Epiroc has brought its state-of-the-art Simba E70 SG battery-electric production drill to Australia, with MMG benefitting from the rig’s flexible boom-mounted configuration and emissions-free operation at its Rosebery underground mine.
The company’s long-hole drill rigs boast forward-looking designs based around cleaner and more sustainable operations, and using state-of-the-art automation features that optimise productivity and enhance safety and accuracy through live work elimination.MMG commissioned the first Simba E70 SG drill rig to operate in Australia as part of the initial phase in the miner’s transition to battery-electric fleet.
Weighing 34 tonnes and at 14 metres long, the smart Simba rig uses connectivity and mining automation to boost equipment productivity, through Epiroc’s Rig Control System which utilises numerous features to increase efficiencies and data to drive continuous improvement.
The Simba E70 rig specialises in medium-to-large sized drifts, with a hole range of 51 to 178 millimetres and a central focus on remote and autonomous control. Its performance is underpinned by the new ET-51 tube drilling system, which creates a balanced setup that mitigate in-hole deviation, and can be further enhanced through a wide range of automation options boosted by high-performance drill consumables such as the Powerbit X drill bit.
The Powerbit X drill bit range together with the newly developed ET-series tubes (Epiroc Tubes) significantly contribute to increasing the overall hole quality and effectiveness.Perhaps the biggest difference in the new rig compared to previous iterations is its carousel, which now features more robust rod handling with a new double-rod cylinder replacing the hydraulic motor, improved material for the gripper arms, and a new design for the drill steel grippers.
The carousel’s new drill steel support cylinders also secure a solid grip when adding or removing drill steel during drilling.
One of the Simba E70 SG’s key design elements that caught the attention of MMG’s operations manager was its heavy duty BUT 45 boom, which facilitates direct, fast and accurate positioning between holes.
Andrew Flynn, Manager of Mine Operations at MMGRosebery, told Resources Review that when the mine was replacing its older drills, he decided to change the drill style in terms of the configuration of the boom, making the Simba E70SG an easy decision.
Flynn said: “Battery-electric aligns with MMG’s vision of being carbon neutral by 2050 and part of that journey is to eliminate diesel in our underground operations.“That’s the primary reason for going down this path, and while we haven’t had it long enough to fully assess its performance, it’s a brand-new drill with cutting-edge technology so initial impressions point to it performing well.
“The rig is particularly manoeuvrable and simple to use, making it a lot easier to drill the stope designs we have.”Andrew Maine, Production Driller at MMG, emphasised the high flexibility of the Simba’s flexible boom-mounted configuration, saying the mine previously had l-beam rigs with a fixed boom, forcing the operator to move the drill forward to the next row of holes at the completion of every row.
Maine said: “The new Simba rig is much better for getting different angles, which gives the mine engineers a bit more freedom when designing the production drilling.“We can also park the drill in one spot and potentially drill up to three different rows of holes.”
Flynn explained that being a new technology, a substantial amount of consultation was undertaken with MMG’s production drillers regarding the controls within the battery management system and the various safeguards the Simba offers.
Flynn said: “Epiroc have been wonderful to work with, and as it’s the first of this drill into Australia, they have been keen to see it in operations as well, so there’s been a lot of support.
“Epiroc had someone onsite initially for the commissioning and initial operator training, and will come back onsite and continue training for any additional operators.
“We’ve had a number of calls with experts on battery management from both within Australia and overseas, and we’ve had training sessions for our operators and maintenance teams to understand all of the rig’s specifications. He added that overall feedback from Rosebery’s operators was very positive, with particular mention of the modern redesigned cabin and the lack of noise and diesel fumes.
The biggest change to operator tasks and mine scheduling was around battery management – while the rig entirely eliminates refuelling, managing the rig’s State of Charge required a modification in the way drilling was conducted.
Troy Schumann, Product Specialist at Epiroc, noted that the Simba charged its battery while it was drilling, and as soon as the operator finished drilling in that spot, they would simply select their state of charge (battery charge percentage).
He said: “There’s no waiting or downtime and it’s very rare that an operator would have to stop and charge when moving from drill site to drill site, potentially if it was a long tram uphill.”
Schumann played a role in the commissioning process and particularly in familiarising MMG’s production team with how the drill operates as well as its different features, such as the electric drive and tramming.
He added: “MMG previously only had diesel-powered drills in the mine, so moving to a battery-electric drill involved a lot of new stuff for MMG to learn – but they picked it up really well.
“When the drill is in the electric drive or during setting up– normally you would have the diesel engine running, but as it’s fully electric it’s simply a battery with an electric motor. “This makes the drill a beauty underground because there’s no diesel particulates or fumes – it’s quite noticeable and one of the best things about it.”
