In Australia’s Pilbara iron ore mining space, Epiroc and Fortescue have been working collectively to develop the SmartROC D65 Autonomous drill rig that Epiroc says is pushing the boundaries of autonomous mining. The rig was first deployed at Iron Bridge within the East Pilbara, the three way partnership mining venture between Fortescue Metals Group subsidiary FMG Magnetite and Formosa Metal IB, with the US$3.9 billion operation close to Marble Bar producing high-grade magnetite.
Epiroc agreed to a partnership with Fortescue Ltd in 2021 to make use of the SmartROC D65 MKII Autonomous on a Fortescue mine website for a trial interval of a minimum of 12 months. Iron Bridge Mine was chosen because the best-fit website for the trial’s targets. The trial started in 2022, and the rig hit manufacturing KPIs in Could 2023. As of 2024, all actions associated to autonomous implementation and future improvement have been moved to Solomon Hub within the central Pilbara north of Tom Worth.
“It’s nice to be working with Epiroc right here at Iron Bridge and seeing the SmartROC D65 drill in motion,” says Graham Howard, Director of Operations at Iron Bridge final 12 months.
Excessive temperatures – usually 45 levels Celsius – made this a super place to trial any tools, autonomous or not. However Epiroc says Iron Bridge offered different alternatives to place this new take a look at model of the SmartROC D65 Autonomous by way of its paces. The magnetite is buried in arduous rock beneath metres of looser clay-like soil after which transitional earth, that means the rig is drilling beneath varied situations. “We wish that,” says Nick Howlett, an Epiroc Automation Specialist. “It’s how we develop and make a great product.”
Fortescue has a repute for being a forward-thinking mining home. It has been pursuing autonomous options for properly over a decade, making it a pure accomplice within the SmartROC D65 Autonomous program.
Epiroc and Fortescue entered a partnership in 2021 to trial this MKII model of Epiroc’s SmartROC D65 Autonomous. This venture adopted a 2018 SmartROC D65 Autonomous MKI pilot venture in Canada. A profitable take a look at would supply Fortescue with an autonomous blast drill resolution and Epiroc with very important take a look at intel beneath reasonable mining situations.
“There’s little question autonomous is the best way the business’s going,” says Epiroc Australia Common Supervisor and Managing Director Wayne Sterley. “And that speaks to the inherent productiveness, effectivity and security good points of autonomous options.”
An autonomous SmartROC D65 rig’s benefits aren’t right down to pure pace however are inclined to accumulate over time by way of a intelligent use of autonomous subsystems and the top quality and consistency of the holes it produces. “A guide operator might possibly beat us over an hour or so, however that’s not what it’s about,” Howlett says. “It’s about consistency. When the operator goes for a break, we drill. If there’s blasting close by, we drill. And our shift modifications are typically shorter. We’ve spent a variety of time perfecting how the rig drills autonomously, together with water management, the way it begins a gap, and the tough features of collaring. We’ve additionally tuned it for various kinds of floor, with 5 completely different settings. You set these completely different parameters, the operator selects one and the drill will get to work.”
The SmartROC D65 Autonomous has additionally had an edge in pre-split drilling. At Iron Bridge, operators drilled as much as 30 m at an angle, that means it’s comparatively simple for unintended deviations in holes. The autonomous rig was extra exact in these situations, making for higher drilling predictions and, in flip, simpler drill plan changes. Consistency additionally has optimistic impacts on tools life cycles, with the SmartROC D65 MKII Autonomous rig’s autonomous algorithms utilising parts equivalent to cylinders, feed chains, rotation heads, and rock drilling instruments extra optimally.
At its take a look at websites, the rig seems to be much like a operated by hand drill however options LiDAR and cameras on the machine’s entrance, again and prime. There are additionally automation mode (safe-to-board) lights for transitioning from distant to native operations. Surrounding site visitors cones mark out the SmartROC D65 MKII Autonomous rig’s geofence, or perimeter of autonomous operations.
The drill was managed from the Iron Bridge distant ops centre. The SmartROC D65 MKII Autonomous rig’s tele distant station sat in a separate low-lit management room. It options two joysticks, a contact display screen like that contained in the rig, and three further LCD screens that show crucial operational data – gap and drill sample progress, a video stream from the rig’s onboard digital camera system, and the drill’s technical state and alarms.
“Like all new tech, there’s been some skepticism,” Howlett says. “However [Fortescue] has begun to promote for jobs for autonomous operators and there’s been a variety of curiosity. One of many lads advised me he sees it as a chance to see extra of his household in Perth.”
“We have now the chance to place individuals in a safer working atmosphere, and assist them be extra productive and environment friendly,” Sterley provides. “By taking over this digital transformation, we’ll entice extra expertise into the business.”
So, what’s subsequent for the SmartROC D65 Autonomous program? After the 2022/2023 success at Iron Bridge, 2024 is about tackling autonomous contour mining at Fortescue’s close by Solomon Hub. “There’s a variety of information about path planning and impediment detection however not about tramming for contour operations,” Howlett says. “These are depraved challenges. We’re trying ahead to giving it a crack.”
