ABB today announced the launch of Grinding Connect, a new digital service suite for mining companies operating gearless mill drive (GMD) systems. Available globally, the new suite is designed to improve visibility across critical grinding assets, reducing unplanned equipment downtime and supporting more efficient maintenance planning at a time when mines face growing pressure to maintain throughput and reliability.
With demand for critical minerals expected to triple by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency, mining companies are under pressure to scale and stabilize the production of critical materials. Continuous performance and reliability of large grinding circuits are critical to plant output, with unplanned downtime estimated to cost up to $500,000 an hour according to ABB research.
Grinding Connect is developed to address the need for more remote expert support, maintenance and continuous performance, through a single cloud-based service suite built specifically for ABB GMD systems. The suite leverages ABB’s knowledge from more than 160 GMD projects worldwide, which is combined with secure cloud analytics and service workflows to allow users to view system conditions, access service records, submit service requests, and interact with ABB expert support through one platform.
The service suite brings together digital solutions that ABB has introduced to the market over recent years, including Asset Health and Condition Monitoring analytics, Trendex diagnostics and troubleshooting as well as GMD Copilot, ABB’s AI‑powered virtual support assistant. Within Grinding Connect, mining operators can access prescriptive maintenance recommendations, supported by more than 180 trend signals as well as alarms, events, transient recording integration and signal correlation.
The platform is also designed to provide anomaly detection, frozen-signal detection and smart notifications, alongside recommended actions from ABB experts to support continued operation. By supporting remote diagnostics and expert collaboration, the suite reduces the need for reactive on-site intervention, helping service teams to prioritize actions more effectively.
“Mining operators are looking for practical ways to improve availability, reduce response times and make better-informed decisions for the maintenance of production-critical assets,” said Mikel Torre, Global Business Unit Manager Grinding, ABB’s Process Industries division. “Grinding Connect brings ABB’s service and GMD system knowledge into one digital environment, meaning users can work with a complete view of asset condition, service history and expert support. Only with this level of visibility will operators make progress towards the industry transition to increasingly autonomous, more efficient mining operations.”
Grinding Connect has been developed in line with ABB cybersecurity standards and IEC 62443-related product development practices, including penetration testing during verification. It is available globally for mining customers using ABB gearless mill drive systems