SURFACE DRILLING
could lead to another five machines if it passes initial trials . It will be deployed initially in line of sight teleoperation then will proceed to teleoperation and finally autonomous operation .
There is also potential in the region with other customers such as Marung Development Services ( MDS ), a Botswana company which now has a contract at Debswana ’ s Orapa mine and with whom Revathi recently signed a cooperation agreement with regard to their future blasthole drill fleet requirements with a lot of potential for the C625H ( 114.3 mm to 203.2 mm ) and C615H ( 101.6mm to 152.4mm ) DTH drills .
The C625H , with which it competes for example with Epiroc ’ s FlexiROC D55 and D65 drills , is a good example of its robust offering . Naveed Shaikh , Global Sales Marketing Manager at REL said : “ It is a compact surface drill available in three formats – a standard mechanical manual package , a digital version with electronic control and finally an autonomous version , like the C650 S using FLANDERS technology . It is designed so that a maintenance worker can easily access most parts for service without any machine dismantling . It is a very robust model which has performed well in coal overburden as well as copper and zinc mines .”
While large numbers of this model are operating in India , Revathi has its first international C625H order in place MDS in South Africa which is due to be delivered in April 2021 with a second soon to follow – these are likely to be used in diamond or coal mining operations . This year the company is expecting to ship over 10 drills of various models to South Africa . In Zimbabwe there is an REL fleet at Hwange Colliery which has already been rebuilt so the customer will require new drills going forward .
REL is also looking at expanding its range into top hammer – largely due to very high demand in certain sectors such as the construction quarrying sector in the Middle East .
Elsewhere in the world REL has established dealerships in Russia through St Petersburgbased Trans Techno Market ( TTM ) which also distributes cable electric Rudgormash drills in western Russia and in Central Asia where it is working through Eurasian Machinery in Almaty , Kazakhstan , which is also a major Hitachi dealer . In a number of markets , REL is also talking to financial companies about offering blasthole drill rental options to customers as demand for this approach is increasing .
Revathi is also working on a new intelligent drill monitoring system which includes notifications to the drill owner and operator on when new parts need to be ordered as well as sensors monitoring parameters such as oil flow and pressure which also flags up any issues when set benchmarks are passed . The hardware for the system is based on a collaboration with FLANDERS and its FREEDOM for drills platform . It has been included on the C650S for Basil Read and the C625H for MDS . The intelligent system will also be able to keep track of metres drilled and reference this to daily , weekly or monthly targets .
Revathi says it is improving its spare parts offering by introducing an online portal to increase the level of automation in parts ordering . It is linked to REL ’ s in-house developed inventory management system plus is also accessible via an app which will allow service engineers to put in a part number on their smartphone while on the machine – see the part description and what is the available inventory level is both at their own facility and at the incountry dealer warehouse as well . It will also link to REL ’ s own supply chain starting at the factory in Coimbatore and its new network of distribution centres .
While automation and teleremote were formerly not that interesting to customers in India , this is changing fast , and recent tenders from major miners like Tata Steel and Adani have specified teleremote operation capability for drills . “ Safety is a much bigger concern today for Indian mining groups first and foremost . Secondly , with the machine drilling more autonomously via remote operation , there are fewer human operator related errors so the drill is more productive . Third , the machine takes less punishment in wear terms for the same reason .” Plus India is mirroring the rest of the mining world – young people prefer to work in cities or
The versatile C625H Revathi drill is now seeing a lot of interest and is included in its autonomy program
if they are onsite , are more attracted to office based roles as opposed to having to work 8 hour shifts in the pit with the exposure to dust , noise and vibration that this inevitably includes . It is also a more productive approach as one operator can monitor two or sometimes more drill rigs at the same time and there are no shift change related time losses .
The appetite for remote control and autonomous operation of drills in India is also increasing as more private operators are getting involved in mining . Mining contractors are also looking at new technology - as an example , Zyfra Mining in Russia has supplied autonomous drill technology to Thriveni Earthmovers for retrofitting its existing fleet as part of a wider digitalisation contract .
There is lastly an increasing demand for larger blasthole drills in India to provide greater economies of scale . REL in March 2021 delivered a C850 machine which is capable of drilling 311 to 349 mm diameter holes and competes with the Epiroc Pit Viper 351 , P & H 320XPC , Cat MD6640 and other machines . The customer is Coal India division Northern Coalfields ( NCL ). It is not the first REL drill of this size in India , there is a sizeable fleet already , but it is becoming a more popular choice . “ Part of the reason why our large drills like the C650 , C750 and C850 are chosen is their versatility , performing equally well in soft limestone or mudstone overburden , or in abrasive sandstone .”
IM
32 International Mining | APRIL 2021