Boart Longyear Launches 7 Innovative Drilling Products at PDAC 2011

SALT LAKE CITY, March 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Boart Longyear (www.boartlongyear.com) (ASX: BLY), the world's leading integrated drilling products and services provider, announced several new and innovative drilling products at the annual International Convention and Trade Show of Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) being held in Toronto, Ontario March 6 – 9, 2011.

"Boart Longyear has continued its commitment to innovation and increased productivity by utilizing groundbreaking technology," said Kevin Tomaszewski, director of Product Management at Boart Longyear. "As a result of our significant investment in research and development, we are well-positioned as the innovation leader in the mineral drilling industry."

The 120-year-old company has introduced the following new products:

Roller Latch™ Underground Head Assembly

Boart Longyear's new underground head assembly features patented Roller Latch™ technology that provides greater pump-in speed and utilizes large ball bearings for latching and hold-back braking to retain inner-tube assemblies in the drill string for significantly safer operations.  Roller Latches deploy and retract radially, without swinging like conventional pinned latch mechanisms, and fit tightly onto the outer tube — this eliminates excessive wear on the couplings, landing shoulder, and landing ring due to loose fit and slippage. The new head assembly is also compatible with Boart Longyear's V-Wall™ drill rod, making all the advantages of light weight V-Wall rods available in underground coring applications for the first time.

Ultramatrix™ Diamond Coring Bits

Ultramatrix™ (UMX™) diamond coring bits, an innovative and versatile new line of diamond products, make diamond coring more efficient than ever before.  UMX's patented design is engineered to drill faster, last longer, and out-perform existing bit technology in a wide range of drilling conditions and formations. The extended range and versatility of the UMX series means fewer bits are needed on the job site, and drillers can expect increased productivity throughout the entire operation — less time spent tripping rods, and ultimately, more core in the box.

RST™ Series Rock Drill and Blast Rods and Bits

The Robust Standard Thread (RST™) Series percussive rods and bits offers industry-leading strength and penetration rates. Boart Longyear has responded to demands for stronger, more versatile percussive rods and bits by developing the RST Series that incorporates a larger rod cross-sectional transition area as well as an increased bit skirt length.  This delivers improved impact efficiency for faster penetration rates, increased rod tip-off resistance, and reduced hole deviation. As an additional benefit, the RST Series allows for interchangeability with standard rods and bits for improved flexibility in the field, unlike competitive offerings, which utilize unique thread designs.

Lightning Rod™ Surface Rock Drill and Blast Rods

The Lightning Rod™ Series continues Boart Longyear's tradition of providing innovative products for specific customer needs. The Lightning Rod Series provides a quick-change male/female rod designed for high-durability and air flushing, ideal for the surface rock drill and blast market. The result is higher productivity and improved efficiency. The Lightning Rod Series utilizes high-strength steel coupled with high-wear resistant ends.  The male and female end-forms are fully treated to provide market-leading wear resistance during both the drilling process as well as coupling and uncoupling events.

RC6 Reverse Circulation Multipurpose Drill

The RC6 is a powerful and compact reverse circulation drill that can also be configured to perform small diameter rotary drilling, core drilling and DTH drilling.  For RC drilling, an optional trailer-mounted cyclone and splitter can be towed behind the drill rig offering ease of mobility on site. The RC6 includes a wide range of safety features: a safety cage that ensures drillers remain a safe distance from the drill string; low speed and low torque rotation settings that ensure safe rod management; and steel crawlers coupled with the RC6's upright stability that make this machine extremely stable on uneven formations.

Longyear™ Rod Lifter Safety Tooling

With an aim to reduce the number one injury to drillers, the Longyear™ Rod Lifter was engineered to protect a driller's hands during rod handling.  The rod handler is lightweight and ergonomically designed to keep the wrist and hand in a neutral position while eliminating strain.  It successfully removes fingers from pinch points and sharp surfaces and promotes proper lifting techniques and body positioning. The rod lifter also prevents pipe slippage through the use of carbide teeth grips.

Longyear™ Split Tube Loader Safety Tooling

In the field, it is often documented that split tubes and outer casing become sharp and contain metal burrs. Drillers have continually received hand lacerations and injuries due to these conditions, many times even through gloves. The Longyear Split Tube Loader is designed to keep fingers away from dangerous areas and eliminate hand-contact with sharp edges. The tool fits multiple split tube diameters with one device.

For more information on these new drilling products by Boart Longyear, visit www.boartlongyear.com/PDAC2011.

About Boart Longyear

Boart Longyear (ASX:  BLY) is a 120-year-old global mineral exploration company that provides mineral exploration services and drilling products for the global mining industry and also has a substantial drilling presence for water exploration, environmental sampling, energy, and oil sands exploration.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, with 2010 sales of US$1.476 billion and over 9,000 employees worldwide, the company conducts contract drilling services in 40 countries, and provides mining products to customers in over 100 countries.  Regional offices and operations are located in Asia Pacific, EMEA, Latin America, and North America.  

The company can be found on the Web at www.boartlongyear.com .  To get Boart Longyear news direct, visit http://www.boartlongyear.com/rss

SOURCE Boart Longyear