While there is been a lot of focus on rapid advances being made by Chinese OEMs in surface mining truck autonomy and green powertrains including all battery electric and hybrid, a lot of progress is also underway in China with intelligent drilling solutions. To gather more insight, IM Editorial Director Paul Moore reached out to Zhejiang Kaishan Heavy Industry, part of Kaishan Group – a Quzhou, Zhejiang company that is one of the leaders in the Chinese market but with a sizeable and growing overseas presence.
The company says it is a professional high-tech enterprise with 70 years of experience in the R&D, production, and sales of high-end drilling and blasting equipment. Adhering to the principle of independent innovation, it told IM it is “committed to becoming a leading advanced equipment manufacturer with proprietary intellectual property rights, cutting-edge core technologies, and state-of-the-art high-end manufacturing capabilities.”
With the support of a robust global sales and service network, the company has also established six overseas subsidiaries in key markets such as Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Peru, Australia and South Africa. The company adds: “We have also built a solid global distribution network, comprising over 60 authorised local distributors that cover major mining regions worldwide. Thanks to reliable product quality and localised after-sales service, our products have received positive feedback and are exported to more than 90 countries and regions, laying a solid foundation for our long-term international market expansion and global brand influence.”
Looking at its latest solutions in surface rigs, the i-series intelligent DTH drilling rig, such as the pictured KT15i, are equipped with an RTK positioning instrument, LiDAR and an on-board intelligent terminal, matched with a self-developed intelligent control system. Kaishan says it can import hole layout coordinates to realise centimetre-level precise positioning and support full-automatic drilling within designated areas, built with adaptive anti-jamming drilling and drilling data logging functions. Supported by 5G remote central control, single operators can remotely control multiple units simultaneously, and all drilling data can be interconnected with the mine intelligent platform.
It is mainly deployed in large-scale open-pit mines and has been delivered in significant numbers to coal mines in Xinjiang Province, meaning only patrol personnel are required on-site, drastically cutting staffing at high-risk posts, optimising blasting consumables and boosting ore recovery efficiency.
Moving to underground jumbos, the KJ311i and KJ212i intelligent drilling rigs adopt a self-developed ADS intelligent control system integrated with laser scanning, multi-dimensional sensors, infrared intrusion detection, automatic fire suppression and other functional modules.
The equipment can automatically level the vehicle body, generate a digital model of the roadway via 3D scanning, automatically verify hole position interference and work out the optimal drilling path, executing autonomous rock drilling while recording drilling data in real time. Kaishan underground rigs use premium hydraulic rock drills from Komatsu-owned Montabert including the HC50, HC95 and HC109.
Three operation modes are available: on-site automatic mode, manual mode and remote central control mode. One-click execution covers levelling, scanning, navigation and full drilling procedures. Kaishan: “Operators can remotely control multiple units from the ground central control room, slashing on-site staffing by 60% and eliminating hazards including underground toxic gas and roof collapse risks. Standardised drilling greatly improves roadway forming flatness and reduces support costs, adaptable to roadways of various cross-sections in all types of underground mines.”
Finally, for underground production rigs, Kaishan’s KS313i intelligent mining drilling rig also features the self-developed ADS intelligent control system, which automatically completes drilling operations at arbitrary coordinates and angles within fan-shaped faces, including hole navigation, hole initiation, flexible parameter adjustment, auxiliary hole flushing, drill pipe connection & disassembly and depth control. It delivers highly accurate hole positions and angles to enhance blasting performance for mines.
All these series of equipment deliver low-manpower/unmanned intelligent operation, with integrated hardware & software delivered as a complete package. All data can be interconnected with comprehensive mine management platforms. The open pit rigs focus on digital transformation of open-pit mining; while the underground rigs prioritise intrinsic safety for mine roadway development. The full product line meets the intelligent upgrading demands of all mine types including metallic, industrial minerals and coal.