DRILL & BLAST
functions – Auto Mast, Auto Level and Auto Drill – and is designed to reduce drilling variability between operators and to provide more consistency. For drill guidance, the system builds on Cat Terrain for drilling, which incorporates satellite positioning technology to show the operator the locations of the holes to be drilled. It helps to drill a precise pattern as a result of precise positioning. Te next step up in drill automation is the semi-autonomous system. Tis allows the operator to position the drill at the beginning of a row of holes and then to set up the machine to drill the entire row autonomously. As it does this, the operator can tend to other tasks or set up another drill to drill a row autonomously. An optional arrangement includes
a remote operator station that can be located near the bench or in a remote location. Tis allows the operator to position the drill at the beginning of the next row and start a new cycle again, or to manually drill holes from a remote location. Te autonomous technology is evolving to feature Auto-Multi-Pass drilling and multiple row autonomy. In conjunction with local dealer
WesTrac, the company is trialling four autonomous blast drills at Rio Tinto’s Koodaideri iron ore mine in the Pilbara, Western Australia. It’s part of a study to examine the possibility of increased automation, and a fleet of 20 autonomous 793F trucks are also on site. It forms part of Rio Tinto’s ‘Mine of
CALLING ALL BLASTERS T
he inaugural International Explosives Conference is taking place from 31st March to April 2nd 2020 in Reading,
12
www.engineerlive.com
England, and you could be sharing your expert technical knowledge with the invited audience, including professionals drawn from civilian and military environments. As well as the mining and
quarrying industries, there will be parties from diverse industries such as fireworks, special effects and education. The call for papers has already been issued. l
the Future’ programme, which aims to digitally link all aspects of mining. It’s an ambitious project, with plans to basically automate everything, even the workshop, as well as the creation of a digital model of the processing plant which staff can access in real-time. Te owners are hoping for an output of 43 million tonnes per year, scheduled to be up and running at the end of 2021. Scott concludes, “Modern rotary blasthole drills are designed for precision, using state-of-the-art technology such as high-precision GNSS to locate the machine accurately over the target hole and to monitor bit advance while drilling so that holes are drilled to the required depth. Computer-aided functions such as Auto Drill/Drill-Assist control the rig’s feed, rotation, air and water injection to improve operator performance, maximise production efficiency and cutting tool service life.”
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