JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South Africa’s Master Drilling, the Fochville-based company which on Tuesday reported a $292-million revenue record plus a nigh billion-dollar 2026 order book, is introducing autonomous drilling technology applicable to raise boring, which brings in more than 80% of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company’s business.

Operating profit increased by 57.2% to $46.5-million, earnings per share in rands were 71.3% up at 361.1c a share. Net cash generated from operations was $17.9-million and of the $20.6-million capital expenditure, 66% was on expansion and 34% on sustaining the existing fleet, Master Drilling CFO Andre van Deventer reported.

An initiative under way is “to commission a total autonomous drilling system, and we hope to get that over the line before the end of the year”, Master Drilling CEO Danie Pretorius stated during his results presentation covered by Mining Weekly.

“We've developed autonomous drilling technology, which is applicable to the company’s raise-boring rigs so that these rigs can operate without human intervention,” Master Drilling COO Roelof Swanepoel explained.

“If you look at our pipeline and order book, obviously it’s a very nice position for the business for a company of our size to go into a New Year with an order book of just on a billion dollars. We couldn't have asked for better.

“Probably as important is the makeup of the order book and pipeline,” said Pretorius in pointing out the overwhelming multi-country copper and gold exposure that the pipeline highlights, with platinum group metals filling position three on the slide showing the company’s diverse 15-commodity revenue generators.

On Master Drilling’s 2025 revenue being 7.8% higher than that of 2024, Pretorius added: “We’d like to have seen a bit more given this commodity bull run”, but the exceptionally strong pipeline is set to lift business considerably higher.

Raise bore hot spots around the world are being targeted amid $2-million having been invested in the development of technical and management skills across the group in 2025 – up on $1.8-million invested in 2024.

The 2025 workforce of 3 294 employees is also up on the 3 112 of 2024.

Backing up the dominant 83% raise boring business pillar are digitalisation and smart mining at 11%, slim drilling at 4% and mechanical rock excavation and cutting at 2%. The moderate 2% from mechanical rock excavation obscures what strategically is regarded as a very important pillar by Master Drilling, and this contribution is expected to be considerably higher in the years ahead.

As mines deepen and become more complex, autonomous technology is expected to become the real differentiator in the future.

Of the next-generation machines, the Bluebot blind hole machine has been mobilised to Chile and during the last year, AI has been used for predictive maintenance, fault finding and drill parameter optimisation while drilling is taking place.

Major upside potential is seen for AI as it is used in many more applications beyond raise boring alone.

Meanwhile, the contribution from Master Drilling’s digitalisation and smart mining pillar is coming mainly from its mine safety technology subsidiary A&R.

“If you look at South African technology around tracking people and tracking equipment underground, South Africa’s technology and legislation is leading in many ways.

“A number of countries are looking to South Africa, to the technology being deployed here, and also the legislation being used by miners and our strategy is to take this technology that we have in South Africa, which is tested and proven, to the global market,” Swanepoel reported amid displaying AI-powered cameras, developed by Embedded IQ, a company in which Master Drilling is invested.

These cameras can pick up people obstacles and hazards in an underground environment, and can take immediate action to avoid those obstacles or to take corrective action.

Displayed was a video showing the cameras picking up people, ventilation, doors, and restricted areas.

A missing-person locator is tracking tens of thousands of workers underground, making sure that they are reachable when there is an emergency.

SLIM DRILLING

The strategy for slim drilling is to expand specifically into Africa.

A slim drilling business has been opened in Namibia to support the encouraging growth in that region.

Shown was the image of a robotic surface rig referred to as Desert Elephant, which has been commissioned.

Robotics, automation, electrification and water re-use have been combined into one single rig that can be deployed on a mining site and can work by itself.

It was reported that good progress is also being made on a robotic underground rig called Dragon Fly.

Tools and technology to build underground infrastructure safer and quicker have three areas of focus: machine tunnel boring being developed at the Bokoni platinum group metals mine, mechanical shaft sinking, and reef-cutting innovations.