When hard granite and quartzite formations meet “Made in Hunan,” the underground construction at the Chambishi Copper Mine in Zambia has gained a new “game-changing tool.” Two sets of AT-3000L Raise borer Machines from Yier Technology, with their technical advantages of large diameter, deep hole spacing, and strong adaptability, are now serving as the core drilling force for China Nonferrous’s African mining projects.

Since the equipment was officially lowered into the well and put into operation on April 29, 2024, and through December 31, 2025—although the effective construction period lasted only one year—the results have been remarkable, with a total of 830 meters of drilling completed.

The specific construction details are as follows: Grouting hole construction: The total length of grouting holes completed to date is 351.8 meters, with individual segment lengths being 214 m, 32 m, 33.4 m, 37 m, and 35.4 m.

Shaft Construction: A total of 5 shafts, each 3 meters in length, have been constructed. Of these, 4 shafts have already been completed, with lengths of 96.7 m, 109.5 m, 75 m, and 147.7 m respectively. The fifth shaft, measuring 155 m in length, is currently undergoing borehole enlargement work, and the current progress of the enlargement has reached 50 m.

Large-scale construction: 3-meter diameter + 280-meter deep boreholes—tackling the “hard nut” of hard rock.

The country rock surrounding the Chambishi copper mine is predominantly composed of high-hardness granite and quartzite, and the drilling process frequently encounters interference from mine water, placing extremely high demands on the stability and precision of the equipment.

The AT-3000L Raise borer Machine demonstrates outstanding performance with precise matching: it features a standard construction diameter of 3 meters, perfectly meeting the engineering design requirements for chutes and filling holes in the Chambishi Copper Mine project. In actual construction, the AT-3000L Raise borer Machine has delivered remarkable results, with the deviation rate of shafts consistently kept within the range of 0.1% to 0.4%. Notably, in the E2-2 chute (with a diameter of 3 meters and a depth of 155 meters), the deviation distance was only 9 centimeters, resulting in a deviation rate as low as 0.1%.

High-performance output: 11 meters per day—truly the “speed leader” in hard rock formations.

Under the constraints of highly hard surrounding rock, the AT-3000L still achieved construction efficiency that exceeded expectations: routine operations reached a daily advance rate of 6 meters, while the highest efficiency broke through “7.3 meters per shift and 11 meters per day,” significantly shortening the project timeline.

Faced with the sudden failure—“a broken internal hexagonal screw caused the drill rod to detach from the machine”—on-site engineer Wang Chaoqun quickly restored equipment operation by welding four 40mm drill rods to the gearbox and head assembly as an emergency measure, thereby demonstrating the equipment’s technical features of “easy maintenance and high reliability.”

End-to-end support: On-site service + local response, solving the challenges of overseas maintenance and repair. To meet the long-term needs of overseas projects, Yier Technology has equipped the AT-3000L with an after-sales solution featuring senior engineers stationed on-site:

Engineer Wang Chaoqun has been permanently stationed at the Qianbixi Copper Mine project office, providing comprehensive support throughout the entire process—including equipment operation guidance, emergency troubleshooting, and performance optimization and adjustment. This approach not only addresses the time-sensitive challenges of cross-border maintenance but also allows for the accumulation of locally tailored service expertise through hands-on field experience.

From the Hunan workshop to the underground mine in Zambia, the AT-3000L Raise borer Machine, with its technological highlights of "large diameter, high precision, and high efficiency," has not only supported the advancement of the Chambishi Copper Mine project but also demonstrated the strong competitiveness of Chinese mining equipment in overseas markets through an integrated "equipment + service" solution.