IN Brief:
- Epiroc has booked a SEK380 million order for autonomous electric surface drill rigs in Africa.
- The fleet consists of cable-electric Pit Viper 275 E machines with zero exhaust emissions at point of use.
- Deliveries will run through to the end of 2027, underlining a longer deployment cycle for autonomous heavy plant.
Epiroc has won a major order for autonomous and electric surface mining equipment in Africa, with the customer ordering a fleet of Pit Viper 275 E blasthole drill rigs. The order is valued at SEK380 million and was booked in the first quarter of 2026.
The machines are cable-electric and will operate fully autonomously, with Epiroc stating that the configuration is intended to raise safety and productivity while delivering zero exhaust emissions. Delivery is due to begin shortly and continue through to the end of 2027, giving the programme a phased implementation window rather than a short installation cycle.
The Pit Viper 275 E is the cable-electric version of Epiroc’s established rotary blasthole drilling platform, a machine line that has long been used in high-output surface operations. In this order, electrification and autonomy are being procured together as part of a single fleet decision, which is significant in itself. It points to capital equipment packages that are now being specified around operating architecture as much as mechanical capability.
Although the deployment is in mining, the wider signal reaches beyond that sector because Epiroc serves both mining and infrastructure customers. The order sits squarely within a direction of travel shaped by automated control, lower-emission site equipment, and longer-term fleet planning around digital operation. Epiroc said it generated around SEK62 billion in revenue in 2025 and operates in around 150 countries, giving the company a substantial installed base from which these autonomous electric platforms can continue to scale.
