A fleet of 14 autonomous surface drill rigs to be delivered to Western Australia lithium mine.

Pilbara Minerals, the world's largest independent hard rock lithium producer, has ordered a fleet of surface drill rigs from Epiroc for its Pilgangoora lithium mine in Western Australia.

This large order includes 14 SmartROC D65 surface drill rigs, as well as a contract for Epiroc to provide spare parts for the surface drill rigs to keep downtime to a minimum.

Several giants of the industry are well established in the Pilbara region; among them are Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, which contribute a great deal to the Australian economy using some of the industry's most sophisticated equipment and methods.

Pilabara's Pilgangoora project hosts one of the world's largest deposits of hard-rock lithium, a metal essential to the transition to clean energy and transportation.

"Lithium plays an increasingly important role as the world keeps transitioning to electrification to reduce emissions, including producing more hybrid and electric vehicles," Epiroc President and CEO Helena Hedblom said. "We are happy to support Pilbara Minerals to optimize its operation."

Originally launched in Australia in 2019 and known as Epiroc's first fully autonomous surface drill rig, the SmartROC D65 is built to withstand the tough conditions common in the mining and quarry industries.

The rig increases productivity for mine sites, operating without breaks and with less wear on drilling tools. The drill rig also requires no operator and is controlled via an advanced rig control system displayed on a touch screen inside the comfortable, air-controlled FOPS (falling object protective structure) and ROPS (rollover protection system) certified cabin.

The interface also provides users with information such as drilling parameters and real-time MWD (measure while drilling) data, increasing the safety of site workers.

Other features of the SmartROC D65 surface drill rig include the auto feed fold and the eight-meter (26.25 feet) pipes, which makes it possible to drill 16-meter (52.5 feet) production holes with just one rod-adding, allowing users to spend less time changing rods and more time drilling.

The machine has a hole diameter of 110 to 229 millimeters (4.3 to nine inches), which enables it to drill entire drill patterns and high-quality blast holes with accuracy and precision.

The fleet of drills will be delivered to Pilbara's lithium mine from September through early 2025.