MINE AUTOMATION
to trial any equipment , autonomous or not . But Epiroc says Iron Bridge presented other opportunities to put this new test version of the SmartROC D65 Autonomous through its paces . The magnetite is buried in hard rock beneath metres of looser clay-like soil and then transitional earth , meaning the rig is drilling under various conditions . “ We want that ,” says Nick Howlett , an Epiroc Automation Specialist . “ It ’ s how we develop and make a good product .”
Fortescue has a reputation for being a forwardthinking mining house . It has been pursuing autonomous solutions for well over a decade ,
Epiroc and Fortescue have been working together to develop the SmartROC D65 Autonomous drill rig that Epiroc says is pushing the boundaries of autonomous mining
making it a natural partner in the SmartROC D65 Autonomous program .
Epiroc and Fortescue entered a partnership in 2021 to trial this MKII version of Epiroc ’ s SmartROC D65 Autonomous . This project followed a 2018 SmartROC D65 Autonomous MKI pilot project in Canada . A successful test would provide Fortescue with an autonomous blast drill solution and Epiroc with vital test intel under realistic mining conditions .
“ There ’ s no doubt autonomous is the way the industry ’ s going ,” says Epiroc Australia General Manager and Managing Director Wayne Sterley .
“ And that speaks to the inherent productivity , efficiency and safety gains of autonomous solutions .”
An autonomous SmartROC D65 rig ’ s advantages aren ’ t down to pure speed but tend to accumulate over time via a clever use of autonomous subsystems and the high quality and consistency of the holes it produces . “ A manual operator could maybe beat us over an hour or so , but that ’ s not what it ’ s about ,” Howlett says . “ It ’ s about consistency . When the operator goes for a break , we drill . If there ’ s blasting nearby , we drill . And our shift changes tend to be shorter . We ’ ve spent a lot of time perfecting how the rig drills autonomously , including water control , how it starts a hole , and the tricky aspects of collaring . We ’ ve also tuned it for different types of ground , with five different settings . You set these different parameters , the operator selects one and the drill gets to work .”
The SmartROC D65 Autonomous has also had an edge in pre-split drilling . At Iron Bridge , operators drilled up to 30 m at an angle , meaning it ’ s relatively easy for unintended deviations in holes . The autonomous rig was more precise in these scenarios , making for better drilling predictions and , in turn , easier drill plan adjustments . Consistency also has positive impacts on equipment life cycles , with the SmartROC D65 MKII Autonomous rig ’ s autonomous algorithms utilising components
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