JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Three years ago Mining Weekly reported on Anglo American being involved with emission-free taxis driving around the German city of Berlin and the hope was expressed that the same could be done with South Africa’s enormous taxi fleet as Toyota was also involved.

Now a media release just received states that MMD Group, a global manufacturer of material sizing and handling systems, has signed an agreement with Anglo American, giving MMD the intellectual property rights to TraxIQ, a system-level materials handling solution, originally developed by the mining company.   

MMD Group, a global manufacturer of material sizing and handling systems, has signed an agreement with Anglo American, giving MMD the intellectual property rights to TraxIQ, a system-level materials handling solution, originally developed by the mining company. 

As the geopolitical and macroeconomic landscape puts pressure on energy costs and supply chains within all industries –  including mining – TraxIQ represents a new approach to materials handling which improves productivity, lowers emissions, and reduces total cost per tonne.

As owner of the TraxIQ IP, MMD will be able to lead the industrialisation, commercialisation, and global deployment of TraxIQ, which may also include collaboration opportunities with Anglo American where appropriate.  

With global mineral and metal demand continuing to accelerate, the mining industry is under increasing pressure to manage complexity while adopting new approaches to improve productivity, lower emissions, and reduce total cost per tonne. TraxIQ represents an ambitious new model for materials handling. Its system-level architecture is designed to support scalable deployment across diverse mining environments, integrating modular vehicle architecture, advanced energy-management strategies, and integrated autonomous control systems. 

MMD’s Centre of Excellence in the Isle of Man is working on industrialisation and product development, drawing on its global engineering, manufacturing, and materials-handling capabilities. The company will also be working with select industry partners to deliver phased pilot deployment and validation in operational environments. 

“TraxIQ forms a core component of our intelligent movement portfolio. Our established global footprint and deep domain expertise in materials handling and mining integration, make us best placed to bring vision to the market,” MMD Group director Martin Vorster explained.