Having electrified its DD422i development drill, Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology is now looking to extend its battery technology to two more of its intelligent drills: the DL422iE top hammer longhole drill and the DS412iE rock bolter.

During the Innovation in Mining virtual event this week, it came to light that the company is currently testing a battery-equipped prototype DL422iE unit in Canada ahead of a planned launch in the March quarter of 2021.

It will be joined later in 2021 by the DS412iE rock bolter which, with the existing DD422iE drill, provides a full range of electric drills for all applications; all of which offer battery-powered tramming and carry out bolting or drilling when connected to mains electric power.

These newest battery-powered vehicles are based on the DD422iE technology with intelligent control system and a wide range of automatic functions, engineered to provide top-level performance, accuracy and reliability, the company says.