ABB has secured a contract to supply the primary grinding drive systems for Harmony Gold’s Eva Copper Mine Project in northwest Queensland, extending its position in high-power mineral processing as new copper capacity moves from feasibility into build-out.
The scope covers a 24 MW gearless mill drive for the project’s 40-foot SAG mill and an 18 MW variable-speed dual-pinion ring-geared mill drive for a 27-foot ball mill. At Eva, those two mills are expected to be the largest single power consumers on site, which makes drive efficiency and uptime central to plant economics rather than an afterthought in the electrical package.
ABB said the project will also include an eHouse engineered and manufactured in Australia to local standards and site safety requirements, while detailed delivery work is shared across teams in Australia, Finland, and Switzerland. That matters on a project where installation sequencing, compliance, and integration with the concentrator are likely to shape the pace of commissioning as much as the equipment rating itself.
Harmony moved Eva from study work into construction after a board approval in November 2025, with first production expected in the second half of 2028. The project is designed to produce about 60,000 tonnes of copper and 19,000 ounces of gold a year over a mine life of more than 15 years, which would make it one of the largest new copper developments in the region.
The timing is significant. Copper remains one of the minerals under the heaviest pressure from electrification, grid reinforcement, transport decarbonisation, and industrial build-out, while project pipelines globally are still struggling to keep pace with expected demand through the next decade. Eva is not a transformational answer to that supply gap on its own, but it is the kind of mid-scale, long-life project the market increasingly needs more of.
With front-end engineering complete and site works already advancing, Harmony is also seeking suppliers through its project supplier portal as procurement activity continues ahead of the main construction phase.
