MiningWorld Russia 2023: Record-breaking Number of Exhibitors and Visitors

The 27th International Exhibition of Machines and Equipment for Mining, Processing and Transportation of Minerals MiningWorld Russia 2023 was held in Crocus Expo from 25 to 27 April.

The MiningWorld Russia exhibition has been an effective industry platform for manufacturers, suppliers, and experts from the segments of mining, processing and transportation of minerals, for 27 years.

This year, the MiningWorld Russia exhibition demonstrated a record-breaking number of exhibitors – 368 companies from 16 countries of the world. Participation in MiningWorld Russia 2023 has become a debut for 100 companies. The MiningWorld Russia 2023 exhibition occupied 16,000 square meters.

The large-scale exhibition attracted attention of numerous experts of the mining industry. The exhibitors noted high demand for equipment presented at the stands. The MiningWorld Russia was attended by 8,299 industry professionals from 31 countries and 75 regions of Russia, which is 51% more than in 2022. 4,890 professionals visited the MiningWorld Russia exhibition for the first time.

Among the visitors were: ALROSA PJSC, NLMK PJSC, MMK PJSC, Mechel PJSC, Evraz LLC, Norilsk Nickel, SUEK JSC, UGMC OJSC, MCC EuroChem, Polymetal JSC, MC Polyus LLC, RUSAL, Severstal PJSC, Uralkali PJSC, Lebedinsky GOK JSC, Stoilensky GOK JSC, Kovdorsky GOK JSC, Uchalinsky GOK JSC, A.V. Varichev Mikhailovsky GOK JSC, Buribaevsky GOK JSC, Novokaolinovy GOK OJSC, Gaisky GOK PJSC and many others.

MiningWorld Russia exhibition

Many Russian and foreign manufacturers demonstrated new unites of machines and equipment at their stands in 2023.

Metalist has been participating in the MiningWorld Russia exhibition for the third year. This year, the company presented a novelty at its stand – a WILO water pump housing made of grey cast iron and a crankcase block for a tractor internal combustion engine weighing 0.5 tons. Besides, its new products included a valve housing for the Pitzmeister HP500 main pump made of alloy steel.

A longstanding exhibitor – R&D company RIVS – surprised visitors with an unusual stand in the form of a large-volume flotation machine. The stand style was chosen not by chance, since RIVS developed the first Russian flotation machine of 200 cubic meters in 2022. This is the company’s in-house development, not a product of reverse engineering. A control assembly was performed and the flotation machine was submitted to process tests at an existing processing plant after complex technological calculations and tests in 2023. Worth mentioning is the fact that machines of more than 500 cubic meters have been already operating in Russia, but all of them are produced by Western manufacturers.

OKB MIKRON and SMNU Tsvetmetnaladka JSC demonstrated braking systems for mine hoists MiTs-1 and MiTs-2 jointly developed under the import substitution program as an equivalent of foreign-made saddles. The braking systems with a hold-down capacity up to 89,700 N and up to 164,000 N successfully passed tests and were launched in series production in 2022.

TECHSTROYCONTRACT presented an all-new product by TONLY – a three-axle mining tipper TLD93 with a payload capacity of 70 tons equipped with an automatic transmission – at the exhibition. This model can be used to carry overburden and coal and has already gained a good reputation in China, where Tonly all-wheel drive tippers are the best seller. TONLY tippers are successfully operated in severe conditions of Siberia and the Far East.

Mining Element introduced visitors to linings for jaw crushers with an improved crystal structure of martensitic steel and reduced content of non-metallic impurities; NovaThor compound; conveyor components and samples of sidewall conveyor belt; rubber linings for mills. In the follow-up of the exhibition, the company noted an increase in requests not only for import substitution of spare parts for original European equipment, but also for the production of components for Russian, Chinese, and Turkish equipment.

IZTM (the Irkutsk plant of heavy engineering), a company that has been one of the largest operating machine-building plants with full-cycle production in the CIS for more than 115 years, presented mining and processing equipment manufactured in-house. The plant representatives explained that large-scale projects for the production of radial thickeners with diameters up to 100 meters, which is the largest diameter existing in the CIS market, would be implemented this year.

Heavy equipment area

Traditionally, the MiningWorld Russia exhibition surprises its visitors with a unique exposition of large-sized machinery. Th exhibitors presented a wide range of mining, processing, and transport machinery, including crawler and wheeled vehicles.

ALMAZGEOBUR demonstrated a RS-230 diamond core drilling rig, a Nitrox 60 drilling-and-blasting rig (an improved equivalent of FlexiROC D60), and an AGB 1838HD+ hydroperforator (100% interchangeable with COP 1838HD+ in terms of spare parts). The manufacturer focused on a new vector of development – the production of equipment for drilling, blasting, and underground mining. In particular, the visitors got interested in the release of a DTH drilling rig for underground mining. Such Russian developments will be able to completely cover enterprises’ need for renovation of their fleets of vehicles and spare parts for existing equipment.

Altaiburmash, an exclusive distributor of one of the Chinese leading manufacturers of pneumopercussion drilling equipment – ZEGA Machinery Co., LTD – presented a Zega D460A pneumaticpercussion drilling rig. The characteristics of D460A are similar to those of Epiroc FlexiRoc D55 and Sandvik Leopard DI550i. The ZEGA D460A drilling rigs supplied by AltaiBurMash operate in quarries of the Kemerovo Region, Novosibirsk Region, and Altai Territory.

Gormash Global LLC demonstrated a SBM 800 (TUMI) drilling system for deep wells and upraise drift driving with a diameter of up to 6 m, a STELLAR MUKI LHPB-2R electric hydraulic drilling rig, and a STELLAR ATON 44XP drilling rig.

DalMachinery took part in the exhibition for the first time and presented several pieces of machinery for various purposes at its stand at once: a DALI WJ-6 underground load haul dumper, a KAISHAN KT15C mining drilling rig, and a KAISHAN-KJ211 underground drilling rig.

The Chinese manufacturer Fambition Heavy Machinery brought to Moscow a FT30 model of underground tipper with a nominal payload capacity of 30 tons.

PRIDE, Production Company LLC presented its flagship rig TITAN 120 ССК and a novelty of this year – ATLAS DC 120. ATLAS DC 120 is a compact self-propelled drilling rig for the extraction of solid minerals in open pits and mines.

PROTECMINE, an official representative of the mining equipment manufacturers – XURI (China) and MineARC (Australia) – presented a KJ-311 hydraulic drilling rig at its booth.

PIC MINING introduced visitors of the exhibition to a PICAR Russian all-wheel drive mining vehicle for transportation of crews and cargos, upgraded and reworked taking into account the experience of operating the first-generation vehicles.

OZBT (V.V. Vorovsky United Drilling Equipment Plants) demonstrated a modified version of the URB-2D3 rig on a crawler truck designed for geological exploration and blasted well drilling. The company is going to release a jubilee series of these machines, since their production volumes exceed 100 units per year today, which is very symbolic. Besides, the company demonstrated a KVBM vibratory drilling module and a URB-900 drilling rig.

Tehnerud presented a screen and a crusher under its own brand. The screen is the company’s in-house development 95% assembled from Russian components at Tekhnerud’s own facilities. The company studied machinery of the global leading OEMs and created its own solution, which incorporated the best modern technology. Today, Tekhnerud manufactures three series of screens: inclined, multi-inclined, and horizontal screens of various capacities and sizes.

Business Program: Trends and Expert Opinions

The exhibition business program gathered managers and employees of mining companies, leading industry experts. 11 events with 100 speakers were held for 3 days. 917 delegates attended the business program events. Market leaders shared their experience of facing current challenges, the latest developments, and plans for the future.

The exhibition business program was started with an Analytical Session, where analysts from Yakov & Partners and Zyfra Group presented the results of a study prepared specifically for the visitors of MiningWorld Russia 2023. The study was intended to find out views of the industry leaders on the prospects and limitations of digitalization. Nikita Natrusov, a partner at Yakov & Partners, presented key facts and figures of the study:

• 75% of respondents kept up or increased the budgets of digitalization programs in 2022–2023;
• 70% of respondents focus on production, only a third of respondents invest in digital solutions for industrial safety and ecology;
• 63% of respondents noted a shortage of “digital” human resources in all professions;
• 15% of companies in Russia tend to increase their ambitions in terms of achieved digitalization profit;
• 10% of the study participants have noted the implementation of projects in the fields of 3D printing, robotics, AR/VR.

Representatives of the following companies’ management shared their experience in import substitution and digital transformation during the Main Plenary Discussion of the mining industry leaders: VGK LLC, EVRAZ, Metalloinvest, A.V. Varichev Mikhailovsky GOK JSC, R&D Company RIVS, Zyfra Group, SUEK JSC, Apatit JSC (Phosagro), Norilsk Nickel, Highland Gold Mining Limited. Vladimir Stefanovich Litvinenko, professor, doctor of technical sciences, President of the Saint Petersburg Mining University, presented a video message to the exhibitors.

Experts from Evoblast, Axenix, ALROSA, AZOTTEKH shared successful technology to improve the efficiency of mining operations at the practical session “Innovative Technology of Open-Pit and Underground Mining”.

A conference “Experience in Solving HR Issues by Mining Companies” was held at the exhibition for the first time. HR directors of large industry companies have told the audience how they solve the issue of personnel shortages, attract young professionals to the staff, and what advanced training programs they implement. The existence of problems in the labour market – limited capacity and shortage of human resources – was confirmed by Natalya Kasymova, Director of the HR Recruitment and Development Department, Polyus. To solve HR problems, Polyus practices resource planning and transforms its approach by simplifying the input threshold and improving skills on the spot. According to the speaker, Polyus shapes managerial security, focuses on internal resources, i.e. practices succession planning for top positions.

Natalia Petukhova, Head of the HR Recruitment and Development Directorate, spoke about the specifics of ALROSA’s HR policy. The ALROSA Force digital platform operates in the company and currently involves students from specialized universities. Students participating in the project share their achievements in scientific, professional, and corporate activities. Two leaders in each area are awarded. The company implements the ALROSA-Shift, which involves 60 hours of profession insight, for schoolchildren.

Three expert conferences were successfully held. Industry experts assessed the current state of gold mining in Russia and the prospects for its development at the “Gold and Technology” conference. Mikhail Ivanovich Leskov, Chief Editor of the Gold and Technology magazine, shared his forecast. According to the expert, exploration and mining of gold will look like one of the most attractive sectors for investors against the background of other industries, which will contribute to increased competition and inflation in the industry. The “New Methods and Technology for Improved Efficiency of Geological Exploration” conference was dedicated to the discussion of modern information technology, artificial intelligence, data management, and some other ways to improve the efficiency of geological exploration. The conference was moderated by Tamara Aleksandrovna Golovina, Director of the Technology and Joint Project Directorate, POLYMETALL MC. The “Processing and Complex Treatment of Mineral and Technogenic Raw Materials” conference included 20 reports covering the latest technology in the market of equipment and components for processing plants. Traditionally, the conference was moderated by Tatyana Ivanovna Yushina, Head of the Chair for Processing and Treatment of Mineral and Technogenic Raw Materials at the National University of Science and Technology MISiS, Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor.

A round table “Energy Saving. Ecology. Safety. On the Way to Technological Sovereignty” was held for the first time on 26 April. Experts discussed the issues of market saturation with high-quality domestic equipment, its compliance with advanced foreign practices, the possibility of technology transfer and other relevant topics.

Co-organizers of the business program were: Zyfra Group (co-organizer of the Mining Industry Leader Forum), WOMEN IN MINING, National University of Science and Technology MISiS, Gold and Technologies magazine, Energy and Industry of Russia newspaper. Business programme general partner: GK Evoblast. Business programme partners: Axenix, MekhanobrEngineering.

Results of the Mining Industry 4.0 Contest

The ceremony to award winners of the Mining Industry 4.0 contest took place on 26 April. The MiningWorld Russia and Zyfra have been awarding projects that prove their efficiency since 2021. The main evaluation criterion is proven results of the solutions implemented.

The contest winners are:

• Mangazeya Mining LLC in the nomination of Open-Pit Mining Digitalization. Subject: Automation of Planning of and Operational Accounting for Mining and Processing at a Gold Ore Quarry

• Raspadskaya Coal Company LLC in the nomination of Underground Mining Digitalization. Subject: Information System “Digital array”. Winner from Zyfra Group: ALROSA (PJSC)

• Mining Assets Branch-Segment, EVRAZ ZSMK JSC, in the nomination of Processing Digitalization. Subject: Dynamic Processing Management

• Apatit JSC, PhosAgro (supplier – Business Information Systems LLC), in the nomination of HSE. Subject: Training VR-Simulator “Actions in Case of an Accident in Underground Mines”

• Saint Petersburg Mining University in the nomination of Digital Projects and Human Capital Development. Subject: Digital Mining

• Elena Yuryevna Kostrykina, Chief Processor of STTR, Mining Assets Branch-Segment, EVRAZ ZSMK JSC, in the nomination of Woman in the Mining and Metallurgical Company Digitization. Subject: Dynamic Processing Management at the Abagurskaya Factory. Spreading the solution to Crushing and Processing Plants (Dynamic Processing Management at Crushing and Processing Plants). Winner from Zyfra Group: Elena Aleksandrovna Drobina, Director of Coal Company Kuzbassrazrezugol JSC

• MMC NORILSK NICKEL PJSC in the nomination of Practical Import Substitution. Subject: Registration of Quantitative Indicators during Ore Mass Transportation. Implementation of an Import-Substituting Solution for Underground Mining.

Official Support

In 2023, the MiningWorld Russia exhibition was held with the support of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy, the State Duma Committee on Industry and Trade, the Federal Service for Ecological, Technological and Nuclear Supervision (Rostekhnadzor), as well as the Government of Kuzbass.

Exhibition partners were: NPO Akonit, TOMS Institute.

The general information partner of the exhibition is the international scientific and technical magazine Mining Industry, the general Internet partner and strategic information partner is the industry magazine Extraction industry, the Leading partner in the CIS countries is the magazine Globus.

The 28th International Exhibition of Machines and Equipment for Mining, Processing and Transportation of Minerals will be held in Crocus Expo from 23 to 25 April 2024.