Dave Shellhammer, president, Rotary Drilling Division, Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology, says of the new rig: "We continue to enhance our product offering to provide exceptional value to our customers. In developing the latest addition to our iSeries family, we looked at our customers' greatest challenges in the large-diameter drill space and developed a cost-effective, highly-efficient solution to solve those challenges."

Designed to improve efficiency and deliver dependable penetration in the world's harshest mining conditions, the Sandvik DR416i delivers a single-pass capacity of 21m/69ft, the longest single-pass mast in its class.

Constructed for large diameter (406mm/16in) rotary drilling, the DR416i is automation-ready, scalable, and supplies the highest rotational torques and pulldown forces at the lowest possible operating cost. It is also equipped with Sandvik's patented Compressor Management System (CMS), designed to reduce fuel consumption and improve productivity.

Three key principles led the innovative design efforts that brought the DR416i into production; safety, productivity and value.

Safety protection on the DR416i includes an easy-access walkway around the entire rig with four exit point. This also allows easy access to mast components and it features non-rust fibreglass reinforced grating.

The DR416i achieves optimal productivity through features which include dual feed speeds for greater drilling control and faster retract, auto-setup, auto mast raise/lower, auto-levelling and auto-drill, and a travelling centralizer for straighter holes and reduced drill pipe wear. An additional feature to increase productivity on the new rig is the ‘Live Tower' design to lower and raise the mast with the rotary head and pipe at the top of the mast.

To help reduce costs and further increase efficiency, alongside the CMS, Sandvik has equipped the DR416i independent cooling cores for quick replacement and advanced troubleshooting via the controls system helps to identify problems before picking up a wrench. In a move to lower operating costs increased service intervals have been introduced to increase availability and reduce interactions.