The drills conventionally used in quarries are designed to operate at a bench depth of about 12-15 meters. Trying to penetrate much deeper can cause Down-The-Hole and tophammer drills to deviate, creating accuracy and potential safety problems.
So when drilling and blasting contractor FDDF recognized there was a push to dig deeper at some of the limestone quarries on the South Shore of Montreal, the Quebec-based company started a hunt for new drilling technology. Distributors in North America came up empty handed, so president David Habib and his partners Guillaume Ayotte-Pinard and Simon Forget looked to Europe and Japan instead.
Their search lead to the discovery of Epiroc’s SmartROC C50, a drill rig used widely in European quarries but practically unheard of across the pond. The SmartROC C50 uses unique COPROD technology to deliver speed, efficiency and safety under demanding conditions. The drill cycle is fully automated, reducing the dependency on the operator to get the depth and angle of the hole just right.
“We actually found (Epiroc’s) SmartROC C50 system on You Tube”,
The SmartROC C50 drill rig produces drilling logs in real time, so as soon as we’ve finished drilling, we know the deviation of the hole and the hardness of each section of the rock. With this information, we can load the explosives in each hole quite precisely. The more precise the blasting, the safer it is, and the less flyrock we have.
Controlling noise and vibration levels and limiting flyrock are particularly important in populated areas such as the South Shore of Montreal, where FDDF operates near residential neighbourhoods.
Habib also appreciates the SmartROC C50 rig’s built-in Hole Navigation System (HNS), which allows his drillers to locate the correct drillhole location automatically without risking injury at the face.
When we submitted our proposal to the customer, the safety of the SmartROC C50 system helped us to win the contract. It gave us an edge over our competitors.
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