en.Wedoany.com Reported - Sandvik launched the xCell® Banshee and xCell® Hydra, two digital ground support monitoring solutions, at the ACG Caving Conference 2026 held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, further expanding its digital ground support technology portfolio to enhance safety, productivity, and decision-making efficiency in underground mining operations.
As mining operations continue to extend to greater depths and geotechnical conditions become increasingly complex, reliable ground support data has become a critical requirement for mine operations. The xCell® Banshee and xCell® Hydra are now integrated into Sandvik's Digital Ground Support Platform, enabling mine operators to collect, analyze, and process information on ground conditions, bolt status, and equipment integrity in real time.
Osvaldo Vallati, Product Manager for Digital Ground Support at Sandvik, stated that digitalization is transforming the way mines manage ground support. With these two new solutions, customers gain access to valuable data for proactive decision-making, improved workforce utilization, and a deeper understanding of underground conditions, thereby enhancing mining safety while optimizing the performance and lifecycle of ground support systems.
The xCell® Banshee provides digital monitoring of consumed load-bearing capacity for Sandvik MD and MDX bolts, offering critical insights into bolt performance and ground support effectiveness throughout the lifecycle of the excavation by conducting in-service testing and condition assessment of installed bolts. The solution is designed based on measurable versions of MD and MDX bolts, featuring a unique identification system that ensures measurement results are securely assigned and identified within the Digital Ground Support Platform. Its measurable design does not alter the standard bolt installation process and is planned to gradually become the standard production version of MD and MDX bolts without incurring additional hardware costs.
The xCell® Banshee provides visibility into bolt consumed load-bearing capacity and long-term ground behavior, supporting more informed rehabilitation planning, optimized support design, and enhanced mine-wide integrity monitoring. Geotechnical teams can thereby reduce data collection time and shift more focus toward data interpretation, leading to improved operational efficiency and reduced rehabilitation costs.
The xCell® Hydra extends digital monitoring capabilities through continuous measurement of the consumed load-bearing capacity of embedded bolts. The solution combines sensor-equipped bolts with intelligent battery-powered data loggers to enable reliable real-time data acquisition and wireless transmission of critical ground support information. Multiple adjustable measurement points configured on the bolt create a detailed deformation profile, presenting bolt performance over time. A single system supports connecting up to nine bolts to one data logger, and the installation process is identical to that of standard bolts, facilitating deployment in underground environments.
When paired with the xCell Professor® mobile data collection technology, the xCell® Hydra can efficiently collect monitoring data at speeds of up to 30 km/h, continuously providing insights with minimal operational disruption. The generated data can be used for ground support optimization, installation tension verification, understanding of seismic and ground movement behavior, and more effective rehabilitation planning.
Both products are fully integrated into Sandvik's Digital Ground Support Platform. This cloud-based environment consolidates key data, analytics, and documentation from multiple digital ground support solutions into a single system, providing customers with a comprehensive view of ground support performance and supporting data-driven decisions to enhance safety, operational efficiency, and sustainable mining.
The launch of the xCell® Banshee and xCell® Hydra is part of Sandvik's digital ground support strategy, aimed at helping mining companies transition from reactive ground support management to predictive, data-driven decision-making by transforming rock bolts into intelligent sources of geotechnical information.
