Sandvik autonomous electric surface drill: planning and fleet lessons for engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on International Mining – News
30 Second Briefing
Sandvik has unveiled “Sami”, a fully autonomous, battery-electric surface drilling concept at its Future of Mining event in Tampere, Finland, combining AI-driven drilling control, enhanced robotics and digital connectivity in a single platform. The concept drill is designed to operate without an onboard cabin, relying on remote supervision and connected fleet data to optimise drilling patterns and machine utilisation. For mine planners and maintenance teams, the package signals a move towards cabless, high-precision surface rigs that integrate directly with planning software and real-time production monitoring.
Technical Brief
- Concept drill is battery-electric, eliminating diesel engine, exhaust systems and associated fire/explosion risks.
- Cabless configuration removes operator from the bench, shifting exposure to controlled remote operating centres.
- Full autonomy implies integrated collision avoidance and exclusion-zone enforcement around the drilling envelope.
- Electrified drivetrain reduces noise and vibration at source, improving compliance with occupational exposure limits.
- AI and robotics integration enables consistent bit loading and feed control, limiting rod breakage and fly-rock.
- Digital connectivity supports centralised health monitoring, enabling predictive maintenance before structural or hydraulic failures.
- Remote supervision model demands robust functional safety architecture and cybersecurity hardening of control networks.
- For surface mining fleets, such cabless rigs could drive redesign of bench layouts and traffic management plans.
Our Take
This Tampere, Finland concept drill launch lines up with Sandvik’s ‘Future of Mining 2026’ demos in the same city, signalling that surface drilling autonomy and electrification are being positioned as core pillars of its next product cycle rather than isolated R&D.
Recent coverage of Sandvik’s Deswik NOVA planning platform suggests the company is building a stack from digital mine planning through to autonomous, electric drills, which could eventually enable closed-loop optimisation of blast patterns, energy use and fleet scheduling.
In our database of Mining–Safety tagged pieces, Sandvik increasingly appears alongside large fleet orders (e.g. Byrnecut, Kamoa Copper), so an autonomous electric surface drill concept is likely aimed at giving these existing underground customers a pathway to standardise on Sandvik automation across both surface and underground fleets.
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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