The navigation system is used to precisely drill to the designed hole and target depth. Before GPS was installed on the drills, this depth was usually the operator's best guess and cost many hours annually of rework, redrilling to achieve correct depth or backfilling holes that were drilled too deep. The accuracy of the GPS drills now gives us more control and the ability to achieve consistent fragmentation results. After the blast, electric-powered shovels scoop up the broken rock. The shovels are equipped with onboard computers, soft ware, a GPS receiver, and data radios and receivers.
Engineers transmit planning designs to the machine's onboard computer.
The operator sees a display showing the boundaries of the ore deposit, powerlines, miscellaneous obstacles, and mining limits. Next to the map, an elevation gauge tells the operator how much material needs to be cut or filled o achieve the desired new elevation for the bench. The elevation is displayed in 0.1-foot increments, but the shovels are not sufficiently maneuverable to move material with that kind of precision. The system records the machine's progress, updates the operator's display, and transmits the same information back to the engineering office for analysis and documentation. Daily production reports go to geologists, mine planners, shift supervisors, and shovel operators.