Эрдсийг эрдэнэст
Ирээдүйг өндөр хөгжилд
Ирээдүйг өндөр хөгжилд
Mining The Resources
Minding the future
Minding the future
Unscheduled downtime and premature equipment wear remain among the most critical cost drivers in the mining industry. To address these challenges, Swedish steel manufacturer SSAB, a global leader in high-strength and wear-resistant steels, partnered with its official Mongolian distributor, Hardox Wearparts Center Ulaanbaatar (ZME LLC), to host an exclusive technical seminar in Ulaanbaatar.
The event highlighted cutting-edge wear-reduction strategies, structural lightweighting, the risks of counterfeit products, and SSAB’s ambitious transition toward 100% fossil-free steel by 2027.
Below is a compiled series of key executive interviews with leadership from both SSAB and ZME LLC, detailing their technical insights, local production expansion, and strategic vision for Mongolia’s mining sector.
EXECUTIVE INTERVIEWS
What is the performance gap between counterfeit wear plates and genuine Hardox® steel?
The key difference lies in on-site performance and predictable service life. Genuine Hardox® plates maximize workshop productivity because they are exceptionally easy to bend, cut, machine, and weld according to defined technical specifications. Conversely, counterfeit steel lacks quality assurance, leading to structural failures and costly unscheduled downtime. Utilizing genuine Hardox® allows mining operations to accurately predict wear cycles, optimize maintenance schedules, and ensure 100% equipment reliability.
In processing plants, wear is accelerated by acidic slurry and high temperatures. How does Hardox® HiAce address this specific challenge?
Hardox® HiAce combines a nominal hardness of 450 HBW with enhanced resistance to corrosion and elevated temperatures. Corrosion accelerates wear by chemically degrading the steel surface, compromising its structural integrity. Thanks to its advanced steel chemistry, Hardox® HiAce maintains its surface integrity and core hardness significantly longer than conventional wear steels, resulting in a more predictable and extended service life. In addition, Hardox® HiAce withstands operating temperatures of up to at least 400°C, reducing the detrimental effects of sudden temperature spikes and helping to preserve wear performance in demanding applications.
How can mines reduce their Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) by partnering with the official Hardox® Wearparts center in Mongolia (ZME LLC)?
ZME deliver ready-to-install, custom-cut wear components tailored to specific equipment geometry. This eliminates the need for mines to tie up capital in extensive raw material inventories, as the required wear parts are stocked locally. Second, direct procurement through our certified partner eliminates the risk of counterfeit steel contamination, lowering long-term maintenance costs.
How would you evaluate your current partnership with ZME LLC, your official local partner in Mongolia?
To deliver premium technology up to global standards, collaboration with competent local engineers who understand the regional mining landscape is critical. The service life of Hardox® depends heavily on correct workshop processing, including proper cutting and welding techniques. Through ZME, we offer custom-tailored steel grades optimized for Mongolia's harshest operations. Their local experts understand our products and their performance, enabling mines to achieve higher productivity and tangible cost savings. We highly value this partnership and the benefits it brings to our customers.
Your company is a pioneer in joining SSAB’s official “Hardox Wear Parts Center” network. How long have you been operating in the Mongolian market?
ZME established the official Hardox Wear Parts Center in Ulaanbaatar in 2014, and we are now in our 12th year of continuous operation. Our core focus is utilizing SSAB’s premium steel to develop advanced, high-value-add wear solutions locally in Mongolia. By integrating into this global network, we gain direct access to world-class engineering expertise and technical support from SSAB, allowing us to seamlessly implement global best practices. Furthermore, to better serve our clients, we expanded our operations this year by opening a new facility in the Khanbogd sum of Umnugovi province. This localized expansion enables us to provide rapid, on-site engineering and custom wear designs directly to the Oyu Tolgoi and Tavan Tolgoi mining clusters.
During the seminar, the issue of counterfeit steel was strongly emphasized. How severe is this risk in the domestic market?
The influx of uncertified, counterfeit steel falsely marketed as “Hardox” is currently one of the most critical challenges facing the industry. Some intermediary trading firms supply these low-grade materials to secure open tenders based on lower pricing. When mines install these counterfeit components, it results in premature wear, brittle fractures, and severe operational failure.
To mitigate these risks, procurement must be routed exclusively through certified centers like ZME. The true advantage of genuine Hardox lies in its consistent core hardness. Unlike inferior alternatives, Hardox maintains its nominal hardness from the surface through to the absolute center of the plate, allowing planning engineers to accurately project equipment wear cycles and optimize preventative maintenance schedules.
Which major domestic projects and mining operations are you currently collaborating with?
Our primary customer is Oyu Tolgoi LLC. We are deeply involved in their underground mine development, manufacturing, and supplying critical wear components, including structural pillar guards, ore pass liners, chute assemblies, ventilation ducting, and truck loading station liners fabricated from premium Hardox steel. In the open-pit sector, we support major operators in the Tavan Tolgoi basin, such as industry leader Thiess Mongolia LLC, who regularly procures custom-cut Hardox and Strenx components. Additionally, we provide complete wear packages, transfer chutes, and grizzly bars to precious metal operations like Erdene Mongol, alongside bucket overhaul and line boring services for gold mines in the Zaamar region.
How do you define your strategic objectives for the next 5 to 10 years?
Our primary strategic objective is to pioneer advanced, high-tech manufacturing within Mongolia, ensuring that industrial value remains domestic. Rather than relying entirely on imported ready-made components, Mongolian engineers should drive local production capabilities. To support this vision, we partnered with SSAB’s subsidiary, XMOR®, to manufacture next-generation excavator buckets ranging from 30 to 150 tons right here in Mongolia.
Additionally, in collaboration with Australia’s Goldmont, we have successfully launched local production of underground LHD buckets specifically optimized for Sandvik machinery using Hardox steel. Moving forward, we will continue to provide mines with world-class engineering support to effectively resolve severe wear challenges and minimize their Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
How does SSAB evaluate the market potential and technical requirements of the Mongolian mining sector?
The sheer scale and operational complexity of the Oyu Tolgoi mine alone underscore the high demand for our advanced high strength and abrasion resistant steels. Beyond this, Mongolia hosts numerous large-scale coal and mineral operations. To provide high-level technical support to this massive market, we are committed to continually expanding our strategic collaboration with ZME, our certified local partner (Hardox Wearpart Center).
By upgrading mill liners and wear plates to Hardox, how many times can mines extend the service life of their equipment?
It depends largely on the operational environment and ore characteristics. For instance, under some specific circumstances, upgrading from standard AR 450 to Hardox 500 can yield a 50% increase in wear life, while further upgrading to Hardox 600 can triple the service life. Conducting a thorough site assessment and implementing the right engineering solution always result in substantial cost savings.
How does Hardox and Strenx steel reduce equipment deadweight?
When substituting conventional steel with premium grades like Hardox or Strenx, we can apply an engineering rule of thumb and SSAB’s proprietary calculation software. For example, upgrading from mild steel to Strenx 700 allows a thickness reduction of up to 30% without compromising structural integrity. With strong technical support from SSAB’s Knowledge Service Center, we can help analyze existing equipment designs and make upgrading suggestions. Reducing the weight of a truck body or excavator bucket directly increases its net payload and lowers the fuel consumption, which will drive mining productivity to its peak.
What is the primary objective of your team’s current visit to Mongolia and the Oyu Tolgoi mine?
Our main objective is to strengthen our collaboration with ZME, our official local wear solutions partner, and Oyu Tolgoi, our valued end-user. SSAB’s global strategy focuses on delivering direct value and optimized technical solutions on-site through reliable local partners. On this trip, I am accompanied by our product manager and technical director. Our goal is to share global expertise with local mining engineers, ensuring they know exactly where and how to apply our products to maximize operational efficiency and get the highest return on investment.
The world is rapidly moving toward sustainable development and a green transition. When can Mongolian mines expect to adopt SSAB’s carbon-free “Green Steel”?
By 2027, we expect Mongolian mining companies will have access to SSAB’s next generation of low-emission steels. Our Oxelösund facility in Sweden is transitioning to EAF-based production and will be commissioned in 2027, enabling us to offer our entire product range with substantially lower emissions. At the same time, SSAB has already launched SSAB Zero™ in North America, demonstrating that low-emission steel is no longer a future concept. As mining companies increasingly focus on decarbonization, we look forward to supporting Mongolia’s green transition with steel solutions that help reduce emissions without compromising performance.
In high-impact underground mining environments, such as ore passes and chutes, what specific wear solutions does Hardox offer?
Our leading solution for these environments is Hardox® 500 Tuf.
The key advantage of Hardox 500 Tuf is that it combines high Brinell hardness with guaranteed impact toughness. Higher hardness delivers superior wear resistance and longer equipment life, while toughness is essential to prevent cracking and structural failures under repeated impact. In mining applications such as ore passes and chutes, both properties are equally important.
Hardox 500 Tuf provides the best of both worlds, exceptional wear life together with outstanding crack resistance, helping mining companies reduce maintenance costs and improve operational reliability.
What are the tangible economic benefits of utilizing XMOR® buckets in open-pit mining operations?
When mines combine our premium Hardox and Strenx steels with the innovative XMOR® engineering design, they can drastically reduce the deadweight of their equipment. This reduction maximizes the net payload capacity. As a result, hauling productivity increases significantly because trucks can move substantially more ore per trip. This allows mining operations to recover their initial investment rapidly and optimize their overall fleet efficiency.
In regions like Mongolia, which experience extreme seasonal temperature drops, how resilient is Hardox steel against severe wear and high impact during winter?
Extreme cold is one of the ultimate tests of wear steel performance. Not all quenched and tempered steels are able to maintain toughness when temperatures fall well below freezing. Hardox is different. Through a lean chemistry, exceptionally clean steel, and world-class manufacturing processes, Hardox delivers outstanding toughness and crack resistance even in severe sub-zero conditions.