Underground Mining Equipment Industry Report by Regional Category Spend, Price Analysis, Key Demand, Price Indicators, and Best Buying Practices

The global underground mining equipment market reached a value of about USD 25.28 billion. The industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 3.8% in the forecast period of 2022-2027 to reach a value of USD 31.62 billion by 2027.

The underground mining equipment industry report comprehensively analyses the industry, including key segments, trends, drivers, restraints, the competitive landscape, and other essential market aspects. The market is projected to witness development, due to the enhanced demand from numerous industries in emerging economies like India, Malaysia, Turkey, Vietnam, and Brazil, among others. The key demand indicator in the industry report is the highest category spender by region — Asia Pacific.

Industry Definition and Segmentation

The procedure of mining or digging out minerals and ores that are interred deep inside the crust of the earth is called underground mining. Hard and soft mining are the two primary types of the underground mining process. Hard minerals like lead, copper, nickel, iron, gold, and silver are excavated by hard underground technique whereas the soft underground mining procedure is used for minerals like potash, coal, oil shale, and other minerals. Various machines and equipment utilised for underground mining comprise overhead loaders, draglines, shovels, haul trucks, front-end loaders, gathering-arm loaders, conveyors, etc. The global warehousing services industry report comprises segments based on application (coal mining and metal mining) and regions (Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa).

The Asia Pacific Region is Driving the Growth of the Industry

Due to the rising construction and mining industries across India, China, and other countries, the Asia Pacific region is leading the global market. Underground mining equipment is gaining major importance in countries like India, China, Malaysia, and others attributed to the growth in the demand for infrastructural progress. Furthermore, drivers like, heavy investments in construction activities and a rise in the utilisation of coal for electricity generation are also promoting the development of the market.

There has been an intense expansion in the demand for several types of minerals such as iron, gold, copper, coal, lead, silver, aluminium, etc. that is fostered by steady economic development across both developed and emerging regions, rising disposable incomes, and growth in the middle-class population. This has in turn led to the rise in demand for underground mining equipment. In addition, the considerable growth in the consumption of energy in the type of coal and nuclear fuels due to the development of urbanisation and industrialisation is also resulting in a positive effect on the demand for underground mining equipment. Furthermore, there is less amount of negative impact caused by underground mining relatively to surface mining since the explosion is done underground no harmful gases are emitted into the surrounding. The shortage of manual workers and its increasing rates, rising focus on enhancing the output, increased utilisation of high-quality equipment in mining, etc. are some of the other factors.

On the other hand, one of the major shortcomings is the low level of foreign investment in mining activities in economically weaker countries.

Best Procurement Practices

The global underground mining equipment industry report by Procurement Resource gives an in-depth analysis of the best buying practices followed by underground mining equipment utilising regions across the globe, such as contract terms, engagement models, and buyer and supplier negotiation levers, among others.

Category Management Studies

A few numbers of heavy-duty equipment are used by the mining industry to discover and build mine sites. From eradicating and stockpiling overload, cracking, and getting rid of rocks to managing ores and processing recovery strategies after the mine is closed, the equipment helps in a variety of ways. In the commencing stages of construction with an underground mine equipment such as drills, longwall shearers, draglines, shovels, dozers, graders, and wheel dozers are employed. Moreover, equipment like continuous miners, feeder breakers, haulage systems, roof bolters, and utility vehicles are included in the room and pillar operations.

Technological Advancements in Autonomous Equipment are Further Driving the Procurement of Underground Mining Equipment

The market is witnessing technological advancements in autonomous equipment for both soft rock mining and hard rock mining which is projected to encourage sales in the upcoming years. Moreover, the producers are concentrating on technological improvements such as GPS sensing, Internet of Things (IoT), and 3D imagery in underground mining equipment to note the timetable examining and accumulating data of larger mines that have reduced availability. For instance, due to the constant technological development by prominent manufacturers such as Boart Longyear, Caterpillar, and others in North America will lead to the region’s steady growth.

The key zones in the industry are Europe, North America, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa.

Key Industry Players Mentioned in the Underground Mining Equipment Industry Report

• Caterpillar
• Komatsu
• Epiroc
• Sandvik AB

Market Landscape

Sales in the mining trucks are likely to hold a major share in the underground mining equipment market. Factors such as extreme level of release of diesel fumes in mining trucks, and electrification of these trucks are in progress, which is estimated to raise the market growth in the years to come. In addition, the demand for soft rock mining techniques is projected to swell at a continuous rate in the upcoming years. Increasing demand for coal, minerals, oil, shale, potash and other metals is also increasing the rate of soft rock mining operations, which is likely to promote the growth of the market segment. Moreover, it is estimated that the sales in the rental service providers category will rise in the forecast period, because of the innovative commodity contributions and subscription versions. Owing to the high expenses linked to the advanced mining equipment the miners, especially in the emerging countries are using rented underground mining equipment.

Key Initiatives by Companies

• In January 2022, Epiroc, a Swedish mining equipment company introduced Mobius for Drills, which is a drilling software, incorporated with artificial intelligence (AI) that helps in combining and examining data received from sensors to support operators in real-time evaluation and assessment.
• In March 2020, Sandvik AB launched an ‘Intelligent Automine system” for unmanned truck transport that lessens the destruction of the equipment accentuating greater efficiency in underground mine operations.