giant ABB and Nordic metals company Boliden have agreed and signed a takeover protocol for a production hoist and man hoist at Garpenburg, Sweden’s oldest operating mine.

The decision to carry out a major expansion at Garpenburg was made back at the start of 2011 and a total of SEK 3.9 billion will have been spent by the end of the project, increasing ore production from the current level of 1.4 million tonnes to 2.5 million tonnes per year.

Full production capacity will be reached by the end of 2015, and this latest development is a key step in the regeneration process.

The production hoist has a capacity to raise 416 tonnes of ore per hour at a speed of 17 metres per second. Both hoists will be operated from a control centre via an 800xA Control System, which in turn, can connect all equipment and systems to automate the production and administration of the entire mine.

As a mine hoist system supplier, ABB has more than 70 years' experience and has delivered more than 600 new mine hoists and undertaken the modernisation of hundreds of existing hoisting plants worldwide.

Boliden acquired Garpenberg in 1957, and exploration work has since resulted in a substantial increase in its ore reserves. Complex ore containing zinc, copper, lead, gold and silver is mined at Garpenberg. Mining has been active here since the early 13th century.