SURFACE DRILLING
later . Currently , actual information about the rock is not found until late in the process causing inefficiencies in the mining operation . Solving the needs and problems of a lack of important drilling information would lead to efficiency throughout the entire mining operation . Every stage of the mining life cycle could benefit with knowing the details of the ground being excavated . Sandvik digital solutions solve the problem by gathering , calculating ( when needed ), and logging the information through our drilling and office digital solutions . Then making this interface available to 3rd party solutions across the mine life cycle via direct data access , APIs , or other 3rd party integrations .”
Over the past year , Sandvik has also devoted a large effort in developing its digital solutions . Subbiah : “ With all of our digital solutions , the data is collected through our iDrill onboard automation and digital technology ( a component of all iSeries drilling solutions ) ensuring that we are able to provide a single source of truth . In the past , data capable solutions were a nice to have . In today ’ s market , it ’ s a requirement . Every customer wants accessibility to the data for their reporting needs and integrations to a third party solution . The ultimate goal is faster feedback so that adjustments can be made as needed to meet mining targets and corporate goals .”
The area of improvement differs from operation to operation ; and that ’ s the beauty of Sandvik ’ s data approach , says Harris . With the abundance and variety of data that it provides , mining operations are able to strategise and prioritise their improvement initiatives . “ One of our customers were able to utilise the data provided and the capability of our iSeries drilling solution to justify utilising a smaller class of drill rig at an operation known to use larger electric rigs . In addition , this customer was able to reduce their hole size and pattern design which provided massive drill and blast cost savings . With other customers , we have plans to utilise our measurement while drilling data to assist them with optimising their blast . Customers with a maintenance focus are utilising the alarm and sensor data from our iSeries drilling solutions to improve availability . Through our office solutions we are able to provide operations with all alarm data without traveling to the drilling solution . In addition , Sandvik ’ s factory experts are able to connect remotely to provide our customers an extra pair of hands and eyes capable of monitoring our iSeries drilling solutions .”
Harris says this is just a small subset of examples of how its customers are taking advantage of digital solutions . “ There are also countless of other examples with our customers utilising our third party integration capability onboard the drilling rigs and in the office to integrate with other third party solutions and improve operational efficiency .”
What about automation developments ? Sandvik ’ s latest developments include functionality and features to increase the efficiency of its scalable automation platform . Harris : “ The automation platform begins with groundbreaking onboard operator assist automation within our iDrill onboard automation , and helps customers with the transformation to a fully autonomous drilling operation through our AutoMine ® Surface Drilling solutions . In 2022 , Sandvik developed the new AutoMine ® Surface Operator Station . The solution , which was demonstrated during Sandvik ’ s Innovation in Mining Customer Event in September 2022 , provides operations the ability to remotely control a blasthole drill and a boom drill from the same operator station . During the event , Sandvik experts remotely operated two surface drill rigs from a single AutoMine ® Surface Operator Station . One was a blasthole drill in Alachua , Florida , US . The other was a DI650i boom drill in Tampere , Finland . The distance between the two rigs was more than 8,000 km .”
Also in 2022 , Sandvik developed a drilling monitoring solution that it says will give customers the ability to track the efficiency of , and assist with the change management of , customers switching from onboard automation to remote-control room automation . “ This development begins onboard our iSeries drilling rigs , where we are able to track the usage and productivity gained while operating Sandvik automation solutions .”
In addition , in September 2022 , Sandvik and FLANDERS agreed to develop a Digital Interface between FLANDERS ’ ARDVARC ® Autonomous Drill System and Sandvik iSeries rotary blasthole drills . The development of this digital interface is a direct response to growing customer demand for agnostic automation systems in surface mining , the pair say . The digital interface will enable the operation of Sandvik rotary drills via the ARDVARC system with no modification to the drill rig , effectively a plug-and-play solution that allows for easy deployment of Sandvik drills to mine sites . This open-architecture approach simplifies the installation and commissioning process while ensuring the customer retains OEM warranty and aftermarket support .
Moving to crawler drills , at CONEXPO-CONAGG 2023 in March , Sandvik unveiled its latest top hammer drilling innovation , the Ranger DX910i , the new flagship model of the updated Ranger DXi rig family , which it says delivers the largest coverage area , superior hole size range , advanced automation , a versatile range of rock drills and completely new , unique and efficient rock tools .
The Ranger DXi family is known for its superior drilling coverage area of 55 m 2 and other benefits like excellent mobility , comfortable cabin with straightforward , simple controls , fuel economy and advanced automation options . Covering a broad range of applications from mining to quarrying and construction , these rigs “ excel in production drilling , pre-split drilling , bolting , pipeline drilling , road construction , as well as foundation drilling in the booming wind power sector .”
Sandvik ’ s Ranger DXi family also represents the first surface drills compatible with the My Sandvik Productivity telematics solution , securing equipment efficiency with detailed health and utilisation data . Fleet performance can be monitored through easy-to-use dashboards , or by integrating with external systems through an API . Wireless transfer of drilling plans and hole data are included for precision drilling with Sandvik ’ s TIM3D navigation system . In addition , a new Open Drill Interface will allow third party navigation or fleet management systems to work seamlessly with Ranger DXi drills .
Sandvik ’ s battery concept drill rig
One of the innovative machines Sandvik showcased at last year ’ s Innovation in Mining customer event in Tampere , Finland , attended by IM , was its fully electric concept rig , based on the compact Commando DC300Ri top hammer drill rig .
Sandvik says the concept drill rig is essentially a versatile R & D platform for demonstrating the most advanced , but nevertheless proven and validated , sustainability technologies that are already in use or coming soon on underground drill rigs and loaders . The concept rig is rubber tyred , utilises lithium batteries and uses a plugin charger . It is also cabless and is operated via teleremote line of sight technology .
In quarrying adjacent to urban areas or on large construction sites you typically have plug in charging available . This particular rig also has a back-up diesel genset in case there is a temporary situation when plug in charging is not possible . It has rubber tyres as in the types of markets where it is operating you don ’ t need the extra traction from crawlers but it can still negotiate quite rough terrain . The rig has already been trialled by contractor Norrbottens Bergteknik and has recently moved on to another customer for additional testing . The typical power levels on a rig of this size also allow a feasible full battery solution today . And it is worth remembering that the duty cycles of these sites are very different to mining so therefore there are much lower power demands .
IM sat down with Lauri Laihanen , Vice President , R & D and Product Management , Surface Drilling Division at Sandvik to better
International Mining | APRIL 2023