Tag Archives: Leopard DI650i

Sandvik Leopard DI650i DTH continues to pass drilling milestones

The Sandvik Leopard™ DI650i down-the-hole (DTH) drill rig has earned its stripes in the southern African surface mining sector, particularly in high-capacity production drilling applications, the OEM reflects just over six years since its global debut at the 2018 edition of Electra Mining Africa.

When Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions first brought the Leopard DI650i to market, the message was clear: the company had ushered in a tool that would constitute a strong challenger for a market leadership position in the larger than 6 in (152 mm) segment, which was previously dominated by a competitor. Some six years later, the Leopard DI650i has surpassed expectations with a high uptake in markets across southern Africa and the world at large, Sandvik says.

“In southern Africa alone, we have over 60 machines operating in the field, which is remarkable,” Trinity Nkosi, Sales Engineer, Surface Drills Department at Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, says. “Over the years, we have had a positive uptake, especially in South Africa, with coal, platinum group metals and iron ore among the key recipient commodity markets to date.”

Scalable automation, ease of maintenance and efficient operation are some of the drill’s value propositions that have made it popular in the market, according to the company.

The Leopard DI650i features scalable automation packages to fully automate systems and increase overall productivity. iDrill onboard automatics cover all steps of the automated drilling cycle, ensuring consistent high-quality drilled holes, the company claims. It is also compatible with AutoMine® Surface Drilling to enable fully autonomous fleet operation from a control room.

“The machine’s ground-level access for daily service and maintenance tasks has led to up to 20% more availability compared with conventional DTH rigs at a similar technology level,” Nkosi says. “The modular design of the machine further allows for easier repair or replacement of components.”

To provide context, an Australian lithium operation has seen an improvement in availability, largely due to ease of maintenance, resulting in 1,900 hours of drilling in four months. Despite the tough 400 MPa rock, the mine achieved a penetration rate of about 23 m/h – completing close to 400 m/d – drilling 203 mm holes.

Increased efficiency is yet another principal design benefit that has propelled the Leopard DI650i to the summit of the DTH market, Sandvik says. Thanks to the intelligent control technology applied in both the compressor and the hydraulic system’s cooler fan, customers can expect to reduce their fuel consumption significantly compared with conventional DTH rigs.

“Up to 15% less fuel consumption per hour is achievable largely due to our efficiency-driven design of minimising recirculation of hot air to coolers and having an energy-on-demand principle across the entire machine,” Nkosi says. “In addition, the compressor management system reduces compressor load for non-drilling activities, thus reducing fuel consumption.”

The intelligent control system of the machine contributes to high levels of operational precision and efficiency. For example, Sandvik’s aligning system guarantees parallel direction holes while the GPS technology allows for pinpoint accurate hole placement. The one-hole full cycle drilling automatics with auto collaring and rock detection minimise hole losses and maximise drill bit life.

Nkosi concluded: “Based on these capabilities, the machine has proven its performance clout at several mines in southern Africa. For example, a coal mine in South Africa has seen an improvement in average penetration rate of 60 m/hr in a sandstone rock formation where hardness is between 60 and 80 MPa, drilling 165 mm diameter holes. In fact, the mine drills close to 1,000 m of holes per day.”

Sandvik Leopard DI650i drill rigs improving health and safety at Stockton coal mine

Two new Sandvik Leopard DI650i drills are reducing the carbon footprint, and improving the health and safety of operators, at the Stockton mine in New Zealand, mine operator Bathurst Resources says.

The operation’s previous drills used 90 litres of diesel per hour, but the Sandvik drills have cut that down to just 65 litres per hour, resulting in a reduction of over 67 kg of CO2 emissions every hour of operation.

After a year of operation, Bathurst has seen the positive air pressure in the cabs of these new drills effectively reduce airborne dust, leading to a healthier work environment for operators, the company added.

Stockton is the largest open-cast mine in New Zealand, delivering high-quality steelmaking coal for export. The operation is expected to produced 940,000 t in Bathurst’s 2025 financial year.

Sandvik introduced the Leopard DI650i, designed for larger hole sizes, in 2018, saying the DTH rig offered excellent fuel efficiency, improved safety and higher productivity in challenging rock conditions compared with competitor and predecessor products.

In addition to a powerful engine and compressor, the Leopard DI650i incorporates a highly ergonomic iCAB cabin, excellent serviceability, mobility and fuel economy, along with scalable automation packages to offer excellent overall productivity, according to the OEM. Pipe sizes range from 89 to 140 mm, depending on the size of the hammer. The maximum hole depth is 53.6 m when utilising the carousel option with pipe sizes from 89 to 114 mm. The capacity range of 403 kW Tier 3 CAT C15 diesel engine and reliable compressor is adequate for high-pressure drilling with 4-6.5 in DTH hammer sizes.

MACA to replace Gruyere open-pit surface drilling fleet with Sandvik rigs

Leading Australian mining, civil and minerals processing contracting group, MACA, has selected Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions to supply nine new surface drill rigs as a complete replacement for an ageing mixed fleet at the Gruyere open-pit gold mine in the Western Australian Goldfields, where it was recently awarded a five-year contract extension.

The order, which was booked in the June quarter of 2023, includes six Sandvik DR410i rotary blasthole drills, two Leopard™ DI650i down-the-hole (DTH) drill rigs and a Pantera™ DP1500i top hammer drill rig. Deliveries began in July and will continue through April 2024.

MACA, part of Thiess, has specialised in mining, crushing, civil construction, infrastructure and mineral processing for more than 20 years. It employs more than 3,000 people across operations in Australia and internationally.

MACA has provided various services at Gruyere, a joint venture between Gold Fields and Gold Road Resources, since the contractor initiated bulk earthworks in 2017. Gruyere is expected to produce an annual average of 350,000 oz of gold through a current mine life of at least 2032.

Sandvik DR410i rotary blasthole drill rigs (pictured) are compact, powerful and technologically advanced, the OEM says. They are designed for rotary and DTH holes up to 254 mm, with a mast offering a first pass capability of 14 m and a maximum depth of 32.3 m.

The Leopard DI650i is a self-contained, crawler-mounted, intelligent DTH drill rig designed for demanding high-capacity production drilling applications, Sandvik says, while the Pantera DP1500i is a hydraulic, self-propelled top hammer drill rig, ideal for production or pre-split drilling in large quarries or open-pit mines and construction sites.

Sandvik enables fully autonomous drill fleet operation with AutoMine AutoCycle

Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions says it is enabling fully autonomous fleet operation of multiple Leopard™ DI650i drill rigs from a remote control room with the launch of AutoMine® Surface Drilling AutoCycle.

The AutoCycle capabilities expand the iDrill automated drilling cycle with autonomous hole-to-hole tramming, path planning, obstacle detection and geofencing.

“With the growing demand for surface drilling automation, we have developed together with key customers our new AutoCycle capabilities to enable fully autonomous fleet operation through the drilling cycle,” David Hallett, Vice President of Automation at Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, said. “These capabilities include hole-to-hole tramming without operator involvement for continuous autonomous drilling through the entire pattern. From a control room, an operator can oversee the autonomous operation of multiple surface drill rigs remotely, improving operational safety and increasing productivity and fleet utilisation.”

The Leopard DI650i iDrill automated drilling cycle covers all steps from boom positioning, drilling and pipe handling to finishing the hole, and ensures consistent high-quality drilled holes, according to Sandvik.

AutoMine Surface Drilling with geofencing functionality sets the drilling area where remote operation is allowed. The system prevents movement of the rig outside of the defined area. Autonomous hole-to-hole tramming enables automatic drill rig relocation according to the drill plan, with an operator assigning the hole sequence using a touchscreen interface.

The AutoMine obstacle detection system can automatically stop the rig and interlock tramming in case of detected obstacles in the stop-zone to avoid collision.

“The AutoMine Surface Drilling safety system is made according to international safety standards, providing functionality to operate the autonomous drilling system with peace of mind,” Sandvik said.

AutoMine Surface Drilling AutoCycle, together with iDrill intelligent sequences, increase efficiency and productivity through consistent and accurate performance as well as the operator’s safety and comfort.

AutoMine Surface Drilling offers scalable automation with three remote operation packages:

  • ‘Line-of-Sight’ package is optimised for quick setup when an operator remains close to the drilling area;
  • ‘Control Room’ package includes enhanced features for locating an operator away from the drilling area into a control room; and
  • ‘Autonomous’ package includes all capabilities to enable AutoCycle with a fully autonomous operation for a fleet of Leopard DI650i drill rigs.