Spotlight Feature Articles Joy Global Surface Loading & Drilling April 16 | Page 11

SURFACE DRILLING AND LOADING
the other is of a modified design, equipped with
two separators. The main purpose of Pashkov’s
visit was “an observation of production facilities
of the plant, discussion of particular supply terms
of the drills and aspects of further cooperation.”

Atlas Copco’s ongoing automation
journey
Atlas Copco’s RCS (Rig Control System), first
developed and launched in the 1990s, continues
to deliver generational advancements in mining
by enabling automation. Nine years after the Pit
Viper fleet’s incorporation of RCS, over 600 RCS
powered Pit Vipers have entered production
around the world. Tyler Berens, Product Line
Manager, Automation told IM: “We are seeing our
customers place increased confidence and reliance
on our Pit Viper automation, tackling the safety,
productivity and efficiency strategic and tactical
goals sent our way. A solid and clear advancement
path continues today for the automation program.
Being one of the first stakeholders in this
production process we call mining, we put a lot of
pressure on ourselves to deliver an effective
product. The other stakeholders in the value chain
are counting on us to get it right. The automation
development team works extensively in lab and
field environments to ensure qualitative results
align with quantitative measures to prove the
reliability and speed of new features.” Development
of Remote and Autonomous products are two of the
most recent updates to the automation program.
While controlling Pit Vipers remotely is not
new, the product has received continued updates
to match the opportunities and challenges sent
its way. Whether for safety, productivity or
efficiency needs, teleremote is one solution with
multiple capabilities. Remotely operated Pit
Vipers have been put to use on every continent
except Antarctica. Most recently it was employed
in a North American iron ore mine, where coupled
with operator assist functions, the remote
operators cut the mine’s non-drilling portion of
the cycle time by over 50% and hole accuracy
was 0.4 m closer to planned. This resulted in not
just four additional holes per shift but a much
higher quality product delivering a clear ROI.
The teleremote system allows the operator to
perform any drill function remotely, to include
auto functions (operator assist and autonomous).
The system is scalable for an operator to control
one up to many drills. “The distance between
operator and drill is often a talking point. The

Fully autonomous Atlas Copco Pit Viper
operating in an iron ore mine
system has run in both Line of Site (LOS)
conditions and connected to a customer’s
network, allowing the remote operator to control
the drill from over 1,300 km away. This
standardised hardware and software platform is
adaptable to the two environments it is employed
in – Mobile and Office.”
The Operations Centre (OC) provides a turnkey
mobile teleremote platform for an operator to
control one to many Pit Vipers, from the 235 up
through the 351. “The OC is perfect for mines
who may not have the WLAN infrastructure in
place to run remotely from the office or have
regular safety constraints in their drilling areas.
Supervising the fleet comfortably in an HVAC
equipped FOPS rated cab, the operator can make
many gains running remotely in this mobile
platform.”
The Office Kit provides a scalable system for
the mine to design or integrate into their control
room, whether that is onsite or offsite. At the
core is a half rack containing all of the hardware
and scalable for utilising multiple operator
stations and controlling multiple Pit Vipers. The
operator station utilises a smaller footprint than
the seat based controls but has all functions in
the same area for ease of transition for the
operator.

An important element with higher levels of
automation is integration into current processes
and recognising where modifications can be
made, ie how will users operate the systems in
their workflows. The Pit Viper Automation
products deliver a software suite to support and
guide the user throughout the planning,
operations and follow up reporting process. This
suite supports existing processes where needed
and has taken additional steps to institute lean
initiatives where able.
Fully autonomous blasthole drilling has been
the subject of many trials around the world, as
well as presented papers showcasing
opportunities at conferences and ROI models for
mining companies. Berens told IM: The talk and
preparation is over, the autonomous Pit Viper is
real and has been running in sustained 24/7
operations over the last few years. Now
producing tangible results, the product is the
result of continuous operational trials where the
autonomous Pit Viper was stacked up against a
rigorous set of KPIs to ensure its productivity,
safety and efficiency. A fleet of three autonomous
Pit Vipers 271s have been operating at an
Australian mine where they are responsible for
the majority of production drilling. More
productive shifts, accurate d