A hands-free rod handling system designed to fully automate the loading of drill rods and core barrel operation is enhancing safety, lowering costs and improving productivity across numerous industries. “When manually loading drill rods, accidents can occur with the possibility of severe injuries. By automating this labour-intensive operation will ensure the safety of staff and a more efficient and productive process,” said Eddy Mathe, MD of Pacific Technologies.

Supplied by Pacific Technologies and its drilling rigs supplier, Hanjin D&B, Mr Mathe said the system is particularly suited for applications such as exploration drilling, water drilling, reverse circulation and geothermal drilling.

“The automated solution is different to most other hands-free rod handlers which automate only the rods but not the core barrel. The fully hands-free system aims to offer better performance than competitive products, while also ensuring a safer working environment as a result of reduced human intervention, further enhancing the level of safety,” Mr Mathe said.

“The system ensures compliance with government regulations, to improve safety, and to ensure ease of use includes a remote control for tramming of the rig, the rod loader and rod carrier.” The rod loader has a magnetic handler which lifts the rod magnetically and, as an added safety feature, the rod loader also has ‘jaws’ for the handling of rods. The magnetic and jaw system is designed to enable the rod loader to handle the core barrel with greater ease and without manual intervention.

The handling system covers the entire process, from handling of drill rods from the rod carrier using the rod loader, to feeding the rods into the rod feeder, which in turn feeds the rods into the rod handler. All of which is fully automated and hands free. The unit includes an air-conditioned cabin, with the rod handler attached to the rig. For more info go to: www.pacificmining.co.za