Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions has unveiled AutoMine for Underground Drills, a tele-remote solution designed for mining operations.
The new solution allows mining operators to control and supervise multiple automated Sandvik underground drills remotely and simultaneously. This helps to increase safety, efficiency and overall productivity in mining operations, the company said.
The new offering is available for Sandvik longhole drills (DL) i-series machines, offering three levels of tele-remote operations: single drill, drill fleet and machine fleet. Operators have the flexibility to choose between operating from an AutoMine chair or console station, depending on which offering level best suits their operational requirements.
The AutoMine for Underground Drills tele-remote system also includes ring-to-ring tramming capabilities, allowing seamless control and coordination of drills, loaders and trucks operating in the same area with sophisticated traffic management.
Prioritising safety, AutoMine also incorporates an enhanced Access Protector System, designed to prevent personnel from entering the machine area while the system is operating in automation mode or remote mode.
It also has an advanced traffic management system that enables operators to control the traffic flow of multi-machine operations and handle complex operating situations, resulting in greater flexibility and mining output.
“We have developed this system to offer our customers a deeper integration and cooperation in between the underground drills, the loading and hauling machines and especially the AutoMine environment,” said Sami Anttila, Product Manager, Longhole Production Drilling at Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions. “This means added value through improvements in machine and fleet flexible utilisation in remote operation.”
Sandvik's history of providing proven underground solutions with automation for loading and hauling dates back to 2004. Today, over 1,000 underground and surface units operate worldwide at over 100 sites.
