Epiroc autonomous drills reach round the world milestone

Epiroc’s autonomous drill rigs have successfully drilled the equivalent length of more than one round around the world. The company’s Pit Viper surface drill rigs have now drilled holes totaling more than 41 million metres, exceeding the world’s circumference of 40.1 million metres.

Epiroc claims a reduction in CO₂-equivlaent emissions of more than 100,000 tonnes, thanks to increased efficiency in drilling, achieved via higher-precision drilling and significantly less need for travel to the rigs. An equivalent in effect would be to plant a new forest the size of the Swedish capital.

Similarly, one of Epiroc’s mining customers has drilled more than a million metres autonomously underground using a single Simba rig.

A report by the International Energy Agency concluded that if the world is to meet net-zero as a global goal, the demand for clean technology minerals, including copper and nickel, will increase significantly in the coming years. As a result, Epiroc has launched several initiatives to support the industry to extract the needed minerals in the most sustainable and efficient way possible.

For example, Epiroc is working toward offering its complete fleet of underground mining equipment in emission-free versions by 2025 and its full fleet of surface equipment in emission-free versions by 2030.

To learn more, visit www.Epiroc.com.