Epiroc African auto cable-electric drills: integration and power design notes for mines
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on International Mining – News
30 Second Briefing
Epiroc has secured a SEK380 million (US$40.7 million) order in Africa for a fleet of autonomous, cable-electric Pit Viper 275 E blasthole drill rigs, booked in Q1 2026. The Pit Viper 275 E platform supports fully autonomous drilling and high-precision blasthole control, with electric drive reducing diesel use and associated ventilation and fuel logistics. The deal signals accelerating deployment of large-scale electric drill fleets in African surface mines, with implications for mine power distribution design and autonomous drill–fleet integration.
Technical Brief
- Autonomous drilling capability demands precise GPS/RTK coverage and reliable mine-wide wireless communications.
- Cable-electric rigs remove on-board diesel engines, cutting heat load and mine ventilation demand at the pattern.
- Power demand from multiple rigs will drive substation sizing, feeder routing and redundancy on the pit rim.
- Autonomous operation enables tighter burden and spacing tolerances, improving fragmentation and downstream crusher performance.
- Electric drive allows more consistent rotary speed and bit load, stabilising penetration rates and hole quality.
- Reduced diesel logistics simplifies haul road traffic management and lowers fuel storage and bunding requirements.
- Similar large-scale electric drill deployments will require integration with mine microgrid or IPP power strategies.
Our Take
Alongside Epiroc’s planned acquisition of Johannesburg-based Eventspec, this large African autonomous and electric fleet order suggests the company is building both installed base and local aftermarket capability in the region, which should reduce lifecycle risk for operators considering similar conversions.
In our database of 1104 Mining stories, Epiroc features repeatedly across automation, dynamic charging (via BluVein testing) and ground support partnerships, indicating that this African order is part of a broader strategy to lock in multi-technology supply positions rather than just selling standalone drill rigs.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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