DRILL & BLAST
Still, the real magic happens at the tele-remote station back at the Iron Bridge operations centre. Inside Iron Bridge’s air-conditioned
nerve centre is a hive of activity, with rows upon rows of personnel tapping away at workstations. The SmartROC D65 MKII Autonomous rig’s tele remote station sits in a separate low-lit control room. It features two joysticks, a touchscreen like that inside the rig, and three additional LCD screens that display critical operational information – hole and drill pattern progress, a video stream from the rig’s onboard camera system, and the drill’s technical state and alarms. And yet it just needs an internet connection and the station could be in Perth, where many Iron Bridge personnel live, or indeed anywhere in the world. “Like any new tech, there’s been some scepticism,” Howlett says. “But
[Fortescue] has begun to advertise for jobs for autonomous operators and there’s been a lot of interest. One of the lads told me he sees it as an opportunity to see more of his family in Perth.” “We have the opportunity to
put people in a safer working environment, and help them be more productive,” Sterley adds. “By taking on this digital transformation, we’ll attract more talent into the industry.” So, what’s next for the SmartROC
D65 Autonomous programme? After success at Iron Bridge, the focus is now on tackling autonomous contour mining at Fortescue’s nearby Solomon Hub. “There’s a lot of knowledge about
path planning and obstacle detection but not about tramming for contour operations,” Howlett says. “Those are wicked challenges. We’re looking forward to giving it a crack.”
The Pilbara region of Western Australia is the ideal place to trial any equipment, autonomous or not, with summer temperatures regularly eclipsing 45°C
SUCCESS STORIES
The two firms cite several keys to success in their efforts thus far. Partnership is top of the list: Epiroc’s autonomous SmartROC D65 test programme has benefited from having a willing partner such as Fortescue. A successful test has provided Epiroc with valuable information under real- world mining conditions and Fortescue with a best-in-class autonomous solution. Conditions are the second
key: the Australian Outback is a tough place to drill, and the SmartROC D65 MKII Autonomous has been tasked with drilling through different densities of earth and rock, making for ideal real-world test conditions. Third on the list is support:
close collaboration onsite between the Iron Bridge and Epiroc teams has provided a continuous feedback flow. Thanks to communications with Epiroc’s programmers in Sweden, even minor software updates have been quickly delivered and applied. The fourth key to success
is technology: Epiroc has been at the forefront of autonomous drilling since its first autonomous drill was released in 2014. It has made strategic autonomous acquisitions, giving it an edge for developing new products. Last on the list is
consistency: success at Iron Bridge comes down to consistency, with the SmartROC D65 MKII Autonomous capable of drilling during blasting and operator breaks. It has demonstrated a particular edge in production and pre-split drilling.
Inside view of the SmartROC autonomous rig
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