Successful fitment of the first drill automation kit at our Kumba Iron Ore business’ Kolomela mine was completed in mid-November 2014 as planned and the first test took place at the end of November 2014.“
This automated drilling project is part of a greater technology programme called FutureSmartTM that aims to help us sustainably unlock further mineral potential and create added value for all our stakeholders.
Henk Pienaar, member of the advisory team to the automated drilling project team said, “We were gathered inside the drill cabin with the lead programmer from Flanders Electric, armed only with his laptop. He showed us a pre-programmed GPS way-point on his control screen, selected the ‘execute’ command and we watched as the drill performed its first automated propel, positioning and drilling sequence. It was exciting to see that in a short period of time, and with the right support from management in place, so much could be achieved by the project team.”
By implementing automated drilling, we can become significantly more efficient, while also giving a great boost to quality and safety in and around the drill rig environment.
Successful fitment of the first drill automation kit at Kolomela was completed in mid-November 2014 with the first test taking place at the end of that month. The benefits of this project include:
- 23% gain of direct operating hours;
- 18% gain in drill rate (the actual time to drill the hole and to move, setup and start the next hole);
- 25% reduction in total drills required;
- 19% reduction in drilling cost; and
- 70% less injuries and fatalities – helping us achieve our goal of zero harm.
Find out more about our FutureSmartTM approach here