Gearless in Sweden

ABB has won an order worth $27 million from Swedish mining company Boliden to supply gearless drive systems for two new grinding mills that will increase production at one of Europe's largest copper mines.

The gearless mill drives will be installed at Boliden’s Aitik mine, located near Gällivare in northern Sweden, where they will power two new 38-foot autogenous grinding mills.

At 22.5 MW each, the mill drives will be the most powerful in the world when they become operational at the end of 2009.

They will drive mills with a capacity to grind about 2,200 tons of ore per hour each. With this expansion, the mine’s life will be extended to at least 2025 and production capacity will double to 36 million tons a year from 18 million.

The scope of the ABB contract includes spare parts, network studies, installation supervision and commissioning.