IMDEX continued to advance testing of its BLASTDOG™ technology for drill and blast applications in the June quarter, with another two test sites near Brisbane, Queensland, established.
The company said it also accelerated progress with automated data and visualisation elements of the technology.
In an update almost a year ago, the company said it had carried out successful trials in Nevada, USA, and in Queensland, Australia, while it had additional trials planned in Chile and Australia in the first half of 2020.
BLASTDOG is a semi-autonomous system that helps optimise blasting based on high-resolution three-dimensional material models built from sensor data. It is aimed at helping miners get predictable fragmentation and determine ore and waste boundaries, and control vibration, dust, fumes and heave, the company says.
IMDEX is pursuing these developments as part of a METS Ignited project with Orica, Anglo American and Teck Resources.
Details of the latest BLASTDOG advancements came at the same time as the company released its 2020 financial year results.
These results showed off A$237.7 million ($171 million) of revenue for the year – with a record year-to-date revenue for the nine months ending March 31, 2020 – and EBITDA of $54.4 million.
The company said it had also seen an encouraging start to the 2020 financial year, with improving rental fleet numbers and continued strong industry fundamentals underpinning its growth.