Iron ore producer CITIC Pacific Mining has ordered more than SEK300 million (A$42 million) of surface production drill rigs from Sweden’s Epiroc, with the units to be delivered next year at CITIC’s Pilbara operations in Western Australia.
Epiroc said the fleet of Pit Viper 271 XC blasthole drill rigs with advanced automation features would be used to drill for magnetite iron ore at the Sino Iron openpit mine.
“Epiroc delivered Pit Viper rigs to the Sino Iron site in 2019, and we are proud to continue this productive partnership as CITIC Pacific Mining is expanding the mine while optimising productivity and safety,” Epiroc CEO Helena Hedblom said.
The new rigs’ AutoDrill feature allows for full automation of hole drilling cycles.
