Sandvik Mining has secured an order to supply a DR410i rotary drill rig, equipped for autonomous operation, to Mariana Minerals’ Copper One mine in Utah, USA. The order was booked in 1Q26 and has been delivered to site, with commissioning of AutoMine^® Surface Drilling ongoing.

The project marks the beginning of a collaboration between Sandvik and Mariana Minerals to explore and advance autonomous surface drilling in a next-generation mining environment.

In 1Q26, Mariana Minerals also purchased Deswik Mine Planning software for its Copper One mine, expanding its investment with Sandvik to include digital assets.

Mariana Minerals is a vertically integrated, software-led mining company focused on the production of critical minerals. At its Copper One site, the company is developing an ‘autonomy-first’ operation, where equipment and processes are designed to be integrated into MarianaOS, Mariana’s internally developed autonomous orchestration platform.

As part of this approach, the Sandvik DR410i will be deployed as an autonomous-ready drill, with the rig integrated into MarianaOS using the high-resolution operational and subsurface data to optimise downstream decisions across the mine and processing plan.

The Sandvik DR410i is a compact and high-performance rotary blasthole drill rig for surface mining, capable of drilling 152 – 251 mm holes. It features Sandvik’s iSeries architecture and DRi system. The latter enables real-time data capture and supporting drill planning, execution, and analysis.

With AutoMine^® Surface Drilling, Sandvik currently offers fully autonomous surface drilling, allowing multiple rigs to operate autonomously from a remote control room. This solution enhances safety by removing personnel from the drill site, while improving consistency, utilisation, and overall productivity.

Mats Eriksson, President of Sandvik Mining, said:

“This project reflects a shared ambition to advance the role of automation in surface mining. By working closely with Mariana Minerals, we have the opportunity to further develop our autonomous drilling capabilities while supporting a new approach to mine design and operation.”

Turner Caldwell, CEO of Mariana Minerals, added:

“Our vision is to build mining operations where autonomy is embedded from day one. Integrating Sandvik’s drill platform into our broader system architecture is an important step towards creating a more connected and adaptive operation at Copper One.”

Beyond the initial equipment delivery, both companies are working towards continued collaboration as the Copper One project develops and as Mariana Minerals progresses additional projects in North America.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/24042026/sandvik-supplies-autonomous-drill-rig-head-to-mariana-minerals-copper-one-mine/