SURFACE DRILLING
Sandvik’ s DR412iE in action at a customer site
serviceability and component access; better lifecycle flexibility( power source, automation level, future upgrades). Importantly, modularisation aligns well with fleet standardisation strategies, allowing customers to deploy similar platforms across different power and automation configurations while keeping training and parts commonality high.
Q Have the new iE Series drills now been fully tested and validated at your facilities and with customer?
As part of Sandvik’ s new product development process, the iE series drills were tested in the factory and then field validation was completed at a customer site in Mongolia. There were extensive tests conducted by the product development team along with customer operators to ensure the product functionalities were completely validated. Along with this field testing, the rig was sent to test pit at Tampere, Finland for verifying automation capabilities.
Q Have you made any further progress in planning to incorporate battery or fuel cell power into your large rotary rigs such as initially for tramming( and in that example, being able to unplug cable rigs and tram them under battery power)?
We continue to progress development concepts around hybrid power solutions, particularly for non drilling functions such as tramming. One practical and highly relevant use case is enabling cable electric rigs to disconnect and tram under battery power, improving operational flexibility and safety. While these solutions are not yet commercialised at scale, the architecture of the iE platform has been designed to accommodate future battery or fuel cell integration as technology maturity and customer demand converge.
Q: AutoMine for the iE Series is already available, can you comment if the final piece of managing the cable reel autonomously has now also been done so that they can operate a full pattern with no intervention? Are there any examples of AutoMine iE rigs now operating with customers?
Cable management is an important piece of the puzzle with iE series drills to enable autonomous operation. Sandvik is working on the following principles to make the iE series drills fully
autonomous in collaboration with a few universities. Intelligent cable orchestration uses autonomous tension controlled reels and robotic stinger arms to dynamically position and protect the power umbilical during drill movement. Embedded sensor arrays- including tension, angular displacement, vibration, and real time insulation diagnostics- stream continuous health data into the drill’ s control architecture. AI driven cable aware navigation models cable geometry, predicts future cable paths, and constrains drill motion to safe, optimised corridors. Synchronised motion – reel control uses closed loop algorithms to modulate tram speed and cable payout with millisecond precision. Autonomous safety logic executes predictive slowdowns, controlled halts, or power isolation when cable behaviour deviates from expected patterns, ensuring uninterrupted high duty drilling cycles. We will be partnering with a customer to deploy the proof of concept for field validation.
Q Are you seeing greater demand from mining customers to use a mix of large rotary and the upper size classes of boom drills eg DP1600i / DI650i to bring more flexibility etc? How do the boom drills and large rotary drills complement each other?
Mining customers are increasingly choosing mixed fleets of large rotary drills and boom drills to boost flexibility across changing ground conditions. Rotary drills deliver fast, consistent production on large patterns, while boom drills excel in tighter spaces and presplit applications. Together, they create a smarter, more adaptable drilling strategy, improving fragmentation, reducing delays, and maximising overall fleet productivity. With modern autonomy and data integration, both drill types now operate within the same digital ecosystem, giving mines a future ready, high performance drilling solution. Sandvik rotary and boom drills set a new standard in productivity and innovation. With their modular design and unified SICA control system, operators can effortlessly move between units, streamlining workflow and maximising efficiency. The universal operator station paves the way for smooth integration with the AutoMine solution, empowering businesses to unlock advanced automation and expand their technology capabilities like never before.
56 International Mining | MAY 2026