Belfast engineering firm set to build potentially life-saving mining equipment

Belfast engineering company, Tribe Tech is building potentially life-saving mining equipment as it manufactures the world’s-first autonomous reverse circulation (RC) drill thanks to £760,000 funding from HSBC UK.

The ground-breaking equipment that will remove the need for manual human involvement from one of the mining industry’s most dangerous operations.

Backed by UK Export Finance, Tribe Tech is using the money to build the prototype of the world’s-first autonomous reverse circulation (RC) drill at its base in Belfast.

Several orders for the equipment have already been secured and the business expects it will ramp up sales to an average of 20 drills per year. The potentially lifesaving piece of equipment - which weighs 80 tonnes and measures metres long and four meters wide - will be used for exploration drilling by those mining for metals or minerals.

Currently, three to five people are required to operate RC drills in dusty and dangerous remote areas.

But with Tribe Tech’s invention, the drill can be operated by just one miner from a safe distance of up to five kilometres away.

Eric Hampel, chief financial officer at Tribe Tech, said: “Safety is one of the mining industry’s biggest challenges. We created this equipment because we were confident that, with the technology we have available, there had to be a way of RC drilling that didn’t risk human lives or health but still improved productivity.

“HSBC UK took the time to really understand our business requirements. With the bank’s support, it’s exciting to look ahead at the change that the mining industry is about to see with our new product.”

In 2018-2019, 1,308 company and contractor employee injuries and two fatalities were reported in the Western Australian Mineral Industry alone.

Maureen Barr, relationship director in Northern Ireland, HSBC UK, added: “Tribe Tech is a fantastic example of a company pooling its great expertise to bring about positive change and innovation to a long-established industry. We look forward to seeing its continued growth with the promise of a safer mining industry for the future.”

Established in 2019, Tribe Tech, an automation focused Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) was set up to create a safer, more efficient work environment for the mining industry through “Automating the Toughest Tasks”.