the company ’ s incumbent CEO . First distributed in 2020 , it celebrates the best innovations within Sandvik ’ s team to have demonstrated impact for environmental , economic , or social sustainability .

The winner of this year ’ s award was a cooperation between the two Sandvik business areas : Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions , and Sandvik Machining Solutions . The teams , which consisted of Petter Nilsen , Dean Kangleas , Gary Tully , Annegret Bicherl and Thomas Zimmerl , successfully created a unique circular solution for the recycling of tungsten inserts , which are used in the production of modern mining drill bits .

“ Drill bits typically consist of more than eighty-five percent tungsten , drawn from mineral that contains less than 0.5 percent tungsten ,” Mats explains . “ As a result , a large volume of material is required for the production of each insert , of which up to 30 could be included on a single drill bit . After drilling has taken place , lots of tungsten is left inside the body of the bit , which usually goes to waste .”

But the teams at Sandvik didn ’ t take that for an answer . “ The question was , how can we separate the insert from the mining bit ?” Mats states . “ So , they bought a plasma burner

and applied heat to the drill bit , which caused the tungsten to fall out . From this , we knew it was possible , but it still wasn ’ t an effective way to retrieve the tungsten . Instead , they began looking at induction heating , and the possibility of vibrating the drill bit in order to make the tungsten fall out – which they achieved .”

With the tungsten retrieved , the challenge facing Sandvik ’ s teams was to recycle the material back into the drilling process . That ’ s where Sandvik ’ s Mining and Rock Solutions team came in . “ They ground down and refined the recycled tungsten in order to

produce tungsten and tungsten carbide powder ,” Mats notes . “ This can then be used for the production of new mining inserts , to give a circular production cycle .”

The method delivers a number of sustainability benefits . With a reduction in the use of virgin material , a greater proportion of tungsten can be supplied internally . This delivers cost savings , and reduces the need for supplier auditing . With the inserts divorced from the mining bits , outstanding steel can also be recycled locally , rather than transported across the globe . By introducing a separation process at individual mines , Sandvik also believes the solution can provide a reliable source of local employment .

“ The beauty of this is that it ’ s already working ,” Mats notes . “ It ’ s been trialed in Australia and Sweden , and we ’ re looking to extend it to other parts of the world as well .

We ’ re now developing a dedicated machine with induction heating that can be placed at the customer ’ s site to perform the separation process .”

Sandvik ’ s tungsten solution is set to reshape mining and drilling operations in the years ahead . But the manufacturing and engineering sectors can expect yet more innovation , be it new ways of capturing and deploying data , or an increasing embrace of digitization , that will pave the way for a more sustainable way of doing business . As the Sigrid Göransson Award reflects , it ’ s a future made possible thanks to the hard work and commitment of those within the industry . Or , as Mats describes them : “ a few people thinking outside of the box to discover what ’ s possible .” ■

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