SURFACE DRILLING
own technology within Komatsu Mining , we are also leveraging the possibilities of Phoenix AI in our market and our system development ."
Finally , in addition to the 77XR and 320XPC there is an in-between size class under development , a diesel-powered rotary or DTH model , which is soon to be launched and will also be fully autonomous ready . This machine can be configured for rotary or DTH drilling , diesel or electric power , and single- or multipass drilling . " Following our path of innovation on drills , this new model will have similar Dantotsu features that made our other models well received in the mining market . This new drill also represents the greater ability of Komatsu as we differentiate ourselves on being able to provide total solutions for customers ."
Sandvik advancing AutoMine Surface Drilling platform
Sandvik Mining & Rock Solutions has been progressing on multiple fronts with its rotary blasthole drill rig technologies and product line over the past year , despite the pandemic . Regarding the fully autonomous capable iSeries drills , the DR412i stepped up a gear , moving from tests at the company test quarry near the factory in Alachua , Florida , to a mining customer site where it outperformed some competitor machines . A second DR412i was released to the Minnesota Iron Range mines fitted with Sandvik Rotary tooling – that unit set some new records for the mine – including over 1,000 ft drilled in a shift . Demetre Harris , Sandvik Rotary Drills Division Product Manager – Automation told IM : “ It was also shown to be the most productive drill versus the competitor models on site . It utilised our new adaptive autodrill function tailored to the site ’ s strata and ground parameters . In general , we also find that our chain feed design provides a very uniform pressure which boosts productivity & and really assists the Autodrill functionality to perform well . That customer purchased a second unit and is looking to buy more .”
Harris adds : “ There ’ s a lot of interest around the autonomous capabilities of our iSeries drill rigs . In addition to the DR412i , a DR410i autonomous rig is due to go to a minesite in April / May 2021 . It will start with teleremote operation then be equipped with the same full automation functionality as the DR412i .” The autonomous capable DR412i Harris said is now commercially available and discussions are underway with a number of interested potential customers . “ Added to that most new tenders for blasthole drills from mining majors are citing full autonomy capability but also intelligent drills and what that means in terms of data capture . But autonomy is a big leap for many operations – it can ’ t be done overnight . Sandvik works with the mine to develop an implementation plan that encompasses change management required on operational safety , shift changes management , how they maintain the drills , different prestart processes and many other factors . Many are not ready now but want the functionality for when they are .”
Harris said its iSeries drills are interoperable and work is being done to ensure they can work with multiple fleet management system ( FMS ) platforms to ensure the onboard analytics can feed straight into the FMS . So far this has been achieved with one of the major global FMS packages which has been recently trialed and tested . With others , work is still ongoing .
They also can work with different networks but with minimum requirements – where a site doesn ’ t meet these , Sandvik works with Rajant ’ s
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In terms of training for autonomous drill operators , and training of IROC-based autodrill controllers - the surface drilling teams have also been able to learn a lot from what the underground divisions have already been doing for some years . The surface automation capability is also still branded as an Automine solution – referred to as Automine Surface Drilling which covers both teleremote and automated operation . Rob Ewanow , Marketing Manager for the Rotary Drilling Division at Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions told IM : “ That is one of the things we will be emphasising with AutoMine and OptiMine going forward is the commonality between
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APRIL 2021 | International Mining 29