Demand Creates Supply: What Market Trends Has the MiningWorld-2022 Shown?

MiningWorld 2022, the largest event in the CIS for the mining equipment users, has brought together 200 companies from 19 countries this year. During the three days of the exhibition, Mining Element's stand attendants got an up-to-date picture of the demand trends that will further help them develop the most understocked, as the result of the imposed sanctions, areas.

Import substitution is needed everywhere

Representatives of such large holdings as Alrosa, Norilsk Nickel, SUEK, Polyus, Eurochem have been looking for the replacements of the conveyor belts and components previously made by OEMs that had left the Russian market. Element corrugated belts have been met with great enthusiasm in the Conveyor Belts and Components category. The company is one of the few domestic producers of belts that fastens buckets by method of hot vulcanization, which allows the structure to serve up to three years.

“Many visitors were also interested in drum liners and scrapers. Element cleaners are similar to those that have left the market (MARTIN and Metso). Remma-Grip is also unavailable in Russia now - and they were the main manufacturer of drum linings, especially rubber-ceramic ones. After the exhibition, Mining Element will start stockpiling these parts,” shared Andrey Gulyaev, the Category Manager.

The bearings have been the highlight of the program. Absolutely everyone is in need of the industrial parts for all types of the equipment. With the departure of Timken, SKF, FAG and other manufacturers Mining Element has become the brand that can save businesses from downtime with its wide network of trusted suppliers.

The crushing equipment owners also turned out to be the import substitution followers. Businesses are urgently looking for the suppliers of wear and spare parts for relatively rare crusher brands.

“Dozens of visitors are now desperately looking for the suppliers of Terex, Telsmidth. There are many alternatives for Metso and Sandvik. But parts for the less popular brands are in high demand, ”shared Tatyana Shayer, Crushing and Sorting Category Manager.

In addition, with the departure of Metso, the supply of shock-absorbing lining compounds has decreased, so NovaTHOR epoxy compound proved to be an excellent option for import substitution.

As for the slurry pump parts market, inquiries from the exhibition visitors have shown that finding reliable Metso's pump parts suppliers is also crucial. Mining Element intends to further expand the range of parts of the brand in its warehouses, and also agreed to travel for scanning the customers’ production sites.

Non-standard solutions are essential

The Mining Element team unexpectedly surprised the customers with the statement that the wearing parts of the mills can and should be upgraded. In fact, the mill lining is a tailor-made project in 90% of the cases. Having our own design department allows us to offer the original solutions that will make this expensive wear part lighter and cheaper, while also increasing its operation life period.

Wear-resistant materials for the transfer and reloading devices were another hit of the exhibition. An exhibition sample of a bunker lined with six types of plates has been demonstrated at the company stall. Olga Stepuk, Wear-resistant Materials Category Manager, noted that the sample has illustrated the use of wear-resistant materials and the use of all available forms of fastening in real-life conditions.

“We took into account all possible forms of fastening - bolt connection, electric rivets, glue, studs. It was very visually informative. For example, those who have never used rubber-ceramic material have learned that the plate can be pinned to the hopper with a stud. It turns out that many were cautious to buy this material, because they did not understand how to apply it. They have been shown with the help of the sample that the slab can be placed on a steel substrate, to which a stud is welded,” Stepuk told.

According to her, there was equal interest in all types of wear protection, since each solves its specific task: whether it is protection against impact, sticking or increased abrasive wear. The most effective solution allowing to optimize costs is a combined lining, when different areas of the bunker are lined with different types of materials.

“For example, with certain wear characteristics we can offer to place the bimetal on the shock load zone, and cover everything else around with rubber-ceramics. Our customers have highly appraised such an approach at the exhibition. And as a result, we have already planned a few business trips to the customers’ working sites and technical audits with our dealers,” added the manager.

The company has also received the confirmation not only of the correctness of its course, but also of the need for a new offer of the spare parts for the drilling equipment, the surface and the underground transport. The service and engineering approach is more relevant than ever in Russia in this field, since the customers have no experience in selecting analogues of spare parts for their machines: as previously they simply used to buy the parts from the European manufacturers of the equipment.

“The hydraulics and pneumatics sectors have been hit the hardest. They need the machines that were previously produced only in Europe. China can’t offer anything even close to that. So we will have to search for the alternative suppliers very carefully,” Alexey Zubekhin commented.

In Mining Element we are aware that the departure of the Western manufacturers has become a problem for the enterprises and are ready to help them out. The exhibition helped us to formulate new tasks and goals for the nearest future. Thanks to the highly productive meetings with the customers, we now have an understanding of how to continue to form the warehouse stocks and what areas need to be developed primarily.