Australia’s CITIC Pacific Mining ordered a fleet of Pit Viper 271 XC blasthole drill rigs, like the above. (Photo: Epiroc)
Epiroc reported it won a $26 million order from Australia’s CITIC Pacific Mining for a fleet of Pit Viper 271 XC blasthole drill rigs. Delivery will begin in 2023.
The rigs have advanced automation features, and will be used to drill for magnetite at the Sino Iron open-pit mine in the Pilbara region in Western Australia. The mine bought three Pit Viper rigs in 2019. Since then, the mine expanded and optimized productivity and safety with the support of Epiroc, leadership for the miner said.
“In the last three years, Epiroc has provided satisfactory after-sale services to help the Pit Viper 351 drill rigs perform to expectation and has also successfully established mutual trust with CITIC Pacific Mining,” said Xianglin Cheng, general manager, CITIC Pacific Mining. “The confidence and trust are the major reasons for us to choose Epiroc.”
Pit Viper drills are manufactured in Texas, U.S.A. Automation features include AutoDrill, which allows for up to 100% of the hole-drilling cycle to be in automatic mode, and AutoLevel, which minimizes the time it takes to level and delevel.
