Sandvik, Rio Tinto partner to advance autonomous open-pit drilling

Sandvik and Rio Tinto have entered a partnership to integrate Sandvik i-series surface drill rigs with Rio Tinto’s Autonomous Drilling System (Rio Tinto ADS™). The cooperation focuses on developing and implementing autonomous capabilities for support drilling activities within open-pit mining environments.

Context of the Cooperation
The collaboration involves Sandvik, a developer of drilling machinery and automation technology, and Rio Tinto, a global mining company with established remote operations. Open-pit mining environments present complex operational and safety challenges that require high levels of system integration and automation. To address these challenges, the companies are combining their complementary expertise: Rio Tinto provides operational experience in autonomous drilling and remote management, while Sandvik provides its i-series hardware platform and AutoMine^® automation technology. This joint effort is necessary to achieve the scale and technical integration required for multi-rig and multi-site autonomous operation.

Technical Solution and Responsibilities
The technical solution centers on creating interoperability between Sandvik’s i-series surface drill rigs, powered by AutoMine^® automation technology, and the Rio Tinto ADS™ platform. Under the agreement, responsibilities are shared to co-develop the system architecture required for remote operations.

The system is designed to allow remote monitoring, control, and multi-rig coordination from a centralized hub. Specifically, the architecture will interface with Rio Tinto’s Perth Operations Centre to enable multi-site autonomous operations. According to Petri Virrankoski, President of Surface Drilling at Sandvik, the development builds on the AutoMine^® and i-series platform to deliver open, interoperable automation capable of handling demanding Pilbara conditions.

Deployment or Implementation
The implementation program is structured into distinct phases, beginning with technical development and initial on-rig testing at the Sandvik Test Pit in Finland. Following successful preliminary validation, the project will transition to site-based field trials at Rio Tinto’s mining operations in Western Australia.

These field trials are designed to validate system performance against established production targets and ensure seamless integration with Rio Tinto's existing autonomous infrastructure. The system will build upon Rio Tinto's existing remote monitoring and control framework for drills, trucks, and trains, which is utilized at iron ore sites such as Gudai-Darri to combine an autonomous mobile fleet with a digital operations model.

Edited by Romila DSilva, Induportals Editor, with AI assistance.