Tag Archives: blasthole drilling

First Quantum Minerals and FLANDERS sign agreement for drill fleet autonomy

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First Quantum Minerals Ltd (FQM) and blasthole drill fleet autonomy company FLANDERS Electric have entered into an agreement to collaborate on advancing autonomous drilling solutions across FQM’s mining operations.

The first roll-out of FLANDERS’s ARDVARC® system is scheduled for FMQ’s Zambian operation.

The OEM-agnostic retrofit solution under ARDVARC enables autonomous functionality on electric or diesel blasthole drills, including full pattern autonomy with cable reeler automation.

The initial project is set to launch at FQM’s Sentinel mine, where FLANDERS’s autonomy technology will be implemented and optimised. The ARDVARC autonomous solution will extend to the complete drill fleet at Sentinel and further expand to new drill fleets on the S3 expansion project at FQM’s Kansanshi mine. This rollout will involve a total of 20 drills across FQM’s Zambian operations.

FQM’s Lead – Group Mine Technology, Clayton Sanders (pictured in the centre), said: “Our collaboration with FLANDERS aligns with our commitment to innovation and operational excellence. By pioneering autonomous drill technology at Sentinel, we are improving mining efficiency through precision blasthole drilling, reducing inaccuracy and wastage. We are excited about the upskilling and development opportunities this will create for our frontline employees and technical staff, which will put them at the forefront of the modern mining industry whilst enhancing their safety and productivity.”

FLANDERS Executive Chairman, John Oliver (pictured far left), added: “As the only provider offering an aftermarket retrofit for multi-brand drill autonomy with our cutting edge ARDVARC solutions, FLANDERS is excited to support FQM’s strategic goals for drill fleet automation. This partnership reflects our dedication to delivering reliable, scalable autonomous solutions that meet the evolving needs of the mining industry.”

The first phase of fully autonomous operations at Sentinel is expected to go live in the March quarter of 2025. The rollout will continue over the following months, gradually equipping the entire fleet for autonomous drilling.

Ausdrill presents One Touch drilling

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Ausdrill is bringing One Touch drilling to its Rock Commander blasthole fleet, in the process creating a future where drilling can be optimised for efficiency and precision with minimal manual intervention.

The company, part of Perenti, said the innovative technology is set to transform the way it drills, and the way its operators work.

With just a single touch of a button, a driller can pre-select the hole depth and the machine takes care of the rest. It will touch ground, collar the hole, and then drill down to the required depth, including changing rods and flushing the hole. This means there is no need for manual intervention except for potential finetuning, Ausdrill says.

“One Touch ensures every step is meticulously executed, prolonging component life and reducing wear and tear, making it a safe, highly efficient and cost-saving solution,” it added.

In a video promoting the launch, Luke Phillips, Area Manager, Drill & Blast Operations, said One Touch drilling sets Ausdrill apart from its competition: “We are bringing this technology that is essentially already existing in the marketplace to the world-class Rock Commander fleet.”

The move coincides with the recently awarded five-year contract at the Northern Star Resources-owned Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) Fimiston open-pit gold mine in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

The circa-A$160 million ($104 million), 60-month contract – the largest ever Australia surface mining contract Perenti has received – incorporates activities that commenced March 1, 2022, and will continue to March 2027. It includes the provision for up to 14 production blasthole drill rigs to support ongoing operations.

Phillips said One Touch drilling and the KCGM contract form an integral part of the Ausdrill technology roadmap.

“The stages thereafter will be a semi-autonomous approach to how we work, and mine and drill in and around underground work,” he said.

Ian Chisholm, a Driller at the Fimiston Open Pit, referred to the technology as “cruise control” for a drill rig.

“You just push the button and everything is done for you,” he said, adding that the rest of the process is made up of monitoring tasks.

Phillips added: “One Touch drilling benefits the client because it has the potential to remove human error in regards to rework or redrilling holes. [It also] reduces or removes damage because it is a semi-autonomous product, and it’s something that our trainees can engage with at an early grassroots stage.”

Related to this, SITECH WA, a provider of innovative technology solutions for mining operations in Western Australia, recently announced a strategic partnership with Ausdrill to introduce Trimble Groundworks machine guidance technology across Ausdrill’s Rock Commander fleet.

The integration was referred to as a milestone achievement for both companies, with the successful implementation of Groundworks on Rock Commanders at BHP WAIO laying the foundation for this partnership. The synergy between Rock Commander and Groundworks has solidified this decision, further influencing its adoption at KCGM’s Fimiston gold open pit (the Super Pit).

Trimble Groundworks boasts a user-friendly interface that enhances job site safety, accuracy and operational efficiency, according to the company. Operators of all skill levels can quickly adapt to and leverage the system’s capabilities, making it a powerful tool for mining professionals. Real-time spatial information provided by Groundworks also significantly enhances safety by alerting operators to exclusion zones and potential hazards.

One of the notable benefits of this integration is the elimination of the need for manual marking of drill patterns, resulting in substantial labour cost savings, the companies said.

Epiroc accelerates blasthole drilling change with new electric-driven Pit Vipers

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Epiroc has launched three new electric-driven blasthole drills – the Pit Viper 271 XC E, Pit Viper 275 XC E and the Pit Viper 291 E – as part of an expansion of its Smart and Green Series.

These Pit Vipers deliver the same performance as their diesel-driven counterparts with zero exhaust emissions, zero fuel consumption and a lower carbon footprint, according to the company.

The Pit Viper 271 XC E is capable of drilling single-pass holes up to 18 m with diameters up to 270 mm and the Pit Viper 275 XC E handles single-pass holes up to 11 m with diameters reaching 270 mm. Both drills can be configured with the XC package (Xtra Capacity) to provide 42.5 t bit load capacity, Epiroc says.

The Pit Viper 291 E is capable of drilling single-pass holes up to 18 m with diameters up to 280-311 mm. All three rigs are supported by a 42-t bit load capacity that, the OEM says, ensures reliable and effective drilling.

Epiroc’s latest electric-driven blasthole drills are designed for an era of cleaner and more sustainable operations, offering automation features that optimise productivity and enhance safety and accuracy through live work elimination, it added.

Cynthia Rodriguez, Global Product Manager – Large Blasthole, said: “These electric-driven Pit Viper drills exemplify Epiroc’s unwavering commitment to accelerate change in the mining industry.”

The blasthole drills are billed as offering a safer and more efficient drilling experience, in line with the company’s dedication to sustainability.

Rodriguez added: “These electric-driven Pit Viper drills exemplify Epiroc’s unwavering commitment to accelerate change in the mining industry. By combining advanced automation solutions with sustainability, we are offering state-of-the-art drills and paving the way for a safer, more efficient future in mining operations.”

The introduction of these three drills signifies Epiroc’s electrification of its complete Pit Viper lineup, providing electric alternatives for each drill in the series. Epiroc is poised to transform industry benchmarks, setting a new standard for environmentally conscious and technologically advanced mining solutions.

IMDEX addresses blasthole surveying issue with BOLT

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IMDEX is looking to upend the standard drill and blast process with IMDEX BOLT™, a production hole survey tool for underground applications measuring blast hole deviation using a north seeking gyro.

IMDEX Commercial Manager – Underground Survey Applications, Mike Ayris, has been promoting the importance of surveying blast holes since he founded Downhole Surveys (DHS) in 1989.

DHS was majority owned by directional drilling specialists Devico and became part of the IMDEX group when IMDEX acquired Devico earlier this year.

For Ayris, the process is not drill and blast; it’s drill, measure, analyse and blast.

BOLT, meanwhile, is in the commercial prototype phase and has been installed at four sites with two trials underway.

Recent design changes have reduced the weight, making it easier to deploy overhead, thereby solving one of the key challenges of working in an underground environment, IMDEX says.

“BOLT addresses one of the biggest problems we have in blasthole surveying and that is the holes are drilled overhead,” Ayris said. “These can often be 5-m high. The only way of getting there and physically pushing a tool up the hole is from an elevated work platform from which the tool is pushed into the blast hole.

“IMDEX have created a method of deploying the tool from ground level.

“The original design of the BOLT had a depth limitation of about 20 m, but most of our clients are drilling between 25 m and 30 m and it is the longer holes that need to be surveyed because they deviate the most.

“A typical drive development from one level to the next is roughly 15 m but mining companies are investigating ways to double this length to 30 m as a way of increasing efficiencies and reducing costs.

“It now means the need to drill blast holes twice as long as previously. A lot of drill rigs are designed for 15 m not 30 m, so they are pushed beyond their capabilities which then causes deviation, among other factors.

“The consequence of blast holes deviating can be a stope hang up or bridging, where the rock is fired but doesn’t break or fall, forming a wedge. Once that happens there is no way of getting the rock out. Companies will try drilling beside the bridge and use explosives but it’s highly dangerous and very ineffective.

“Bridging is a major problem in underground mining, and blasthole deviation is one of the causes because if the blast holes deviate away from each other the explosive impact at the end of the hole is reduced.

“There are a lot of other factors, but surveying and measuring the deviation is one thing we can control by getting the information before blasting.”

Ayris said while engineers typically designed blast holes to have a maximum deviation of 3%, in his experience few holes fell within that specification, with some deviating by as much as 17%.

“If you look at the mining process, money is spent exploring from the surface, then getting the tenement lease, creating a decline to the orebody, doing the development drives, and drilling the blast hole,” he said.

“Drilling and firing is the last process, so you want to get it right.

“With BOLT we are trying to create a system that is on every underground mining operation so that blast holes are routinely measured. It’s not just drilling, filling the hole with explosives and hoping for the best. Now it’s drilling, surveying, reviewing and analysing the data, and making adjustments to the pattern based on that information before firing.

“It’s a very different way of thinking and we are challenging the traditionalists who just want to drill and blast. It is changing, it is definitely changing.”

Perenti secures largest ever Australia surface mining contract at KCGM’s Fimiston mine

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Perenti Limited says its Ausdrill subsidiary has been awarded a new surface miningcontract at the Northern Star Resources-owned Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) Fimiston open-pit gold mine in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

The new circa-A$160 million ($110 million), 60-month contract incorporates activities that commenced March 1, 2022, and will continue to March 2027.

Ausdrill has been contracted to provide up to 14 production blasthole drill rigs to support ongoing operations.

Given the scale and quality of its existing Ausdrill fleet, Perenti does not expect any new capital outlay to support this contract, it said.

Mark Norwell, Managing Director & CEO of Perenti, said “We continue to remain focused on supporting the families, friends, and colleagues of Trevor and Dylan following the tragic incident at the MMG-owned and Barminco-operated, Dugald River mine in Queensland last week. However, over the weekend Ausdrill executed a material contract and in-line with our disclosure obligations, we are providing the market with an update.

“We have secured our largest ever surface contract in Australia, which continues our relationship at one of Ausdrill’s first ever projects. We are very proud to be part of Kalgoorlie’s history and we look forward to continuing to deliver certainty and value for Northern Star, our employees and business partners.”

He added: “Since the release of our operational update on 19 December 2022, we have continued to deliver on our strategic objectives and while we have seen some strengthening of the Australian dollar relative to the US dollar, we have seen overall margin improvement and continued to win or extend existing contracts, positively resolve commercial negotiations and further simplify our business. Market conditions continue to remain favourable into the second half of financial year 2023 in support of further delivery against our 2025 strategy. We look forward to providing additional details when we release our first half 2023 results tomorrow.”

Paul Muller, President Contract Mining at Perenti, said “Ausdrill began with two drill rigs in 1987 at the Fimiston mine. Since then, Ausdrill has continued to expand its services to include blast hole and grade control drilling, utilising a fleet of drill rigs specifically designed and manufactured (in-house) to meet the unique specifications required by the Fimiston open-pit mine.

“We look forward to continuing to provide our value-add expertise to the KCGM operations while extending our long-standing relationship with our local and regional stakeholders.”

Wallis Drilling wins three-year contract extension at Glencore’s Murrin Murrin op

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Glencore has signed a three-year contract extension with Wallis Drilling to retain the drilling company’s services at Murrin Murrin in Western Australia’s Goldfields region, which will extend Wallis’ long-standing relationship at the Glencore-owned operation to over a quarter of a century, the service provider says.

Wallis Drilling is a local Western Australian business, founded in 1965 by Marty and Jamie Wallis, which has grown to over 300 employees, but remains a family run business today.

Wallis has provided services to Glencore’s Murrin Murrin operation for 24 years and the contract extension, running through to September 2025, will see Wallis Drilling continue to provide RC grade control and blasthole drilling at Murrin Murrin.

Murrin Murrin is a nickel-cobalt mining and processing operation between Leonora and Laverton in the north-eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia and currently provides work for over 1,000 employees and contractors.

Wallis Drilling Manager, Wayne Waters, oversees the Murrin Murrin contract, with his role previously being occupied by Grant Wallis who is now the Chief Operating Officer of the business.

Waters said: “Murrin Murrin, like Wallis, understands the importance of establishing and nurturing long-term relationships to create stability, which has been exemplified by the latest contract extension.

“This business certainty is beneficial to Wallis, but it also gives us the capacity to plan for the long-term on site at Murrin Murrin and deliver the best operational outcomes.”

Grant Wallis said: “Our work at Murrin Murrin has helped us grow from a small family business to one of Australia’s largest privately-owned minerals drilling companies, while still remaining true to our local WA roots.”

Nic Fenner, Head of Mining Technical Services at Murrin Murrin, said: “We are very proud to help grow local Western Australia businesses, like Wallis Drilling, and help be a part in their success stories.

“The strong relationship between Murrin Murrin Operations and Wallis has been underpinned by our shared values and culture. Murrin Murrin and Wallis both have many long serving employees with some even being the second generation in their family to work at Murrin Murrin.”

Epiroc to deliver automation-ready Pit Viper 271 XC rigs to CITIC Pacific’s Sino Iron mine

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Epiroc says it has won a large mining equipment order from CITIC Pacific Mining in Australia to deliver a fleet of Epiroc Pit Viper 271 XC blasthole drill rigs.

The drill rigs will come with advanced automation features for use at the Sino Iron open-pit mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with the Pit Viper drills used to drill for magnetite. They build on the delivery of three other Pit Vipers the company made to the operation back in 2019.

The equipment order was booked in the September quarter of 2022 and is valued at more than SEK300 million ($26 million).

“Epiroc delivered Pit Viper rigs to the Sino Iron site in 2019, and we are proud to continue this productive partnership as CITIC Pacific Mining is expanding the mine while optimising productivity and safety,” Epiroc’s President and CEO, Helena Hedblom, said.

Xianglin Cheng, General Manager – Mining at CITIC Pacific Mining, added: “In the last three years, Epiroc has provided satisfactory after-sale services to help the three Pit Viper 351 drill rigs perform to expectation and has also successfully established mutual trust with CITIC Pacific Mining. The confidence and trust are the major reasons for us to choose Epiroc.”

The Pit Viper drills are manufactured in Texas, USA. They will be installed with automation features including AutoDrill, which allows for up to 100% of the hole drilling cycle to be in automatic mode with high consistency and reliability of operations; and AutoLevel, which minimises the time it takes to level and delevel and hence provides more time drilling, according to Epiroc.

Sandvik to equip Movitec with autonomous drilling solution at Codelco Rajo Inca

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Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions has received a large order in Chile for surface mining equipment and its AutoMine® Surface Drilling solution from Movitec, a contractor on Codelco’s Rajo Inca open-pit project.

The order includes two Leopard™ DI650i down-the-hole (DTH) drill rigs and two Sandvik DR412i rotary blasthole drill rigs, including AutoMine® Surface Drilling systems for fully autonomous operations.

AutoMine Surface Drilling is an autonomous solution for a wide range of Sandvik iSeries surface drill rigs, designed to improve safety, reduce costs and increase productivity. It enables an operator to control multiple rigs remotely from a comfortable location in line-of-sight or a distant control room – improving working conditions and safety, Sandvik says.

Sandvik iSeries drill rigs are equipped with iDrill technology, a scalable automation platform that provides automation options and digital services designed to speed up the production process and support mining operations. Performance and navigation iDrill technologies work together to produce accurately placed, consistently clean and precision-drilled holes – delivering improved fragmentation, downstream throughput and asset utilisation.

“We are pleased to work with Movitec and Codelco on this project,” Emilio Vega, Business Line Manager for Automation, Sales Area Andean and South Cone at Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, said. “The AutoMine Surface Drilling solution will enable the customer to use the drill rigs to their full potential and boost productivity with capabilities for fully autonomous operations.”

The new order also includes one Sandvik D75KX rotary blasthole drill rig with added intelligence and improved operator ergonomics. Delivery will take place in two phases before year-end 2022, with fully autonomous operations ramping up in 2023.

“We thank Movitec for their well-placed confidence in the Sandvik brand and technology,” Patricio Apablaza, Vice President Sales Area Andean and South Cone at Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, said. “We look forward to supporting them in increasing the safety, productivity, profitability and quality of their operations.”

In addition, Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions will also provide contractor Movitec with remote operation training and six months’ on-site service to ramp up support as they transition to autonomous operations.

David Hallett, Vice President Automation at Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions’ Digital Mining Technologies Division, said: “We are excited to partner together with Movitec on their journey to adopt AutoMine Surface Drilling at Codelco’s Rajo Inca open-pit project. This project will play a significant role in establishing Sandvik’s position as a leading technology partner for autonomous surface mining within the Chilean and South American market.”

Codelco officially began the works of Rajo Inca last year, moving from underground mining to open-pit mining.

FLANDERS autonomous drilling solutions start up at Anglo’s Mogalakwena mine

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The first FLANDERS autonomous drills are now up and running at Anglo American Platinum’s Mogalakwena platinum group metals operation in South Africa, with a third set to start up later this year.

FLANDERS CEO, John Oliver, and VP of International Operations, Willie Van Ryneveld, recently visited the mine in Limpopo, South Africa, where the first ARDVARC autonomous drills are now in operation in fully-autonomous mode.

The first two ARDVARC Autonomous drills were delivered on time and within budget to Mogalakwena, and the third Epiroc Pit Viper 271 XC drill is due to arrive at the FLANDERS South Africa workshop for conversion in May, the company said. The company said the first PV 271 XC drill recently drilled its first hole in fully-autonomous mode.

FLANDERS’ flagship ARDVARC automated drill control systems has been used around the world for more than 15 years, with more than 30 mine site deployments in this time.

The product suite is designed to facilitate customers to scale up automation at their own pace and covers all aspects of drill automation, from semi- autonomous to tele-remote and autonomous operation of a single piece of equipment to multi-machine control and full-fleet automation using Command Centre control capabilities. ARDVARC Autonomous comprises a suite of tools for automating, analysing and optimising drilling production and processes, interconnecting with fleet management systems and other data acquisition technologies.

The company claims operations can achieve productivity gains of up to 30% when employing ARDVARC autonomous solutions by reducing downtime due to human factors such as shift changes and pauses of drilling during blasting operations.

TBS’ Collar Keeper blast hole solution goes commercial in Western Australia

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Aquirian Limited’s TBS Mining Solutions Pty Ltd (TBS) has commenced commercialisation of its revolutionary Collar Keeper® System, with a fully commercialised, extended trial underway in Western Australia’s Northern Goldfields.

TBS is on-site with 60% of the mine site’s Epiroc T45 drill rigs converted for an extended commercial trial, it said.

This milestone follows the completion of its final in-field trials at the end of 2021, where 254 production holes were drilled, including 30 wet holes in difficult ground conditions, where The Collar Keeper System eliminated the requirement for costly and time-consuming collar piping, according to Aquirian.

While the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in Western Australia delayed access to site, Greg Patching, Executive Director Business Development and Innovation, said: “We are thrilled to be finally in the field commencing the transition for our customers onto the Collar Keeper System. This marks a major milestone for the development and commercialisation of the system.”

TBS has also received strong interest from several overseas mining companies and received its first orders for a commercial trial to commence in Zambia in mid-late May, it said.

The company continues to work on the development of the Collar Keeper System, including expanding the range of drill rig applications and mechanisation of the system which will, in time, provide a pathway towards full automation for clients worldwide, it said.

The Collar Keeper System is a combination of Aquirian-developed, retrofittable drilling apparatus combined with its existing Collar Keeper. The technology represents a step change in managing blasthole quality and is targeted to provide a unique solution to a range of different blasting environments with global applications, the company said.

The initial focus for the technology is on mines operating in Western Australia with smaller-diameter holes in challenging ground conditions, where high-cost collar piping is traditionally used.

“The traditional method of collar piping has not changed in over 40 years and introduces significant hazards as well as cost, time and quality issues, and poor blast outcomes for clients,” the company said. “In addition, the poor blasting outcomes lead to further downstream costs in load and haul, and the processing of mined material.”