Sandvik underground development drilling: BEV design and heat-load insights for engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan

First reported on International Mining – News
30 Second Briefing
Sandvik Mining is shifting battery-electric underground development drilling from simply powering tramming to directly improving drilling performance, with President Underground Drilling Johannes Välivaara outlining new BEV rigs that integrate high-power battery packs with drilling hydraulics and control systems. Building on a decade of experience with at least one battery-electric development drill in its portfolio, Sandvik is now targeting faster penetration rates, reduced heat load and lower ventilation demand in deep, hot mines. For geotechnical and mine engineers, the move signals closer coupling of energy storage, drilling kinematics and automation-ready control for future heading development.
Technical Brief
- Sandvik’s latest BEV development drills route battery power directly into drilling hydraulics via dedicated converters.
- Välivaara notes the rigs are engineered as “battery-first” platforms rather than diesel conversions.
- Integration of battery management with drilling control software enables tighter regulation of pump output and feed forces.
- Power electronics are packaged within the carrier to minimise cable runs and voltage drops to hydraulic systems.
- Thermal management of batteries and hydraulic oil is co-ordinated, reducing localised heat sources around the operator’s station.
- Control architecture is designed to be automation-ready, with drilling parameters logged continuously for fleet-level optimisation.
- For deep-level mining, such BEV drill platforms provide a pathway to redesign ventilation and cooling strategies around lower heat rejection.
Our Take
In our database, Sandvik Mining’s recent IEC 62443-4-1 and ISO/IEC 27001 certifications point to a deliberate push to harden the digital backbone of its underground products, so any new development drills are likely to arrive with more robust cybersecurity and data-governance baked in rather than added later.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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