Tag Archives: RCS

Epiroc to supply equipment, services for Codelco’s Chuquicamata underground mine

Automation, Base metals, Communications in mining, IoT, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Epiroc is to deliver underground loaders, face drill rigs, rock bolting rigs and mine trucks to the Chuquicamata underground mine in northern Chile following an order from Codelco.

The large equipment order, which comes on top of the signing of a large contract for services at Codelco’s Andina mine and a large order for equipment used at its El Teniente mine, also includes several years of technical support and training. The order is valued at more than $20 million and was booked in April 2020.

Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, opened the Chuquicamata underground mine in 2019 as it looked to transition the world’s largest open-pit mine into a technologically advanced underground operation. The transformation will extend the mine life by 40 years, according to Codelco.

Helena Hedblom, Epiroc’s President and CEO, said the company was proud to be a key partner of Codelco “as it significantly extends the life of the Chuquicamata mine in the most productive, efficient and safe manner possible”.

Juan Mariscal, Sourcing Category Manager at Codelco, says: “Epiroc was chosen because it complied with all the technical, safety and performance requirements that Codelco demanded for the Chuquicamata Underground Mine project, while being the supplier that provided the best economic proposal for all its equipment as a whole.”

The order includes multiple units of the Scooptram ST1030 and ST18 loader, the Boomer S2 face drilling rig, the Boltec M bolting machine, and the Minetruck MT65 (pictured), the highest payload capacity underground truck in the world.

The machines will be equipped with 6th Sense solutions for automation, connectivity and information management, Epiroc says. The solutions include Epiroc’s Rig Control System, RCS, which makes the equipment ready for automation and remote control, and Epiroc’s Certiq system, which allows for intelligent monitoring of machine performance and productivity in real-time.

Delivery of the equipment will take place later this year.

Epiroc charged up by automation, digitalisation and battery equipment wins

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Epiroc’s second ever Capital Markets Day, in Stockholm, Sweden, was an enlightening affair, with the original equipment manufacturer backing up its credentials as a leader in the mine automation, digitalisation and electrification space.

Speakers including Per Lindberg, President and CEO; Helena Hedblom, Senior Executive Vice President Mining and Infrastructure; Sami Niiranen, President Underground Rock Excavation; and Jose Sanchez, President Drilling Solutions, with all of them reeling off a number of statistics worth highlighting.

For example, the company said around 60% of Epiroc equipment is now being delivered with its rig control system (RCS), a system that on Pit Viper blasthole drills is the next “evolutionary step toward fully autonomous mining”, the company recently said.

At the same time as this, 3,400 of its machines have been delivered with “connectivity”, Lindberg said, a transition that is allowing customers to monitor, in real time, elements of a machine’s performance. As recently as the company’s June quarter results release, Lindberg said more than 2,500 machines were ‘connected’.

When it came to automation underground, Epiroc said it had 43 projects on its books, with 600 drill rigs equipped for complete automation of the drilling process; the latter up from the more than 550 Lindberg quoted in the June quarter results.

Epiroc has also seen a 30% increase in utilisation of connected Simba production drills globally, according to Lindberg.

On surface, meanwhile, Epiroc was involved with autonomous and teleremote drilling in 16 countries on five continents, he said.

Among these automation projects were the fully autonomous electric drill at Boliden’s Aitik copper mine, in Sweden, an autonomous SmartROC D65 at Newmont Goldcorp’s Hollinger mine, in Canada, and autonomous Pit Vipers at the leading gold miner’s Penasquito mine, in Mexico.

A map shown by Sanchez also included first remote/teleremote operations in Morocco, Ukraine (see Ferrexpo Yeristovo story), Chile and Papua New Guinea. There was also mention of first autonomous solutions in South Africa (along with a first multipass autonomous operation) and a first autonomous drill in operation in Australia.

And, of course, the company provided an update on its battery-electric solutions, which Epiroc believes will improve health and safety, reduce emissions, lower total cost of operation and improve productivity for its customers.

Lindberg said the company had accumulated 100,000 hours of battery-electric machinery operation to date and, so far, customers had achieved a more than 70% reduction in energy consumption – mainly through reduced ventilation needs.

On the company’s recently-launched Minetruck MT42 Battery, specifically, Niiranen said Epiroc had observed 10% increased productivity through faster ramp cycle time at operations where the machine was being trialled/operating. One of these machines is currently being trialled at Agnico Eagle’s Kittilä gold mine, in Finland, as part of the EU-funded Sustainable Intelligent Mining Systems project (a project Epiroc is coordinator of).

Epiroc expands production drilling capabilities with Simba teleremote e-tramming option

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Epiroc says it is looking to maintain a leading position in the development of innovative equipment for use in mining and production drilling with the release of a new teleremote e-tramming option for its Simba series of rigs.

In the Simba Automation package, multiple automation functions are available to optimise the drilling process, according to Epiroc. With the recent addition of the e-tramming function the production drilling process can be handled in an even safer and more continuous way, the company said.

This will allow a Simba rig to be operated remotely and work more productively in a continuous “ring-to-ring” fashion, Epiroc said. “After drilling a ring and retrieving the rods, the rig can be tele-remotely trammed to the next ring, saving time and work effort. Not only does the tramming process become faster and simpler, the teleremote e-tramming function also provides a safer work environment since the operator can control the machine out of harm’s way, even between rings.”

Guilherme Paiva, Global Product Manager of Automation at Epiroc, said: “Our Simba drill rigs are globally recognised as the best in their class, and we continue to strive towards even smarter and faster solutions. Teleremote e-tramming makes for an easier, safer and more continuous drilling process. Fewer disruptions mean greater productivity.”

Simba rigs that feature Epiroc’s Rig Control System can be operated through a control panel from onboard the rig or from a remote location where potentially hazardous work conditions can be avoided. With information provided by laser sensors and cameras mounted on the rig, the operator can navigate, position and stabilise the rig to ensure drilling is executed according to plan, Epiroc said. “Mission accomplished in one ring, the operator can then tram to the next and the next.”

Paiva said: “We want to make the world’s best production drill just a bit better to optimise the entire drilling process, from positioning the rig to emptying the stope. Through automation and the ability to process more real-time information, we are taking huge steps towards greater safety and efficiency.”