FUTURE MINING AND UNDERGROUND AUTOMATION
kimberlite, which was challenging as no water can be used for flushing. The pilot hole also needed to be near perfectly straight. For these reasons Master Drilling pioneered using vacuum air suction and laser assisted directional steering in collaboration with Vermeer, which is typically used in civil construction.
“ Tunnel Cutting Technology seems to be the next logical step in underground mine development,” said Ben Swarts, Group Manager, Mining Projects of Petra Diamonds.“ This technology brings with it additional benefits such as improved excavation integrity and safety, better advance rates and possible downstream financial benefits. The HRB is one of the very few options currently in operation. We are optimistic about the technology and are in progress to finalise a commercial agreement to continue the use of the HRB within Petra Diamonds.”
Drilling advances
At the SME Annual Meeting, A. Chapman of Peck Tech Consulting presented A Paradigm Shift: Developing, Refining and Delivering a Mobile Localization and 3D Scanning Technology for the Underground Mining Industry noted that:“ while the surface mining industry was greatly advanced with the introduction of global positioning systems( GPS) in the 1990s, no comparable technology yet exists underground. Similarly, 3D scanning underground is an emerging field but so far has been constrained to conventional, stationary surveying set-ups.”
This presentation covered the authors’ work in developing a mobile underground positioning and mapping technology for the mining industry.“ This LIDAR-based approach has succeeded in its original goal of mine site-wide positioning with precision comparable to surface L1 GPS, and as a necessity has evolved an impressive capability for mobile 3D mapping.” The process of commercialising this technology from the initial research stage to the finished product is reviewed, including technical challenges, input from industrial partners, and results from real world use cases. Also highlighted are capabilities of the finished product’ s technology platform, and a few applications of the technology with the potential to revolutionise underground planning and production operations.
Sandvik’ s new DU412i is the first in its next generation of in-the-hole( ITH) underground production drill rigs. Automation-ready, it is built
The onboard control system of the Sandvik DU412i provides information on drilled holes such as angles, depth and penetration rate. Coupled with IREDES drill plan handling and drill diagnostics, consistent daily drill reports will improve and speed up the information that is available to engineering and operations departments. The radio remote functionalities also allow multiple units to be run from an operator command centre, from which one operator is able to run several units at the same time
on a modular standardised platform, delivering a truly flexible automated ITH longhole production and service hole drill.
Sandvik DU412i incorporates a completely new design, built on the proven Sandvik 400 range of
Mechanical
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