International mining drill automation specialists FLANDERS Electric and RC drill rig manufacturing and engineering company Tribe Technology (Tribe Tech) both based in Perth, Western Australia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to co-develop the next generation of automated reverse circulation (RC) drill rigs for resource definition in mining.

Tribe Tech has put together one of the largest dedicated drill rig design engineering teams in the world to develop a world-first completely unmanned RC drill rig, the first of which is being manufactured in Tribe Tech’s Belfast, Northern Ireland facility for their first customer McKay Drilling, a Perth based drilling contractor.

Tribe Tech says the TTDS GC 700 rig removes all operators from one of the most dangerous manual operations in the mining industry. “Currently being manufactured in our Belfast manufacturing facility, the rig greatly reduces workforce risk while increasing efficiency and productivity.”

“FLANDERS are the global leaders in Autonomous Drill Systems for blasthole rigs around the world,” says Mike Lane, General Manager of FLANDERS in Western Australia. “We’re very excited by the automation technology developed by Tribe Tech and delighted to be working together to bring our industry-leading drill control and monitoring technology to the world of RC drilling.”

Tribe Tech’s Managing Director Charlie King says the collaboration would position the two companies to enable the development and manufacture of the world’s first fully automated RC drill rig for the global mining industry. “We see this as an opportunity to disrupt the market and accelerate the development and implementation of fully autonomous drilling for Tribe Tech’s customers globally,” King says.