Sandvik Digitalises Underground Drilling

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Digitalisation will improve drilling accuracy and cycle times and reduce operation costs by optimising the drilling and bolting phase. Drilling as planned, with accurate visual information, leads to continuous improvement across the whole mining process.

Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology is drastically improving the drilling experience with its new Sandvik AutoMine compatible underground offering. Based on proven Sandvik AutoMine technology that has been in use for more than 10 years in numerous underground mines, customers are now able to significantly upgrade their operation’s productivity and safety. New intelligent rigs, led by Sandvik DD422i development jumbo, will soon include long hole drills and bolters.

New 3D scanning technology makes drilling and bolting more efficient by bringing in new tools and methods for continuous quality control. Blasting quality, overbreak and underbreak analyses together with continuous mine mapping increase overall drill and blast process efficiency significantly. Combining this with the Sandvik OptiMine information management platform provides a powerful tool for creating a true transparency and integration of underground mining operations.

Sandvik has successfully delivered highly automated underground drilling systems for selected customers for many years. The company is now busy finalising the commercialisation of these offerings into global markets. This will bring Sandvik AutoMine-type tele-remote capabilities into new underground mining applications, including long hole and development drilling.

Sandvik underground drilling equipment is also now fully compatible with Sandvik OptiMine monitoring and future data-driven productivity technology. The connectivity comes standard for new equipment but retrofit kits are also available for existing equipment out in the field.

Scalable Sandvik automation solutions allow customers to choose the level of automatisation they’re ready for, starting with tele-remotely controlled operation through to full fleet automated operation. With a wide range of automation options built into Sandvik drill rigs and bolters, customers can rest assured that their equipment is used efficiently and that the results meet the most demanding production requirements.