SURFACE DRILLING drill from the ROS , so they can see what ' s in the area and what the machine is doing while it ' s drilling and while it ’ s moving ,” Biernat says . “ This all contributes to a requirement for a mature network with strong connectivity and low latency throughout the mine ." In addition to the safety benefits of autonomous operations , drill controllers operating from the ROS have reported feeling less physical fatigue as they are able to take more breaks while the drills continue autonomous operations .
How are Caterpillar customers approaching autonomy on drills ? Biernat answers : “ By factoring it into their plans and innovation roadmaps . When mining companies buy a machine today , they want to make sure that the asset is adaptable for some level of autonomy in the future . The major mining houses , and the major contractors , know where they want to go : full autonomy , or at least the ability to get there . MineStar Command for drilling offers customers a scalable approach to autonomy allowing customers to gain experience with autonomy by starting their journey with OMA and eventually maturing to full autonomy .”
Mining companies are also seeing autonomy as an enabler to upskill and maintain their employees . “ Technology , like autonomy , is exciting for employees to be a part of , and it has increased employee engagement as well as job satisfaction ,” says Biernat . He adds : “ The medium and small miners also know they ' re going to need to go there as well at some point but may not have an exact timeline of when to begin the journey . So , it ' s very important for those customers to have a machine that has Drill Assist on board and the ability for plug-and-play Terrain for drilling or Command for drilling .”
Biernat points out that the successful implementation of autonomous drilling takes a lot more than the right hardware and software . “ It involves a lot of procedural change and change management ,” he says . “ Discussions are held about what ' s needed in the back office ; what ' s needed for hardware and processing power ; plus protocols and guidelines on how they are actually going to run and manage an autonomous drilling project .”
“ Even for larger mining companies , which might have anywhere from 10 to 20 operations globally - each one of those operations will be slightly different , working under different constraints , with various networks and ages of drills . So , at some level the autonomy approach will vary from site to site depending on a range of factors .”
Fortunately , working with Caterpillar and Cat MineStar Solutions goes a long way to helping companies address these additional challenges , Biernat says . “ We ’ ve been successfully providing autonomy solutions - from drilling to dozing to
fully autonomous haulage - for about a decade . But the value we add goes way beyond those things ,” he says . “ That ’ s because we ’ re also an original equipment manufacturer and we understand mining conditions , and the types of applications where these systems will be operating . And we also understand the operational challenges that come with these very complex sites .”
Every MineStar component and software solution is heavily tested , validated and built for mining . In addition , the company takes a proactive approach to protect connected machines and the data they provide . Scott also points out the value of the expertise and support provided by Cat dealers , independent businesses comprising the largest , most experienced dealer network in the industry . “ Cat dealer support includes things like on-site implementation and training , designing infrastructure , helping develop the necessary processes and even working alongside customers in their change management initiatives . All of these things combine to make it possible for our customers to accelerate improvements in safety and productivity - and more rapidly get a return on their investment .”
Sandvik ’ s iSeries reaching new levels
The latest blasthole drilling news from Sandvik Mining & Rock Solutions is that it is about to launch a new iSeries drill specifically targeted at the iron and copper markets , especially those at higher altitudes with a maximum hole diameter of 13.75 in in a single pass rotary configuration . This new class of rig Global Product Manager Nellaiappan Subbiah told IM has increased pull down , weight on bit and rotary torque compared to the already highly successful DR412i and is currently available as a diesel option , however work on an electric iSeries drill rig is underway .
A new Sandvik iSeries drill , building on the successful DR412i but targeted at the iron and copper markets , will soon be launched
The rig is a combination of latest iSeries technology and a proven platform for increasing the hole accuracy and machine longevity .
On the subject of technology , how have Sandvik data analytics systems for drills specifically evolved in recent years ? Sandvik ’ s Demetre Harris , Product Manager - Automation & Technology told IM : “ Our iSeries drilling solutions were designed with data analytics and automation as key focuses . Of course , productivity and availability are our core objective with the design of all of our drilling solutions . Today is no different ; and the data analytics and automation capabilities of our iSeries drilling solutions allow us to provide mining operations an additional edge . The data is not only utilised to provide mining operations accurate results and a means of measuring success ; but data analytics allows Sandvik to provide our customers with additional value . With data analytics , not only are we able to provide results ; but we are able to improve efficiency , productivity , and maintainability of our drilling solutions as well as the entire mining value stream .”
The company says improvements related to drilling and blasting are easy to fathom . Subbiah comments : “ The availability of data helps ensure that onboard automation functionality are more efficient thus productive ; and the availability of health data to maintenance specialists provides mining operations and Sandvik the ability to diagnose , predict , and prevent component failure prior to any major breakdowns . As for drilling data analytics and their benefit across the entire mining value stream , we often have to explain the relationship . The value is huge but not as direct .”
Harris adds : “ The current need and problem is the lack of drilling data available to other processes to help improve processes sooner than
APRIL 2023 | International Mining