GROUND SUPPORT
drilling technology and ground support to improve safety and speed of ground support installation , unlocking value for our customers .”
Being part of Sandvik will enable DSI Underground to accelerate its expansion into advanced ground support products and leverage the opportunities of integration . “ Our presence in key markets worldwide will enable Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions ’ progress as a fullservice provider within underground hard rock mining and tunnelling ,” Reich says . “ Our ground support offering can also be marketed via Sandvik ’ s expansive global sales network . It will lead to more interaction with existing customers and will support the development of our sales in , for example , Africa and India .”
DSI Underground also recently formed a dedicated subsidiary , DSI Underground SMART , to fully participate in and lead digital development . “ We have started to engage with industry partners around the world to develop digital solutions , helping to overcome challenges in ground control ,” Reich says . The new company will , for instance , soon present solutions to live-monitor ground movements and convergence underground . This will support geotechnical engineers with critical data points to make the right decisions about ground support products .
In February 2021 , DSI Underground SMART acquired Edvirt , a Swedish educational technology company that develops and delivers virtual reality and augmented reality tools to the underground mining and tunnelling industry . Simulators have become a standard tool for training miners to operate OEM equipment , but using them to train miners to install ground support in an underground environment is still relatively new . For example , Edvirt ’ s underground bolt simulator helps avoid costly mistakes involving major equipment repair or production downtime when installing ground support systems .
The DS412iE full electric bolter
Onto Sandvik ’ s latest machines , and the company gave IM some insights into its new DS412iE fully electric bolter ahead of its official MINExpo2021 launch in September . The bolter is designed for 4 m x 4 m size headings combining a safe , ergonomic working environment with high levels of automation . It is equipped with a completely new carrier , a high frequency rock drill , an intelligent control system and an ergonomic cabin . The machine is one of the battery powered machines that has been deployed at New Gold ’ s New Afton mine C-zone block cave where it has been operating successfully since February 2021 .
The Sandvik DS412iE is a highly automated , productive battery powered bolter for underground mining operations and civil construction tunnelling . The bolter is equipped with an electric driveline system including a battery package and electric motor for zero emissions while tramming . It “ avoids spreading emissions into the environment , reduces thermal load and thus requirements for ventilation capacity underground .” The i-Class platform offers various levels of automation for rock support drilling as well as a large component commonality through the 400i drill range . “ This highly instrumented equipment ensures comprehensive data collection through the entire bolting process for better rock supporting quality in drifts and tunnels .” The DS412iE features an automatic resin injection system which delivers resin bolt cycle times of less than two minutes at New Gold ’ s New Afton site .
The bolter has an intelligent power management system . The charging of the batteries can be done during the normal drilling cycle to ensure maximum tramming energy is available all the time . It can also be used to draw additional electric power for drilling from the onboard battery pack , increasing the drilling productivity without compromising the maximum peak power load taken from the mine electrics . The i-Class control system enables advanced mine automation and future teleremote solutions reducing the need for manual tasks . It allows integration with Sandvik ’ s digital offerings like iSURE ® , MySandvik Remote Monitoring Service , OptiMine ® and AutoMine ® .
While Sandvik continues to see demand for bulk resin and cartridge resin solutions for ground support applications , there has also been an increase in mechanical bolts installed using dedicated rock bolters and development drills . Ryan Pritchard , Application Specialist for Sandvik Canada notes that an MD and MDX bolts increase in popularity is driven by customers looking to combat the challenges of deep , high-stress mining - safely and effectively . By utilising a single pass approach , no resins or grouts are required , making them far easier to install . “ These bolts can be hammered straight through wet and broken ground with no complications . The time savings can be quite significant when looking atmultiple rigs over several active faces per day . The load capacity is higher than traditional methods and the longevity is increased due to the galvanised coating . Every customer who has trialled these bolts has been sold on the advantages and performance that we can offer .”
The mining industry is also seeing an uptake in bolting with development drills , specifically for projects where rapid development and reduced fleet size is required . Sandvik ’ s DD422i development drill , available with diesel or battery power , was released with a “ Dual Controls ” package in March 2021 to answer this demand and combines better drilling intelligence with readiness for multi-task usage . Benchmarked to the DD421 , the DD422i with dual controls have delivered an increase of approximately 10 % in productivity and nearly 20 % reduction in drill consumables costs at the field test site in Australia .
Epiroc ’ s epic bolter moves
The underground mining landscape has shifted dramatically in recent years , with evolving battery technology acting as a catalyst to change in the industry . As part of the ongoing effort to lead the charge on this battery electric transformation , Epiroc recently imported the first Boltec M Battery rig onto Canadian soil . The fully mechanised bolter it says is ideal for midsized tunnel profiles and is the latest addition to Epiroc ’ s growing line of Battery Electric Vehicles ( BEVs ) offering for zero-emissions mining . The shop at Epiroc ’ s Lively , Ontario facility received the rig in early 2021 and immediately began prepping it for its debut at a customer site , starting with a series of pre-delivery tests and inspections to confirm its readiness to join the operation .
Epiroc stated : “ Going beyond the benefits of standard zero-emissions equipment , this particular Boltec M Battery machine is equipped with a bulk resin system , which is a dependable solution that helps minimise unreliable bolting installations . The resin solution offers easy pumpability , fast setting times and excellent load bearing characteristics – the end result is a significantly reduced cycle time with improved safety overall . To complement its productivityboosting characteristics , the Boltec M Battery rig charges while it drills . The onboard charging system has intelligence built in that automatically prioritises bolting over charging and never allows the total power draw to exceed the rated mine supply .”
For bolt management technology , the machine has been fully equipped with bolt plan navigation , which displays all installed bolts onscreen and indicates bolt distance and row distance . With this feature , bolt positions , resin amount and other key data is logged and saved onto the rig ’ s memory file .
“ We ’ re excited to help usher in a new era of electrification in Canada with the Boltec M Battery rig ,” says Shawn Samuels , Product Manager Rocvolt Canada . “ This BEV equipment is facilitating a healthier and safer underground working environment for our customers . When you implement innovative solutions like the bulk resin system along with it , productivity increases become difficult to ignore .”
In Europe , a Boltec M Battery was deployed in
66 International Mining | AUGUST 2021