DD422I AXERA DEVELOPMENT DRILL RIG BY SANDVIK MINING

The largest range of automatic features on the market

Sandvik, the engineering group specialized in tooling, materials technology, mining and construction, is manufacturing new underground hard rock drill rigs, promising a drastic increase in security and efficiency. The DD422i Axera development drill rig is the very first of that new range of machines, ready to shape a different future for mining. So what makes the DD422i Axera so unique? It features an intelligent control system, positioning it as “the most-advanced underground mining drill on the market”, as Korsman-Kopra, Vice President, Underground Development Drills at Sandvik Mining, explains it. The key upgrades were directed towards two directions: security (“human detection system” to identify immediately workers entering the rig’s zone, tel-remote operated functions etc.) and comfort design (entirely remodeled and wider cab, joystick controls, clear-to-read displays, increased visibility via the installation of wide windows and LED lamps etc.). To guarantee optimal mining and drilling conditions, in the safest conditions ever reached, Sandvik believes in setting clear frames while operating. To achieve this, a special effort is brought to rise levels of automation and increase tele-remote equipment. Removing workers from the immediate dangerous zones and ensuring their safety always comes first should be the solution to give them a supervising role and consequently increases their awareness of their environment. The machine is due to release on the market in 2014. Korsman-Kopra predicts this addition to the market is a forecast of a new mining process: an intelligent one.