First Epiroc autonomous Pit Viper fleet in Canada comes to Iamgold’s Côté gold project

As mining methods continue to modernize, sustainability and safety remain top priorities for operations as they adopt new technologies to boost their overall productivity.  For Iamgold’s Côté Gold project, located 175 km northwest of Sudbury, Ont., their willingness to embrace this evolving technology coincides with their vision for zero harm in all operations and activities undertaken by their organization.

This goal is bolstered by their recent agreement to purchase five autonomous Pit Viper rigs from Epiroc to work at the open pit, which will help keep operators out of any potential danger zones while drilling.

For Epiroc, the agreement marks the first fully autonomous fleet of Pit Viper rigs on Canadian soil. The powerful blasthole drill rigs are also equipped with Mobius for drills, a digitalization tool that imports drill plans and collects key data for mining personnel all while enabling multi-machine control. The solution also introduces 3D-P, engaging Epiroc’s wireless networking capabilities into the agreement which enables integration and connectivity with the project’s existing networks.

With the introduction of new technologies in both automation and digitalization, the Côté Gold project is utilizing innovative techniques to ensure operator safety, increased longevity of their machines and a higher output in their surface drilling operation.

“The Epiroc Pit Viper fleet is an integral step along the Côté Gold journey to be the first fully automated haulage and drilling mine in Canada,” said Francis Letarte-Lavoie, operations manager at the Côté project. “The existing four Pit Viper rigs are progressing towards full autonomous mode, and we anticipate the fifth drill set for delivery in April 2024 will complete the fleet successfully.”

“This is an important milestone for Epiroc Canada, we are excited to collaborate with Iamgold to continue driving innovation within the mining industry,” said Charlie Ekberg, GM Epiroc Canada. 

Learn more about using autonomous Pit Vipers at www.Epiroc.com/en-ca.