November 20, 2023
The company currently has six drill rigs, three of which are from Epiroc, including the top-of-the-range SmartROC D50 MKII, and is aiming to boost its capacity to five Epiroc rigs by year-end 2023.
Both of these SmartROC T40 MKII rigs are equipped with the Hole Navigation System (HNS) and are expected to be delivered in the second half of 2023.
In addition, the whole fleet will be backed up by Epiroc’s ROC Care service and maintenance contract which includes regular service inspections using Epiroc’s RigScan scanning technology.
"Since then we have increased our productivity by about thirty percent, not only due to the modernization of the fleet, but also to the replacement of personnel in drilling positions."
Overall, says Gromada, a hole of 15–29 m is completed in 30-60 minutes, much to the drillers’ satisfaction.
He continues: “As the previous rigs we had were about 15 years older than the latest models, our drillers see improvements on almost every level. But they probably value the automatic processes the most, such as full drill cycle automation DTH, tophammer rod extraction assistance, remote control and the Hole Navigation System.
“This high level of automation eliminates interventions by the driller and accelerates the whole drilling process.”
“This gave us a much better overview of inputs and outputs of individual drilling rigs, which made calculations easier for us.”
The same can be said of the My Epiroc application which Explosia also adopted into its drilling operations in the second half of 2020. This tool, Gromada points out, has been particularly helpful when it comes to production monitoring and planning of regular service activities.
In addition, the company has noted significant improvements in overall fuel consumption. The average consumption of diesel using the previous Epiroc ROC L6 drill rig was approximately 1.9 liters per drill meter.
With its replacement, the Epiroc SmartROC D50 MKII in 2023, fuel consumption averaged 0.96 liters per drill meter – almost half. Currently, the monthly savings on diesel average about 3,000 liters.
In the past, due to its aging fleet and lack of repair and maintenance services, Explosia has urgently and regularly had to request assistance from its competitors to complete drilling projects, but not anymore, explains Přemysl Gromada.
“The situation has changed significantly over the last three years, and this is the first year that we have the capacity to offer drilling work to companies in the Czech Republic who unexpectedly get into a situation where they are not able to meet deadlines.
“Fortunately, Explosia realized in time that without modernization and investment it will not be possible to continue fulfilling our existing or future obligations, let alone be a full-fledged competitor to other companies in the drilling business. The quality of the drilling is completely different now and on a much better level.”
In terms of all its operations, Explosia is a company with a comprehensive sustainability policy. By commissioning the new Epiroc drill rigs, the drilling team has reduced fuel consumption by 30-50 percent.
“Whether it concerns raw materials, energy, production or any other resource, sustainability is something that concerns is important for everyone,” continues Přemysl Gromada, who proudly claims a strong personal commitment to environmental protection.
“Epiroc has helped us in this regard by significantly reducing exhaust fumes, primarily as the new rigs have better fuel consumption than the old ones, and lowering emissions further through the use of AdBlue. So, I can see that over the last four years that Explosia has made a significant shift in the field of ecology towards conservation and more consideration for nature.”
