Sweden-based mining solutions provider Sandvik has predicted that more than half of its underground mining equipment sales will be electric by 2030, and that it expects to have an electric offering covering all applications by 2022.

Henrik Ager, president, Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions explained that electrification will be one of the biggest technological shifts the mining industry has seen for years, and that it will "significantly" pick up pace in the coming years.

The company launched several new products at MINExpo 2021, including a battery-electric truck, the Sandvik TH550B, which it claimed limits the need for new energy infrastructure in hard rock operations.

It also unveiled the Sandvik DS412iE, an automated and productive battery-electric powered rock bolter, and the battery-assisted Toro LH514BE, a cable-electric loader boosted with battery technology and mining automation system.

Innovations in the area of electric vehicles will be driven by the desire for more efficient and cleaner mining operations, and this will cause market growth, the company said.

Electric equipment, it explained, offers better productivity and the chance to build an emission-free working environment, with cost saving potential in areas such as ventilation.