How a new autonomous drilling record was set by two equipment manufacturers and a global mining services provider in New South Wales
How a new autonomous drilling record was set by two equipment manufacturers and a global mining services provider in New South Wales.
Using the right drill system is a key element of operations management for all mines, and the operations team at Australian company WesTrac, US-based company Caterpillar, and global mining services provider Thiess at the latter’s Mount Arthur South operation, might well be patting themselves on the back for their recent work. The companies used a fleet of three Cat MD-series drills running with Caterpillar’s MineStar Command Autonomous Drill System (ADS) to drill one million metres autonomously in April this year. The feat was accomplished at the latter’s Mount Arthur South operation where the trio used a fleet of three Cat MD-series drills running with Caterpillar’s MineStar Command Autonomous Drill System (ADS).
Located 5km south of Muswellbrook in the Upper Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Mount Arthur Coal is an open cut mine that produces thermal coal. Thiess has a long history in the Hunter Valley, dating back more than 80 years, where it provides mining services at three mines including Mount Arthur Coal.
WesTrac’s technology solutions manager Nakia Brewer says the achievement not only reflects a highly successful deployment of Cat-built autonomous drills, but the strength of a technology-driven partnership that developed and rolled out the operation in a cleverly phased approach.
“When implementing new technology, it is crucial that the problem you’re trying to solve is understood – in this case it was to reduce operating costs and increase consistency of drilling,” he says.
Technical achievement
WesTrac, Caterpillar and Thiess began the programme in 2019 and following a multi-phase three-year journey, enabled a remotely located operator to control the three drills, a Cat MD6250 and two MD6310s, simultaneously.
The MD6250 crawler-mounted blasthole drill is designed to drill a US EPA Tier 2 equivalent from 152-250mm diameter holes in Rotary or DTH (Down the Hole) modes to single-pass or multi-pass depths. Meanwhile, the MD6310 is designed to drill holes of 203-311mm in diameter.
According to Caterpillar, its MineStar Command Autonomous Drill System helps reduce operating costs, increase safety and improve productivity. Command for drilling ensures that every hole is accurately placed, drilled to the proper elevation and angle, and able to stand up until blasting. Furthermore, a range of capabilities lets site managers configure and automate the drilling system to their budgets and needs.
A collaborative approach
Thiess upskilled more than 30 of its people at Mount Arthur South from traditional drill controllers to autonomous operators, and a range of other support functions during the million-metre journey. And more broadly, it has invested in autonomous mining systems training for more than 500 employees.
Improvements in performance
“Since introducing this technology at Mount Arthur South in 2021, we have recorded a 20% improvement in drilling performance, up to 8% reduction in fuel use, more consistent drill hole quality accuracy and depth, and drill utilisation of up to 23 hours per day,” says Ramesh Liyanage, group executive of Assets, Autonomy and Digital.
“This milestone achieved, safely drilling more than one million metres autonomously at Thiess’ Mount Arthur South, is a testament to this spirit, and we couldn’t be prouder of the team.”
