6 Steps to Buying Epiroc Equipment Without Regret: A Procurement Checklist

If you're responsible for buying Epiroc gear—whether it's a Boomer jumbo for underground development, a Scooptram for mucking, or adding an Automine package to an existing fleet—you know the stakes. Miss a spec, and you're not just out money. You're looking at downtime, safety re-certification, and a conversation with your operations manager that no one wants to have.

Over the last few years, I've managed procurement for a mid-size mining contractor in Chile. We run a mixed fleet, but Epiroc has been our primary supplier for drills since 2020. I've made mistakes. I've watched colleagues make the same ones. This checklist is what I wish someone had handed me before my first major equipment purchase.

Here are six steps. Don't skip any of them.

Step 1: Lock Down the Application, Not Just the Machine

This sounds obvious, but I've seen it go wrong more times than I'd like to admit. You don't buy an Epiroc Pit Viper because it's a good drill in general. You buy it because it fits a specific pattern—bench height, rock type, required hole diameter, production target.

I once watched a team order a Boomer S2 for a narrow-vein operation. The jumbo itself is excellent. But the feed length required a drift cross-section we didn't have. We had to re-profile. That killed two weeks of development. The drill wasn't wrong. The application specification was.

Checklist for this step:

• Confirm rock type and hardness with your geotech team—not the sales rep.
• Confirm minimum drift dimensions for underground gear.
• If it's a surface rig, confirm bench height range and hole pattern.
• Get it in writing. I don't mean a quote. I mean a signed-off application specification.

This is where the "expertise boundary" kicks in. The sales team knows the machine. You know your site. Don't assume they overlap perfectly.

Step 2: Verify the Automation Package Actually Works for Your Network

Epiroc's automation stack—Automine, Mobilaris, remote control—is a genuine differentiator. But here's a mistake I see repeatedly: buying the hardware without verifying the site infrastructure.

We bought an Epiroc remote control system for a loader in 2023. The hardware was delivered on time. But our underground network had dead zones where the control signal kept dropping. The system worked perfectly—on paper. In reality, we spent three months and an extra $25,000 on signal boosters and cabling before it was usable.

Before you order any Epiroc remote control or automation package:

• Map your network coverage (Wi-Fi, LTE, or mesh). Where are the gaps?
• Epiroc offers a site survey. Take it. It's not a sales pitch—it's a technical assessment. Use it.
• If you're retrofitting an older machine, check compatibility with existing control hardware. Not all automation packages are backwards-compatible with every serial number.

The vendor who says "it'll work" without asking about your network? Ask harder questions.

Step 3: Don't Treat Service Contracts Like an Afterthought

This is where my biggest learning curve happened. When I took over purchasing in 2020, I focused on the machine price. Negotiating down from $2.8M to $2.6M felt like a win. Then the service contract came in at $180,000 per year, with exclusions that covered... basically everything I cared about.

Epiroc has a robust global service network—one of their key advantages. But the terms vary significantly by region. A service contract in Australia is not the same as one in Kalgoorlie, and it's definitely not the same as one in Chile.

What I check now:

• Response time SLAs for critical breakdowns. 24 hours? 48? What does "response" mean—a phone call or a technician on site?
• Parts availability. Does the local warehouse stock the top 50 wear parts for this model?
• Exclusions list. Read it. Not the highlights. The full text.
• Training hours included. If your operators are new to Epiroc remote control, you'll need more than a half-day walkthrough.

I learned this the hard way. The service contract we signed in 2021 had a clause requiring an Epiroc-certified technician for any software update. Our local guy couldn't do it. We waited 11 days for a tech to fly in from Santiago. That downtime cost us more than the premium service contract would have.

Step 4: Get the Spare Parts Strategy Right

This is the step most people ignore until it's too late. You order the machine. You get the service contract. But nobody thinks about the parts that will break in the first six months.

For Epiroc gear, certain parts have lead times that will surprise you:

• Drill string components (especially for Fordia Epiroc rods and bits) can have 4-6 week lead times on specialty sizes.
• Hydraulic hoses for specialty models—like the PBB ("Peanut Butter" breaker) or specific pulverizer attachments—aren't always in local stock.
• Electronic control modules for automation systems. These are the ones that hurt. If you have an Automine control unit fail and no spare, you're not loading ore.

What works: ask Epiroc for a recommended spares list for the first 12 months of operation. Then buy 80% of that list upfront. It sounds expensive. It is. But it's cheaper than the production loss from waiting.

"I said 'lets order spares later.' The planner heard 'order when we need them.' Result: 19 days of downtime waiting for a control module that was available—just not in our warehouse."

Step 5: Compare "Base" vs. "Upgraded" Configurations Honestly

Epiroc equipment has modular options. A Boomer S2 can come with basic manual controls or full computer-assisted drilling. A Scooptram can have standard loading or AutoMine-ready interfaces. The price difference is often significant.

Here's the trap: buying the base model because it fits the budget, then realizing six months later that your operators are spending 40% of their shift on manual tasks that automation would handle in 10% of the time.

I'm not saying always buy the upgrade. I'm saying quantify the operational impact before deciding.

• If you're buying a drill and the upgrade reduces manual rod handling, calculate the labor savings per shift.
• If you're buying a loader and the upgrade enables remote operation in hazardous zones, put a dollar value on safety risk reduction.
• If you're in a high-turnover labor market, the automation package means less operator skill dependency.

This gets into territory I'm not an expert on—specifically, the ROI modeling of automation. From a procurement perspective, what I can tell you is: get the data from operations before you negotiate, not after.

Step 6: Verify Delivery, Commissioning, and Acceptance Criteria

This is the step that separates a smooth handover from a three-month headache. The machine arrives. Great. Now who inspects it? What's the acceptance criteria? Who trains the operators? What's the timeline from delivery to first production?

In 2022, we ordered a Pit Viper 271 for a surface operation. The sales agreement said "delivery within 16 weeks." It arrived in 18. The agreement said "commissioning included." It turned out that meant one technician for two days. Our team needed five. The acceptance sign-off was rushed because the commissioning window was too short.

Your checklist for the final step:

• Commissioning scope: How many days? How many technicians? What's included—assembly, calibration, test drilling, operator training?
• Acceptance sign-off criteria: What specific tests prove the machine meets spec? Hole depth? Penetration rate? Cycle time? Write these into the contract.
• Ownership transfer: When does the warranty clock start? At shipment? Delivery? First production?
• Training gap: Who trains your team? Is it a generic course or site-specific? If your operators are used to another brand's controls (like Sandvik or CAT), the transition time isn't trivial.

A Few Things to Watch Out For

These have burned me and my colleagues. Don't let them burn you.

Beware of "standard" pricing without regional context. A quote from a dealer in Jakarta may not reflect pricing in Colombia. Exchange rates, import duties, and local taxes vary wildly. Get a quote from the local Epiroc office—not a copy-paste from another region.

The person who commissions the machine might not be the person who sold it. The sales team is great at selling. The commissioning team may have different priorities. Build a relationship with the local service manager before the equipment arrives.

Don't assume compatibility with existing fleet telemetry. If you're mixing Epiroc with Caterpillar or Sandvik gear, the integration layer isn't automatic. Epiroc's digital solutions work best in an Epiroc-dominant environment. If you have a mixed fleet, push for a demo of the data integration before committing.

This checklist isn't exhaustive. Every site has its own quirks. But these six steps have saved me from at least three major mistakes that would have cost my company six figures apiece. Take what works for your context, adapt the rest, and don't skip the boring parts like service contract exclusions. The boring parts are where the expensive surprises live.