Hammerglass Guard at a Depth of 760 Meters

Exempelbild

Join us as we descend into the Kankberg Mine to check on our Hammerglass Guard – still going strong after 11,000 hours of operation!

Supervisor Filip Forsberg drives us down into the mine along winding, illuminated gravel roads. It’s clear he knows every turn by heart, and he’s probably just as accustomed to being underground as he is above the surface.

"I can head to work in the morning with sunshine and plan to mow the lawn in the evening, only to come back up and find there's been a snowstorm. That’s what life in a mine is like - two completely different worlds," he remarks.

We’re here to inspect the Hammerglass operator guards that Kankberg has installed on several of their wheel loaders. One of these was fitted in 2020 on a Volvo L250H, after Hammerglass scanned the original windshield and frame and developed a new safety solution - a complete operator guard. This OPG-tested solution does not affect the machine’s certification but provides significantly higher protection for the operator.

"This machine has been running with the Hammerglass Guard for over 11,000 hours. A front windshield that hasn’t needed replacement in five years - that’s what I’d call a success," says Filip. "Sure, it’s a bit scratched now, but given the working conditions down here, that’s hardly surprising."

Kankberg Mine, operated by Boliden, has transitioned from an open-pit mine to an underground operation. The mine, in its current form, restarted in 2012 and extracts ore containing gold, silver, and tellurium.

"We carry out around twenty blasts per week. The ore extracted from the mine is transported to the processing plant in Boliden, where minerals are separated from the crushed rock. The minerals are then sent to smelters for further processing, while the waste rock is transported back down into the mine for refilling," explains Niklas Lindström, Kankberg’s machinery manager.

Safety is a top priority everywhere in the mine. Operations need to run smoothly, and no one should be exposed to unnecessary risk during their shift.

"There’s no time for downtime due to a broken windshield. If a machine gets a rock impact and is taken out of service due to a crack, it can take two days to fix. That’s simply not sustainable. Machines operating in so-called ‘safe rock’ areas are equipped with laminated glass, but for the rest, we need a higher level of durability and safety. That’s where Hammerglass is one of the best options," Niklas concludes.

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