The application of sandvik automation in the Asian market has raised mining safety to a new height.

Toro™ TH545i of Xingxin Mine is the first automatic truck in Korea, which has aroused the interest of other domestic mining companies and attracted many peers to visit and inspect, and get a glimpse of the equipment performance.

Automated trucks have greatly changed the way Yeong-jun Kim works. Before, he spent most of his time sitting behind the steering wheel of a manually operated truck and driving back and forth in the mine roadway. Today, he spends most of his time comfortably sitting in a chair behind the screen in the control room, monitoring the operation. So far, he only operates one automated truck, but in a few months, another Toro™ TH545i will join the team.

 When the truck is close to the working face (shovel location), Yeong-jun Kim explains how easy it is to learn the operation of the automation system while operating.

    "I have been driving this car for a year before, and I am already familiar with this equipment, so when I first saw this control panel, it was easy to get started. Plus, I am a generation who grew up playing video games, and the operation automation is really fun. This also varies from person to person. I learned it in 2 days. I think it is very simple. "

Yeong-jun Kim, the automation operator, took a photo with TH545i, an automated truck in sandvik.

     “韩国矿山，以及我们的矿业公司，最终需要走向智能采矿和自动化。作为先行者，我们感到非常自豪，我们希望通过引入自动化设备来提高安全性和生产率。”

     “随着时间的推移，采矿变得越来越复杂，风险也会增加。我们的短期目标是为可持续和安全开采奠定基础。在运营自动化项目的同时，我们可以肯定山特维克在研发设备时以安全为第一要务。此外，我们能感受到山特维克在协助我们工作上付出的努力，” 星信矿业首席执行官洪珉宇解释道。

       这个矿的石灰石储量非常丰富。据该公司统计，即使已开采了40年，仍有足够的储量可以再开采200年。采矿方法采用的房柱法,每天进行几次爆破。

"Korean mines, as well as our mining companies, eventually need to move towards intelligent mining and automation. As a pioneer, we are very proud, and we hope to improve safety and productivity by introducing automation equipment. "

"With the passage of time, mining has become more and more complicated and the risks will increase. Our short-term goal is to lay the foundation for sustainable and safe mining. While operating the automation project, we can be sure that sandvik takes safety as the first priority when developing equipment. Besides, we can feel sandvik's efforts in assisting us in our work, "explained Hong Minyu, CEO of Xingxin Mining.

This mine is rich in limestone reserves. According to the company's statistics, even if it has been mined for 40 years, there are still enough reserves to be mined for another 200 years. The mining method adopts room pillar method, and blasting is carried out several times a day.

      Mine automation is not only loved by Xingxin Mine, but also one of the key tasks of the Korean government. The goal of the Korean government is to make the mining industry a highly automated and intelligent industry. This is why the Korea Mine Restoration and Mineral Resources Corporation has provided great support as the mining of automatic trucks in Xingxin Mine.