September 8, 2022 - In response to growing demand for agnostic automation systems in surface mining, Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions and Flanders have entered into an agreement to develop and deliver a digital interface between the FLANDERS ARDVARC Autonomous Drill System (ADS) and Sandvik iSeries rotary blasthole drills.

The digital interface will enable Sandvik rotary drills to integrate to the FLANDERS ARDVARC system with little to no modification to the drill rig; effectively a plug and play solution that allows for easy deployment of Sandvik drills to mine sites that use the Flanders system. This open-system approach ensures the customer retains OEM warranty and aftermarket support.

The first deployment of the digital interface is scheduled for Q4 2022 with further deployments being scheduled soon after that.

AutoMine® is the leading mining equipment automation solution for underground and surface applications. Sandvik will continue to develop and support AutoMine® Surface Drilling solutions for remote and autonomous operation of the full range of Sandvik iSeries drills.