Key Takeaways

  • Hexagon Drill Assist puts AI directly into the drilling algorithm, automatically managing drill parameters from rig-sensor data as it drills — no manual parameter entry.
  • Operators report training time dropping from years to about 15 minutes with Drill Assist, alongside real gains in fragmentation, ore dilution reduction, and energy use per metre.
  • Fully automated computer-vision lithology/cuttings logging is still research-stage — sensor-while-drilling systems from IMDEX and Epiroc are the more mature adjacent capability.

TL;DR

AI blasthole logging today mostly means AI-driven drilling itself — Hexagon Drill Assist manages drill parameters automatically from live rig-sensor data, capturing consistent, high-quality blasthole logs as a byproduct, while automated cuttings/lithology vision-based logging remains a research direction rather than a deployed product.

How Do I Automate Blasthole Logging With AI?

The clearest, most mature AI capability here isn’t logging after the fact — it’s AI managing the drill itself while it works, which produces better, more consistent logging data as a side effect. Hexagon Drill Assist is an OEM-agnostic automation layer that sits above existing rig control systems, using AI to set and adjust drilling parameters automatically from sensor data rather than requiring an operator to dial them in manually. That eliminates a huge source of variability in blasthole quality: Hexagon reports operators reaching productive competence in about 15 minutes instead of the traditional three-to-five years, alongside measurable improvements in penetration rate, fragmentation outcomes, and reduced ore dilution — all of which depend on consistent, accurate hole logging.

Beyond the drilling-automation angle, several vendors — IMDEX and Epiroc among them — now offer AI-assisted measurement-while-drilling (MWD) systems that log rock properties from drill response data in real time. Fully automated computer-vision systems that classify lithology or cuttings from downhole imagery are an active research area but not yet a mature commercial product — worth tracking, but don’t plan a deployment around it yet. Practically: if you’re evaluating this space, start with drill automation (Hexagon, or MWD systems from IMDEX/Epiroc) rather than waiting for vision-based cuttings classification to mature.

Try It With Geocluster

Turning MWD and drill-automation sensor streams into a logging record that ties cleanly back to your geological model is exactly the kind of data-integration problem Geocluster is built to handle.