Modern Mining February 2021

backbone of underground mines

The Sandvik DS221L installs pre-tensioned cable bolts rapidly.

of resin installed; hole depth; angle, and the tension in of the roof bolt.” He says this data is needed in real time for use by the rock engineer. However, too much information is not always ideal: “Sandvik has aligned with our customers to ensure that we don’t overcomplicate the support activities with information overload, as that would require numerous sensors on the machine.” Sensors attached to the machine are invariably damaged by falling debris while the support is being installed. “In our understanding, an operator using a Sandvik bolter follows 52 steps over seven minutes to install a single roof bolt. Unnecessary automation complicates the process and some human interven- tion is still needed.” Sandvik’s bolters do not take care of drilling, rod extraction and shooting, insertion of the roof bolt and tensioning autonomously as bolting is highly com- plex and requires human intervention. “The machine works autonomously when it is drilling only. With roof supports, drilling is followed by certain steps only humans can take, for reasons of safety. Our aim with automation is to move peo- ple away from where roof support is being installed because of the danger posed by the process.” The challenge, however, lay with integrating people with these machines. The company there- fore developed the Sandvik Digital Driller training simulator to develop and refresh operators’ skills on

the sophisticated Sandvik iSeries drill rigs. One such simulator is already on local soil while a second is expected to arrive in South Africa shortly. Where drill masters had to travel from Finland to provide training, induction and safety checks on the machines, they now meet with prospective opera- tors remotely. “In one instance, Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions in Gauteng provided training to operators in Botswana by means of the Digital Driller. We had the training facilitator in Finland, the training coordi- nator in South Africa and the operator in Botswana. Our office in Finland can also log on to the machine via the OptiMine machine network, for machine commissioning and setup.” He says this approach shortens the start-up period as the transition to the “real-world” equipment is quicker and safer, leading to efficiency and productivity gains.

The Sandvik DS421 is a rock reinforcement drill rig for cement grouted cable bolt installations.

February 2021  MODERN MINING  23