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2013 Blasthole Reference Book, 3rd Edition tcm1240-3515521 PDF
2013 Blasthole Reference Book, 3rd Edition tcm1240-3515521 PDF
Blasthole Drilling
in Open Pit Mining
2012
If you need more reasons to invest in a Pit Viper, find out if you can take advantage of single-pass
drilling! Visit www.atlascopco.com/blastholedrills today to learn more about the Pit Viper series.
Contents
Foreword
2
Talking technically
3
11
13
17
23
29
35
37
41
43
47
49
53
59
69
71
75
79
83
87
91
Case studies
93
99
101
103
105
107
109
115
117
119
123
129
133
137
141
145
149
155
157
159
163
165
169
171
173
Product specifications
175
179
180
211
236
239
246
250
255
256
258
260
270
273
276
280
288
295
300
Produced by: Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions LLC, PO Box 462288, Garland, TX 75046, USA, Phone +1 972 496 7400.
Publisher: Ulf Linder, ulf.linder@us.atlascopco.com
Editing team: Cecilia Einarsson, Diane Norwood, Elisa Davidson, Gunilla Lindberg, Justin Cocchiola, Marino Wallsten, Matthew Inge,
Torbjorn Viberg, Ulf Linder.
Adviser: Dustin Penn, dustin.penn@us.atlascopco.com
Contributors: Brian Fox, Clarence Zink, Bo Persson, Dustin Penn, Gunnar Nord, Jim Langford, Tyler Berens, Jon Torpy, John Stinson, Leif Larsson,
Maureen Bohac, Morgan Penn, Rick Meyer, Sverker Hartwig, Ted Aikman, Tyler Berens, all name.surname@country code.atlascopco.com
William Hustrulid, Hans Fernberg, Kyran Casteel, Scott Ellenbecker, James Lawrence, Mark Stewart, Adriana Potts, Joseph Bradfield, Sara Schmuck.
Digital copy of Atlas Copco reference edition can be downloaded at www.atlascopco.com/blastholedrills.
Reproduction of individual articles only by agreement with the publisher.
Layout: Rafaella Turander, ahrt informationsdesign, rebro, Sweden, turander@ahrt.se
Printed by: Executive Press, Richardson, Texas, www.executivepress.com
Legal notice
Copyright 2012, Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions LLC, Garland, Texas, USA. All rights reserved.Atlas Copco is committed to comply or exceed all
applicable laws, rules and regulations. Photos in this publication may show situations which complies with such laws, rules and regulations in the
country where the photo has been taken but not necessarily in other parts of the world. In any case think safety first and always use proper ear,
eye, head and other protection to minimize risk of personal injury. This publication, as well as specifications and equipment, is subject to change
without notice. All Atlas Copco product names (including but not limited to Pit Viper, ROC, COPROD, TEAMALLOY, SmartRig, SmartROC, COP and
Secoroc) are registered trademarks or trademarks of one or more Atlas Copco Group companies.
Foreword
Blasthole Drilling
in Open Pit Mining
is designed to be a
comprehensive reference on the application of rotary drills
in surface mining
applications, plus
an overview of the
current product
offering from
Atlas Copco.
Brian Fox
Vice President, Marketing
Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions LLC
brian.fox@us.atlascopco.com
Talking Technically
Gunpowder
The application of blasting agents
apparently began in Hungarian mines
sometime during the sixteenth century. To make better use of the explosive force, miners started to place the
powder in holes and it is certain that
drilling and blasting were used in several German and Scandinavian mines
early in the seventeenth century, for
instance at the Nasafjll silver mine in
Lappland in 1635, and in 1644 at the
Rros mine in Norway.
One-man drilling with the help of
a drill steel and sledgehammer was
the established technology used in the
The Pit Viper is designed for production drilling of large holes in hard rock conditions.
Talking Technically
The Ingersoll rockdrill was a simple and strong design with few moving parts.
Further development
The design of the first Atlas rock drill
featured an advanced rifle bar rotation but with a weight of 280 kg (617 lb)
4
The first drill made by Atlas "pneumatic rock drill No. 16" had a weight of 280 kg (617 lb) and was heavy
and difficult to handle - at least two men were needed to move it.
Talking Technically
The US patent for a dual roller cone bit was issued to Howard Hughes Sr. in 1909.
Rotary bits
Rotary drilling with drag bits was the
common method used in oil drilling.
These bits were suitable when drilling in soft formations like sand or
clay but not in rock. The solution for
drilling large diameter holes in rock
was by using rotary crushing technology instead of trying to cut hard rock
with drag bits. The roller cone bit was
developed by Hughes and Sharp, and
the US patent for a dual roller cone
bit was issued to Howard Hughes Sr.
in 1909. This new type of bit had two
interlocking wheels with steel teeth,
and penetrated the rock by crushing
and chipping. The success of the new
bit led to the founding of the SharpHughes Tool Company, and after
Sharp's death in 1912 the name was
changed to Hughes Tool Company.
The company continued development of the roller cone bit and in 1933
two Hughes engineers invented the
tricone bit. This bit had three conical
rollers equipped with steel teeth.
Drilling was accomplished by transferring a pulldown force to drive the
teeth into the hole bottom. The three
roller cones turned as the drill string
was rotated, and the teeth crushed and
spalled the rock.
While tophammer drills could be
used for small blast holes in rock, this
method was not suitable for large hole
diameters; for these rotary drills were
Talking Technically
Big picture; Airpowered DM-3 with a DRD-2 Rotary head from the late 1950's. Inset; Tractor mounted
Drillmaster, air powered with a DRD Rotary Head from the early 1950's.
Improvements in materials have continued to increase the life of the bearings so the cutting structures can be
fully utilized. While the geometry of
the roller cone bit is much the same as
the original bit patented in 1933, the
material and technology currently utilized is cutting edge.
Downhole drilling
technology
Meanwhile, manual lightweight pneumatic drills had also underpinned the
expansion of bench mining in open cut
mines and quarries. But in the 1930s
downhole drills (DHDs ) were introduced for drilling deeper holes. The
main initial development of this technology took place in Belgium and the
United States. Atlas designed a downhole unit in the mid-thirties that was
used with good results in two Swedish
limestone quarries until the 1950s but
the company then ceased further DHD
development, only re-entering the
market in 1969 with the COP 4 and COP
6 down-the-hole hammers. Followed
by the valve less COP 32 42,52 and 62
from 1978, where still COP32 is in use.
In 1955 Ingersoll-Rand introduced a
new downhole drill design and started
The Quarrymaster from 1948 was equipped with a huge 8" bore drifter.
Talking Technically
Drill rigs
The mobilization of rotary and downhole drills was linked to significant
post-war changes in rotary drilling technology. Up until then rotary drilling
had been used in water well drilling and
surface mining using fluid circulation
to clean cuttings from the hole. Coal
mines were using rotary drilling in
soft overburden, removing the cuttings
with augers. In the late 1940s it was realized that air was an effective flushing
medium with considerable advantages
over water, doing a better cleaning job,
protecting the bits and eliminating the
difficulties of supplying water.
Experience also proved that air flushing improved the penetration rate of
rolling cutter bits such as tricone bits
and extended their life. By using efficient air flushing to keep the bottom
of the drill hole free from cuttings the
rock breaking process became more
efficient.
In 1948, Ingersoll-Rand entered the
large-diameter blast hole market by
launching the Quarrymaster. It really
was not a rotary drill, but a large self
propelled mounting in the 40,000 lb*
weight range, designed with on board
air and a long drill tower to drill 6 inch
to 8 inch diameter holes for mining
and quarry applications. The original
Quarrymasters were equipped with a
huge 8" bore drifter, know as the QD8.
This was a piston drill with the drill
steel attached directly to the drifter
piston. The blow frequency was in the
range of 200-300 blows per minute.
The drifter used a large rifle bar rotation system. Achieving decent wear life
between the rifle bar and rifle nut was
sometimes a problem in tight ground.
This was a single pass drill system,
hole depth was limited by the tower
length. The steel system was a heavy
wall tubular product, in the range of 4"
Talking Technically
Hydraulics technology
adds to drillers options
The similarities between the air requirements of rotary and downhole drilling made the design of rigs able to
do both an economically attractive
proposition. In 1965-66 Ingersoll-Rand
started work on the switch to hydraulic
powered rotation for rotary and downhole drilling, launching first the truckmounted T4W for water well drilling
in 1968. In the same year this rig was
modified to make a truck-mounted
blasthole rig with a 5-rod carousel,
the Drillmaster T4BH, which could
drill holes of up to 7 inch diameter
and was successfully offered for coal
mine drilling throughout the 1970s.
8
Expansion of the
Drillmaster range
Significant corporate developments and
one major product launch impacted the
Ingersoll-Rand drilling business in the
mid-1970s. Firstly, in 1973 the company
acquired DAMCO (Drill And Manufacturing Company) in Dallas, Texas,
who built mechanically driven pre-split
drilling machines for quarrying and
light coal stripping. These expanded
the Drillmaster range down to the
20,000 lbf* bit weight class. The rigs
also used the rotary table drive and kelly
bar concept, which lightened the tower
structure sufficiently to accommodate
rod long enough to drill 40 50ft holes
in a single pass if required. IngersollRand added their own compressors to
create the DM20, DM25, DM25-SP
(single-pass), DM35 and DM35-SP
rotary rig models. Then, in 1975, the
company bought the Sanderson Cyclone
Drill Company in Ohio, USA, adding
12 models designed for the water well
market.
The next extension of the size class
range came with the launch of the
Drillmaster DM50 with 50,000 lbf of
weight on the bit. In this machine the
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Talking Technically
Development of large
blasthole drills
Towards the end of the seventies, the
company started designing drill rigs
more specifically aimed at the base
metal mining market, using power
pack concepts developed for deephole
drilling. So far, neither air-powered nor
hydraulic drive rotary nor downhole
drills had challenged the electric motor
top drive rotary rigs manufactured in
the United States for the 12 15 inch
diameter hole market.
These machines by now had very
high weights on bit in the range
100,000 120,000 lbf, partly due to
the weight of the electric motor for the
rotary head, but were not suitable for
live tower operation. Ingersoll-Rands
first response was in 1979 with the
development of the Drillmaster DM70,
able to drill 10 inch diameter holes in
metal mines and up to 12 inch holes
at coal mines using 8.6 bar air for
rotary drilling. And in 1979 the company launched the DM-H (Drillmaster
Heavy), the first truly modern large
blasthole drilling rig to be used for
low pressure rotary drilling of 9 7/8 12 1/8 inch holes with bit loads up to
90,000 lbf.
The DM-H used hydraulics for both
drilling and non-drilling functions
and featured a hydraulic propel excavator type undercarriage with easily
replaceable grouser pads and in-line
The DM-M3 launched in 1992 is used for multipass drilling in coal mining.
Milestones in development
Year
Model
Load on bit
1948
Quarrymaster drifter
1955
DM3
30,000 lbf
1968
T4BH
30,000 lbf
1969
DM4
40,000 lbf
1970
DM50
50,000 lbf
1979
DM-H
90,000 lbf
1983
DM-M
60,000 lbf
1990
DML
60,000 lbf
1992
DM-M3
90,000 lbf
2000
PV-351
125,000 lbf
2004
PV-270
75,000 lbf
2008
PV-235
65,000 lbf
2012
PV-311
110,000 lbf
Talking Technically
Acknowledgements
Editors: Kyran Casteel and Ulf Linder
Contributions: Guy Coyne, Ron Buell,
Kenneth Moffitt, Brian Fox, John
Stinson, Dustin Penn, Gunnar Nord,
Sverker Hartwig, Jim Langford, Diane
Norwood, Darwin Hollar, Ewald Kurt.
Talking Technically
Talking Technically
Maintenance ergonomics
Nearly unheard of a decade ago, industry standards now require safe, routine and easy access to all maintenance
points. In the 1990s the Australian New
South Wales MDG-15 Act gave guidelines for maintenance ergonomics that
have become the accepted standard in
industry today, and these standards, in
addition to factors such as fatigue and
safety, drive the machine design effort.
For example, Australian studies showed a very high incident rate for personnel getting on and off machines. These
results drove the international market to
look at alternatives. As a result, placement of key maintenance points could
only be in a zone from waist to shoulders, based on measurements for 90
percent of the population. Until fairly
recently, operator comfort and safety
were only afterthoughts if they were
considered at all. Now, what was once
out of sight, out of mind, is a critical
requirement at the forefront of design
innovation.
John Stinson
Talking Technically
Mining safety
Since the implementation of the Mining
Safety and Health Act of 1977, a lot has
changed in the past 35 years. More specifically, a lot of lives have changed or
been saved. Safety is the obligation of
every single individual in every single
step of the entire mining process.
As taught in the MSHA training
class SLAM Risks (Stop Look
Analyze and Manage) helps us diminish workplace risks. SLAM was initiated to focus the mining industry on the
human factors in accident prevention.
At Drilling Solutions, risk assessments
and design simulations are involved
in mitigating risks to the operator and
maintenance personnel. We should
constantly be assessing our surrounding environment and risks that might
be involved. It is something that we
should consider in every action we take
on a daily basis, from climbing off the
machine, to walking out through the
parking lot, to driving home that evening, to walking in that front door; safe
and sound and fully intact.
Talking Technically
14
Decking
A main concern of all mines is working
in a confined space. Drilling Solutions
is currently exploring the balance of
opening up workable areas as well as
keeping the machines overall size in
mind for transportation purposes and
still allowing the mine to access those
holes that might bring an operator close
to the highwalls.
We have developed options that will
allow complete 360 access around the
machine. This includes an option for
complete walk-around access of the
cab. This added selection can be used
for inspection and for cleaning the windows for further visibility.
Another part of the 360 access is
a decking option that includes a built
in bit basket on the Drill-End of the
machine as well as a spot to store
hammer subs. By adding this decking
option, you not only gain complete
access to the machine, but also have a
safe, secure, and dedicated spot to store
bits and hammers. This option inhibits
bits from being laid unsecured on the
deck, opening up a possibility for them
to shift and move during tramming.
One more part of the 360 access
option that is available is an Extended
Cooler decking. Prior to this option
the only way to access the back of
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Talking Technically
Energy isolation
When working on any piece of machinery this size, there is the constant concern about isolating any energy, whether it be electrical, hydraulic, or pneumatic. The engineers at Drilling Solutions spend numerous hours designing
and configuring different options with
the goal of being able to give anyone
with access to the machine a safe and
secure piece of equipment to work on,
complete with fail-safes when applicable. We know that the easier we make
the machine to work on, the happier
and safer all entities involved will be.
One of the new options offered is a
Ground-Level Battery and Starter Isolation box. Inside this box are lockable
turn switches that either engage or disengage the power or the starter. There
are also long-life LED lights that are
color coded to designate whether it is
receiving power, or if the power is off.
The front cover on this box is comprised
of a strong plexiglass piece so that you
can see what energy state the machine
is in without having to physically open
the front cover. Again we are of the
mindset that the quicker and easier it is
to use, the more it will be used.
Another example of how we are isolating hydraulic energy is by utilizing
a series of Hydrau-Flo Valves. These
valves are specially designed to prevent
fuel spillage, in the event of over-filling
or tank rupture. Not only is this design
a safe way to transfer fuel, but it is also
environmentally friendly.
Ease of maintenance
There are many new options offered
straight from the factory that have
greatly enhanced the ease of working on
our machines. Keeping confined spaces in mind, as well as the idea that the
less often a component needs to be serviced, the more production the machine
Talking Technically
Options
PV-230 RCS
Respa Filters
XIR Glass
PV-270 SEOH*
PV-270 RCS
PV-310
PV-351
Emergency Ladders
New Cab
Tower Access
Cable Reel
Additional Tower Rest Water Tank
Tropical Engine Roof
Live Sampling
Autcrane Option
Gearbox Dipstick
Housing Option
Led lights
the integrity of the material by welding and cutting. As an added bonus, the
more components that we design to be
bolted in rather than welded results in
a more modular machine that can be
customized specifically to the customers orders.
One of these newly redesigned boltin options is the sheave and cable
retainers that are on the PV-270 and
PV-351 towers. Previously, when it was
time to change out the cables, these pins
and sheaves had to be removed. Now it
is just a matter of loosening a few bolts,
changing out the cable, and rebolting
the roller back in. Another design that
16
Maureen Bohac
Talking Technically
An increasing demand
Today, the population of the world
stands at about 6.5 billion people. In
simple terms, this means that every
year approximately 10 tons of material
is extracted using surface mining techniques for every person in the world.
If one looks to the future, the UN estimates that in 20 years (2038) the worlds
population will have reached about 8.5
billion people. By simply applying
the current utilization rate of 10 tons/
person, one would expect the amount
of material extracted yearly by surface
mining techniques to climb to 85 billion
tons. One must keep in mind, however,
that today about 95% of the population
growth is in the developing countries
of the world. Based on their expectations for improved living standards
in the future, the actual estimate of materials mined using surface mining techniques in the year 2038 is 138 billion
tons (Bagherpour et al, 2007).
The ability of the earth to meet this
type of demand is not really a question
of resources, since they are clearly
there, but rather a matter of price and
cost. In looking at the mineral resource
base, one must conclude that, in general, the mining conditions will be significantly more difficult than today. In
addition, ever-increasing environmental and health and safety conditions are
expected to be in place. This means that
the entire mining process from prospecting to exploration to development
to extraction and finally to reclamation will have to become much more
advanced. In many places of the world
today, mine closure must be fully and
satisfactorily addressed before a surface
mine can be opened. This translates
into requirements for applying first rate
A brief synopsis of
quarrying and open pit
mining
This introductory chapter will focus
on those surface deposits that require
the application of drilling and blasting
techniques as part of the overall extraction process. Excluded from the discussion will be strip mining, the mining of
sand and gravel deposits and the quarrying of dimension stone.
As indicated, large quantities of raw
materials are produced in various types
of surface operations. Where the product is rock, the operations are known
Talking Technically
Financial
optimization
1. Capital and operating
summation
2. Revenue
3. Cash flow statement
4. Marginal ore utilization
5. Rate of return
Refined ore
reserves
Ore reserve
analysis
1. Cutoff grade
2. Marginal analysis
3. Design alternatives
1. Break-even analysis
2. Drill-hole evaluation
3. Pit design
4. Marginal analysis
is obtained. By adding the desired production rate into the model a production
schedule is generated. Based on the
schedule, one determines the required
equipment fleet, staffing, etc. to satisfy
the schedule. This leads allows one
to calculate the capital requirements
and the operating costs. With these
now-estimated rather than assumed
costs, the ore reserves are re-examined
and design alternatives evaluated.
Eventually, an overall financial evaluation is performed. The double-headed
arrows indicate the highly repetitive
nature of the process.
Quarries
Production
scheduling
Equipment and
facilities
1. Preproduction costs
2. Working room
3. Stripping ratios
4. Sequencing
5. Reclamation
6. Operating schedules
7. Financial
8. Constraints
1. Capital intensive
2. Equipment selection
3. Operating costs
4. Capital depreciation
5. selective mining
as quarries. Where metallic ore or nonmetallic minerals are involved, they are
called open pit mines. There are many
common parameters both in design and
in the choice of equipment.
When examining a deposit for potential mining and even when expanding
a current operation, one often employs
a process called circular analysis. As
18
Talking Technically
Waste
Bench
slope 72o
Or
eb
od
Talking Technically
Orebody
Drilling
Blasting
Loading
Hauling
Mine
Mill
Primary crushing
Secondary crushing
Grinding
Further treatment
Figure 5. The Bingham Canyon copper mine near Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. (www.kennecott.com)
Photo: Blasthole drilling of 40 ft (12 m) benches at Newmont's Phoenix mine, Nevada, USA. See page 117.
20
Talking Technically
Insitu
Drilling
Specified Drill Pattern
Drilling
Blasting
Internal environment
Minimum wall damage
Blast Engineering
External environment
Minimum: Flyrock, noise,
airblast, ground vibration
Primary crushing
Secondary crushing
Fragmentation
Conveyor
Primary crusher
Grinding
Transport
Further treatment
Secondary
crushing & grinding
Efficient crushing and
grinding feed
Figure 8. Simplified view of the five different stages of fragmentation, each with a different energy product profile.
Final remarks
Atlas Copco has the advantage of long
experience in all types of surface drilling operations, with a product range to
match. With its history of innovative
Talking Technically
Figure 9. Near the pit wall more precise techniques are employed to minimize wall damage.
William Hustrulid
Hans Fernberg
References
22
Talking Technically
Atlas Copcos largest drill, the Pit Viper 351E, operates on a blast pattern at an open pit copper mine. Rotary blasthole drills are the predominant method of drilling
9 inch (229 mm) diameter holes or greater.
Mining prosperity
Atlas Copco offers a complete range
of rotary as well as DTH and tophammer drill rigs for most types
of open pit mining and quarrying
applications. But how do these
technologies complement each
other and how do drillers know
which method to choose, and
when?
A complete range
With the acquisition of IngersollRands Drilling Solutions, Baker Hughes
Mining Tools (BHMT) and Thiessen
Team businesses, Atlas Copco has a
complete range of products to offer to
large quarries and open pit mines. Much
of the worlds mining output begins
through drilling of holes with rotary
Talking Technically
Pulldown
Pulldown is the force generated by the
feed system. The actual weight on bit,
or bit load, is the pulldown plus any
dead weight such as the rotary head,
drill rods and cables.
The tower supports the drill string during drilling as well as the rotation head and feed system.
Down-The-Hole method
Principle:
24
Principle:
Rotation is provided
by a hydraulic or
electric motor
driven gearbox,
called a rotary head,
that moves up and
down the tower
via a feed system,
generating the
pulldown required
to give sufficient
weight on the bit.
Flushing of drill
cuttings between
the wall of the hole
and the drill rods is
normally done with
compressed air.
Rig design
With the exception of one model, the
rubber-tire mounted T4BH, Atlas Copcos
rotary blasthole drills are mounted on
excavator style undercarriages. Powerful hydraulic-drive systems allow the
machine to tram over a variety of ground
conditions, though rotary blasthole
drills should always operate on firm,
flat benches.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Talking Technically
The key component of a rotary blasthole drill is the tower, which is sometimes referred to as the derrick or mast.
Atlas Copco towers are four main member, open front structures in which the
rotary head slides up and down via a
guide system. The length and weight
of the tower ultimately dictates the size
of the mainframe and undercarriage.
Most drilling functions are hydraulically driven. Powering these hydraulic
systems, along with the air compressor
is a diesel engine or electric motor.
Most rotary drills are diesel powered for
good mobility. Electric powered units
offer some advantages such as lower
power cost (in most areas), no diesel
emissions, no refueling requirement
and less maintenance. However, some
operations are not setup with the proper electrical infrastructure or staffing
to run electric units. Even when electric power is available, many customers avoid electric drills as the trailing
cable used to provide power makes it
harder to move the unit between holes
or patterns. Generally, electric power
is preferred on large single-pass units
used in major open pit metals mines
where electric shovels are employed,
though electric power is now available
on smaller units such as the Atlas Copco
PV-271, PV-275 and DML.
The drilling platform is supported by a crawler undercarriage except during drilling when it is raised up by
hydraulic jacks.
Bailing velocity
A traditional rule-of-thumb is a minimum of 1,525 m 3/min (5000 cfm) of
uphole velocity, the speed at which air
exits the hole. The actual amount of air
required will vary widely based on the
density of the material and the size of
the cuttings. Dense cuttings as found in
iron ore mines will settle much quicker
than lightweight overburden in coal
mines and thus need more air coming up
the hole to lift them; 1,525 m3/min (5000
cfm) may not be enough. However, harder material is generally drilled with
hard formation bits that utilize shorter
cutting structures, thus yielding smaller
chips. Conversely, some soft material
can be drilled effectively with only 915
m 3/min (3000 cfm) uphole velocity.
Unfortunately, many operations have
tried to increase uphole velocity by increasing the diameter of the drill rod.
Talking Technically
This is obviously much easier than getting a larger air compressor by retrofitting or purchasing a new machine. In
some conditions, this strategy works,
but more often, the reduced annular area
results in increased wear and dust and
the drill rate may even drop. Whatever
the application, it is critical to have proper bailing air.
Dust control
Rotary drilling with tricone bits is the most cost efficient method for large hole diameters.
To control the dust, the area around the hole is surrounded by a dust hood.
A necessary evil created by the air compressor in drilling operations is the generation of dust. To control the dust,
the area surrounding the hole is enclosed by a dust hood. Dust hoods are
sealed on the sides by dust curtains,
and where the rod comes through the
deck by a rod wiper or dust seal. A dust
control system must be used in conjunction with the dust hood and curtains. The two most popular types of
dust control are dry dust collectors and
water injection. Dust collectors are essentially large vacuum cleaners that
pull the dust away from the dust hood
and run it through a collection of filter
elements. Water injection systems
inject a fine amount of water into the
air stream. Water injection is the more
effective solution for ensuring dust is
minimized, but the introduction of
water into the hole can slow down the
drilling process by increasing the density of the cuttings at the bottom of the
hole that the air compressor must move.
Water injection systems require frequent refilling of the water tanks, and
in freezing conditions, elaborate heating systems must be used. Dust collectors offer a productivity advantage, but
they can become plugged if not turned
off when wet material is encountered.
This is particularly a problem if the wet
material freezes in the system.
Large diameter holes produced by rotary drills, such as this Pit Viper 351, yield blast patterns with wider
burden and spacing, resulting in fewer holes.
26
Talking Technically
APPLICATIONS
2"
51 mm
3"
76 mm
4"
102 mm
5"
127 mm
6"
152 mm
7"
178 mm
8"
203 mm
9"
229 mm
10"
254 mm
11"
279 mm
12"
305 mm
13"
330 mm
14"
356 mm
15"
381 mm
16"
406 mm
DM25-SP
SmartROC D65
FlexiROC D65
FlexiROC D60
AirROC D65
PowerROC D55
FlexiROC C65
FlexiROC D55
ROC L7
FlexiROC T50
AirROC D55
AirROC D50
FlexiROC D50
ROC F6
AirROC D40
AirROC D45 SH
ROC F9CR
ROC F9
SmartROC T45
SmartROC T40
FlexiROC T40/R
SmartROC T35
AirROC D35
FlexiROC T35/R
PowerROC T35/E
AirROC T35
ROC D3 RRC
ROC D3
PowerROC T25/E
AirROC T25
Rotary
Rotary / DTH
DTH
COPROD
Tophammer
AirROC T25 W
FlexiROC T20R
FlexiROC T15R
Rotary drilling with tricone bits is the most cost efficient method for large hole diameters.
Talking Technically
$ 9,00
Footage/24 Hours
Bit Life (ft)
Overall Cost/Ft
$ 7,50
10,000
$ 6,00
8,000
$ 4,50
6,000
4,000
300 ft/hour,
1500' bit life
$ 3,00
High Production
2,000
Overall Cost/Foot
12,000
215 ft/hour,
5500' bit life
Lowest Cost
75 ft/hour,
12,000' bit life
$ 1,50
$0
0
Bit Life vs Production 2012 update (1) (Cost vs. Bit Life & Production)
Brian Fox
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Talking Technically
Introduction
Atlas Copco has introduced a number of
new drill rigs for the Drilling Solutions
Division using a common technology
platform. This approach allows development of new functionalities for the
drill rigs, which experience has shown
in both underground drilling and haulage as well as surface drilling. The current generation of machines is designed
for high productivity, quality drilling
and a comfortable working environment
for the operator. Drilling a hole constitutes a small amount of the direct cost
and time of mining, but has a major impact on the other production processes
because it affects fragmentation, backbreak, underbreak, wall control, loading, haulage and processing. Although
great attention is paid to penetration
rate and wear of drill steel and bits,
Atlas Copco is also interested in what
drilling can do to improve rock excavation overall. The inputs to this ongoing
process come from customers and from
research projects where new technology is applied to drilling operations.
PV-275 cabin with RCS provides an excellent operators environment and improved drilling performance.
Talking Technically
The control system replaces the electric/hydraulic joystick and console layout pictured here.
30
Common automation
All Pit Vipers can be equipped with
RCS Basic, which provides a number of
safety and interlock features and a series
of options Autolevel, Autodrilling, GPS
hole navigation, Rig Remote Access
(RRA) and communication, wireless remote tramming, Measure While Drilling
Safety features
The RCS Basic provides the machine
with additional standard interlocks
compared to the electric-over-hydraulic
machines. A few of the interlocks created with the software are:
Hole depth indicator displays the
rotary head position as well as the
depth of the hole drilled;
Pipe in hole tram interlock rotary
head must be in a safe position to
allow tramming;
Jack interlock pipe in the hole will
disable jack functions to protect the
machine and reduce bending of rods;
Rod support interlock prevents
damage of the rotary head and rod
support by not allowing feed with rod
support not in the stowed position;
Carousel no-bump prevents damage
to the carousel by limiting pulldown
pressure with the carousel not in the
stowed position;
Breakout wrench protection prevents damage to the breakout wrench
by disabling pulldown with wrench
not in the stowed position;
Engine and electric motor information displayed over the touch screen
maintenance screens;
Low fuel, lube and water level messages; and
Tram interlocks, so a trigger must be
activated to allow tram function.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Talking Technically
On the panel
1. Auto interlock button.
Press and hold this first
and then choose one
of the following auto
functions.
2. Using multilever
rocker switch. Autolevels up for switch up.
Autodelevels for down
in drill mode.
3. Autodrill. Drills to
predefined depth and
returns head to propel
safe position. Anti-jam,
void detection and so on
in drill mode.
4. Future option.
Auto tramming or autonomous operation.
RCS Automated Function Buttons.
Autolevel/Autodelevel
To increase the quality in setup of the
drill, leveling the machine on the jacks
is performed automatically. This will
help an average operator to close the
gap to the skill level of an expert operator. Installation of this feature will
reduce wear and tear on the machine
structure by limiting torsional effect
on the mainframe and tower while
leveling. This function's performance,
of course, depends on ground conditions, but for a normal bench flatness,
the results are that leveling is done in
less than 35 seconds with an accuracy
in pitch and roll to 0.2 degrees. Well
Autodrilling
In many cases there are several types
of rock conditions within one blasthole,
and an operator must be alert at all times
to react to these varying ground conditions. With Autodrilling, computers
are now the operators reacting to feedback from the machines gauges.
Atlas Copco's autodrill feature has
reproduced the expert operator's reactions into an automatic drill control.
When activated, this function will detect the rock when the bit touches the
ground, and start your air, water, rotation and feed to collar the hole. After
the collared distance has been met, then
this module will adjust air, water, rotation and feed to a drilling setting. This
feature will apply optimal pulldown
and rotation to try and drill as fast as
possible without stalling the rotation or
getting stuck. Once the target depth has
been hit, the autodrill feature will clean
the hole or flush the hole, shut off the
air and water and then return the bit to
a tramming-safe position.
This feature provides the consistency
of drilling to the correct hole depth, and
a consistent water flow to maintain the
hole so it does not collapse. Currently
this is available for single pass drilling and multi-pass drilling, although
a manual rod change must be made at
this time.
Leveling screen.
Settings screen.
Autodrill diagram
Hole building
Start
Collaring
Drilling
Hole cleaning
Finished
This diagram is valid for a single-pass drill. For multi-pass drills a rod handling system sequence is added to the Autodrill sequence, which is currently not
developed for rotary drills.
Talking Technically
RCS shows its flexibility through mine integration and diverse options.
Talking Technically
IREDES
The data that is transmitted to and from
a drill rig or any other mining equipment is arranged in a specific format.
Often different equipment suppliers use
their own specific format, allowing data
communication only between their own
equipment. For a mining company or a
contractor, an industry standard will
simplify integration of equipment from
different suppliers. Atlas Copco was one
of the originators of the International
Rock Excavation Data Exchange Standard (IREDES) initiative in 2000. A
positive and open attitude between the
IREDES members has led to data profiles for the different processes in the
rock excavation process drilling, loading and blasting. Atlas Copco is fully
committed to the IREDES standard
and the rotary drilling product line is
IREDES compliant.
Teleremote office installation. Inset: Wireless remote control, compact portable package.
Teleremote operation
This feature uses the mine's wireless
network, either 2.4 or 5.2 GHz frequency, and allows an operator to utilize
the machine functions from a remote
location including, drilling leveling,
tramming, and GPS hole navigation.
A dedicated communication channel
that guarantees bandwidth and latency
times for real time control of the drill is
required. The package can be equipped
with a four-camera system that is compressed to limit bandwidth for viewing
of the machine from remote locations.
This module also includes a dedicated
safety system independent of the RCS
package. If communication is lost between the remote station and the machine, it will shut down. Additional
safety systems like personnel detection
systems or systems detecting when
people enter the working area should
be combined with the mine's specific
safety instructions.
Autotramming
Autotramming is a feature in the development stages and has been tested
on a machine at the Garland, Texas,
factory. This component utilizes the
GPS hole navigation system or can be
deployed with an augmented GPS using
the standard NMEA string to tram a
machine between holes on a blasthole
pattern. This pattern is interpreted by
the path planner, which is in communi-
Talking Technically
deal with fatigue, breaks in the schedule (operational delays), along with a
list of additional variables. The autonomous Pit Viper combines the proven existing automated functions into
a complete drilling process to include
AutoNavigation and Auto Rod Changing (ARC). The drill is prepared to
take on the challenges of completing a
pattern.
A cold winter day (-36 C) at the Aitik mine in Sweden, a perfect place for automation testing.
Integration
Efficiency
The newly developed client offers drill fleet awareness in an autonomous environment.
Safety
A complete solution
Productivity
Talking Technically
Taking advantage of
single-pass drilling
The easy way to get
more blastholes
per day
40' Single-pass,
(12.2 m)
50 MPa Rock*
90
2
40 ft
80
Overall production rate in metres/hr
100
30 ft
30' Multi-pass,
(9.1 m)
50 MPa Rock*
70
60
50
2
1
40
40' Single-pass,
(12.2 m)
100 MPa Rock*
40 ft
30 ft
30
30' Multi-pass,
(9.1 m)
100 MPa Rock*
20
Longer towers
The drilling of large diameter holes,
generally considered to be greater than
9 inches in diameter, is done predominantly with rotary blasthole drills. One
of the reasons for this is that larger diameter tricone bits allow for large bearings to handle high pulldown forces to
drill through hard rock quickly. These
high pulldown loads require a heavy
tower structure to transmit these pulldown forces to the drill bit. Further,
this high pulldown must be offset by
sufficient mass to keep the drill rig
from lifting off the ground. The resulting rig is therefore quite heavy.
With a heavy, durable rig already
dictated by a large hole diameter, drill
designers are able to take advantage of
the large platform to offer longer towers
capable of drilling benches in one pass.
This often drives a change in structural
design and supporting components such
as undercarriages, but the basic rig envelope doesnt change. Drilling a hole
in one pass has many advantages.
10
* Compressive strength
0
0
10
12
14
Fig 1. Comparison of single-pass and multi-pass drilling, = Time lost for rod adding and rod removal,
= Lost productivity for multi-pass drilling.
Elimination of rod
changing time
Adding a rod may take 45 to 60 seconds depending on the size of the rig,
and taking the rod back off may take
60 to 90 seconds. The extra time for
removing a rod is due to the extra cycle
required to lower the head to pick up
the next rod.
The effect of rod changing time is
more dramatic in soft material, as shown
in Fig 1. Surprisingly, it is the large
metals mines that pioneered the use of
single-pass drills, even though they may
see limited productivity benefit. In extremely hard rock such as that encountered in taconite, the single-pass benefit might only be 3 percent. At the
Simplified operation
Even in situations where the productivity gain from eliminating rod changes
is relatively small, there are benefits.
Operators dont have to worry about
the rod changing operation, which consists of 10 actions to add a rod and 13
actions to remove a rod. Eliminating
these tasks during each hole reduces
the chance for errors such as crossthreading the tool joints on the drill
PV-235
PV-271
PV-311
PV-351
Hole range
152-251 mm (6-978")
Single pass
depth
Talking Technically
Committed to superior productivity. The PV-271 is perfect for single-pass drilling of a 40 ft bench and has a
maximum single-pass capacity of 55 ft (16.8 m).
Less maintenance
Safety factors
36
Brian Fox
Talking Technically
The entrance to the Collahuasi mine is located 3800 meter above sea level.
Talking Technically
When moving from sea level up to high altitudes the density of air will decrease, and the temperature will
drop at a fairly uniform rate.
Power drain
Diesel engines face considerable difficulty at high altitude as they rely on
the oxygen in the air for proper combustion. Engines have varying altitude limits and power de-rate curves.
Manufacturers are able to maintain full
power to the altitude rating by changing
the engine timing, turbocharger configuration and compression ratios. This
altitude rating is the point where horsepower begins to decrease. As a rule
of thumb a diesel engine will de-rate
Uphole Velocities
Compressor
At Sea Level/15 C (59 F)
At 15 000 ft/ 14 C (7 F)
Hole
(in)
Drill Rod
(in)
10
7 58
6 434 ft/min
8 804 ft/min
4 087 ft/min
5 592 ft/min
10
9 149 ft/min
12 520 ft/min
5 812 ft/min
7 953 ft/min
7 58
8 946 ft/min
12 242 ft/min
5 682 ft/min
7 776 ft/min
15 232 ft/min
20 855 ft/min
9 675 ft/min
13 240 ft/min
Comparison of compressor performance at high altitude vs sea level and subsequent effect on uphole velocity in rotary drilling using a Pit Viper 271 drill rig.
38
Talking Technically
4 800 m
50 %
15 750 ft
2 000
5 000
4 000
10 000
6 000
15 000
8 000
20 000
Altitude (m)
Altitude (ft)
Sea level
100 %
The primary problem with high altitudes is the decreased mass density of air. There are fewer molecules
for carrying drill cuttings out of the hole and less oxygen available for humans and engines.
Cooling requirements
With fewer air molecules available,
the ability to remove heat from the
engine, compressor and hydraulic
system is reduced. Limiting Ambient
Temperature (LAT) is the temperature
at which the cooling system becomes
marginal; the design standard is 125F
(52C) rating. For the engine and compressor, cooling is not a problem as
they are also de-rating; the LAT essentially remains the same. As the hydraulic oil density does not change, the LAT
rating is reduced to approximately
90F (32C) at 15,000 ft (304 m),
though temperatures at this altitude are
unlikely to approach that level.
Human impact
Aside from the engine, compressor
and cooling systems, there is little
impact on the drill simply from the
altitude. Excluding the extremely cold
By Brian Fox
Talking Technically
40
Talking Technically
Exposure and constant ground contact subject the crawler undercarriage to particular abuse in low temperature, icy conditions, requiring careful selection of materials. Some applications may require heating
the drive elements to keep them working.
Talking Technically
John Stinson
42
Atlas Copco has designed a series of heater packages for lubricants, the engine block and batteries.
Watermist closed.
Watermist open.
Proheat closed.
Proheat open.
Wiggins closed.
Wiggins open.
Talking Technically
bit. Other types of bearing configurations are open (or fluid) bearing, and
sealed bearing.
Open bearings do not have any internal air passages, and the back of the
cones are open to the external drilling
environment.
Sealed bearings are completely
enclosed, with no internal air passages.
The bearings are sealed off from the
external drilling environment, and are
filled with pressurized grease.
Rock breakage
Contrary to popular opinion, rotary tricone bits do not drill by crushing rock.
Instead, they actually drill by a mechanism called spalling. A European
gentleman named Hertz originally defined this method of rock breakage
back in the 1880s. If a force is applied
to an indenter in contact with a rock
Talking Technically
Drillhole cleaning /
cuttings evacuation
44
Drilling parameters
Secoroc tricone bits generally conform
to the IADC rock type classifications.
IADC is the International Association
of Drilling Contractors, who set many
standards and conventions for the
general drilling industry. Secoroc has
adapted certain IADC concepts to its
tricone bits.
Tungsten Carbide Insert bits fall into
five IADC classes:
4-1 to 4-4 - very soft to soft
5-1 to 5-4 - soft to medium
6-1 to 6-4 - medium to medium hard
7-1 to 7-4 - hard to very hard
8-1 to 8-4 - very hard to extremely
hard
In general, decades of bit manufacturing, and product development and
application experience gives us the
following operating guidelines:
For 4-1 to 4-4 IADC type bits:
50 to 150 RPM
1000 to 5000 pounds of applied load
per inch of bit diameter
For 5-1 to 5-4 IADC type bits:
50 to 150 RPM
3,000 to 6,500 pounds of applied
load per inch of bit diameter
For 6-1 to 6-4 IADC type bits:
50 to 120 RPM
4,000 to 7,000 pounds of applied
load per inch of bit diameter
For 7-1 to 7-4 IADC type bits:
50 to 90 RPM
4,000 - 8,000 pounds of applied load
per inch of bit diameter
For 8-1 to 8-3 IADC type bits:
40 to 80 RPM
6,000 - 9,000 pounds of applied load
per inch of bit diameter
As the rock gets harder, it is adviseable
to apply slower RPM. As more load is
applied to a bit it is adviseable to apply
slower RPM.
Strong rocks may need time for
the indenting teeth to create sufficient
stress in the rock fabric to cause it to
crack, and the crack propagate. Thus,
in strong or hard rock it is suggested
that lower RPM is used. Weak rock
does not need as much time to react to
the indenting teeth. Higher RPM can
be used effectively in softer ground.
These are general guidelines, and
are intended as suggestions only. Every
rock type is different, and every specific
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Talking Technically
8-1 to 8-4
70000
IADC Class
36000
7-1 to 7-4
56000
22000
6-1 to 6-4
42000
6000
5-1 to 5-4
28000
1000
4-1 to 4-4
10000
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
IADC vs. Rock UCS Chart showing comparison of IADC classifications to rock hardness.
Clarence Zink
Talking Technically
46
Talking Technically
Close attention
When developing a rotary drilling
system, most of the attention is usually
given to the drill rig, the capital equipment that requires significant investment and hence a planned payback. The
second priority in the system tends to
be choice of rotary tricone drill bit
the Tricone. However, to utilize the full
power and capacity of the rig and the
bit, and at the same time increase service life and productivity, consideration
should also be given to the entire drill
string. The optimal drill string includes
a shock absorber at the top, a rotary deck
bushing to centralize the drill string
as it passes through the deck of the rig,
strong and straight drill pipes and finally a hole stabilizing roller stabili-zer
or bit sub-adaptor to optimize the performance. Giving the necessary attention to every part of the drill string will
lead to the lowest total operating costs
in rock excavation and fragmentation.
Giving the necessary attention to the drill string components will pave the way for quality drilling and
lower total operating costs.
Shock absorber
At the very top of the drill string
between the rotary head and drill pipe
a shock absorber is commonly used.
As the name indicates, the intention of
this tool is to reduce the negative effects
of harmful vibrations that travel back
up the string as a result of the drilling
process.
The benefits of using a shock absorber include:
improved torque control
increased drilling penetration rates
better drill rig availability and extended drill rig drive head and mast life
longer service life of drill bits
Talking Technically
Smoothdrive
shock absorbing
sub
Square drive
flange method
Welded strap
method
Smoothdrill
shock absorbing
sub
B
A
D
C
E
Threadsaver
sub
OD
ID
Centeroll
rotary deck bushing
(repairable)
WLS
EZ-Drill
roller stabilizer
Duralloy
bit sub adaptor
Duralloy bit sub
The optimal drill string includes a shock absorber, a rotary deck bushing, strong and straight drill pipes and
finally a hole stabilizing roller or bit sub-adaptor.
Deck bushing
To guide the drill string and reduce the
risk of wobbling, a rotary deck bushing
is utilized at the drill rig deck opening.
The deck bushing guides the pipes to
prevent reduction of rotary head torque
and assists with the final straightness
of the hole.
The deck bushing contains an outer
housing with a top flange that allows it
to fit perfectly into the deck opening. A
series of roller bearings allow the inner
sleeve to rotate with the drill string.
Wear of the deck bushing occurs primarily on the inner sleeve as cuttings
are blown upwards, between the drill
pipe and the inner sleeve.
Drill pipe
48
Rick Meyer
Talking Technically
DTH growing
in popularity
The DTH drilling method is growing even further in popularity, with
increases in all application segments, including blasthole, water
well, foundation, oil & gas, cooling systems and drilling for heat
exchange pumps. DTH competes
favourably with rotary drilling in
open pit mines, mainly thanks to
increased productivity and flexibility. Open pit mining has adopted
smaller holes where rotary drilling
has either been replaced by DTH,
or where DTH has been introduced to create a better finish to the
pit wall, as the method is also perfect for pre-splitting and smooth
blasting, which avoids back-cracking. DTH drilling offers increased
productivity, and is fa-voured by
contractors for production drilling. In larger quarries, the optimum hole size is 110-171 mm.
With todays demands for strict
hole control for safe blasting in
populated areas, DTH drilling is a
popular choice among quarry
operators.
in joints; and efficient energy transmission, with the piston striking directly
on the bit. The COP 34-64 series of
hammers was introduced from 1992,
and immediately became the benchmark for productivity within DTH
drilling. Over the years, the increase in
average drilling pressure, from 17 bar
to a current market standard of 30 bar,
has improved hammer performance,
and productivity has increased proportionally to air pressure. The introduction of the Atlas Copco ADS and
SDE series of high-performance, highpressure DTH rigs gave another boost
Quality holes
In the hole range 100-254 mm, DTH
drilling is the dominant drilling method
today. The main features of DTH drilling in this hole range are: excellent
hole straightness within 1.5% deviation without guiding equipment; good
hole cleaning, with plenty of air for
hole cleaning from the hammer; good
hole quality, with smooth and even hole
walls for easy charging of explosives;
deephole drilling capacity, with constant penetration and no energy losses
New Secoroc hammer and bit ready for action on an Atlas Copco drill rig.
Talking Technically
700
1000
32
1400
1950
42
100%
95%
31%
Table 1 reveals not only that the yield point for the new steel grade is twice as high, but
also that breaking strength has been almost doubled.
Hammer cylinder
The new cylinder has been redesigned
in a number of important ways. COP
Gold boasts a cylinder made of low
alloy wrought and toughened steel, a
new grade with a higher combined
Molybdenum and Vanadium content
(4.8%) than its predecessor. The result
is greater impact strength and higher
wear and temperature resistance. All
in all, this means greater resistance
to breakage, impact, temperature and
wear for the new hammer cylinder.
Thanks to the new steel grade, cylinder
properties have been greatly improved.
Wear has been reduced, both internally
and externally. Cuttings and moving
parts no longer cause the problems
they once did. In effect, the service life
of the cylinder has been extended considerably.
Rebuilding
With the introduction of COP Gold
Series, hammer life will increase substantially. Less internal and external
wear, together with a reduced minimum
cylinder wear limit, are key contributing factors. As a rule of thumb: If the
hammer has reach its external wear
limits before 5000 drill meters use an
50
Talking Technically
Total improvement
Due to wear resistance
Due to wear limit change
Due to less cylinder failure
Increase in service life of COP 64 Gold, which has a 50% longer life than its predecesssor.
Applications
COP Gold Series is high-pressure hammers, where performance is related to
air pressure. A lower limit of 12 bar for
deep hole applications is a good rule
of thumb.
In abrasive formations, performance
will be up to 15-50% better than old
Leif Larsson
16 000
14 000
Drill metres
12 000
10 000
New Material
Old Material
8 000
6 000
4 000
2 000
0
146 145 144 143 142 141 140 139 138 137 136 135 134 133 132 131 130 129 128
Cylinder OD (mm)
Results of comparative tests with COP 64.2 and COP 64 Gold. The COP 64 Gold drilled 50% further.
Talking Technically
52
Talking Technically
Quarrying application.
Relevant applications
Quarrying
Companies producing in non-abrasive
rock formations should consider hammers such as Secoroc QL series, a
time-tested and field-proven design
offering good productivity and ease
of service. Customers demanding the
highest productivity and/or drilling in
abrasive formations should consider
either the QLX or Secoroc COP Gold
hammers.These incorporate the latest
technology and are the most reliable and productive hammers on the
market.
Talking Technically
ROC L8.
Talking Technically
Highest performance
The Secoroc COP Gold and QLX
hammers are designed for the most
demanding drilling conditions and for
those applications requiring premium
performance.
These hammers feature state-of-theart technology and deliver both maximum productivity and profit.
Secoroc COP Gold
Superior longevity and reliability.
Easy to service and rebuild.
Hard rock
Flat front HD
SpeedBit
Convex/Ballistic
Concave
Concave DGR
Rocket bit ballistic
Rocket bit spherical
Bit designs and rock types.
Talking Technically
Bit designs
Facts
Convex/Ballistic front design
Convex front with large cutting grooves and ballistic gauge
and centre buttons. For soft to medium hard non-abrasive
formations. The bit is designed for maximum penetration
rate. Also, an alternative in hard abrasive formations, if
high penetration rate is called for.
SpeedBit
Flat front design/ballistic centre buttons. Flat front with
spherical gauge buttons and ballistic centre buttons. For
high penetration in medium hard to hard abrasive formations.
Secoroc QLX
Provides the industrys highest
power output.
Best suited for deep hole applications.
Industry-leading simplicity and
serviceability, resulting in very low
operating costs.
Features modular components,
snap-in cylinders, a reversible
casing, backhead saver sleeves, and
many options.
The hybrid valved/valveless design
maximizes air compressor
productivity.
56
Atlas Copco Secoroc has a comprehensive range of DTH drill bits to match
all conceivable applications. Each bit
is made from quality alloy steel, and
has been precision machined to produce a perfect body, heat treated to the
required hardness, given surface compression for fatigue resistance, and
fitted with precision buttons manufactured in-house. Five basic designs are
available: CV Bit, FF Bit, SpeedBit, CC
Bit, and Rocket Bit.
These are designed for specific applications for all rock types, hardnesses
and conditions. Bit life and rate of penetration are the most important criteria
in selecting the right bit for a particular
application. In most cases, the focus is
on productivity, so the fast cuttings
removal features of the SpeedBit and
Convex/Ballistic designs are preferable,
to ensure the buttons are cutting clean,
with the minimum of re-crushing. In
hard and abrasive formations, however,
the flat front (FF) HD design offers
best bit life, having strong gauge rows
with large spherical buttons which
are easy to regrind and maintain. The
SpeedBit offers improved productivity
with the same gauge as the FF HD, but
with ballistic buttons in the front for
faster penetration. An alternative is the
Concave design with spherical buttons.
The Rocket Bit can be dressed with ballistic buttons for use in soft to medium
hard formations where fractured rock
can be expected, or can be supplied with
spherical buttons for hard and abrasive formations. Bits are manufactured
to match all diameters of all Atlas
Copco Secoroc hammers.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Talking Technically
COP Backhammer
The COP Backhammer is a tool that
can save and recover a drill string stuck
in a hole. It can be easily fitted in a suitable tube joint between the drill support and the rotation head to provide
an effective combination of backward
hammering and vibration to loosen
stuck drill strings.
Quality
API grade N-80
Standard
tubes
End pieces
and adapters
min 550
min 550
Tensile strength
N/mm2
N/mm2
min 650
min 700
Elongation A5
min %
18
21
Core hardness
HB
190230
210250
Surface hardness
HRC
5862
Drill tube
OD (mm)
Wall
(mm) RD 50
70 3.6
76
3.6
76
5.6
89
3.7
89
5.7
102
5.7
114
4.3
114
5.7
114
7.9
Talking Technically
With on-site support, the choice of DTH equipment is even easier to make.
assured they run a profitable and efficient drilling operation in an increasingly competitive business climate.
The bottom line is that the customer
can count on Secoroc service and
support, supplied by the largest, most
Leif Larsson
Talking Technically
Principles
When properly initiated, commercial
explosives are rapidly converted into
gases at high temperature and pressure.
When detonated unconfined, a liter of
explosive expands to around 1000 litres
of gas in milliseconds. When confined
by rock, expanding explosion gases result in extremely high stresses in the
rock. The gas energy released during
detonation acts equally in all directions
but tends to escape through any path
of least resistance. Therefore, blastholes
should be charged and stemmed so that
the gases are confined for sufficient time
to provide optimum breakage, displacement and looseness of the blasted rock.
The majority of explosives used in
todays surface metal mines are primersensitive explosives. Under normal conditions of use, a primer is required to
initiate them reliably.
All primer-sensitive explosives cotain
the following essential components:
Bulk explosives are loaded using an Orica Mobile Manufacturing Unit (MMU ).
An oxidizer: a chemical which provides oxygen for the reaction. Ammonium nitrate is the most common
oxidizer;
A fuel: which reacts with oxygen to
produce heat.
A sensitizer: which provides voids
that act as hot spots where the reaction starts during detonation. Sensitizers are generally air or gas in the
form of very small bubbles, sometimes encapsulated in glass microballoons (GMBs).
An explosive is classified as detonatorsensitive if it can be reliably initiated
in an unconfined state by a #8 strength
detonator (which has a base charge of
0.46 g of PETN). Detonator-sensitive
explosives may or may not contain ingredients that are themselves explosives.
Properties of explosives
The physical characteristics of the various types of explosives differ markedly.
For example, ANFO type explosives are
loose, free-flowing, granular compositions, whereas emulsion explosives have
a consistency that varies from that of
syrup to firm putty. There are also various blends of emulsion and ANFO type
explosives, notably so-called heavy
ANFOs. Watergel (slurry) explosives
are also used in some countries.
The physical properties of the explosive can dictate the handling system
used to charge the explosive into blastholes.
Water resistance
The water resistance of explosives varies considerably. Emulsions have excellent water resistance; heavy ANFOs
have some water resistance while ANFO
has negligible water resistance.
Density
Sensitivity
Talking Technically
Critical diameter
Desensitization
VOD is the speed with which the detonation propagates through a column of
explosive. Two explosives having the
same strength but different VOD may
perform quite differently in a blast. As
a general rule, the higher the VOD,
the greater the shock energy and the
lower the heave energy. However, it is
important not to correlate shock energy
directly with fragmentation energy.
60
The VOD of explosives used in surface metal mines vary between about
3000 m/s and 7500 m/s. The VOD of
many explosives increases with charge
diameter and confinement. Because of
their high degree of refinement and efficiency, emulsion explosives can maintain very high VOD even with poor confinement and in small diameters.
Energy/strength
Primer-sensitive explosives
Detonator-sensitive explosives
Initiating systems
Talking Technically
Bulk explosives
Electronic Blasting Systems can enable a mine to more efficiently achieve its productivity, safety, and
environmental performance objectives..
Talking Technically
Design variables
the onboard manufacturing facility depends on the type and number of explosives required. The truck on which this
is mounted is selected to suit the material to be carried and the terrain on
which it will operate.
Explosives selection,
priming and charging
Priming and charging of blastholes is
one of the most important parts of a successful blast. Blastholes must be accurately primed and charged to the design
specified by the blast designer.
The objective when selecting a combination of explosives is reliable performance, which will ensure the lowest
overall operating costs without sacrificing safety. When selecting explosives,
the first considerations are the site geology and the end objectives of blasting.
Once assessed, there are other important
considerations such as:
Ground water conditions;
The properties of the rock being blasted, i.e. strength, structure, etc.;
The diameter and depth of blastholes;
Drilling costs and drilling capacity;
The relative explosives cost per unit
of effective energy;
The fragmentation and heave characteristics of the explosives;
Shelf life;
Desired results.
ANFO has often been selected when
blasting dry blastholes. Wet blastholes
62
Blast design
When starting to work a new mine or
a new area of an existing mine, it is necessary to develop one or more initial
designs for production blasts. In this situation, some rules of thumb, derived
over many years of relevant practical
experience, should be used for developing these designs. If a detailed assessment of rock mass properties has been
carried out, computer modeling can
be used to assess the suitability of the
Blasthole diameter
Talking Technically
Free faces
Blasthole angle
Efficient excavation needs toe conditions that suit the digging equipment.
Toe conditions are affected strongly
by the amount of effective subdrilling.
Subgrade or subdrilling is the length
of the explosive charge, which lies
beneath the designed bench floor level.
Unavoidable fallback of drill cuttings
and small rock fragments reduces the
effective subdrilling to less than that
originally drilled. It is good practice
to drill a certain extra distance (which
is longer for higher benches and weaker
rocks) to allow for unavoidable fallback.
Caution!
Excessive
Burden
Airblast
Flyrock
Required
Burden
Fig 2. Variable burdens, vertical holes.
Airblast
Flyrock
Caution!
Correct
Burden
Priming
Bottom priming has several advantages over top priming. They include:
Improved fragmentation, displacement and muckpile looseness;
Reduced toe problems, better floors,
and cleaner faces;
Reduced noise, airblast, flyrock and
surface overbreak; and
Fewer cut-offs and misfires.
Charge distribution
Talking Technically
Blasthole pattern
(a)
(a) Paddock
Paddock blast
blast staggered
staggered
(b)
(b) Paddock
Paddock blast
blast square
square
Spacing-to-burden ratio
(c)
(c) Paddock
Paddock blast
blast rectangular
rectangular
Burden and spacing are related to blasthole diameter, depth, rock type and
charge length. Blasthole spacings considerably smaller than the burden tend
to cause premature splitting between
blastholes and early loosening of the
stemming.
This can cause premature release of
explosion gases to the atmosphere and
considerable overbreak. Loss of heave
energy reduces breakage and produces
large rock slabs in the muckpile.
On the other hand, a spacing-to-burden ratio that is too large can cause the
face midway between back-row blastholes to remain intact, especially near
bench floor level. This results in tight
digging and possibly unbroken toe.
Front-row blastholes
64
Talking Technically
Stemming
(a) Excessive
Airblast & Flyrock
(b) Good
breakage &
displacement
(c) Poor fragmentation
Allocation of delays
The delay time between adjacent blastholes in a row is sometimes called the
intra-row delay. Firing a single row of
blastholes with the optimum delay between holes produces:
Optimized fragmentation for that
particular blast geometry;
Forward displacement, which is less
than that for an instantaneous singlerow blast; and
Reduced overbreak.
Hole-by-hole initiation
Talking Technically
Careful blast design is the key to producing clean, safe pit walls at minimum
cost. The blast design needs to consider
the rock conditions in the area, the
likely amount of backbreak from this
blast, and the design location of the
final pit limit. Key factors to consider
in final wall blasting are:
Geology Rock properties have the
greatest influence on the effect of
blasting on pit walls. Heavily jointed
rock often produces overbreak along
joint planes.
Blasthole location The location of
the back row of blastholes is critical
to the location of the final pit limit.
The back row of blastholes needs
to be drilled in front of the final pit
limit to allow for backbreak behind
the blastholes. The correct location
depends mainly on previous experience in the pit and trial and error, particularly if the amount of backbreak
is variable. If the standoff distance
Cushion blasting, postsplitting and presplitting are the three common blasting techniques used to produce stable
final walls. Postsplit and presplit blasts
are often used alone to produce stable
walls.
Cushion blasting is frequently overlooked when designing final-wall
blasts, but can be the most versatile and
useful method of the three techniques.
The back-row blastholes in a cushion
blast contain lighter charges than the
production blastholes, and are drilled
on a correspondingly smaller pattern.
Cushion blastholes are usually the same
diameter as the production blastholes in
front of them.
Charge weight is commonly reduced
by about 45 percent, and both burden
and spacing by about 25 percent. The
energy factor is therefore essentially the
same throughout the final wall blast.
A postsplit blast consists of a row
of parallel, closely spaced blastholes
drilled along the final face. These blastholes are charged with a light, welldistributed charge, and fired after the
production blastholes in front have
detonated. Postsplit blastholes split the
rock web between the blastholes to produce a sound smooth face with minimal
overbreak.
Presplitting requires a row of closely
spaced blastholes drilled along the design excavation limit, charged very
lightly, and detonated simultaneously
before the blastholes in front of them.
Special blasting
techniques
While the main emphasis in surface
metal mines is on production blasting,
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Talking Technically
Could be Presplit
Production
Blastholes
Final Limit
Maybe Smaller
Diameter
Reduced
Energy per m
No Subgrade
Final Limit
Misfires
Fume
Walking on rough ground and
around blast holes
Vehicle and pedestrian congestion
on the bench
Talking Technically
Cost per
Tonne
Total
Costs
Zone of
Minimum
Total Costs
A
Drill
& Blast
Secondary
Fragmentation
Fig 10. Costs versus fragmentation.
Productivity
Overburden/waste removal
Primary raw feed/mine production/
sales tonnage
Mobile equipment capacity/type and
availability
Fixed plant capacity/type
Ore grade control factors
Maximizing reserves through structural stability
Minimizing stripping ratio: waste/
ore
Mine conditions
Operating costs vs
fragmentation
Drilling and blasting results have a
major impact on each part of a mine's
68
Acknowledgements
Article provided by Orica, the world's
leading provider of commercial explosives, blasting systems and blast based
services. Read more at:
www.oricaminingservices.com
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Talking Technically
The automatic clutch system was first introduced for the Pit Viper 235 series and is now also available for
the PV-271, PV-275 and PV-311.
Talking Technically
le a
nin g
Posi
tio
ni
ng
illi
Dr
Leveling
ng
ec
ol
Figure 1: Clutch system, the patent pending automatic clutch system supplied as an option for selected rotary blasthole drill rigs. Below: A rig
equipped with this system only uses compressed
air for drilling and hole cleaning (yellow arrows).
mi
Added advantages
m
Tr a
working in the exact same rock formation, it is easy to visualize the immediate fuel savings from one single-drilled
hole.
Extending out the fuel savings of one
hole over a mines yearly production can
greatly assist in reducing the bottom line.
As we can see from the chart (Figure 2),
the fuel savings tend to increase during
multi-pass drilling since the machine
spends more time performing nondrilling functions when compared to a
single-pass machine. Furthermore, the
fuel savings are also higher in soft rock
formations when compared to a hard
rock formation.
The reason for this lies in the fact
that in order to drill hard rock, the
machine typically spends more time
drilling the rock compared to handling
the drill pipe, ultimately consuming more horsepower and fuel than a
machine used purely for rotary drilling.
Regardless of whether a mine is multipass drilling or single-pass drilling in a
soft or hard rock formation, the reality
is that there is potential for sizeable
cost savings. In fact, with some preliminary studies of this option, we have
seen some increasingly high fuel savings that could make a significant difference in any mines operating budget.
Pip e
h a n d li n
Working cycle.
meter and therefore the service inter val and rebuild time was dependant
on when the engine had to be ser viced or rebuilt. With the clutch, the
compressor has its own hour meter
and its own service interval based
only on hours of actual use.
The advantage of getting the job
done with less fuel is an added bene fit in itself, not just for the mine but
for the environment as well.
Maureen Bohac
WITHOUT Clutch
WITH Clutch
Bench
Height
11
35
14
75
35
115
47
155
53
175
m
ft
Figure 2: Fuel Consumption based on Depth Drilled . An indication of fuel savings when drilling at different depths in soft formations. Savings with the clutch
increase with the depth of the hole and number of pipe changes and will also be greater when drilling in soft rock where the rate of penetration is high. Actual
savings must be estimated for each drill rig and application.
70
Talking Technically
Talking Technically
The enclosure option will reduce noise and provide cold weather protection; full-length doors offer easy
service access.
The hydraulic automatic cable tensioning cylinder is a time saver for maintenance .
For angle drilling the PV-235 uses a pivot at the base of the tower with adjustments from vertical to
30 degrees in 5-degree increments, while keeping the deck level.
72
Talking Technically
Clutch
Output-side
coupling
Bolts
Towers
The open front structure of the two
towers available is similar to that used
on the other Pit Viper models fabricated from rectangular steel tubing by
certified welders and having four main
vertical members. The 40-foot (12.2 m)
and 35-foot (10.7 m) hole depths mentioned previously are the distance from
ground level to the bottom of the hole,
while the top of the bit basket is 5 feet
above ground level. Using a starter rod
Input-side
torsional
coupling
The optional fuel saving clutch will disengage the compressor when not drilling.
Talking Technically
Dustin Penn
Talking Technically
Power options
The power system setup for the PV-270
series machines is structurally similar
to that on the Pit Viper 351 but includes
a choice of matched engines and compressors suitable for the rotary or downhole drilling options. The engines offered, which are Tier II compliant, are
the 760 hp (567 kW) Cummins QSK
19, the 800 hp (597 kW) Caterpillar
C27, and the larger 950 hp (709 kW)
Cater-pillar C32. There is a single
side-by-side hydraulic/compressor/
Talking Technically
The PV-271 RCS is fitted with a larger cab. The computerized network rig control system (RCS) provides
varoius levels of safety interlocks and automation.
The PV-271 live tower is dimensioned for 55-foot single-pass drilling, there is also a 65-foot clean hole single
pass drilling tower option where a pipe must be racked when levering the tower.
76
Talking Technically
The PV-271 RCS and PV-275 RCS are fitted with a new state of the art cabin, featuring visibility and comfort
for the operator while undertaking complete machine control.
Three towers
The two machines comprising the Pit
Viper 270 series are primarily differentiated by their towers. These are of similar construction to those on the PV-351
but are new designs, not stretched or
lighter weight versions of the existing
design.
The PV-271 live tower is dimensioned for 55-foot (16.7 m) clean hole
single-pass drilling. Like the PV-351
it does have a two-rod changer, in this
case for 25-foot rods enabling drilling to a total depth of 105 feet. With
a four-rod carousel holding 40-foot
pipe, the PV-275 is designed for multipass drilling to a maximum depth of
195 feet. There is also a 65-foot clean
Cab commonalitys
There are two different cab options
available for the PV-270 series. With
the development of the RCS option,
we have incorporated the new state
of the art cabin into the PV-270 RCS
machine design. While rigs without the
RCS control system are fitted with the
same single piece cab as that used for
concurrent DM45, DML, and PV-270
machines. It meets the FOPS requirements of ISO 3449 Level 2, is thermally insulated and pressurized, and has
adjustable vents for climate control. The
Talking Technically
Options
As well as the four jack system, options
available for the PV-270 series rigs when
they were introduced included a dry
dust collector with 9,000 CFM blower,
four-camera system with LCD monitor,
buddy seat, water injection, fire suppression, cold weather package, a central fast
service system, high intensity Nordic
lights, and a hydraulic test station (that
is now standard). The integrated tower
access ladder, a fall restraint system and
an extended tower infill for accessing the
tower for service and maintenance while
it is in horizontal position is an available
option. There is also an option for
non-drill end tower access ladder, fall
restraint system, and extended tower
infill for accessing the tower while in
horizontal position, as well as a number
of ground level service options.
Rapid acceptance
The Pit Viper 270 series rigs were rapidly
accepted since its launch at MINExpo
2004. It was a machine that got it right in
terms of all the parts working together
perfectly, and customers seem to agree.
In only four years the sales of the PV-270
series sur passed the accumulated
14-year sales record of its predecessor,
the DM-M2.
Barrick was one of the first mines to
use a PV-271 at their Goldstrike operations, and the company now has nine
of them. Newmont was another early
customer, buying four PV-271 machines
for the Yanacocha gold mine in Peru,
and now has 17 of these rigs. Copper
mining customers include FreeportMcMoRan which now has over 20 machines.
Most recently, the PV-270 series has
broken into the Australian coal and metals markets.
78
Dustin Penn
Talking Technically
Firmly family
The Pit Viper 310 series can drill a 65-foot clean hole in a single pass.
However, size matters to both present and potential Pit Viper customers,
so the new models bring to the marketplace a new combination of power and
hole diameter/ hole depth ranges. The
other key new features are a choice of
diesel engines with Tier 4 compliance
for those who need it and the even more
spacious cab design.
Nimble versatility
The first PV-310 series rotary blasthole drilling rig provides a maximum
weight-on-bit of 110,000 lbf (490 kN),
while the machines operating weight
ranges from 310,000 340,000 lb
(140,600 154,000 kg) depending on
specification. The rig is 25 ft wide and
is 98.5 ft long with the tower down.
With the tower up it is 47 ft long (almost
6 ft shorter than the PV-351 and only
5 ft 9 ins longer than the PV-271). With
the tower up the machine is 100.5 ft
high, and 28.5 ft long when the tower
Talking Technically
Atlas Copcos patent-pending clutch (left) is designed to significantly save on fuel costs. The new Atlas Copco heavy duty, high torque undercarriage. (right)
Talking Technically
The PV-311 offers a dual acting hydraulic cylinder feed system that raises and lowers the rotary head by way of cable for pulldown and pullback, while integrating
Atlas Copcos patented cable tensioning system.
Going deep
The Pit Viper 310 series is designed
to offer drilling flexibility. The tower
Talking Technically
The PV-311 offers a spacious cab, as well as maintenance friendly enclosed filter rack and ground level service access.
In control, in comfort,
in safety
The PV-310 series continues our quest
to provide the rig operator with every
facility needed to achieve maximum
machine productivity all shift long.
Designed with assistance from the
Atlas Copco Rocktec team in Sweden,
the cabin is larger than that used on
the PV-351 (or any other Atlas Copco
Drilling Solutions rig) and has been
further improved over the PV-235.
In conjunction with the elevated
cabin, three large tinted windows on
three sides, each fitted with windshield
wipers and washers, give excellent visibility from the operators suspension
seat. The Atlas Copco Rig Control
System (RCS) display and joystick
controls are integrated with the seat.
The backlit electrical cabinet has been
integrated to provide easy, secure
access and the size has been increased
to provide flexibility for changes in the
electrical specification during the rigs
lifetime. There is a buddy seat installed
on the front-left side of the cab, and
both the buddy seat and the operator's
82
Options
As well as the Atlas Copco 375 undercarriage, engine and fuel/water tank
options there are other additions or
alternatives available to suit operators
specific circumstances. These include:
an engine enclosure similar to that
introduced with the PV-235, a wraparound cabin deck, hydraulic boarding
ladders, a water injection and dust collection system, an LED lighting package and a fire suppression system that
can be mounted on the non-cab side of
the tower.
In addition to a number of standard
safety and interlock features, the RCS
Basic control system can offer a series
of options Autolevel, Autodrilling,
GPS hole navigation, Desktop Viewer
and communication, wireless remote
tramming, Measure-While-Drilling
data log files, and the International
Rock Excavation Data Exchange System (IREDES).
Multi-pass drilling
Development of the PV-316 multi-pass
drilling model is well advanced. On
this rig the tower will allow drilling to
a depth of 295 ft (90m) using a five-rod
carousel with 50 ft (15.25m) drill pipe.
This is a substantial increase over the
PV-275, which offers multi-pass drilling to 195 ft (59.4 m)*. The PV-316 is
expected to be launched during 2013
and to replace the DM-M3 model.
*For full Pit Viper 311 data see Specification page 207.
Dustin Penn
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Talking Technically
Power platform
From the ground up, the PV-351 is a
robust and highly capable drilling rig.
The undercarriage is a hydraulically
driven custom version of the Caterpillar
385 excavator unit. At 26 feet 10 inches
(8.18 m) in length this is the largest
undercarriage used for a rotary drilling
rig. Maximum tramming speed is 1.1
mph (1.77 km/h).
The main frame was designed using
finite element analysis and was subjected to dynamic strain gauge testing. To
ensure long frame life without rebuilds,
the I-beam used is 30 inches thick with
a cross section of 326 lbs/ft It supports
three inboard mounted tanks one
900 gallon (3,407 liter) water and two
600 gallon (227 l) fuel, as well as the forward jacks and rear tower support and
jacks assembly. There are four levelling
jacks with 10 inch (254 mm) bore and
72 inch (1,829 mm) stroke. The rear
jacks are cross linked to minimize
frame twisting.
Power for the multiple hydraulic systems and air compressor used on the
PV-351 comes from either a diesel
engine or an electric motor. Either drives the hydraulic power pack via a drive
shaft and the air compressor directly.
A floating power pack sub-base isolates the components from vibration.
Two coolers allow operation up to an
The diesel powered PV-351 can be offered with Cummins or CAT 12-cylinder engines.
Talking Technically
Versatile tower
Valve stand offering excellent accessibility for
maintenance.
84
Talking Technically
Talking Technically
Inside and outside view of the new PV-351 cab. The RCS control system provides a number of safety and interlock features and a series of automation options.
Options
A number of equipment options are available for all the Pit Viper models. These
include fire suppression systems and
computer-controlled central lubrication.
Specific options developed for the
PV-351 include a cold weather package
86
Extensive experience
It is now almost 12 years since the
first PV-351 started drilling at the then
Phelps Dodge Morenci copper mine.
A second field follow machine went to
Northgates Kemess mine in May 2003.
Atlas Copco decided to invest considerable amounts in production facilities,
and this enabled the Drilling Solutions
division to step up marketing efforts
as mining industry investment in new
equipment began to increase.Commercial deliveries of the Pit Viper started in
2005-6 and the first PV-351 units headed south to Codelcos Chuquicamata
Dustin Penn
Talking Technically
700
throughout its life, maintains the correct button shape and prot rusion. It
features correct centring on all buttons,
producing a high quality cemented carbide surface, with no risk of cemented
carbide nipple. Long bit life, and higher
penetration rates, will result from good
grinding quality.
Disadvantages of using the grinding
cup are that it may produce an incorrect
button shape and protrusion, and a lower
penetration rate. It is difficult to centre
the grinding cup over the gauge button,
and there is also a risk of producing a
sharp cemented carbide nipple on the
button. Reduced bit life will result from
poor grinding quality.
Several tests have been carried out
to find which method gives the best
bit performance. The grinding wheel
gives the correct shape to the button,
regardless of the amount of wear on the
wheel, ensuring that the bit will achieve
standard penetration rate throughout its
600
10 regrindings
per drill bit
500
400
300
Grinding methods
There are two different methods of
bit grinding to restore the buttons.
The preferred method uses a diamond
coated profiled wheel, and the other, a
grinding cup.
The profiled wheel provides a smooth
and efficient grinding operation, which,
200
Grinding interval
drill metres
100
0
10 20 30 40 50 60
Diagram 1: Typical bit life grinding at different intervals.
Talking Technically
Penetration rate
Bit life
With so many parameters involved, it
is difficult to estimate bit service life.
First, a proper grinding interval must
be established, preferably at the stage
when the button has a wear flat of one
Talking Technically
Grinding machines
Secoroc Manual B.
9
8
7
6
5
Labour cost
Machine cost
75 000
50 000
25 000
10 000
5 000
Talking Technically
Secoroc BQ3-DTH.
Grinding advice
The Secoroc grinding machines secret
of success is that both the grinding
table and the diamond grinding wheel
rotate. The result is perfectly ground
button surfaces, regardless of whether
the buttons are spherical, ballistic or
full-ballistic.
In addition, the machines unique
diamond grinding wheel is designed
to ensure even wear on its grinding
surface, while still retaining its profile.
This, in turn, guarantees the button
shape throughout the life of the wheel.
Secorocs advice is to use Secoroc
grinding machines, with profiled diamond grinding wheels, for grinding
button bits. It is the only solution able
to consistently deliver perfectly shaped
buttons on customers bits, which gives
longer service life to all rock drilling
tools, rock drills and drill rigs.
Correct grinding is important for
every drilling operation, particularly
in these days of cost consciousness and
fierce competition. It can make a world
of difference to the bottom line.
Bo Persson
90
Talking Technically
Secoroc Jazz
Rig mounted
grinder
In todays world of professional
rock drilling, where ever more
powerful drill rigs and hammers
are used, it has become extremely
important to give the drill string
all the necessary care and maintenance needed if optimum drilling
productivity is to be achieved.
Regrinding the cemented carbide buttons of the bit at proper
intervals increases the service life
of the whole drill string. This, in
turn, helps maintain penetration
rates, while ensuring that holes
are drilled straight and true.
Quick and efficient grinding
of button bits in surface drilling
applications, where the rig is constantly on the move from one job
site to another, has been an elusive goal. However, Atlas Copco
Secoroc has now come up with
the solution, by developing a rigmounted semi-automatic grinder.
The Secoroc Jazz, equipped with
a profile d diamond grinding
wheel, achieves the same quality
of grinding onboard the rig as that
previously associated with static
workshop models.
Development
Atlas Copco Secoroc has gained extensive knowledge and experience of regrinding large volumes of button bits
with stationary grinders, such as the
Secoroc BQ3 and Secoroc BQ3-DTH.
These, together with previous generations of similar grinders, have all used
profiled diamond grinding wheels for
working on spherical, ballistic and fullballistic buttons. However, onboard
grinding machines have always been
fitted with diamond grinding cups,
which have proved to be less efficient
than profiled diamond grinding wheels.
The new Secoroc Jazz grinder, which
is equipped with profiled diamond
grinding wheels, will consistently deliver the same perfectly shaped spherical
and ballistic buttons after regrinding.
This is increasingly important in relation to ballistic buttons, which are
becoming more and more popular.
Secoroc Jazz
The air-driven Secoroc Jazz helps optimize the performance of the rock drill
and drill string, without the bit leaving
the rig. It is user friendly, is designed
Talking Technically
Secoroc Jazz can easily be set up on the drill rig, here the machine is ready for grinding.
Do not grind too much on the top of the buttons. Let a
few millimetres of the wear flat remain on top of the
button.
A drill bit can remain in service as long as the gauge buttons maintain the diameter of the bit. Fractured buttons
must always be ground flat to prevent chips of cemented
carbide from damaging the other buttons.
1
Gauge button anti-taper has to be removed by grinding,
although excessive reduction of the bit diameter should
be avoided. Leave about max 1 mm of the wear flat.
Grinding the button bit in a professional way makes sense, because grinding accounts for only a fraction of the
cost of the entire drilling operation.
When a drilling programme is carried
on without correct service of the bits,
Bo Persson
Secoroc Jazz
Technical Data
Air pressure, maximum
Air consumption
25 l/sec
Coolant container
3l
1.8 cl/hour
1 kW
Speed, spindle
15,000 rpm
Voltage
24 V (D.C.)
90 kg (198 lbs)
Transport dimension
Grinding Capacity
92
250 mm (9 78")
254 mm (10")
35 mm (138")
3.5 mm ( 964")
Sweden, gllivare
The Aitik 36 project has increased ore production, and has put Aitik on pace to reach 36 Mt/y by the end of 2012.The investment will make Aitik one of the most
cost-efficient mines in the world.
Boliden on course
With the Aitik 36 expansion completed in 2010 mining is now scheduled to continue until 2029. The
latest technology including Atlas
Copco Pit Viper and SmartROC
drilling rigs is helping Boliden to
double concentrator throughput of
low-grade copper ore and deliver
a competitive concentrate to its
Swedish smelting and refining
complex.
High-tech strategy
Since 1968 Boliden AB has sought to
supply a competitive copper and precious metals concentrate to the Rnnskr smelting and refining complex at
Skelleftehamn, from the Aitik open pit
mine. The company has periodically
Boliden undertook a thorough evaluation before deciding to invest in four new Pit Viper 351 rotary drill rigs.
Bolidens criteria included the ability to drill 311 mm holes to a depth of 19 meters.
on the footwalls and 52 on the hanging wall. This means they dont have to
mine too much waste rock. For the Life
of Mine the waste-ore strip ratio is as
low as 0.5:1.
To achieve the required ore extraction rate the Aitik 36 project team
decided to cut back the pit boundary in
a number of places and to mine down to
600 meters. A supplementary open pit
has been developed at Salmijrvi, one
kilometer southeast of the main mine.
Currently, Salmijrvi is at 60 meters
depth with plans to reach 210 meters
depth in approximately 10 years. Nils
Johansson said, Today were mining
the southern part [of the mine] for ore
and the northern part for waste, heading for ore. And then there are two
levels active in Salmijrvi as well, so
we have two main fronts and two secondary fronts."
In all more than 80 Mt/y of rock
will be moved and Aitik 36 included
a largely new in-pit crushing and conveying system to contain mine site rock
haulage costs as well as additional new
shovels and trucks. Boliden undertook a thorough evaluation of available
The PV-351, installed with RCS, offer features like finger-tip joystick controls, a comfortable cabin, ability to drill angled holes, and ease of raising and lowering the tower
for tramming.
One of the four Pit Viper 351 drill rigs at the Aitik Mine: The Atlas Copco Rig Control System (RCS) offers a
wide range of features for automation, safety and communications.
The drill rigs drill 200-300 holes for one blasting round and the penetration rate can vary between 0.4 m/min in the upper part and 0.1 m/min in the harder rock
types. Forcit is contracted to charge each hole with about a ton of Fortis Advantage emulsion. Drilling patterns are transmitted from the mine office to the Pit Vipers
using the mines W-LAN network.
Pre-splitting on the Aitik benches:This SmartROC D65 is a highly productive and comfortable rig to operate in
these harsh conditions where temperatures can drop to -35 degrees in winter. Together with a ROC L8 it drills
140 and 165 mm holes to depths of 3335 m.
Acknowledgements
This story first appeared in Mining &
Construction 3-2010, and was updated
by Justin Cocchiola who visited the Aitik
mine in June 2012.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Asarcos choice:
both diesel and electric
Adding a diesel-powered PV-271 not only met the bench and drilling requirements that Arsarco sought from a single-pass drill rig but also offered versatile mobility.
The rig moves freely about in any of Mission Complex mines pits.
Comparable performance
Aside from one having a power cable,
The drills operate identically, said
Juan Salido, a Mission mine driller.
manpower required to build the infrastructure and to move the cable during
each relocation must be included in the
comparison.
The diesel powered PV-271 moves with ease back and forth on the bench increasing productivity by reducing setup time.
Bottom line
For Larry Maddox the choice is simple,
I want to keep them both. He says
each has characteristics that make the
operation more efficient and productive. For the company, that means
greater profitability. Electric may be
cheaper, but the mobility with diesel is
better.
Galbraith said the decision to buy
the right equipment for the drill and
blast process is justified by the bottom
line: For every dollar more you spend
up front on drilling, youll make $10 on
the back end.
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Atlas
Copco Mining & Construction magazine No 1 2011. Story and photos
by Scott Ellenbecker, Ellenbecker
Communication, who visited the mine
in June 2010.
The diesel PV-271s independent utility enabled it to set up quickly in any part of the Superpit, especially
beneficial during pit push backs.
Promising outlook
Its a full six months before startup, yet
an historic mine being reopened by the
One-source logistics
Copper Mountain Mining teamed with
Atlas Copco for the complete supply
of all required rock drilling tools. This
provides not only the convenience of a
one-source supply but also means Atlas
Copco is in frequent contact with the
company, maintaining instant access
to customer support. Service is instantaneous.
So how has the PV-271 been performing overall? Pratico said he is pleased
with the machine. The diesel rig had
already logged 1,200 hours of operation
by December. It not only performs well,
but it is also being used as a trainer.
The PV-271s high-tech upgrades give
operators rich options without alienating those who are new to the series. It
operates just like any other drill rig,
Pratico said, meaning it doesnt require
a steep learning curve to train an operators skills to proficiency on a Pit Viper.
That drillers can acquire proficiency
with the rigs quickly is just one more
contribution to helping the mine keep
on track for the June 2011 deadline.
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Atlas Copco
Mining & Construction USA No. 1, 2011
Story by Joseph Bradfield. Pictures by
Gary Wright.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
The Pit Viper 351 at work in the Radomiro Tomic Mine at 3 000 m in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, known
as the dryest in the world. Here, Atlas Copco takes care of all service and maintenance of the drill rigs.
Controlling dust is an important function at all mines. Here water is being pumped into the ROC L8 for
collaring the hole, which controls surface dust.
104
Acknowledgement
Article and photos by Scott Ellenbecker.
Originally published in Atlas Copco
Mining & Construction magazine,
No. 2/2011.
Automation at Escondida
Company triples
mine life with high
tech drill rigs
A l t h o ug h E s c on d i d a M i n e r a
literally translates as hidden
mining, its no secret that it can
maintain its position as the largest copper producer in the world
by stepping up its investments in
automation. The largest copper
mine in the world is updating its
fleet with units that feature Atlas
Copcos rig control system (RCS).
Growth strategy
Automation at Escondida
Escondida operates two open pit copper mines in the Atacama Desert, 170 kilometers southeast of Antofagasta in northern Chile. Escondida produces mainly copper concentrates, which are piped as a slurry down to the port of Coloso where they are dewatered before shipping, and a smaller proportion of cathode copper from the leaching
of both oxide and low grade sulfide ore. It also produces gold and silver.
Focus on mobility
The mine produces about 300,000
meters per month from its two pits,
Escondida and Escondida Norte, with
the smaller drill rigs primarily drilling buffer holes. Two rows of small
diameter holes are used between the
production holes and the final pit slope
to optimize rock fragmentation. At
Escondida, Atlas Copco ROC L8 rigs
drilling 165 mm (6 -inch) holes are
used for presplitting work.
The mobility of the PV-351 is a key
contributor as it moves from bench
to bench and pit to pit. The Pit Viper
can also be moved with the tower up,
106
Other benefits of
automation
As the mine moves forward, the management is also looking forward to
using the new training simulator that
the Atlas Copco Customer Center is
bringing to the country. Hugo Reales
Trigo, Drill and Blast Superintendent
and General Operations Manager, noted one advantage of using a simulator is that training does not take a drill
out of production. It is also safer, as it
reduces the number of people working
on the bench. He added that automation
Acknowledgement
Article and photos by Scott Ellenbecker.
Original article published in Atlas
Copco Mining & Construction magazine, No. 2/2011.
Esperanza has proven and probable copper reserves of 583 million tonnes with an expected average
annual production of 714,000 tonnes of concentrates containing 190,000 tonnes of payable copper and
230,000 ounces of payable gold over the first 10 years.
Rotary and
DTH drilling
Esperanza mine was from day
one designed to use sea water as
a conservation measure and is
aspiring to become Chiles next
big mining operation by using
even more of the latest in technology and equipment. Utilizing
Atlas Copco drill rigs, the mine is
using PV-351 rotary rigs for production drilling, DMM3 rotary
rigs for buffer holes and DTH rigs
such as the Atlas Copco ROC L8
for pre-splitting the benches.
ROC L8
DM-M3
PV-351
Pre-split Holes
165 mm (6 in.)
diameter holes
Buffer Holes
269 mm (10 58 in.)
diameter holes
rm
Be
2m
4.5
m
2.8
4.5
m
sulfi
6.5
6.5
des
4.5
7.5
m
7.5
m
16 m
Chosen for its advanced technology the majority of the production drilling is done with four Pit
Viper 351 rigs, drilling 16-meter holes with a 1.5 to 2 m subdrill. Drilling of the buffer holes are
done by two DM-M3 rigs and the holes for pre-splitting with a ROC L8.
Acknowledgements
Article and photos by Scott Ellenbecker.
Originally published in Atlas Copco
Mining & Construction International
magazine, No. 2/2011.
The PV-351 and the PV-271 are the only diesel units in a fleet of 11 production drill rigs at the Collahuasi
mine. Both rotary machines are drilling vertically an to a maximum depth of 18 meter.
Above: Carlos Correa Echeverria. Top right: operator of the PV 351. Bottom right: The PV-351 and PV-271 at Collahuasi copper mine.
The Collahuasi mine, one of the worlds largest copper resources, is located high in the Andean plateau
and operations take place at altitudes of between 4,000 and 4,800 metres above sea level.
Once they arrived in Collahuasi, the Pit Vipers went straight to the Rosario deposit to work in production
drilling. Some areas in this deposit are narrow and have water but this is not a problem for the versatile
diesel rigs.
Macheo admits it has been a learning curve but an easy and enjoyable
one: Oh, it wasnt a problem at all
to learn to operate it. It did help that I
had already worked on the 271 but the
controls are very straightforward, he
says, praising the cabin and its great
visibility. Its easy for me to work in
here, it feels safe and Im happy.
Featuring a powerful hydraulic pulldown, the PV-351 has also impressed
Collahuasi with its great capacity:
Before, there wasnt a diesel machine
with this capacity and for us this results
in greater availability in time, says
Correa.
Top left: Fernando Depix, Business Manager, Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions, Atlas Copco Chilena
Top right, Paulyn Espindola, Paulyn Espndola, Atlas Copco Product Manager near a blasthole produced by
the PV-351 at Collahuasi. Above: (Group of men from ADS Chile). From left to right: Jean Olivares, Rodrigo
Muz, Paulyn Espndola, Fernando Depix, Felipe Ortega, Julio Acevedo and Hugo Moyano.
Continuous improvement and innovation through the use of new technology is another important strategic
objective for Collahuasi. From the
drilling point of view, autonomous
technology would mean being able to
standardise our drilling operations and
thus help increase our production,
confirms Correa.
Drilling steel
Collahuasi and Atlas Copco did have a
relationship before the Pit Viper units
arrived at the mine last year. In fact,
this relationship started in 2004 and
came about through a Cost-Per-MetreDrilled Contract. The agreement entails
the supply by Atlas Copco of the whole
drilling column: rotary bits (including Secoroc Tricone bits), rotary drill
pipes, bit adaptors, top sub adaptors
and CENTEROLL rotary deck bushings amongst others.
The contract covers a total of 12
drill rigs and different drill diameters,
independently of the rock hardness.
The PV-351 is drilling 12 and the PV-271 is drilling 10 5/8 diameter blastholes.
Pre-split holes
4 "
15 m
114
Buffer holes
7 7/8"
Production holes
10 5/8" or 12 "
Acknowledgments
Article & photographs by Adriana
Potts. Technical drawing by Greenwood
Communications. With thanks to Collahuasi mine and Atlas Copco Chilena
.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Product development
Atlas Copco has a creed that is stated
in most internal and external communications. We are committed to your
superior productivity through interaction and innovation. These are not just
marketing words tossed about lightly,
but rather a promise of conviction to
each customer. However, unlike most
marketing statements recited to customers, this statement is also a reminder
for employees as to why they are here
and what makes Atlas Copco better.
If you have looked at purchasing a
PV-271, you may have met or talked
with Jim Owen. Atlas Copcos Western
US district manager, Jon Torpy, said
that just about every company that has
purchased a PV-271 in the United States,
and several outside of the US, has first
visited with Jim Owen about the drill.
Jim has been a great resource for other
mines dealing with similar drilling
conditions. For Barrick Goldstrike,
Owen is an important part of the rigs
daily operation. Owen said, Im responsible for everything below the
tophead: shocks, subs, steel, bits, bushings, and preventative maintenance on
the drills whatever is needed. I just
keep the drills moving.
Barricks Goldstrike mine has four
PV-271 rigs and holds claim to the first
PV-271 ever built. After 27,113 hours,
two compressors and two rotary heads,
After consulting with customers, Atlas Copco developed the PV-271 to meet their requirements to increase
productivity in open-pit, hard rock mining.
Owen said, it is still our best performing rig with no cracks in the tower or
frame. Where it counts, all is good.
Since it arrived at the mine in 2004,
the original rig has been problem free.
Other than the replacement of wear
items and preventative maintenance,
the first rig went to work the day it
was taken off the lowboy and has been
drilling ever since, said Owen.
To put that in perspective, thats a
whopping 58,856 holes for a total of
2,671,217 drill ft. Over that period of
time the PV-271 has had an average
penetration rate of 199 ft per hour. The
rate has stayed constant over the life of
the rig, faster when starting a layback
and reducing when we go deeper, said
Owen.
Jim Owen, Drill Supervisor, plays an important role in the rigs' daily operation and is responsible for
everything needed to keep the drills moving.
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Atlas
Copco Mining & Construction magazine No 2 2008. Story and pictures
by Scott Ellenbecker, Ellenbecker
Communications.
Unforgiving ground
Improvement and
teamwork are the
keys to success
at Phoenix Mine
The formation in Newmonts Phoenix Mine near Battle Mountain,
NV, contains high levels of abrasive quartzite but also contains
precious gold, copper, and silver.
Newmont started mining operations at Phoenix (formerly Battle
Mountain Gold) three years ago
and the planners knew they were
working with a challenging geological formation. But as it turned
out, it was more challenging than
anticipated.
Hammer drilling
with PV-271
Mine manager Mark Evatz said, Anything that touches Phoenix rock wears
fast. The rock fights back here. The Pit
Viper is big and bad and can take it.
Evatz is talking about Atlas Copcos Pit
Viper 271 (PV-271) blasthole drill.
Because of the hardness of the rock,
drilling at Phoenix requires hammer
drilling and the mine uses tough Atlas
Copco TD65 hammers with 6-inch
bits. The mines PV-271s are outfitted
with a single 1450 cfm, 350 psi oilflooded air compressor.
Phoenix has six Atlas Copco PV-271
drill rigs plus an Atlas Copco DML
and a DM45 midrange blasthole rig. The
mines goal is to keep four million tons
of muck in inventory to stay ahead of
the shovels and support needed operational flexi-bility (ore control related).
Drilling efficiency has been a continuous point of improvement since operations began at the mine. The singlepass depth capability of 55 ft (16.5 m)
on the PV-271 helped with that. Originally, the plans called for 20-ft bench
heights, supported by 23-ft drill depths,
but time spent moving from hole to hole
was eating up productivity. Drilling on
Biting through the hard and abrasive quartzite in the Nevada desert, the single pass Pit Viper 271 gives the
Phoenix Mine a clean, 45-ft hole.
Maximum productivity
In recent months, productivity at
Phoenix has increased and Holland
credits this in part to good communication between operations, maintenance,
and engineering. Phoenix is successful because we dont get conflicting
missions. We work well together and
challenge each other. The ground is
unforgiving at Phoenix and it takes a
team approach to be successful. When
mechanics and operators are talking,
you know youre winning, he said with
conviction.
Mark Evatz echoed this sentiment.
There had to be a steep learning curve
at Phoenix, he said. Since operations
began, the most recent quarter was
the best at Phoenix from an operation
standpoint. More revenue at a reduced
cost has had a lot to do with technology and the application of the Pit Viper
rigs, said Evatz.
For Evatz, continuous improvement
is a large part of the success at Phoenix.
We had 96 of 100 points right when
we started up Phoenix, he said. A lot
of the original planning decisions came
from the best practices used at other
Newmont Nevada mines, such as the
Lone Tree Mine. We looked at the hardest rock at Lone Tree as a comparison
when beginning operations. Basing equipment estimates and mining practices on Lone Trees numbers, our drill
production was half of Lone Trees,
Evatz said. For another equipment
example, Evatz said dozer grousers
require replacement three to four times
faster at Phoenix than Lone Tree.
Although the overall mining rates were
comparable at ~150k tons per day, the
rock hardness/abrasion at Phoenix is
substantially greater.
Major consumption items such as
down-the-hole hammers and bits are a
large ticket item when hammer drilling,
but necessary in very hard rock. The
mine uses about a dozen TD65 hammers a month and hundreds of 6-inch
bits. To maximize performance, Atlas
Copco has placed a full-time Product
Support Sales Representative (PSSR)
in the mine to support and develop
the use of consumables. Jim Wheeler,
Atlas Copco senior area manager for
consumables in the Intermountain
Region, said, Having someone on-site
is all about continuous improvement.
An example of this was a recent insert
change on the 6-inch hammer bits
gauge row, which has increased bit
performance. Having someone there
watching the performance of all consumables ensures that all pieces are
working together, reducing drilling
costs and improving productivity.
About 150 bits are used per month,
and in these extraordinarily abrasive
conditions, regrinding is not considered
an option. However, in order to reduce
bit consumption as much as possible,
Secoroc has changed the carbide in the
buttons to a tougher grade.
Evatz said that incorporating someone from Atlas Copco onto his team
has allowed them to share the successes
and failures, and has helped fix issues
as they come up the first time. There
is no finger pointing, just solutions for
Evatz.
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Atlas
Copco Mining & Construction magazine No 2 2008. For this edition the
article has been edited and condensed.
Community-friendly mining
Smaller rigs
and holes mean
patterns that
limit vibration,
noise and dust
The mining industry has become
increasingly conscientious of the
environment and comunities where
they operate. Change is driven by
mine ownership and management
striving to create a better workplace for their employees and develop good working relations with
their operations neighbors. As
manufacturers increase the focus
on operator comfort, fuel economy and ease of maintenance, they
also contribute to better community relations by engineering products that control noise, dust and
vibration.
Integrity of the hole is maintained with a cardboard tube: Hole depth is 11.7 m (38 ft 4 inch).
Community-Friendly Mining
The PV-235 drill rigs are used for drilling of 8.5 inch (216 mm) blastholes with a spacing of 6.3 x 6.3 m.
The R in PR
If the community did not already embrace the vision of restarting the mine,
choice of equipment would be a moot
issue.
Thibault attributed some of the ease
in creating a shared vision to mine
personnel themselves. Of the mines
500 employees, 45 percent of them
come from the community.
She said, The employees are our
ambassadors to the community. They
120
Community-Friendly Mining
Driller Mathew Leeker said it took him just one to two weeks to catch on with the operator friendly drilling system.
Previously he was diamond driller. Like all drillers on the PV- 235, Leeker very much enjoys the cab's comfort.
Rebirth of a town
The opening of the Malartic mine has
been a boon to the small community.
Although the town is on the main road
leading to Montreal, it was just a town
to drive by. With the investment from
the mine of new neighborhoods and
a $16 million elementary school construction, the town of 3,000 is now
growing again. Thibault said, We
consider ourselves guests, and we want
to leave the town better off.
Originally the budget was $15 million for the school, but because the
architect said $16 million would give
us so much more, we spent $16 million.
These are our future miners. We want
to give the kids the best quality of life
and education.
The mine also committed to an
annual improvement fund of $50,000.
Thibault said, We dont think of this
as buying the communitys appreciation; we want the community to win
from the gold found here, too.
Safety was also a long-term consideration. Once a neighborhood of
depreciated housing because of the
abandoned underground workings,
homes have been moved to accommodate the new mine workings. The
homes were purchased at fair market
value and are now in a healthy area
where kids ride bikes and play in the
streets safely.
Adding to the four PV-235 rigs already working, the mine has purchased three additional rigs.
Community-Friendly Mining
Equipment decision
While making their equipment decisions, they kept one focus in mind:
Choose technology for the future. We
knew we were taking a chance with
new-model equipment, but we are in
this for the long term and going with
Atlas Copcos experience was important to us, said Vzina.
In total there are nine drills working onsite, with many exploration
drills doing reverse-circulation and
core drilling. It is expected the mine
has a 16-year life, but the exploration
is continuing and there is hope that it
will go further.
Adding to the four PV-235 rigs already working, the mine has just purchased three additional rigs.
Recently Vzina signed a three-year
service contract with Atlas Copco
to maintain the drills. Those Atlas
Copco service techs really do a good
job and know what they are doing.
The commitment from Osisko is
not just for 16 years, though. This is a
partnership, said Vzina. I think we
need to have a partnership philosophy
with suppliers and the community. We
learn from our partners. Im proud of
what we are doing here. And we are
going to have a lot of fun.
Acknowledgements
Photos and story by Scott Ellenbecker,
first published in Atlas Copco Mining &
Construction magazine, No. 3, 2011
122
The Pit Viper 235 has a weight on bit of 65,000 pounds and is designed for rotary or DTH drilling of 6 9 7/8 inch
(152 -251 mm) diameter holes. Two tower options are available to drill 35 ft (10.7m) or 40 ft (12.2m) clean holes.
Operations at Veladero take place at altitudes of between 4,000 and 4,850 metres above sea level.
Heroes of Veladero
Working amidst some of the
harshest weather conditions and
where maximum reliability is paramount, the PV-271 drilling rig is
proving its worth at the Veladero
gold mine in Argentina.
To the left, Veladero drilling pattern: hole spacing of 7x8 m in waste and 6.5x7 m in ore. To the right, rock sampling: Veladero has a silica-type rock whose hardness
and compression varies throughout the site.
History
Although mining activities around
the San Juan Province can be traced
as far back as the early 19th Century,
Veladero represents the arrival of
true, large-scale mining to this part
of Argentina and it is Barricks first
operation in the country.
After a programme of regional
exploration in the mid 1990s, it was
not until May 1997, in the middle of
snow storms and cut off roads, that gold
and silver was discovered in an area
124
To the left, the PV-271 is drilling 10 5/8 production blast holes at Veladero. Top to the right, Carlos Cavanillas, Drilling & Blasting General Supervisor (left) and
Ramn Arjona, Drilling & Blasting Senior Supervisor. Bottom to the right, Veladero employs standard 15 m high benches.
other hand, very low grade, run-ofmine ore is hauled directly to the leach
pad area.
All the ore is then stacked in a lined
containment area behind a retention
dam. A cyanide leach solution is applied to the top of the stacked ore and
allowed to percolate through the heap.
As the solution goes through the ore, it
dissolves gold and silver from the rock.
This gold-rich solution is collected at
the base of the leach pad and pumped
to a conventional Merrill-Crowe process plant in order to recover the gold
and silver.
Through 2007 and 2008 Barrick offered a US$10 million prize to the scientific community in a bid to improve
silver recovery at Veladero. Recovery
rates for silver are low, less than 7%,
because the metal is bound within
silica, which is difficult to dissolve
using conventional cyanide processing.
As many as 130 proposals were submitted and of these, nine were selected for
testing.
Ever since we started operations,
weve been looking for ways to increase
production, says Forns, explaining
Other Atlas Copco equipment at Veladero includes a ROC F9 crawler drill rig.
pre-split holes and some drilling production holes. This includes an Atlas
Copco Pit Viper 271 and a ROC F9
unit. There are also four DM-M2 rigs
amongst other machines.
The ROC F9 rig, which has been
working at the mine about a year longer
than the Pit Viper machine, is currently
working in production, drilling small
4 holes. Its possible that we will use
this machine for pre-splitting in the
near future, says Arjona, explaining
that there is another ROC F9 unit, with
similar configurations working on presplit drilling at nearby Pascua Lama.
Weve heard that machine is doing
very well, he says.
The PV-271 rotary drill is also working in production. Before acquiring it,
Cavanillas wanted to see a similar rig
under working conditions: Ramn
and I went to Chile, where we had the
opportunity to see the PV-351 he says,
referring to the largest model in the Pit
Viper series. Several of these units are
working at Codelcos Radomiro Tomic
copper mine, 3,000 metres above sea
level in the Atacama desert of northern Chile. They were impressed by
the performance of the PV-351 and
after discussions, decided that the
smaller PV-271 was the best option for
Veladero.
PV-271 in action
Ramn Arjona, Drilling & Blasting Senior Supervisor with the PV-271 drill rig.
126
PV-271 operator Victor Astudillo says that due to the variable quality of the rock, drilling a production
blasthole can take anywhere from 18 minutes to one hour.
Motivated by technology
The PV-271 is poised to please Veladero even more once it is fitted with
the Rig Control System (RCS) technology; this will give the mine a series
of highly automated options, including: Autolevelling, Autodrilling, GPS
Hole Navigation, Desktop Viewer and
Atlas Copco and Veladero staff together (from left to right): Miguel Sernaqu, Atlas Copco Drilling Specialist;
Carlos Cavanillas, Drilling & Blasting General Supervisor; Victor Astudillo, Drilling Operator; Ramn Arjona,
Drilling & Blasting Senior Supervisor and ADS Technician Osvaldo Gil from Atlas Copco Argentina.
Acknowledgements
Articles and photographs by Adriana
Potts. With thanks to Veladero mine
and Atlas Copco Argentina.
Penasquito powers up
Powerful fleet: Five of the seven Atlas Copco Pit Viper 351 blast hole rigs lined up at the Penasquito open pit gold mine.
Powerful fleet
From the outset, it was the mine managements vision to achieve a high level of production, but first it was necessary to find the right combination of
equipment and support for the project.
To drill and blast half a million tons of
rock every day, the mine needed a special drilling fleet and rig management
program. The mine uses only Atlas
Copco drill rigs which include seven
Pit Viper 351 blast hole drill rigs plus a
DML and an ECM 590 for specialized
tasks.
Production hole size is 311 mm
(12 inches) for the 15 m (49 ft) bench
height. Different types of Atlas Copco
Secoroc epsilon tricone bits are also
used, depending on ground conditions.
The entire drill string, including the
pipe, stabilizers, bushings and subs are
supplied by Atlas Copco Thiessen.
Learning to operate the rig also
required extensive training, but it takes
time to learn the feel of the ground.
To speed up this process, Peasquito
chose rigs with Atlas Copcos Rig
Control System (RCS), which simplifies the drilling functionality for the
operator.
Penasquito powers up
Ensures efficiency
Drilling and blasting half a million tons of rock every day: The Atlas Copco Pit Viper 351 drill rigs in operation
at Penasquito. The RCS system ensures efficient drilling and the software provides several standard safety
interlocks.
The single pass Pit Viper 351 will drill 50 holes per 12 hour shift, at the 15 m (49 ft) high benches.
130
Penasquito powers up
Making the most of bits: Xavier Garcia, Key Account Manager, Atlas Copco, trains operators on the correct use of the eH64OA Secoroc epsilon Tricone bits.
Close support
Acknowledgements
Penasquito powers up
Shock Sub
Drill Pipe Lifting Bail
TM
TEAMALLOY
TM
CENTEROLL
DURALLOY
EZ-DRILL
TM
TM
TM
Deck Bushing
Bit Sub
Roller Stabilizer
Drill string
Production hole size
311 mm
12 1/4 in
Bench heigh
15 m
49 ft
The entire drill string from the rotary head to the tricone rotary drill bit is supplied by Atlas Copco
Thiessen and Atlas Copco Secoroc.
132
Turkey, Usak
Powerful drilling,
reliable production
To accomplish this, Tuprag Metal
Mandencilik San. Tic. A. (Tuprag) uses
Secoroc COP Gold DTH hammers on
two Atlas Copco DM45 rigs and a ROC
L6 at the Kisladag gold mine. Designed
for the production drilling market,
Secoroc COP Gold hammers feature a
specially designed piston for efficient
energy transfer; control tube suspension
with steel disc compression rings and
lower buffer rings; steel grade hammer
casing that provides greater impact
strength and excellent wear resistance;
and superb flushing capabilities.
Secoroc COP Gold hammers have
proven to be efficient, reliable and durable with a 10-15 percent longer service
life than equivalent hammers. Furthermore, with the COP Gold E-kit, they can
be rebuilt and restored to their original
performance levels up to three times at
a fraction of the cost of a new hammer.
These factors, along with intensive
training of local operators and maintenance personnel, have seen productivity levels increase beyond expectations since the mine opened in 2006.
Kisladag Mine Manager Ahmet Raci Uslu in front of one of two Atlas Copco DM45 rigs that enables his
team to surpass productivity expectations.
10 m
A = 22 m Pre-split holes
B = 11 m Buffer holes
C = 11 m Production holes
Be
rm
Pre-split
holes
Buffer
holes
10 m
Production
holes
1m
4.2 m
2.5 m
5.5 m
4.2 m
5.5 m
4.8 m
5.5 m
10 m
The drilling pattern at the Kisladag open pit with 152165 mm production holes, 152 mm buffer holes and
95 mm pre-split holes. The purpose of the pre-split holes and the row of buffer holes is to ensure the
stability of the final walls of the pit.
The ROC L6 with a Secoroc COP 34 DTH hammer drills the pre-split holes. Each hole is 95 mm in diameter
with an average depth of 45 m. Hole spacing is 1 m. (Inset) the blasting sequence of the pre-split holes.
134
Maintaining productivity
Kisladag started commercial production in 2006 with a local mine contractor and has been developed as a low
grade, bulk tonnage open pit operation
using heap leaching for gold recovery.
In May 2008, the mine began the transition to being a fully owner-operated
pit. The transition, which included
technical and practical training of operators and maintenance crews, was
completed in four months, and the mine
began using its own fleet exclusively in
October 2008.
Kisladag has been using Atlas Copco
rigs with Secoroc hammers and bits
since the transition began. Penetration
rates are good through the volcanic rock
and Ahmet Raci Uslu, mine manager,
says the rigs and rock drilling tools
were selected to maintain the high productivity rates required at the mine.
The amount of meters we drill is
really important for us to keep up mine
production, says Uslu. In June 2009
we drilled nearly 48,000 meters and we
aim to maintain this level of production.
High productivity is one of the reasons
we chose Atlas Copco.
The anticipated production capacity at Kisladag is 1.73 million tons a
month, but the current rate of mining is
more than two million tons per month.
To achieve this, drilling operations are
run for 20 hours a day; mining operations are 10 hours per shift and there
are 14 shifts per week.
A ROC L6 equipped with its Secoroc
COP 34 DTH hammer averages 45 m
per hour drilling pre-split holes. Hole
diameters are 95 millimeters and the
Blasthole drilling in open pit mining
Maximizing,
extending bit life
Kisladag uses Secoroc drill bits to
achieve high production rates for
extended intervals. To utilize the full
power of the drill rigs, regular bit
grinding is essential. The bit on the
COP 34 averages 1,540 meters; the bit
on the COP 54 hammer, 2,257 meters;
and the bit on the COP 64 Gold, 3,099
meters.
However, the economics of drilling often comes down to balancing
penetration against bit life. A rule of
thumb is that a 10-percent increase in
penetration rate results in a reduction
of 20 percent in bit life.
To extend the life of its bits and
maximize the number of drilled meters
per bit, Kisladag uses a Secoroc Grind
Matic grinder, and each bit is reground
two or three times. The efficient grinders extend the service life of the bits,
which also results in less wear and tear
Bahadir Ergener, RDT/GDE product manager, Atlas Copco-Turkey, demonstrates how to use a gauge to
determine when a tungsten carbide bit needs regrinding. Kilada uses a Secoroc Grind Matic BQ2-DTH.
Exceeding productivity
expectations
Since the first year of commercial
production (July 2006), Kisladag has
surpassed productivity expectations.
Initially, plans were to increase production in year four, but Tuprag was able
to move forward with expansion in year
two. And the trend continues. Tuprags
parent company, Eldorado Gold, recently completed a review of the
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Mining
& Construction, No. 3 2009, and was
updated June, 2010.
Team of rigs
High on the Anatolian plateau, Canadian company Eldorado Gold Corp
has successfully commissioned its
Kisladag gold mine.
Operated through Eldorados subsidiary, Tprag Metal Madencilik Sanayi
ve Ticaret, the mine opened in 2006
and is now Turkeys No.1 gold producer
with an annual production of about
285000 troy ounces.
In contrast to the volcanogenic massive sulphides of the Black Sea region,
the ore at Kisladag is in porphyry-type
mineralization. It grades up to 1 g/t
gold. with softer, oxidized material at
a depth of 30-80 m.
Serkan Yksel, Mine Manager at
Tuprag, explains that the company
plans to more than double its ore production by 2014. Since Tprag took
over mining from a contractor in
2008, the operation has relied on two
Atlas Copco DM45 blasthole drill
rigs for production drilling. Then in
mid-2011, it took delivery of a new Pit
Viper PV-235. Together, the three rigs
completed 650000 drillmeters in 11
months.
Thats over 58800 individual
holes, notes Yksel, and during the
first four months, the Pit Viper contributed around 70000 m to that total. We
are using it in the harder rock in the
pit so were not really in a position yet
to make direct comparisons with the
DM45 rigs. The Pit Viper is powerful
and can drill a 12 m hole in one pass,
136
Good teamwork: The Pit Viper PV-235 above was delivered in mid-2011 and working together with two
DM45 rigs, it helped to complete 650 000 drillmeters in 11 months. Insert: Serkan Yksel, Mine Manager
at Tuprag, confirms that the mine aims to double production.
Acknowledgements
The article on this page first appeared
In Mining & Construction, No 2 2012
Blasthole drilling in open pit mining
UKRAINE, KOMSOMOLSK
Solid position
The open pit iron ore mine near the
town of Komsomolsk in central Ukraine
is one of 10 deposits located on a single
5 km long magnetic anomaly strike.
Owned by Poltava GOK, it dates back
to the former Soviet Union when efficiency was not its first priority.
However, following Ukraines independence in 1992, and subsequent
privatization, everything changed and
today the ore dressing and processing
facilities are almost unrecognizable.
PGOK, which is owned by Ferrexpo
plc, is a modern, well equipped and
highly developed operation which, with
annual exports of some 10 million tonnes of iron ore pellets, ranks among the
worlds top pellet suppliers.
The turning point in the history of
PGOK came when the new management made two key decisions: firstly,
to concentrate solely on the production
of pellets, and secondly, to invest only
in the most modern mining equipment
available. And it is the combination
of these two goals that has driven the
mine to success and given it a solid
position among international iron ore
producers.
The diesel-powered PV-275 is drilling 251 mm holes. In rotary drilling with tricone bits, high pressure air
(24 bar) is used to clean the holes.
The PGOK benches are 10 to 12 m high and the drill pattern is 6 x 6 m in waste and 5.5 x 5.5 m in ore.
Modern drilling
The iron ore at the PGOK deposit is
extracted from medium hard rock and
to drill the required 251 mm blastholes,
the mine specialists chose the Atlas
Copco Pit Viper 275, a top-of-the-line
rotary drill featuring the computerized
Atlas Copco Rig Control System.
Voldymyr Chasnyk, parts and service manager at Atlas Copco Ukraine
has this to say: Theres no doubt that
PGOK is one of the most modern enterprises in Ukraine. The company is the
industry leader with modern equipment
and has a determination to keep up
with all new technical developments.
PGOK made up its mind to focus
on iron ore pellets in contrast to the
other mines in the country which have
a lot ofdifferent products and they
recognized the superior performance
of the Pit Viper to help them achieve
their goals.
Steady progress
By studying the productivity report,
it is easy to see why the Pit Viper is
the rig of choice here. Since it was first
138
Major shift
PGOK has facilities for crushing, concentrating and pelletizing facilities on
site and benefits from its sea port JV
on the Black Sea, at Yuzhnye, near
Odessa, from where it ships pellets to
overseas markets.
Voldymyr Ivanov, First Deputy
Chairman of OJSC (Poltava GOK),
Top picture: The Pit Viper 275 is designed for multi-pass drilling down to 59 m and can be used for angle
drilling with 0 - 30 degrees in 5 degree increments. Above: Driller Victor Voznuk enjojs the comfortable
and ergonomic PV-275 cab.
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Atlas
Copco Mining & Construction magazine
No 1. 2012
140
The Zhelezny open pit mine at Kovdor operates Atlas Copco and Russian drill rigs, Russian electric shovels and Belaz, Caterpillar and Komatsu haul trucks. The
in-pit crushing station is on the upper right of the picture.
Super-deep mining
Kovdorsky GOK, one of two mining
companies in the Kola Peninsula
supplying two of Russias major
phosphate fertilizer manufacturers, has decided to utilize superdeep mining at the Zhelezny open
pit until reserves are exhausted in
2049. The technique relies heavily
on precision drilling with equipment supplied by Atlas Copco.
Treasure Trove
Discovered in 1933, the ore deposit at
Kovdor in Russias Murmansk Oblast
(67 33 N, 30 30E) is unusual, probably unique. The discrete, deep and
more or less downwardly conical carbonatite deposit hosts 45 recorded minerals and is the type locality for five of
these. It is also one of the Kola Peninsulas two major sources of Apatite for
fertilizer production, one of the worlds
Evolution
The mining and processing operations
at Kovdor started in 1959-62, initially
recovering only the magnetite from
6 Mt/y of ore, explained Igor MelikGaikazov and Mikhail B Togunov, respectively Technical Director and Chief
Mining Expert at Kovdorsky GOK.
Super-deep mining is not the operations first technical breakthrough, they
pointed out. During the 1970s the staff
developed a process for separating the
apatite and baddeleyite as well as the
magnetite, with optimal processing
achieved early in the 1980s. The iron
ore is extracted by magnetic separation,
then the pulp undergoes flotation to
recover the apatite and, finally, gravity
techniques separate the baddeleyite.
In the same period the mineable area
2.5 4.0
4.0
5.0
5.0
5.0 (m)
15 m
238 m
A = Pre-splitting holes
B = Buffer holes
C = Production holes
Sea level
15 m
660 m
Length 2.3 km
The Zhelezny open pit is 2.3 km long, 1.7 km wide and its current depth is approximately 170 m. The
diagram shows the vertical orebody and the planned angle of the slopes at the projected depth of 900 m
(dotted line). Kordovsky GOK aims to accomplish this with no significant expansion of the pit rim.
Contractor Technobur has four Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions DML rigs working for Kovdorsky GOK. Three are
low pressure (LP) rigs for rotary drilling, and one is a high pressure (HP) rig for DTH drilling or rotary drilling.
the mine walls. Thirdly, because the proportion of wet blast holes is expected to
increase, waterproof explosives would
be required.
Blastability studies led to the definition of five categories and for each one
the burden, hole distance and height of
explosive charge are calculated in relation to hole diameters, bench height,
grade of emulsion charge and row position in the blasting sequence (see illustration page 110). Typically, the inner
blocks of the bench are drilled with
smaller diameter bits, transitional blocks
are drilled with the smaller holes on the
inner part but with larger holes further
away, and outer production blocks are
entirely drilled with the larger diameter holes. Using emulsion explosives
reduces impact on the environment, especially the urban area close to the mine
as they emit less gas and dust pollutants and the vibration effects are easier
A major player in Kovdovskys Super Deep Mining programme: Atlas Copco s DM45 HP (high pressure) rig
on the pits upper, 12 m high benches.
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Atlas
Copco Mining & Construction magazine
No 1 2010. Kyran Casteel of Mineral
Industry Intelligence & Information
visited the mine in 2009.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Ovoot Tolgoi
Ovoot Tolgoi was the first of SGSs three
coal projects to go into commercial
production. Mining in the Ovoot Kuhral
Basin, the mine is located only 40 kilometers from the China border, ideally
situated for its primary client.
SouthGobi Sands Ovoot Tolgoi
mine has two pits in development:
Sunset and Sunrise. The older and
larger of the two is the Sunset pit with
Sunrise just taking shape. Licenses
were issued in 2007 when Sunset
produced 1 million tonnes. In 2011
the mine produced 4.5 million tonnes
and confidently set a goal of 8 million
tonnes for the following year.
In December 2011 the mine upgraded its resource data, having determined
a proven reserve of 62.8 million tonnes
of high-volatile B and A bituminous
coals. According to the ASTM D388
standard, high-volatile B coal yields
7,212 to 7,785 kilocalorie-per-kilogram
(kCal/kg). The heat output of highvolatile is more than 7,785 kCal/kg.
Another 44 million tonnes of probable resource brings total resources to
106.8 million tonnes. SGS actually
Even though the mine is in the Gobi Desert, the mine had to deal with the challenge of ground water. Ground water often freezes in this climate, so the mine uses
a dewatering unit and switched to a bulk-based explosive program.
Unique difficulties in
drilling
Acting Mine Manager John Howlett
said Ovoot Tolgoi is like any mine with
the exception of what he calls some
really crazy seams.
The largest of the seams that run
through both pits is Number 5. It is
about 50 meters thick near the surface,
but dips at a 45-degree angle. There
are multiple seams lying side by side.
Exploration drilling has found seam
Number 5 at a depth of 800 meters.
The Ovoot Tolgoi surface mine
based its plans on a 20-year mine life,
mining to a depth of 300 meters, but
this could increase as coal demands
rise. Future plans tentatively include
going underground.
Ovoot Tolgoi General Manager
Rodney Lacy said to date they have
moved 8 million tonnes of coal to
roughly 35 million total bank cubic
meters (BCM) of overburden. Howlett
The mine added 200 employees in 2011 with miners being bussed from three local communities up to 130 km away.
and Noyon soum are 100 kilometers and 130 kilometers away from
Ovoot Tolgoi, respectively. Additional
employees and a few ex-patriots in lead
positions were flown in from the countrys capital, Ulaanbaatar, nearly 1,000
kilometers away. In early 2012 the
company had nearly 600 employees,
with 75 to 80 percent of the drillers
The largest of the seams that run through both pits is Number 5. It is about 50 meters thick near the surface,
but dips at a 45-degree angle. There are multiple seams lying side by side. Exploration drilling has found
seam Number 5 at a depth of 800 meters.
The DM45 is used for drilling 7 inch holes in a 5.4 x 6.2 m drill pattern.
Acknowledgements
Article and photography by
Scott Ellenbecker
General Manager of Ovoot Tolgoi Operations Rodney Lacy.
148
Multi-seam,
multi-pit mining
Coal production and export is a very
serious business in the Hunter Valley,
New South Wales. Normally one train
passes through Muswellbrook carrying
coals to Newcastle, Australias major coal
shipping port in 2008, every 20 minutes,
said Robert (Rob) Swan. Muswellbrook
(pronounced Musselbrook) lies pretty
central to the main Hunter Valley coal
mines; it is where the Atlas Copco office
and service facilities for the area are located and where Rob, who is the Regional Manager Eastern New South
Wales, is based. It is also quite close to
the Hunter Valley Operations (HVO)
which has proved very convenient for
us, said Dale Radnidge, the HVO Maintenance Supervisor, whom we met at
an office complex known as Cheshunt
Bathhouse located in the southern section of the HVO.
Located 24 km northwest of Singleton, the Hunter Valley Operations, are
100% owned by Coal & Allied Industries Ltd, which in turn is managed
by Rio Tinto Coal Australia. Rio Tinto
describes the Operations as a multiseam, multi-pit open cut mining operation. HVO comprizes: part of the
Howick mine, now known as the West
Pit, which started operating in 1968; the
Hunter Valley No. 1 mine, where production began in 1979, and the Lemington mine, which commenced coaling in 1971. Coal & Allied merged the
Howick and Hunter Valley mines in
2000 to create Hunter Valley Operations
In the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Coal and Allied Industries mines a multi-seam, multi-pit operation.
Purchase factors
Dale Radnidge explained that there had
been various reasons why Coal & Allied
(C&A) wanted to buy the Pit Viper 275.
For one thing, it would be fitted with the
Cummins QSK 19 Tier 2 compliant engine that will meet the relevant Australian environmental impact regulations
for some time to come. C&A had good
previous experience with the Pit Vipers
predecessor rig, the DM-M2, which
was bought in 1995. This has always
been a very cost effective machine
for the company, with very good life
cycle costs despite the fact that the
rig has had to operate for periods in
Regulatory issues
However, life is not too simple for equipment purchasers in Australia, especially in New South Wales where the
government guidelines on equipment
specifications, primarily designed for
machinery operating in coal mines,
are the most stringent in Australia. Rio
Tinto Coal Australia management also
has very strict rules covering equipment
specifications and it was necessary to
Operation
HVO Maintenance Supervisor Dale Radnidge (right) with Atlas Copcos Rob Swan.
Modifications
The HVO maintenance team were able
to inspect the Pit Viper at the Atlas Copco
The Coal and Allied Ltd Pit Viper 275 is fitted with a Cummins QSK 19 Tier 2 compliant engine.
150
C&A intends to create a fleet of different size drills with a common cab design so that each operator can
switch easily from one model to another.
Queensland Drillpro
Services
The vast Bowen Basin coal deposits in
mid-Queensland extend from the area
west of the coastal city of Bowen to
south of the Tropic of Capricorn in an
area which lies west of Gladstone. The
mines are connected by rail lines to
five major ship loading Coal Terminals:
Abbott Point near Bowen, Hay Point and
Dalrymple Bay near Mackay, and the
RG Tanna and Barney Point terminals
near Gladstone. The Bowen Basin accounts for roughly half the worlds seaborne trade in metallurgical (coking)
coal.
Drillpro Services is a drill services and
drilling contracting company formed
by John Anderson, who had previously
worked in a senior position for a major
Australian equipment dealer handling
machines competing with the Atlas
Copco Drilling Solutions range. Having
started out selling drill rig parts and
doing rig rebuilds, Drillpro bought its
first rig for contract drilling in 2001,
followed by two more each year after
that. For some time the company used
the rigs John Anderson had previously
sold, but later Drillpro experienced
problems with a particular model so
Mr Anderson decided to try the equivalent Pit Viper 275. He is now an enthusiastic customer and advocate. Currently the company has two Pit Vipers
working at widely separated mines in
the Bowen basin. The first to be delivered
Drillpro Services deploys one of the companys two PV-275 rigs at the Wesfarmers Curragh Pty Ltd Curragh
North extension.
152
Curragh North
Operated by Wesfarmers Curragh Pty
Ltd, which is wholly owned by Wesfarmers Ltd, the Curragh mine was first
Modifications
As in New South Wales, though to a
slightly lesser extent, some modifications
are essential to meet the Queensland
government guidelines, explained Don
Emery, who is Atlas Copcos Regional
Manager, Mackay. And although John
Anderson could not have his roof
window, he did get several substantial
modifications that he asked for.
The Curragh Pit Viper was shipped
into Brisbane, trucked to the Mackay
workshops where it was modified,
trammed into the Queensland Mining
Exhibition held from July 24-27, 2008
and then delivered straight to the
mine site. In carrying out the alterations Atlas Copco was considerably
assisted by an adjacent firm of boilermakers which could generate the
required drawings and do some of the
fabrication.
In addition to rewiring according
to Queensland standards, the main
The second Drillpro PV-275 works at the Coppabella & Moorvale JVs Coppabella mine.
Coppabella
The overall operation and the mining
operation at Coppabella are managed by
Macarthur Coal (C & M Management)
Pty Ltd working on behalf of the Coppabella and Moorvale Joint Venture. The
Joint Venture comprizes Macarthur Coal
Ltd (73.3 % stake held via Coppabella
Coal Pty Ltd); CITIC (via CITIC Australia Coppabella Pty Ltd), Marubeni
Corp. (via Mapella Pty Ltd), and Sojitz
Corp. (via Winview Pty Ltd) each holding a 7 % interest; JFE Shoji Trade Corp.
(3.7 % held via KC Resources Pty Ltd);
and Nippon Steel Trading Co. Ltd 2.0 %
held via NS Coal Pty Ltd. The coal handling and preparation plant has a capacity in excess of 6 Mt/y raw coal and is
operated by the Sedgman Coppabella
Joint Venture.
The mining lease was granted on
June 1, 1998, overburden removal started in July 1998 and the first coal was mined in October 1998. By April 2007
Coppabella had yielded 40 Mt of run
of mine coal. Macarthur Coals attributable production in 2008 was 2.57Mt.
Proven and probable reserves totalled
67 Mt as at 30 June 2008.
The operation is located adjacent
to the Peak Downs Highway, 140 km
southwest of Mackay between Nebo and
Moranbah. It mainly produces a 9% ash,
154
Drillpros Pit Viper 275 rig at the Coppabella mine, seen here in the Johnson Pit South, is equipped with the
Caterpillar C27 engine option. The machine drills 20 angled pre-split holes and either 20 or more often
vertical main bench holes.
Acknowledgements
Kyran Casteel, a Contributing Editor for
Coal Age and Engineering & Mining
Journal, visited the New South Wales and
Queensland coalfields in January 2009.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Drilling contractor
About 75,000 dollars in three months,
1,000 liters every 24 hours, and half a
million dollars per year: these are the
kind of fuel savings now being experi
enced by Australian mining contractor
Deveth Drilling Queensland (DDQ)
after adding a new drill rig to its fleet.
DDQ is benefiting from the first class
economy of Atlas Copcos Pit Viper
235 rotary rig, and is passing its sav
ings on to its client, the New Hope
Corporation and its New Acland coal
mine.
Nigel De Veth, owner and founder of
DDQ, says: In the first three months
alone weve saved the mine 75,000
(AUD) in fuel, and that was through
a trial period, really just phasing the
machine into the work. The potential
savings are over 1,000 liters every 24
hours so youre looking in the vicinity
of half a million dollars a year.
The low fuel consumption was a
decisive factor behind the companys
decision to purchase the PV-235. De
Veth adds: Were now getting about
50 to 55 liters an hour with this rig and
the main contributor to that is the wet
clutch technology on the compressor.
The Pit Viper 235 was introduced to the New Acland coal mine in February, 2012.
Nigel De Veth, owner of DDQ, is delighted with the fuel savings and other advantages of the Pit Viper 235.
Push-button economy
The hydraulically operated patentpending automatic clutch is an out
standing feature of this hydraulic
tophead drive rig, which can be config
ured to perform a range of rotary and
DTH drilling operations.
With the PV-235 you dont get air
unless you ask for air, so if you want air
for drilling, you press the button and
the clutch engages and the compressor
throws in. So the compressor is only
ever used when you want it, explains
De Veth.
He continues: Atlas Copco has
replaced all the rod greasers and air
greasers, etc, with electric pumps
so they are not reliant on air. Theres
nothing on the machine that relies on
air other than your drill bit.
DDQ has been operating at the New
Acland coal mine for about four years
and introduced the PV-235 there in
February 2012, drilling mainly 229 mm
blastholes to a depth of 50 m.
156
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Atlas Copco
Mining & Construction No. 2 2012.
The successful Azot-Chernigovets team at the Chernigovsky open pit: (From left) Vladimir Klimov, operator,
Oleg Grebenshikov, operator assistant; Dmitry Kuznetsov, foreman; Vadim Khlebunov, deputy chief
engineer; Vladimir Bornev, drill site supervisor; Victor Yarkov, operator and team leader; with
Yury Dolgov of Atlas Copco.
Victor Yarkov, operator of the recordbreaking DML, says, The cabin is well
insulated, with good visibility and operating lights. Also, the control levers
are comfortably located. Yarkov has
worked here for almost 20 years and
says good teamwork also contributes
to the successful drilling.
At Chernigovsky, tricone drill bits
are used for the 203 mm and 270 mm
blastholes with 9-meter pipes to depths
of 5-15 meter. The performance of the
rotary head is 100 rpm at 10.575 Nm and
the compressor capacity is 34 m3/min at
758 kPa.
Water in the coal beds is about
50 percent, and in some sectors even
more, says Vadim Khlebunov, deputy
chief engineer of Azot-Chernigovets.
This, combined with fissuring, often
makes drilling and blasting a problem.
However, the rig performance is excellent and if you follow the manufacturers recommendations, there will be
no problems at all.
The contractor produces and uses
two types of emulsion explosives for
dry and wet holes. We provide a complete technology process, comments
Khlebunov. We sell fully prepared
cubes of rock mass and run operations
Single-pass capability
The first drill rig was commissioned
in 2004 and was the second such drill
rig in Kuzbass. To increase productivity, the management decided it wanted
single-pass drill rigs and the Pit Viper
proved to be the ideal choice. We have
practically reached the maximum theoretical productivity capabilities of the
rigs, says Bogatiriov. As for maintenance, we observe Atlas Copco factory
recommendations. Earlier, the lifetime
of the locally manufactured machines
was five to seven years, but with the new
machines, we expect 10 to 12 years.
Atlas Copcos local distributor, Mining Solutions, is responsible for staff
training and maintenance of the rigs.
Engineer Vladislav Grebnev, deputy
general director, says, We have had
people on this site from the start, working hand-in-hand with the customer to
steadily boost the productivity of the
equipment.
The operators traditionally believe
that productivity increases depend solely on torque. Pulldown force was not
taken into account. We worked together
as a team and the rigs started achieving
18,500 meters per month. That was the
start of the productivity increase.
The company provides three types
of service contracts: a complete service, including night duty; setting up,
diagnostics, parameter monitoring; and
emergency call-out. Today, 40 units of
Atlas Copco equipment are covered by
the service contracts and practically
all customers extending their contracts
choose the full-service option. Service
contracts are applicable to all rotary drill
rigs including DML, DM45, DM-M2
and Pit Viper 271s in the region.
Acknowledgements
A winters day at the Bachatsky open pit: The Atlas Copco drill rigs DM-M2 and Pit Viper 271 help
to produce coal for both the domestic and international markets.
158
Massive amounts of overburden - up to 300 ft (91 m) - are removed to reach the seams of coal that can
exceed 80 ft (24 m) thick. Powder River Basin coal is treasured because of its low sulfur content.
Dragline operations
When moving this amount of material,
mines turn to the lowest cost equipment
available. Many of the PRB mines utilize large walking draglines as their
Draglines are effective earthmovers, removing overburden and depositing directly into spoil piles as shown here. In the foreground, casted material can be seen
filling the empty pit, while dozers work to build a dragline bench.
A dragline digs on the spoil side of the pit. Draglines move in small steps via a cam-type walking mechanism.
160
Drilling at an angle then blasting the bank into the adjacent empty pit results in casting 30 percent or more
of the bank overburden material.
Drillers on the DM-M3 appreciate the clear view of the breakout wrench and easy access to controls.
Good highwalls are a result of proper drilling and blasting and bench preparation. The dragline seen here is using
the spoil side stripping method as this pit nears completion.
Acknowledgements
Story and pictures by Brian Fox and Scott
Ellenbecker. Portions of this article first
appeared in Mining & Construction USA,
No. 1, 2009.
Award-winning mining
operation
Dry Fork Mine is a surface coal mine
located in the Powder River Basin
approximately seven miles northeast
of Gillette, Wyoming, on Garner Lake
Road. Constructed in 1989, commercial operation began in 1990. Approximately 70 employees work in the mine,
which is well known for its safety and
environmental achievements. In 2009
the mine celebrated having gone nearly
seven consecutive years without a lost
time injury, and it recently received
three prestigious environmental awards, including the Office of Surface
Mining (OSM) Excellence in Surface
Mining Award; the Wyoming Game,
Fish Industry Reclamation and Wildlife
Stewardship Award; and an Excellence
in Surface Coal Mining from the
Wyoming Department of Land Quality.
Wester n FuelsWyoming, Inc.
(WFW) is owned by a collective of cooperative power companies. The mine
primarily supplies coal to the utilities
associated with those rural cooperatives. Dry Fork is an industry showcase
representing how mining, energy production and nature can realize sustainable success. Dry Fork balances mining
operations with conservation practices.
The mines 24/7 operation produces
an estimated 5 to 6 million tons of
coal annually, of which 1.5 to 2 million
The mine has won several prestigious environmental awards for achievements. Reclamation at the award
willing property includes returning the land back to its original contour and elevation. Wildlife is abundant
in the area. A herd of dear graze in the distance at the edge of the newly scalped landscape.
As good as new
Every element is part of the mines reclamation plan. Animals, trees, surface
rocks it is all documented in the permitting process. Director of Regulatory
Affairs Beth Goodnough is the keeper
of the permit. Its a constantly evolving permit. Currently its 25 volumes
long and growing.
This DML drill rig uses the new Secoroc Grizzly Paw bit to drill through coal and overburden. The coal is
drilled at a 20 degree angle.
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Atlas
Copco Mining & Construction magazine No 3 2010. Story and photos
by Scott Ellenbecker, Ellenbecker
Communications.
Moving mountains
Virginia Drilling now has over 50 Atlas Copco drill rigs in its fleet.
A focus on the
coal industry
In the southern Appalachian range
of West Virginia, Kentucky, and
Virginia, known as the Blue Ridge
Mountains, the seam of coal flows
through the ground at varying
depths, sometimes just at the
base of the mountain. To get the
coal Virginia Drilling Company
works with their coal company
partners to shave off the mountains one 30-ft to 40-ft lift at a
time. Virginia Drillings business
philosophy has developed over
time but has remained simple,
says said founding partner and
company president Verlo Stiltner.
We grow the business by focusing on what you do best and surround yourself with experts.
Virginia drilling
In 1998, partners Verlo Stiltner, David
Hale and Mike Sheets started the
contract drilling company Virginia
Drilling to diversify the existing blasting business, Austin Sales, owned by
Hale and Stiltner.
The company began as a contract
driller on construction applications with
Ingersoll-Rand ECM 490 and ECM
690 crawler rigs. Today the company
has grown to include 28 Atlas Copco
DM45s, nine Atlas Copco DMLs and
seven Atlas Copco crawler drills in
various sizes, including one ECM 490
and one ECM 470 and two ECM 690s
and three ECM 720s.
Virginia Drilling is the largest, if
not the only, contract driller in the world
focused primarily on the coal industry.
Even the smaller construction crawler
Getting started
Because of the existing blasting business, Virginia Drilling knew everyone
in the area. Founding partner and construction drilling manager Mike Sheets
summed it up, the coal industry in the
region is a real fraternity. Just over a
year after starting the business, which
Moving Mountains
until that time had focused on construction projects, Virginia Drilling partners
were approached by a coal company
who knew their blasting expertise and
asked them to drill in the coal field.
The premise was to not waste blasting material on the bench, to work efficiently and maximize outside resources.
The goal was to get costs below industry average and have higher drill utilization.
Partner responsibilities
Two Atlas Copco DML drill rigs prepare for the next shot that will lower the bench to the coal seam.
166
Moving Mountains
Shouldering the burden for the coal companies. From left: Mike Sheets, Clinton Evans and Verlo Stiltner of Virginia Drilling.
Moving Mountains
Blasting off the top benching down to the coal that can be seen at the base of the mountain.
and overall efficiency. But, all the aspects of training come right back to
keeping the drill working at its maximum performance rate.
We expect to get 30,000 hours from
our drills, said Evans.
The drillers have to be doing their
job correctly to ensure that level of
equipment life.
168
One drill site may run into five different layers of sandstone in a mine.
Laminated charts plot out the geology
of the mine. The goal is to get the maximum penetration in relation to the time
in the hole.
The bit is an integral part of the operation, said Evans. Bits give you the
data as to how the drill is performing.
Weight and rotation is applied to the bit
according to the situation. In this area a
driller may expect to get a penetration
rate of 6 feet a minute at 165 rpm and
15,000 lbs.
Although bits have an optimum rotation rate its only half the equation.
We are not willing to sacrifice a drill
to drill faster, said Clinton Evans. Virginia Drilling looks to maximizing the
relationship of down pressure to rotation rpm to ensure the life of the drill.
Using 7 -inch to 9-inch bits on
its DMLs and 6 -inch to 7 -inch
bits on its DM45s, operating between
2,500 to 4,000 hours a year, Virginia
Drilling projects 2 million yards of
rock a month. It is expected that each
drill is responsible for 500,000 yards.
The DMLs are equipped with 6 -inch
x 30-ft pipe, while the DM45s run 5
-inch x 30-ft pipe.
Virginia Drilling can move drills if
needed, and to meet the required tonnage they will run three to four drills
per site at one time with a maximum
of five.
Evans prefers the DML because it is
beefier from the frame up, but the performance and hole sizes dictate what
drills will be used. It goes back to
blasting try to make the pattern smaller but get the most value from the caps,
primers and explosives.
Generally, hole spacing is on an 18-ft
x 18-ft pattern. The 7 -inch hole can
support 16-ft to 18-ft spacing, while
the 9-inch hole can do a 19-ft to 21-ft
spacing. Virginia uses a 70/30 ANFO
emulsion blend as an explosive.
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Atlas
Copco Mining & Construction magazine No 2 2008. Story and pictures
by Scott Ellenbecker, Ellenbecker
Communications.
Cost busting
Ron Johnson, Atlas Copco Regional Sales Manager for Eastern U.S. coal region, and driller, Kevin Maggard.
Controlling drill
pipe erosion
keeps drill steel
costs down
Sixteen-year veteran driller Kevin
Maggard proudly lis ted several reasons he rates his tenure
with James River Coal Service
Company (JRCSC) so highly. At
the top of his list is the way they
keep their equipment up. Their
maintenance program is second
to none, he said. One look inside
Maggards blasthole rig cabin
leaves no doubt that he cares
about his equipment. He keeps it
so clean it looks brand new.
Cost Busting
Above: Driller Kevin Maggard pointed out that by resisting erosion, TEAMALLOY drill steel maintains its stiffness, spinning true with less vibration. This increases bit life
and prevents premature bearing failure. (Top right) Ron Johnson compares bearing play of a bit used before drilling with TEAMALLOY against a new bit to show how
the cost of mild steel was more than just replacing pipe. (Bottom right) Johnson indicates how little the steel has worn after nearly 400 hours of use, maintaining its
relationship to the deck bushing. Mild steel did not often last more than 130 hours in the same conditions.
The solutions
Sharpe complimented Maggards skill
as a driller. While Sharpe has seen
some drillers go through a top sub in as
little as six months, he said Maggards
drill string is still topped by the original, 6-year-old top sub. It is a certainty
that JRCSC isnt seeing drill steel cost
rise from operator fault or poor drilling technique. Its solely the physics
involved in a change of bit size. Ron
Johnson, Atlas Copcos Regional Sales
170
Teamalloy
Thats when Johnson suggested Teamalloy drill steel. Almost every coal
company in the eastern U.S. would be
keenly interested if Teamalloy were to
work for JRCSC. So far it has. While
mild steel lasted only 130 hours, the
Teamalloy drill steel was indistinguishable from new at 300 hours. Approaching 400 hours, the steel was
starting to show only minimal wear.
The wear was controlled and predictable, showing the embedded alloy wear
strips slightly more prominently than
when new. Johnson predicted they
would likely see 500 hours before they
changed it out.
Maggard said that while drilling he
could sense that the Teamalloy pipe
offered greater stabilization and perfect
rotation.
It would seem that JRCSC has found
a successful formula once again. Dust
is down. Drill steel cost per hour is
down. Production is up. And Atlas
Copco Secorocs Teamalloy drill
steel is living up to its billing in their
Montgomery mine, the bet that it will
beat mild steel in cost per hour in any
application, anywhere, every single
time.
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Mining
& Construction USA No. 1, 2012,
written and photographed by Joe
Bradfield, senior writer at Ellenbecker
Communications.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Kazakhstan
Mining in Kazakhstan
rig, although the rigs have the capacity
to operate at 20,000 to 25,000 meters
per month.
The DML drills a 228 mm hole, while
the DM45 drills a 200 mm hole using
Secoroc EpsilonTM bits lasting 15,000 to
18,000 meters. Borly also has the distinction of having received the worlds
first electric DML drill rig. Meanwhile,
the recent delivery of the countrys first
Atlas Copco RD20 drill rig for oil and
gas, has paved the way for exploration
of the huge Karaganda methane field.
Gearing up
for growth
The Republic of Kazakhstan, that
vast country south of Russia between the Caspian Sea and China,
is on the move. Its infrastructure
is improving and its mining industries are being reborn through
new methods and modern equipment. It will take time, but the
aim is clear: to become a prime
example of Central Asias growing prosperity. Atlas Copco equipment and service is playing a
central part in this modernization.
On site at the Vararvarinskoye Mine, owned by OJSC Polymetal of Russia, where five Atlas Copco DM 30
rigs and one T3W are used for mining gold.
Progress in October
Production at the 50 Years October
deposit, located some 200 km from
Aktobe, started in 2006. During the
initial planning stages, they produced
a 215 mm blasthole in the overburden
through rotary drilling. Once the overburden was removed, they studied
DTH drilling for use on harder rock
formations.
Following these studies, the mine
selected eight Atlas Copco rigssix
DMLs and two DM45 high pressure
blasthole rigs for DTH drilling with
Secoroc QL60 and DHD 360 hammers
to drill 171 mm holes on a 12-meter
bench with a 5-meter burden and
6-meter spacing. The central pit has a
14-year life and satellite pits are under
development.
While the owner, Aktobe Copper
Company, was impressed with the penetration rate, overall production levels
had not reached expectations, so the
company turned to Atlas Copco for a
way to increase the rigs productivity.
GRT, a sister company of Atlas Copcos
distributor Ken Group, an experienced
contractor, had been getting good results with rotary drilling at other copper mines and wanted to duplicate that
success by employing DTH drilling at
the 50 Years October site.
The company operated a DM45HP
rig during a four-month test period. Of
172
Developing metals
Varvarinskoye Gold Mine in Varvarinka was developed in the 1990s
when European Minerals conducted
exploration, followed by pit work with
overburden removal in 2006. Gold production began in December 2007 with
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Atlas Copco
Mining & Construction No. 1, 2010
Story and pictures by Scott Ellenbecker.
Within the Vietnamese mountains overlooking Ha Long Bay's karst formations lie the country's largest coal reserve.
Coal mining in
Ha Long Bay
Coal production is a vital part of
the Vietnamese economy, and
the countrys largest field has
turned to modern drilling technology to optimize productivity
and efficiency. Atlas Copco is working with many of the regions
companies, providing them drill
rigs of various sizes to meet their
specific excavation needs.
A world wonder
With its thousands of limestone karst
formations that begin in the surrounding mountains and continue to the sea
where they stand out as lush, domeshaped islands, Ha Long Bay is recognized as one of the wonders of the
world. In those mountains that overlook
the bay lies Vietnams largest coal
reserve.
The coal region in Vietnam is centered in Cam Pha in Quang Ninh province, one of the two towns of Ha
Diverse needs
Atlas Copco supplies the mines of the
region with rigs matched to the size of
their various pits. With a complete product line offering a full range of equipment, and with a staff of technicians
there onsite, Atlas Copco meets the specific needs of each of its customers.
The majority of drilling in the area
is performed by its DML and DM45
blasthole drill rigs. A variety of surface crawlers, including ROC F7, ROC
F6 and ROC L7 CR COPROD drill
rigs, work in smaller operations. The
following is a look at three mines and
Dong Bac
Coal Exploration Enterprise-Dong Bac
Corporation produces 140,000 tonnes
of coal per year running two rigs. The
mine has operated drills from several
manufacturers but found its greatest
success with the Atlas Copco ROC L7
COPROD drill rig because of its availability. Mr. Vu Van Tan, Chief Operator
at Dong Bac, says, The Atlas Copco
drill rigs have similar penetration rates
with our other rig, but its the uptime of
the ROC L7CR that makes it the mines
most productive rig.
At this mine the ROC L7CR drills
a 165-millimeter (6 inch) hole to
depths of approximately 8 meters (26
feet). The 6-meter (20-foot) deep coal
seam rests at an angle from the surface,
which results in drilling to depths that
end at varying degrees along the coal
seam. Mr. Tan likes the size and mobility of the ROC L7 and thinks its the
best rig for this size operation.
Ptam Trung Kien, Technical Manager for Nui Beo Coal Company in front of their DM45.
Nui Beo
Nui Beo Coal Company is a much larger operation working adjacent to the
Dong Bac mine. In 2009 the mine produced 5.1 million tonnes of coal using
four blasthole drills. Two of those are
Atlas Copco diesel-powered rigs.The
others are Russian-made electric models. The mobility and faster penetration of Atlas Copco DM45 and DML
blasthole rigs significantly out-drill the
competitors models.
The two Atlas Copco rigs drill 8,500
meters per month, whereas the other two
rigs drill only 3,000 meters per month.
The mines three shifts produce 22 million tonnes of waste annually from a
pit 4 kilometers long by 1.1 kilometers
in width. The projected life extends to
the year 2015, with a new property
already planned and scheduled for
development.
Pham Trung Kien, the electro-mechanical department technical Engineer,
oversees the drill fleet for the mine. Of
all these drills, Kien likes the DML the
most. With its Cat engine, he thinks it
offers more power than the DM45, but
both are more productive and efficient
174
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Atlas Copco
Mining & Construction No. 3, 2010.
Story and pictures by Scott Ellenbecker.
176
Hole diameter:
7
8" - 5" (22-140 mm)
Hole diameter:
3916" - 6" (90-165 mm)
Hole diameter:
358" - 9" (90-229 mm)
Principle: In the
simplest of terms, the
tophammer drilling
method goes back
to manually hitting
the end of a drill
steel with a sledge
hammer. As recoil
makes the rod jump
back it is rotated
to ensure that the
hole is round. In
a similar way the
impact energy of
the rock drill piston
is transmitted to the
drill bit in the form
of shock waves. Drill
cuttings are removed
from the hole bottom
by air or water
flushing.
Principle: The
hammer is situated
down the hole in
direct contact with the
drill bit. The hammer
piston strikes the drill
bit resulting in an
efficient transmission
of the impact energy
and insignificant power losses with the
hole depth. The
method is widely
used for drilling long
holes, not only for
blasting, but also for
water wells, shallow
gas and oil wells,
and for geo-thermal
wells. In mining it is
also developed for
sampling using the
reverse circulation
technique (RC drilling).
TONS
TONS
Hole diameter:
41516" - 6" (125-165 mm)
Hole diameter:
434" - 16" (120-406 mm)
Hole diameter:
978" - 12" (251-311 mm)
Principle: The
hammer is situated
down the hole in
direct contact with
the drill bit similar
to the down-thehole method. The
difference compared
to DTH drilling is
that the RC-hammer
collected the exhaust
air and the rock chips
through an inner
centre tube of the
hammer and inside
the drill string up to
the surface where
samples can be
collected in bags.
Flushing of the
cuttings is done up
through the chuck
sleeve.
Principle:
Rotation is
provided by
a hydraulic or
electric motor
driven gearbox,
called a rotary
head that moves
up and down
the tower via
a feed system,
generating
the pulldown
required to give
sufficient weight
on the bit.
Flushing of
drill cuttings
between the
wall of the hole
and the drill rods
is normally made
with compressed
air.
Specification guide
Specifications guide
From a pure technical point some readers may find the
definitions and units used on the following pages confusing. Several of the terms and units have a history dating back to the early days when drilling was based more
on practical experience than on advanced engineering.
Feed Force
For many users and equipment manufacturers feed force
is commonly referred to as Weight on bit(WOB), and
expressed in lb (pounds) or kg. Since this term WOB is commonly used by many drillers, we decided to include it in the
specifications pages. The Weight on bit is defined as the
downward force on the drill bit, generated by the force from
the pulldown cylinders combined with the force generated
by the weight of the drill string.
From a pure technical point mass and weight are different
properties and a force can not be measured in pounds since
that is a unit for measurement of mass. Since the 18th century pound-force (lbf) has been used for low precision measurement of a force. A more precise definition is the newton
(N), the amount of force required to accelerate a mass of one
kilogram at a rate of one meter per second per second.
In the specifications tables you will also find the force generated by hydraulic cylinders expressed as Hydraulic pulldown
and Hydraulic pullback specified in lbf and kN units.
Conversion table
This unit
Times
Equals
Length
This unit
Times
Equals
This unit
Times
x 29.57
= ml
mph (mile/hour)
x 0.45
Equals
= m/s
x 0.4732
=l
mph (mile/hour)
x 1.61
= km/h
mm (millimeter)
x 0.001 (10-3)
=m
cm (centimeter)
x 0.01
=m
x 0.9463
=l
ft/s (foot/second)
x 18.29
= m/min
dm (decimeter)
x 0.1
=m
x 0.7646
= m3
ft/min (foot/minute)
x 0.3048
= m/min
km (kilometer)
x 1 000 (103)
=m
Force
in (inch)
x 25.4
= mm
kN (kilonewton)
x 1 000
=N
blow/min
x 0.017
= Hz
ft (feet)
x 0.305
=m
kp (kilopond)
x 9.81
=N
kHz (kiloHertz)
x 1 000
= Hz
yd (yard)
x 0.914
=m
x 9.81
=N
rpm (rev/min)
x 0.01667
= r/s
mile
x 1609
=m
x 4.45
=N
degree/second
x 0.1667
= r/min
Power
Frequency
Pressure
J/s (joule/second)
x1
=W
kpm (kilopondmeter)
x 9.81
= Nm
bar
x 100
= kPa
x1
=W
x 0.11
= Nm
bar
= Pa
kW (kilowatt)
x 1 000
=W
x 1.36
= Nm
kp/cm2
x 0.98
= bar
x 735.5
=W
atm (atmosphere)
x 1.01
= bar
x 745.7
=W
g (gram)
psi (pounds/in2)
x 6.895
= kPa
t (tonnes, metric)
x 1 000
= kg
psi
x 0.06895
= bar
l (liter)
x 0.001
= m3
grain
x 0.0648
=g
Area
ml (milliliter)
x 0.001
=l
oz (ounce)
x 28.35
=g
x 0.000001 (10-6) = m2
dm (cubic decimeter)
x 1.0
=l
x 31.10
=g
cm (square cm)
x 0.0001 (10-4)
= m2
cm (cubic decimeter)
x 1.0
= ml
lb (pound)
x 0.4536
= kg
in (square inches)
x 645
= mm2
mm (cubic millimeter)
x 0.001
= ml
x 1 016
= kg
ft (square feet)
x 0.0929
= m2
in (cubic inch)
x 16.39
= ml
ton (UK)
x 1 016
= kg
yd (square yard)
x 0.8361
= m2
ft (cubic feet)
x 28.316
=l
ton (short)
x 907
= kg
Acre
x 4 047
= m2
Imperial gallon
x 4.546
=l
Speed (velocity)
Square mile
x 2.590
= km2
US gallon
x 3.785
=l
km/h (kilometer/hour)
x 0.2777
= m/s
ha (hectare)
x 10 000
= m2
x 28.41
= ml
m/s (meter/sec)
x 3.6
= km/h
Equals
Divided by
This unit
Equals
Divided by
This unit
Equals
Divided by
This unit
Volume
3
3
178
x 0.001
= kg
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
180
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
DM25-SP
Technical data
The Atlas Copco DM25-SP is a crawler mounted, selfpropelled, hydraulic rotary table drive, single-pass rotary
drilling rig specifically designed for 4 in. to 6 in. (102
mm to 171 mm) blasthole applications to depths of up to
40 ft. (12.2 m) or 50 ft. (15.2 m) of clean hole, depending
on tower selection with either rotary or down-the-hole
drilling. Feed pressure generates a pulldown force of up
to 25,000 lbf (111 kN). The optional angle drilling package
allows the tower to be positioned up to a maximum of
15 from the vertical in increments of 5. All controls for
positioning are located at the operators control console
inside the cab. The package includes a drill pipe support.
Standard equipment
Drilling Method
Hole Diameter
4 in - 7 in
102 mm - 178 mm
Hydraulic Pulldown
25,000 lbf
111 kN
Weight on bit
25,000 lb
11,300 kg
Hydraulic Pullback
25,000 lbf
111 kN
40 ft or 50 ft 12.2 m or 15.2 m
Maximum hole
depth
40 ft or 50 ft 12.2 m or 15.2 m
Feed speed
72 ft/min
0.36 m/s
3,500 Ibfft
4.7 kNm
Estimated weight
62,000 lb
28 tonnes
30 ft 6 in
9.3 m
Height
74 ft
22.6 m
Width
12 ft 8 in
3.9 m
72 ft
21.9 m
Height
13 ft
4.0 m
Compressor range
Low pressure, Rotary 900 cfm@110 psi 25.4 m3/min@7.6 bar
High pressure, DTH
Cummins
QSX15
Caterpillar
C15
Cummins
QSX15
Caterpillar
Kelly specifications
Hole depth*
Kelly
diameter
Suggested bit
diameters
Thread**
size and
type
40 ft (12.2 m)
4" - 5 1/2"
2 3/8" IF
5 1/2" - 7"
2 7/8" API
5 7/8" - 7"
3 1/2" API
4" - 5 1/2"
2 3/8" IF
5 1/2" - 6 1/4"
2 7/8" API
5 7/8" - 7"
3 1/2" API
50 ft (15.2 m)
DM25
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
182
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
DM30
Technical data
Standard equipment
Drilling Method
Hole Diameter
5 in - 6 3/4 in
127 mm - 171 mm
Hydraulic Pulldown
30,000 lbf
133 kN
Weight on bit
30,000 lb
13,600 kg
Hydraulic Pullback
10,000 lbf
44 kN
26 ft
7.9 m
45 m
Feed speed
100 ft/min
0.5 m/s
5,400 Ibfft
7.3 kNm
Estimated weight
60,000 lb
28 tonnes
Length
24 ft 4 in
7.4 m
Height
44 ft 4 in
13.5 m
Width
11 ft 10 in
3.6 m
Dimensions tower up
42 ft 2 in
12.9 m
Height
14 ft 6 in
4.4 m
Compressor range
Low pressure, Rotary
C15
Cummins
QSX15
Caterpillar
C15
Cummins
QSX15
Suggested bit
diameters - rotary
Thread
5" 6"
2 7/8" API
5 7/8" 6 3/4"
3 1/2" API
6 3/4"
DM30
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
184
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
DM30 II
The Atlas Copco DM30 II is an improved and upgraded
version of the DM30. It is a crawler mounted, hydraulic
tophead drive, muliti-pass rotary drilling rig specifically
designed for production blasthole drilling to depths of
90 ft. (27.4 m) with a 30 ft. (9.1 m) drill pipe change.
A four-position drill pipe changer is optionally available
to achieve drilling depths of 150 ft. (45.7 m). Nominal
hole size is 5 in. to 7-7/8 in. (127 mm to 200 mm). The
DM30 II generates a bit load force of up to 30,000 lbf
(133 kN). The optional angle drilling package allows the
tower to be positioned up to a maxuimum of 30 from
the vertical in increments of 5. Designed for quarrying
and small mining operations, this versatile drill can be
easily loaded onto a trailer and moved from one
location to another.
Major upgrades
Standard equipment
Cab pressurizer/heater/ventilator
Eleven quartz halogen night lighting package6
Auxiliary hoist for drill pipe and accessory handling
Cooling package rated up to 125F (52C) ambient
Heavy-duty engine silencer/muffler
Separate air intake filters for engine and air compressor
Remote hydraulic tower pinning
Hydraulic indexed carousel for two 4, 5 or 5- in.
OD x 30 ft. drill rods
Remote hydraulic fork chuck for drill pipe breakout
Hydraulically powered auxiliary chain wrench
230-gallon (870 l) fuel tank
Rotary head with single fixed or variable displacement
motor with 0 to 160 RPM available, and a maximum torque
of 5,400 lbfft
Three 48 in. (1,219 mm) stroke leveling jacks
77,000 lb. (34,650 kg) GVW rated excavator-type
undercarriage
19.7 in. (500 mm) wide triple bar grousers
Reinforced rectangular steel track frame with oscillation
yoke mounting
Deck service catwalk with railings
Back-up alarm
Technical data
Drilling Method
Hole Diameter
5 in - 6 3/4 in
127 mm - 171 mm
Hydraulic Pulldown
30,000 lbf
133 kN
Drilling Method
Hole Diameter
5 in - 7 7/8 in
127 mm - 200 mm
Hydraulic Pulldown
30,000 lbf
133 kN
Weight on bit
30,000 lb
13,600 kg
Hydraulic Pullback
10,000 lbf
44 kN
26 ft
7.9 m
Maximum hole
depth
150 ft
45 m
Feed speed
100 ft/min
0.5 m/s
5,400 Ibfft
7.3 kNm
Estimated weight
70,000 lb
31.5 tonnes
Dimensions tower up
Length
28 ft 7 in
8.7 m
Height
45 ft 2 in
13.8 m
Width
16 ft 11 in
5.2 m
44 ft 11 in
13.7 m
Height
16 ft 8 in
5.1 m
Compressor range
Low pressure
High pressure
C15
Caterpillar
C15
Suggested bit
diameters rotary
Thread
5 7/8" 6 3/4"
3 1/2" API
6 3/4"
7 7/8"
3 1/2" BECO
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186
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
T4BH
Technical data
Standard equipment
Drilling Method
Hole Diameter
5 5/8 in - 9 7/8 in
143 mm - 251 mm
Hydraulic Pulldown
30,000 lbf
133 kN
Weight on bit
30,000 lb
13,600 kg
Hydraulic Pullback
22,000 lbf
97 kN
22 ft 6 in or 27 ft 6 in
6.8 m or 8.4 m
147 ft 6 in or 177 ft 6 in
45 m or 54.1 m
Feed speed
60 ft/min
0.3 m/s
6,000 Ibfft
7,165 Ibfft
8.8 kNm
9.7 kNm
Estimated weight
58,000 lb
26 tonnes
28 ft 8 in
8.1 m
Height
36 ft 6 in
11.1 m
Width
8 ft
2.4 m
35 ft 0 in
10.7 m
Height
13 ft 6 in
4.1 m
Compressor range
High pressure, DTH
Cummins
QSX153
Cummins
QSX15
Cummins
QSK19C2
5 5/8" 6"
2 7/8" API
5 7/8" 6 3/4"
3 1/2" API
6 3/4" 7 3/8"
3 1/2" API
or BECO
6 3/4" 7 7/8"
3 1/2" BECO
7 7/8" 9"
4" BECO
9"-9 7/8"
4 1/2" BECO
T4BH
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
188
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
DM45/DM50
The Atlas Copco DM45 and DM50 are crawler mounted,
hydraulic tophead drive, multi-pass rotary drilling rigs
specifically designed for production rotary or DTH
blasthole drilling to depths of 175 ft. (53.3 m) with a 30 ft.
(9.1 m) drill pipe change.
Standard equipment
Technical data
Drilling Method
Hole Diameter
5 7/8 in - 9 in
149 mm - 229 mm
Hydraulic Pulldown
45,000 lbf
200 kN
Weight on bit
45,000 lb
20,400 kg
Hydraulic Pullback
22,000 lbf
98 kN
27 ft 5 in
8.5 m
53.3 m
146 ft/min
Ibfft
0.7 m/s
7,200
Estimated weight
77,000 lb 95,000 lb
35 tonnes 41 tonnes
Length
31 ft 10 in
9.7 m
Height
43 ft 7 in
13.3 m
Width
17 ft 2 in
5.23 m
9,76 kNm
Dimensions tower up
43 ft 7 in
13.3 m
Height
18 ft
5.5 m
Compressor range
Low pressure, Rotary 900 cfm@110 psi 25.4 m3/min@7.5 bar
Low pressure, Rotary 1050 cfm@110 psi 29.7 m3/min@7.5 bar
Low pressure, Rotary 1200 cfm@110 psi 34.0 m3/min@7.5 bar
High pressure, DTH
C15
Cummins
QSX15
Caterpillar
C15
Cummins
QSX15
Caterpillar
C15
Cummins
QSX15
Caterpillar
C15
Cummins
QSX15
Caterpillar
C18
Cummins
QSX15
Suggested bit
diameters
Thread
5 7/8" 6 3/4"
3 1/2" API
6 3/4" 7 3/8"
6 3/4" 7 7/8"
3 1/2" BECO
7 7/8" 9"
4" BECO
9"
4 1/2" BECO
* Maximum hole depth only achieved with certain pipe sizes and
wall thicknesses
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
190
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
DML-SP
The Atlas Copco DML-SP is a crawler-mounted, hydraulic
table drive, single-pass rotary drilling rig, specifically
designed for production blasthole drilling to depths of
up to 60 ft. (18.3 m) in a single pass without a drill pipe
change. Nominal hole size range is 6 to 9-7/8 in. (152 to
251 mm) for rotary bit applications. The DML-SP has the
option for a 50 ft (15.2 m) clean hole tower or a 60 ft
(18.3 m) clean hole tower.
Standard equipment
Technical data
Drilling Method
Hole Diameter
6 in - 9 7/8 in
152 mm - 251 mm
Hydraulic Pulldown
54,000 lbf
240 kN
Weight on bit
54,000 lb
24,500 kg
Hydraulic Pullback
54,000 lbf
240 kN
50 ft or 60 ft
15.2 m or 18.3 m
50 ft or 60 ft
15.2 m or 18.3 m
Feed speed
100 ft/min
0.5 m/s
7,500 Ibfft
10.2 kNm
Estimated weight
90,000 -100,000 lb
41 - 45 tonnes
37 ft 6 in
11.4 m
37 ft 6 in
11.4 m
71 ft 7 in
21.8 m
82 ft 7 in
25.2 m
Width
13 ft 10 in
4.1 m
Dimensions tower up
68 ft
20.7 m
79 ft
24.1 m
19 ft 7 in
6.0 m
19 ft 7 in
6.0 m
Compressor range
Low pressure rotary
Caterpillar C153
Cummins
QSX15
Cummins
QSX153
QSK19
QSK19C2
Caterpillar C27
Cummins
Caterpillar C27
Cummins
Caterpillar C183
Kelly specifications
Hole depth*
Kelly
diameter
Suggested bit
diameters
50 ft. (15.2 m)
or
60 ft. (18.3 m)
9" 9 7/8"
Thread**
size and type
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
192
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
DML
Technical data
Drilling Method
Hole Diameter
5 7/8 in - 10 5/8 in
149 mm - 270 mm
Hydraulic Pulldown
60,000 lbf
267 kN
Weight on bit
60,000 lb
27,200 kg
Hydraulic Pullback
22,000 lbf
98 kN
27 ft 5 in or 32 ft 5 in 8.5 m or 10 m
175 ft or 205 ft
Standard equipment
Feed speed
146 ft/min
0.7 m/s
7,200 Ibfft
9.76 kNm
Estimated weight
87,000 - 110,000 lb
39.5 - 50 tonnes
53.3 m or 62.5 m
31 ft 10 in
9.7 m
Height
43 ft 8 in
13.3 m
Width
16 ft 6 in
5m
43 ft 7 in
13.3 m
Height
17 ft 8 in
5.4 m
Compressor range
Low pressure rotary
C153
Cummins
QSX153
Caterpillar
C183
Cummins
QSX15
Caterpillar
C272
Cummins
QSK192
Caterpillar
C27
Cummins
QSK19C2
Caterpillar
C272
Weg motor
6808
Suggested bit
diameters
Thread
5 7/8" 6 3/4"
3 1/2" API
6 3/4" 7 3/8"
6 3/4" 7 7/8"
3 1/2" BECO
7 7/8" 9"
4" BECO
9" 9 7/8"
4 1/2" BECO
9 7/8" 10 5/8"
5 1/4" BECO
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
194
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
Technical data
Drilling Method
Hole Diameter
6 in - 9 7/8 in
152 mm - 251 mm
Hydraulic Pulldown
60,000 lbf
267 kN
Weight on bit
65,000 lb
29,500 kg
Hydraulic Pullback
27,000 lbf
120 kN
40, 35 ft
12.2, 10.7 m
240, 210 ft
73.2, 64.0 m
Feed speed
4,900 Ibfft
8,800 Ibfft
6.6 kNm
11.9 kNm
Standard equipment
Estimated weight
128,000 lb
58 tonnes
34 ft 2 in
10.4 m
Height
42 ft 6 in
19 m
Width
17 ft 4 in
5.3 m
63 ft 5 in
19.3 m
Height
20 ft 4 in
6.4 m
Compressor range
Low pressure rotary
Caterpillar
C183
Cummins
QSX15
Caterpillar
C272
Cummins
QSK192
Caterpillar
C272
WEG
6808
Suggested bit
diameters
Thread
6" 6 3/4"
3" BECO
6 3/4" - 7 3/8"
3 1/2" BECO
6 3/4" - 7 7/8"
3 1/2" BECO
7 7/8" - 9"
4" BECO
9"
4 1/2" BECO
9 7/8"
5 1/4" BECO
9 7/8" - 10 5/8"
5 1/4" BECO
* Maximum hole depth only achieved with certain pipe sizes and
wall thicknesses
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
196
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
Technical data
Standard equipment
Insulated, pressurized, air conditioned cab with tinted
glass and suspension operator seat
Caterpillar 345XL undercarriage with hydraulic track
tensioners
Hydraulic cylinders driven cable feed system
Hydraulic motor driven rotary head with spline lubrication,
maximum 8,700 lbfft torque; speed range 0 - 150 rpm
Rotary head tachometer on operator console
Remote hydraulic tower pinning
Two-rod carousel for 6 " to 8- 58" drill rods
"No-bump" rod changer
Hydraulically powered breakout wrench (fork chuck)
Hands Free auxiliary hydraulic chain wrench
8,000 lb (3,629 kg) capacity auxiliary hoist
Hydraulically retractable dust curtains
Cooling package
Separate air intake filters for engine and air compressor
Wide flange structural steel beam frame with oscillation
yoke mounting
Hydraulic Test Station
13-light night lighting package-70 watt halogen
Full deck service catwalks and railings
Two 48" (1.2 m) and one 60" (1.52 m) stroke leveling jacks
Drilling Method
Hole Diameter
6 3/4 in - 10 5/8 in
171 mm - 270 mm
Hydraulic Pulldown
70,000 lbf
311 kN
Weight on bit
75,000 lb
34,000 kg
Hydraulic Pullback
35,000 lbf
156 kN
55 ft*
16.8 m*
105 ft
32 m
Feed speed
127 ft/min
0.6 m/s
8,700 Ibfft
11.8 kNm
Estimated weight
185,000 lb
84 tonnes
Length
41 ft 3 in
12.6 m
Height
87 ft
26.5 m
Width
18 ft 4 in
5.6 m
Dimensions tower up
83 ft 7 in
25.5 m
Height
22 ft 1 in
6.7 m
Compressor range
Low pressure rotary
C27
Cummins
QSK19
Caterpillar
C32
Caterpillar
C27
Weg motor
6808
Weg motor
6811
Suggested bit
diameters
Thread
6 3/4" 9"
4" BECO
9" 9 7/8"
4 1/2" BECO
9 7/8" 10 5/8"
5 1/4" BECO
9 7/8" 10 5/8"
5 1/4" BECO
10 5/8"
6" BECO
PV-271
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
198
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
Standard equipment
Spacious thermal insulated cab with FOPS and noise
abatement to less than 70 dB(A)
Excavator style chair and controls for increased comfort
and visibility
Standard Cab pressurizer/ventilator/heater with the option
to upgrade the pressurizer
Caterpillar 345XL undercarriage with hydraulic track
tensioners
Hydraulic cylinders-driven cable feed system
Hydraulic motor driven rotary head with spline lubrication,
maximum 8,700 lbf-ft torque; speed range 0 150 rpm
Rotary Head tachometer integrated into the RCS system
Remote hydraulic tower pinning
Two-rod carousel for 6-" to 8-58" drill rods
No Bump rod changer
Hydraulically powered breakout wrench (fork chuck)
Hands-free auxiliary hydraulic chain wrench
8,000 lb (3,629 kg) capacity auxiliary hoist
Hydraulically retractable dust curtains
Cooling package
Separate air intake filters for engine and air compressor
Wide flange structural steel beam frame with oscillation
yoke mounting
14-light night lighting package 70 watt halogen
Full deck service catwalks and railings
Two 48" (1.2 m) and one 60" (1.52 m) stroke leveling jacks
350 US gallon (1,325 L) fuel tank w/option to upgrade to
larger tanks.
Technical data
Drilling Method
Hole Diameter
6 3/4 in - 10 5/8 in
171 mm - 270 mm
Hydraulic Pulldown
70,000 lbf
311 kN
Weight on bit
75,000 lb
34,000 kg
Hydraulic Pullback
35,000 lbf
156 kN
55 ft*
16.8 m*
105 ft
32 m
Feed speed
127 ft/min
0.6 m/s
8,700 Ibfft
11.8 kNm
Estimated weight
185,000 lb
84 tonnes
Length
54 ft
16.4 m
Height
87 ft
26.5 m
Width
23 ft 8 in
7.2 m
Dimensions tower up
86 ft 4 in
26.3 m
Height
23 ft 3 in
7.0 m
Compressor range
Low pressure rotary
C27
Cummins
QSK19
Caterpillar
C32
Caterpillar
C27
Weg motor
6808
Weg motor
6811
Suggested bit
diameters
Thread
6 3/4" 9"
4" BECO
9" 9 7/8"
4 1/2" BECO
9 7/8" 10 5/8"
5 1/4" BECO
9 7/8" 10 5/8"
5 1/4" BECO
10 5/8"
6" BECO
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
200
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
Technical data
Standard equipment
Insulated, pressurized, air conditioned cab with tinted
glass and suspension operator seat
Caterpillar 345SL undercarriage with hydraulic track
tensioners
Hydraulic cylinders driven cable feed system
Hydraulic motor driven rotary head with spline
lubrication, maximum 8,700 lbfft (11,800 Nm) torque;
speed range 0 150 rpm
Rotary head tachometer on operator console
Remote hydraulic tower pinning
Four-rod carousel for 6 " to 8-58" drill rods
"No-bump" rod changer
Hydraulically powered breakout wrench (fork chuck)
Hands Free auxiliary hydraulic wrench
8,000 lb (3,629 kg) capacity auxiliary hoist
Hydraulically retractable dust curtains
Hydraulic Test Station
Two 48" (1.2 m) and one 60" (1.52 m) stroke leveling jacks
Cooling package
350 U.S. gallon (1,325 L) fuel tank w/option to upgrade to
larger tanks
Separate air intake filters for engine and air compressor
Wide flange structural steel beam frame with oscillation
yoke mounting
12-light night lighting package- 70 watt halogen
Full deck service catwalks and railings
Drilling Method
Hole Diameter
6 3/4 in - 10 5/8 in
171 mm - 270 mm
Hydraulic Pulldown
70,000 lbf
311 kN
Weight on bit
75,000 lb
34,000 kg
Hydraulic Pullback
35,000 lbf
156 kN
37 ft
11.3 m
195 ft
59.4 m
Feed speed
127 ft/min
0.6 m/s
8,700 Ibfft
11.8 kNm
Estimated weight
185,000 lb
84 tonnes
Length
41 ft 6 in
12.6 m
Height
67 ft
20.4 m
Width
18 ft 4 in
5.6 m
Dimensions tower up
63 ft 6 in
19.4 m
Height
22 ft 1 in
6.7 m
Compressor range
Low pressure rotary
C27
Cummins
QSK19
Caterpillar
C32
Caterpillar
C27
Weg motor
6808
Weg motor
6811
Suggested bit
diameters
Thread
6 3/4" 9"
4" BECO
9" 9 7/8"
4 1/2" BECO
9 7/8" 10 5/8"
5 1/4" BECO
9 7/8" 11"
5 1/4" BECO
10 5/8"
6" BECO
PV-275
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
202
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
Standard equipment
Spacious thermal insulated cab with FOPS and noise
abatement to less than 70 dB(A)
Excavator style chair and controls for increased comfort
and visibility
Standard Cab pressurizer/ventilator/heater with the option
to upgrade the pressurizer
Caterpillar 345SL undercarriage with hydraulic track
tensioners
Hydraulic cylinders driven cable feed system
Hydraulic motor driven rotary head with spline lubrication,
maximum 8,700 lbf-ft torque; speed range 0 150 rpm
Rotary Head tachometer integrated into the RCS system
Remote hydraulic tower pinning
Four-rod carousel for 6-" to 8-58" drill rods
No Bump rod changer
Hydraulically powered breakout wrench (fork chuck)
Hands-free auxiliary hydraulic chain wrench
8,000 lb (3,629 kg) capacity auxiliary hoist
Hydraulically retractable dust curtains
Cooling package
Separate air intake filters for engine and air compressor
Wide flange structural steel beam frame with oscillation
yoke mounting
14-light night lighting package 70 watt halogen
Full deck service catwalks and railings
Two 48" (1.2 m) and one 60" (1.52 m) stroke leveling jacks
350 US gallon (1,325 L) fuel tank
Technical data
Drilling Method
Hole Diameter
6 3/4 in - 10 5/8 in
171 mm - 270 mm
Hydraulic Pulldown
70,000 lbf
311 kN
Weight on bit
75,000 lb
34,000 kg
Hydraulic Pullback
35,000 lbf
156 kN
37 ft
11.3 m
195 ft
59.4 m
Feed speed
127 ft/min
0.6 m/s
8,700 Ibfft
11.8 kNm
Estimated weight
185,000 lb
84 tonnes
Length
54 ft
16.4 m
Height
67 ft
20.4 m
Width
23 ft 3 in
7.0 m
Dimensions tower up
67 ft 7 in
20.6 m
Height
23 ft 3 in
7.0 m
Compressor range
Low pressure rotary
C27
Cummins
QSK19
Caterpillar
C32
Caterpillar
C27
Weg motor
6808
Weg motor
6811
Suggested bit
diameters
Thread
6 3/4" 9"
4" BECO
9" 9 7/8"
4 1/2" BECO
9 7/8" 10 5/8"
5 1/4" BECO
9 7/8" 11"
5 1/4" BECO
10 5/8"
6" BECO
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
204
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
DM-M3
Technical data
Standard equipment
Drilling Method
Hole Diameter
9 7/8 in - 12 1/4 in
251 mm - 311 mm
Hydraulic Pulldown
90,000 lbf
400 kN
Weight on bit
90,000 lb
40,800 kg
Hydraulic Pullback
41,500 lbf
185 kN
37 ft
11.3 m
200 - 240 ft
61 - 73.2 m
Feed speed
144 ft/min
0.7 m/s
10,183 Ibfft
13.8 kNm
Estimated weight
230,000 lb
104 tonnes
Length
40 ft 5 in
12.3 m
Height
67 ft
20.4 m
Width
18 ft 11 in
5.8 m
Dimensions tower up
66 ft 6 in
20.3 m
Height
23 ft 9 in
7.2 m
Compressor range
Low pressure rotary
C32
Cummins
QST30
Weg motor
6811
Suggested bit
diameters
Thread
9 7/8" 10 5/8"
5 1/4" BECO
10 5/8" - 11"
6" BECO
11" 12 1/4"
6" BECO
12 1/4"
8" BECO
*Maximum hole depth only achieved with certain pipe sizes and
wall thicknesses.
DM-M3
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
206
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
Standard equipment
Technical data
Drilling Method
Hole Diameter
9 in - 12 1/4 in
228 - 311 mm
Hydraulic Pulldown
100,000 lbf
445 kN
Weight on bit
110,000 lb
49,895 kg
Hydraulic Pullback
50,000 lbf
220 kN
65 ft
19.8 m
135 ft
45 m
12,900 Ibfft
13.8 kNm
Estimated weight
310,000 lb
140 tonnes
Length
48 ft
14.6 m
Height
100 ft 6 in
30.6 m
Width
25 ft 4 in
7.7 m
Dimensions tower up
99 ft
30.2 m
Height
29 ft
8.8 m
Compressor range
Low pressure rotary
C32
Cummins
QSK 38
Caterpillar
3512
MTU
16V2000
C32
1125 HP / 839 kW
MTU
16V2000
1300 HP / 969 kW
Suggested bit
diameters
Thread
9" - 9 7/8"
6" BECO
9 7/8" - 10 5/8"
5 " BECO
10 5/8"
6" BECO
12 1/4"
6" BECO
12 1/4"
6" BECO
*Maximum hole depth only achieved with certain pipe sizes and
wall thicknesses.
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
208
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
Standard equipment
Technical data
Drilling Method
Hole Diameter
10 5/8 in - 16 in
270 mm - 406 mm
Hydraulic Pulldown
120,000 lbf
534 kN
Weight on bit
125,000 Ib
56,700 kg
Hydraulic Pullback
60,000 lbf
267 kN
65 ft
19.8 m
135 ft
41.1 m
Feed speed
19,000 Ibfft
25.7 kNm
Estimated weight
385,000 lb 415,000 lb
Length
53 ft 10 in
16.4 m
Height
103 ft 9 in
31.6 m
Width
26 ft 8 1/2 in
8.1 m
Dimensions tower up
98 ft
29.9 m
Height
27 ft 11 in
8.5 m
Compressor range
Low pressure rotary
Engine (Tier l)
1650HP / 1230 kW@1800RPM (LP 3800)
Caterpillar
3512
Cummins
QSK45
Weg motor
6811
Suggested bit
diameters
Thread
10 5/8" - 11"
6" BECO
11" 12 1/4"
6" BECO
12 1/4" - 13"
8" BECO
15" 16"
8" BECO
16"
10" BECO
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
210
RCS
RCS Basic
The RCS design provides many qualities that are advantageous to not only the operator, but also service technicians, mine planners, and mine management such as:
Flexibility
Increased Productivity
Ease of Maintenance
(C) Sensors, control devices, and actuators are all cabled into
five strategically placed (B) I/O Modules which are in turn
connected into the (A) cab where the main computer is
housed behind the operators screen.
Built-in
Clean operating environment (The cab is sealed elimi nating hydraulic hoses, bulkhead connections, or leaks
in the cabin)
Reduced noise
Automatic safety interlocks
The RCS has controls, instrumentation buttons, and
graphical user interfaces (GUI) that are common across
other Atlas Copco RCS machines. The GUI provides
multi-language support, built-in diagnostic system,
controlled levels of access and menu based settings. The
screen and joysticks are attached to the operators seat,
so, as the seat swivels the joysticks and screen swivels
in conjunction with the operator (they are always in an
optimal and ergonomical location).
Leveling screen.
Add on Features
Auto-Level System
Auto-Drill System
212
Surface Manager
Production Logging
The Production Logging option enables the drill to create
and transmit three types of logs (Event, Status and
Measure While Drilling (MWD)). These logs document a
variety of drill parameters and events while the machine
is running. Data is transferred from the RCS, either
through the Common Communications Interface to the
RRA server or by USB memory device connected during
operations. The mine can use the gathered logs for a
variety of reporting to build efficiencies and achieve
greater results in operations the drills are a part of.
Atlas Copcos required format for data interaction is
in the International Rock Excavation Data Exchange
Standard (IREDES) format.
214
Teleremote
Desktop Viewer
Production
Blast Decisions
Planning
260-amp alternator
This option is an upgrade from the standard option that
comes on the machine to a larger alternator to suit each
mines different requirements.
Available for: PV-235, PV-271 RCS and PV-275 RCS and
PV-310
216
218
Tool holder
An optional tool holder to securely carry brooms and
shovels on the rig is available.
Available for: PV-271 RCS, PV-275 RCS and PV-310
Cranes
An optional crane located on the drill end of the rig
for loading bits is available. We offer either a HIAB or
Auto Crane brand cranes. The Auto Crane comes with a
remote control.
Available for: PV-235, PV-271 RCS, PV-275 RCS
220
Auto-level system
For the DM-M3, an AutoLevel system is offered as a way
to achieve reliable and predictable leveling equating
to speed and safety. This option has adapted the same
proven hardware and software from our RCS equipped
drills. Key points on the system:
Safety interlocks: Pitch and Roll limits
Auto-leveling/de-leveling times < 60 seconds
Auto-leveling pitch and roll within 0.2 degrees
View: 6.5 screen in cab for operator awareness,
central computer and maintenance awareness
Control: Toggle switches integrate into existing panel
for ease of turning feature on-and-off
Available for: DM-M3
Dust collector
Different sized no visible emission dry dust collectors
are available. The design features a pleated paper
element type fan/filter unit. Interval flushing is controlled
by an electronic timer. A vacuum hose allows the fan/
filter unit to draw the dust out of the collection area.
The dust is removed from the air stream as the air flows
through the pleated paper filter elements. Heavy cuttings
are contained around the hole. Operation of the dust
collector is controlled from the cab control system.
222
Hydraulic ladder
This Atlas Copco option allows the operator or maintenance personnel an easy approach onto the machine.
Instead of having to hoist themselves up a vertical
ladder, this enables hands to be free for other needs,
such as carrying tools. There are integrated safety
interlocks* built into the ladder that will prevent the
drill from moving if the stairs are deployed, as well
as isolation and lockout features.
*Tramming Isolation on RCS Machines only
Available for: PV-235, PV-271 RCS, PV-275 RCS, PV-310
and PV-351
Live sampling
The Live Sampling System has the ability to take samples
for hydraulic oil, engine oil, and compressor oil.
This system continually circulates through this area
so samples are fresh and not stagnant.
Note: Have to select Fast Service Box in order to get
this option
Available for: PV-235, PV-271 RCS, PV-275 RCS and PV-310
224
Mesabi coolers
Mesabi coolers are special cooling fans specifically
designed to handle the cold weather environments.
These arctic coolers are available either from the
factory or as a field retro-fit.
They can operate in temperatures as low as -40F (-40C)
upwards to 125F (52C).
Available for: DM30, DM45, DML, PV-235, PV-271, PV-275,
and PV-310
Mesabi cooler.
Emergency ladders
In order to better prepare for the event of an emergency,
now offered are either one or two emergency ladders on
the non-drill end of the machine. These ladders flip out
with a quick release and provide a swift means of escape
in the event that they are needed. When theyre not in
use, the ladders fold up onto the rig and re-latch.
Available for: PV-235, PV-271 RCS, PV-275 RCS
and PV-310
226
Engine roof
The Engine Roof fits over any engine configuration.
It helps protect the machine from a possible fire by
providing a physical barrier between a leaky hose
and a possible ignition source.
Available for: PV-235, PV-310, PV-271 RCS and PV-275 RCS
Extended non-cabside
decking and bit basket
Two integral parts of our 360 deck access are the drill-end
extended decking with a bit basket and the extended
cooler decking.
The drill-end decking extension is an option that includes a built-in bit basket on the drill-end of the machine.
By adding this decking option, you not only gain complete
access to the machine, but also have a safe, secure, and
dedicated spot to store bits. This option inhibits bits from
being laid unsecured on the deck, opening up a possibility
for them to shift and move during tramming.
By choosing the additional extended cooler decking, you
add approximately 2 feet (61 cm) to the non-cab side of
the machine. This allows uncon-strained access to the back
of the coolers for cleaning, maintenance, or a walkway to
other areas of the machine.
Available for: PV-235, PV-271 RCS and PV-275 RCS
228
Drain System
The Drain System is a centrally located box on ground
level where the mine can attach a drain hose to any port
and quickly evacuate any and all fluids on the machine.
Available for: PV-235, PV-271 RCS and PV-275 RCS
Standard equipment for: PV-310
230
Towing package
Tow hooks or a tow bar mounted on the non-drill end
of the rig allow for towing.
Available for: DM45, DML, PV-235, PV-271, PV-271 RCS,
PV-275, PV-275 RCS, DM-M3, PV-310 and PV-351
LED Lights
The LED night light package consists of upgrading from
the standard halogen lights to LED lights (quantities
vary per machine). With this upgrade the LED lights
will be mounted in standard lamp locations plus a few
additional locations. The LED lights have great luminous
intensity, enough bright color to light up any bench.
LED lights tend to typically consume less power.
Lights can be turned on when the engine is on or off.
Available for: PV-235, PV-271 RCS, PV-275 RCS, PV-310
232
Buddy seat
If an additional seat is required in the cab, a fold-up
buddy seat can be mounted inside the cabin.
Available for: PV-235, PV-271 RCS, PV-275 RCS and PV-310
(in addition to the standard bench)
Available for: DM45, DML, PV-271 and PV-275
(different version than pictured)
Cab sunshades
Pull down, sunshades located on all windows are
available.
Available for: DM30, DM45, DML, PV-235, PV-271, PV-275,
DM-M3, PV-310 and PV-351
EARS
The optional Electronic Air Regulation System (EARS)
is designed to deliver variable air volume control, while
still maintaining constant air pressure. This allows for
savings in power and fuel consumption.
Available for: DM45, DM50 and DML
Standard equipment for: T4BH, PV-271,PV-271 RCS,
PV-275, PV-275 RCS, PV-310 and PV-351
Microphone mute
There is the option available on the PV-271 to have a
mic-mute system installed with the stereo. This system
will mute the stereo when the radio mic is cued.
Available for: PV-235, PV-271 RCS, PV-275 RCS, PV-310
and PV-351
234
Standard Features
Automatic load/unload system
Double-acting concentric valves
Watercooled booster and diesel engine
Precooler (a+15F / 8C) & suction scrubber tank
Aftercooler (a+50F / 28C)
Open skid with single point lifting and fork lift slots
Low-pressure switch at booster inlet
Suction, interstage and discharge safety relief valves
Full-function instrument panel monitoring all pres
sures, temperatures and controls with full-protection
shutdown and fault indicators
Other B4-41 options, pressures, and capacities are
available upon request.
Specifications
236
Booster type
Booster stages
1 stage operation
Overall dimensions, L x W x H
Standard Features
Automatic load/unload system
Double-acting concentric valves
Watercooled booster block
Precooler (a+15F / 8C) & suction scrubber tank
Aftercooler (a+50F / 28C)
Open skid with fork lift slots
Low pressure switch at booster inlet
Remote mounted instrument panel monitoring
all pressures, temperatures and controls with full
protection shutdown and fault indicators
Other options, pressures, and capacities are available
upon request.
Specifications
Booster type
Booster stages
1 stage operation
Overall dimensions, L x W x H
Atlas
Copco
Some nice
picture of XRVS 476/1000
238
drill string
PV-235
PV-271
PV-275
PV-311
PV-351
Introduction
An impressive legacy
Tricones or DTH?
240
9"
DTH & Small drill
$300
CPH
$200
100
ROP
125
5676.9
3970.2
1.430
$0.053
Op cost/ton/drill
$0.050
$0.053
$0.072
Bit elements
Cones
A. Nose
B. Inner
C. Next to Gage
D. Gage
E. Gage Bevel
242
Bit elements
Lugs
Coupled in threes, by 120 to form the bit body and the
pin connection, the lugs are machined to hold the nozzles
and a journal-bearing surface.
Nozzles
Nozzles are used to create back-pressure in the bit to
force air through the bearing airways and increase
the air-blast force to remove and flush cuttings
from the bottom of the hole. Too large of a nozzle will
cause insufficient volumes of air to be delivered to
the bearings, while too small of a nozzle will increase
the back-pressure above the compressor modulation
setting. When the compressors modulation setting is
reached, it will then reduce its volume output causing
a decrease in (air?) volume going to the bit.
Inserts are the actual physical elements that spall and break the rock. Inserts are made from tungsten carbide powder and a cobalt binder material, which is pressed into the designed shape then sintered. Depending on the application, the tungsten carbide inserts in a given bit will have a shape and physical properties best suited for the rock
being drilled.
Conical
90 Chisel or trimmer
Chisel
Ogive
Super Scoop
Round top
The ovoid or round top insert is used in the hardest formations. Its blunt geometry gives
it the most fracture resistant design. The round top is the standard insert in hard bits
(60s 70s & 80s) and is designated with an N in the bit nomenclature.
244
Product lines:
Insert/Tooth Type:
Nomenclature
C Conical
D Double Angle Conical
N Round Top
O Ogive
S Super Scoop
F Chisel
Example:
IADC 6-3-2
This is a medium/hard air-cooled roller
bearing.
Example:
12 eH63CA
12 Size
eH - Product Line: e = epsilon;
H = harder drilling Product Line
63 First two digits of the IADC code
(rock class "6" subclass "3")
C Insert type (Conical inserts)
A Full armored lug
Lug Features:
A Armor
B Backreaming
ST Shirttail protection in tooth bits
R Regular circulation
Other Features:
Rock Type
2,000
Unconsolidated Sands
S series
Limestone, Siltstone
Clay Stone, Mudstone
4,000
Marl, Chalky Limestone
M series
6,000
Soft Shales
8,000
10,000
H series
Consolidated
Sandstones
Soft Marble, Dolomite
12,000
Tuff, Soft Schist
14,000
Rock UCS hardness (Unconfined Compressive Strength) is only one factor contributing to the drillability of any rock. Other
factors influencing drillability are fracture toughness, shear strength, Youngs modulus of elasticity, Poissons ratio of stress
vs. strain & internal angle of friction. Any particular bit may be used in harder or softer rock than this chart indicates.
246
Bit specifications
S Series
The S series has widely spaced, long tapered teeth with broad, axial crests for
the bottom-hole action necessary to achieve high penetration rates. Inter-fitted
rows of teeth prevent formation packing and facilitate the cleaning action. The
gage bevel is hardfaced for wear resistance. Tungsten carbide hardfacing on the
other critical areas of the S series cutting structure provides superior abrasive
wear resistance and allows the teeth to self-sharpen.
Applications: Softer formations such as clays, shales, soft sandstones, and soft
limestones.
Suggested Operating Parameters:
Weight on Bit 1,000 to 3,000 lbs per square inch of diameter
RPM 70 to 120
IADC range 1-1-2 to 1-4-2
M Series
M series bits are designed with shorter, stronger teeth to withstand the
weight required for these formations. The M series shirttail is overlaid
with tungsten carbide hardfacing for abrasive wear resistance.
Applications: Medium formations, such as limestones, sandstones, and
dolomites.
Suggested Operating Parameters:
Weight on Bit 3,000 to 5,000 lbs per square inch of diameter
RPM 60 to 100
IADC range 2-1-2 to 2-4-2
H Series
H series bits have a heavy gage bevel and short, closely spaced teeth to withstand heavier impact loads. Tungsten carbide hardfacing on the shirttail offers
superior wear resistance. The H series has proven successful in drilling operations in which excessive gage wear must be avoided.
Applications: Hard shale formations, limestones, sandstones, and dolomite
formations.
Suggested Operating Parameters:
Weight on Bit 4,000 to 7,000 lbs per square inch of diameter
RPM 60 to 80
IADC range 3-1-2 to 3-4-2
Bit specifications
50 series
Specifications
40 series
60 series
Applications:
Soft formations such
as shale, siltstone, soft
limestone and alluvials.
Applications:
Medium/hard formations such as hard
limestone, hard
shale, basalt and
quartzite.
248
Bit specifications
80 series
Applications:
Hard formations such
as taconite, banded
iron and quartzite.
Suggested operating parameters:
Weight on bit - 4,000 to 8,000 lbs/inch of diameter
Rotation speed - 50 to 90 RPM
Technical Data
Pin connection sizes and make-up torques
Bit size range
Connection size
Torque range
kilogram force meter
277-346
2,000-2,500
2 3/8
415-484
3,000-3,500
73
2 7/8
622-760
4,500-5,500
89
3 1/2
970-1240
7,000-9,000
mm
inch
mm
73
2 7/8
95-114
3 3/4-4 1/2
60
117-137
4 5/8-5 3/8
143-171
5 5/8-6 3/4
inch
N-Rod* N-Rod*
194-229
7 5/8-9
114
4 1/2
1660-2210
12,000-16,000
251-349
9 7/8-13 3/4
168
6 5/8
3870-4420
28,000-32,000
381-445
15-17 1/2
194
7 5/8
4700-5530
38,000-40,000
*Non-standard API
250
Sealed bearing
Sealed bearing
Product benefits
Best Applications
The Secoroc Omega bits have been designed for the most
common drilling applications: copper and coal. 44 type
testing has taken place in Australia coal mines, while 53,
54 and 61 types have been tested in copper mines in
Peru, Chile, and the United States. 13 " Omega bits are
being tested in Canada.
Sealed bearing bit application must, by nature, be
selective.
Sealed bearing bits are not appropriate for all drilling
applications.
Sealed bearing bits are best applied where bearing
failure is the major mode of bit failure.
Secoroc Omega is ideal for drilling conditions where
ground water is present in holes or from injected water
into air streams, which can be acidic and can negatively
effect bit bearings. At mines where carbide insert breakage, or cone erosion leading to carbide tooth loss, are the
major cause(s) of air bearing bit failures, sealed bearing
bits will be of little value.
*International Association of Drilling Contractors
252
Case study
Previous iteration of bit at 7318 feet. Note the high wear on the
tooth projection.
Case study
Secoroc Omega
Projections
270 bits
120 bits
150 bits
Average estimated
time for bit change
2.25 hours
Average number of
employees involved
in bit change
2-3
Estimated employee
hourly cost
$60
Estimated cost
for employees to
change a bit
Estimated costs to
change out a bit
$337.5
$91, 125
$40,500
$50,625
Figures used in this chart are preliminary estimates for reduction in cost due to decreased bit changes. Testing was
actually conducted at a US mine using estimations only and does not take into account the cost of the bit.
Testing does not take into account that bits removed for size changes can be used again with better performance, since
sealed bearing bits do not rust, improving overall performance.
Bit selection
Rock type
Claystone, Mudstone
40
series
4-1
to
4-4
Chalky Limestone
Soft Shale
Loose Sandstones
8,000
Limestone, Siltstone
Solid Sandstones
12,000
16,000
50
series
5-1
to
5-4
Medium Shales
MAG NT
series
Omega
series
20,000
Limestone, Marble
Monzonite, Granite
24,000
28,000
32,000
Gneiss
Epsilon
series
Diorite, Diabase
Hard Shale, Slate
60
series
6-1
to
6-4
Limestone, Dolomite
Basalt
Tactite, Skarn
36,000
Granodiorite
HD NT
series
40,000
Taconite
Quartzite
Syenite
44,000
48,000
70
series
7-1
to
7-4
Gabbro
Banded Iron Formation
Taconite
52,000
Chert
56,000
Quartzite
60,000
64,000
80
series
8-1
to
8-4
Amphibolite
Hornfels
68,000
Hematite Ore
Higher
Rock UCS hardness (Unconfined Compressive Strength) is only one factor that contributes to the drillability of any rock. Other factors strongly influencing drillability are: fracture toughness, shear strength,
Youngs modulus of elasticity, Poissons ratio of stress vs. strain, internal angle of friction. Any particular bit may be used in harder or softer rock than this chart indicates.
254
Tricone bits
Analyzing a typical bit run
Rig cost: $200
Bit cost: $3,550
This bit has too many broken teeth to be effective any longer.
Date
Meters
Hours
ROP
TDC/m
9-Oct
727
80.8
$7.36
10-Oct
1,597
20
80.7
$4.70
11-Oct
2,308
29
80.2
$4.03
12-Oct
3,106
38
81.6
$3.59
13-Oct
3,573
46
77.6
$3.57
14-Oct
4,078
54
76.1
$3.50
15-Oct
4,431
58
76.5
$3.42
16-Oct
4,753
62
76.7
$3.35
17-Oct
5,251
70
75.0
$3.34
18-Oct
5,662
76
74.7
$3.31
19-Oct
6,174
83
74.5
$3.26
20-Oct
6,774
91
74.6
$3.21
21-Oct
7,162
99
72.7
$3.25
22-Oct
7,459
107
69.9
$3.33
23-Oct
7,893
117
67.4
$3.41
24-Oct
8,295
127
65.2
$3.51
TDC
Penetration Rate
$7.00
- 80.0
- 75.0
$6.00
$5.00
- 70.0
$4.00
$3.00
Optimum time to change bit.
Lowest TDC = $3.21 per meter
$2.00
- 65.0
$1.00
- 60.0
8295
7492
7893
7162
6174
6774
5662
5251
4753
4431
4078
3106
3573
2308
727
1597
Meters Drilled
$8.00
Rock failure
Abrasion
Spalling
Fatigue
Here, more weight has been added to the bit with RPM
the same as in the previous illustration. The additional
weight has caused some penetration of the inserts into
the formation, but not actual failure of the rock. This is
called the fatigue phase and again, the driller can easily
recognize this phase by checking the returns. Small chips
and a high percentage of dust will be coming out of the
hole.
It should be pointed out that rock failure can be accomplished with this type of loading and insert penetration.
However, it may require many impacts on the formation
to cause the rock to fail. The penetration rate will be considerably less than desired.
256
Cutting efficiency
RPM vs ROP
ROP
RPM
Excess weight
Once the spalling phase has been achieved, applying additional weight to the bit will only be harmful to drilling
efficiency. The additional weight will cause the inserts to
bury themselves in the formation. The result is a decrease in penetration rate.
Maximize ROP
WOB vs ROP
RPM
ROP
ROP
Weight on Bit
Importance of records
Tricone bits
Drilling hours
Bit selection
Standard product
Premium product
US $2500
US $2875
The Total Drilling Cost is then, the cost of the bit plus the
cost of operating the drill.
Meters/bit
5400
5000
Meters/hour
28
32
Rig cost/hour
120
120
25000 kg
25000 kg
80-100
80-100
4.75
4.33
+ Rig cost/hour
Weight
RPM
TDC/meter
Premium product
Soft Med. Hard
1907
38.1
50.1
40000
70/90
1913
39.5
48.4
40000
70/90
1303
23.9
54.5
40000
70/90
1485
32.3
46.0
40000
70/90
1044
21.3
49.0
40000
70/90
1334
27.3
48.9
40000
70/90
Avg. A
1418
27.8
51.1
Avg. B
1577
33.0
47.7
258
Importance of records
Tricone bits
5500
5000
Meters drilled
4500
Step 1
Breakeven Costs
4000
3500
156 hours
3000
2500
2875
120
3000
= Hours (point A)
= 24
1500
1000
500
-25
50 75
100
125
150
175
2875
4.75
= 605
Hours
Step 3
Hole Sizes
Hole Depth
Straightness of holes
Yes
Yes
Operator Friendly
Flushing Flexibility
1000 to 4000 CFM, (28.3 - 113.3 cuM/min) depending on drill and bit size. Able to adjust bit air pressure
with different nozzles. Compatible with high pressure (350 psi/24 bar and higher) air compressors.
Air practices
Air is a critical factor in tricone rotary blasthole drilling
performance. Without proper air flow, tricone rotary
blasthole bits cannot be operated efficiently. Bit bearings
are not kept clean and cool. Cuttings are not blown away
from the cutting face of the bit and moved up and out of
the hole. The operating cost of drilling a hole increases.
Key Concepts
Standard Air
Introduction
Whenever standard air volumes are calculated, sea
level atmospheric pressure, 14.7 psia, must be added to
gauge pressure.
Actual Air
Actual air is the free air outside of the drill bit that
does the work in drilling. Compressed air does not move
cuttings away from the cutting face of the bit. Compressed air does not move rock particles up the blasthole
from the bit to the surface. Compressed air must be
released to atmospheric or ambient or actual site
specific conditions before any work can be done.
Actual air is derived from standard air by applying
the Altitude/Temperature factor:
260
Air practices
Altitude/Temperature Factor
The A/T factor is used to adjust (derate) air compressor intake ratings in response to changes in local altitude
and ambient temperature; and to expand the calculated compressed air output to local conditions. The A/T
factor also helps to calculate the % Capacity of the air
compressor during an air compressor volume test; and
using the measured delivered SCFM (which may be quite
different from the specification volume rating) calculates
the Bailing Velocity, Chip Settling Velocity, and the Chip
Exit Velocity.
For example, the A/T factor for 5,000 feet and 70o F is
1.202. (14.7 psia standard atmospheric pressure at
0 feet /12.23 psia ambient atmospheric pressure at
5,000 feet = 1.202.)
Bailing Velocity
Air requirements
Two other factors that affect the air requirements are
the moisture content of the rock and cuttings, and the
incidence of fractures and joints. Wet rock, due to ground
water or excessive water injection, will be heavier than
the same rock when dry. Cuttings from wet rock tend
to stick together, making larger particles to be blown
from the hole. Fractured or jointed ground will rob air
from the blasthole, causing the actual bailing velocity to
be lower than the calculated bailing velocity. In both of
these instances, the actual air volume required may be
much higher than what straight theoretical calculations
indicate. Experience is the best guide.
Recommendations:
Bailing Velocity
Air practices
Where:
Nozzle Selection
Bearing Life
Given:
Chip diameter = .125, .25, .50
DenP =
DenF =
Chip
Diameter
Sandstone
Granite
Dolomite
1/8
2013
2166
2249
1/4
2847
3064
3181
1/2
4031
4339
4503
262
Air practices
9/16
5/8
Nozzle Diameter
79 psig
57 psig
42 psig
117 F
117 F
117 F
260 CFM
252 CFM
246 CFM
dSCFM
Calc./Nozzle
(CFM) / 60) x .07494 = lb per second
CFM / 60 / Nozzle area (sq. ft.) = Air velocity, ft/sec
lb/sec x ft/sec = lbft/sec2
Calculate
1/2
9/16
5/8
.3250 lb/sec
.3157 lb/sec
.3072 lb/sec
3089.5 ft
2470.5 ft
1952.6 ft
138 N
107 N
82 N
Nozzle Diameter
Air Weight
Delivered
Air Velocity
Newtons Force/
Nozzle
Air practices
mms
750
900
1050
1200
1400
1900
2600
3800
inches
mms
inches
mms
inches
mms
inches
mms
inches
mms
inches
mms
inches
mms
inches
mms
5 5/8
143
1/2
12
1/2
13
9/16
14
5/8
16
11/16
17
3/4
20
15/16
23
1 1/8
28
5 7/8
149
7/16
12
1/2
13
9/16
14
5/8
15
11/16
17
3/4
20
15/16
23
1 1/8
28
152
7/16
12
1/2
13
9/16
14
5/8
15
5/8
17
3/4
20
15/16
23
1 1/8
28
6 1/4
159
7/16
12
1/2
13
9/16
14
5/8
15
5/8
17
3/4
20
15/16
23
1 1/8
28
6 3/4
171
7/16
11
1/2
13
9/16
14
9/16
15
5/8
16
3/4
19
15/16
23
1 1/8
28
7 3/8
187
7/16
11
1/2
13
9/16
14
9/16
15
5/8
16
3/4
19
7/8
23
1 1/8
28
7 7/8
200
7/16
11
1/2
12
1/2
13
9/16
14
5/8
16
3/4
19
7/8
23
1 1/16
28
8 1/2
216
3/8
7/16
10
1/2
12
1/2
13
9/16
15
11/16
18
7/8
22
1 1/16
27
229
3/8
7/16
10
1/2
12
1/2
13
9/16
15
11/16
18
7/8
22
1 1/16
27
9 7/8
251
1/4
5/16
3/8
10
7/16
12
1/2
13
11/16
17
13/16
21
1 1/16
26
10 5/8
270
1/8
1/4
3/8
7/16
10
1/2
12
5/8
16
13/16
20
26
290 mm
290
1/4
5/16
3/8
10
7/16
12
5/8
16
13/16
20
26
11
279
1/4
5/16
3/8
10
7/16
12
5/8
16
13/16
20
26
12 1/4
311
1/4
5/16
3/8
10
7/16
12
5/8
16
13/16
20
26
13 3/4
349
3/16
5/16
3/8
10
9/16
15
3/4
19
25
15
381
3/16
1/4
3/8
10
9/16
14
3/4
19
25
16
406
3/16
5/16
1/2
13
11/16
18
15/16
24
17 1/2
445
3/16
7/16
12
11/16
17
15/16
23
CO
P
O ly
C
AS s On
L
AT ill
Dr
264
900
inches
1200
mms
inches
1600
inches
mms
mms
5 5/8
143
5 7/8
149
5/8
16
3/4
18
inches
2000
2500
3000
mms
inches
mms
inches
mms
13/16
21
3600
3800
inches
mms
inches
mms
inches
mms
152
5/8
16
3/4
18
13/16
21
6 1/4
159
5/8
16
11/16
18
13/16
21
6 3/4
171
5/8
15
11/16
18
13/16
21
7 3/8
187
5/8
15
11/16
18
13/16
21
7 7/8
200
9/16
15
11/16
18
13/16
21
8 1/2
216
9/16
14
5/8
17
3/4
20
229
9/16
14
5/8
17
3/4
20
7/8
23
26
9 7/8
251
1/2
12
5/8
15
3/4
19
7/8
22
25
10 5/8
270
7/16
11
9/16
14
11/16
18
13/16
21
15/16
24
290 mm
290
7/16
10
9/16
14
11/16
18
13/16
21
15/16
24
11
279
7/16
10
9/16
14
11/16
18
13/16
21
15/16
24
12 1/4
311
7/16
10
9/16
14
11/16
18
13/16
21
15/16
24
1 1/16
27
1 3/16
30
31
13 3/4
349
5/16
1/2
13
11/16
17
13/16
20
15/16
23
1 1/16
26
1 3/16
30
31
15
381
5/16
1/2
12
5/8
16
3/4
20
15/16
23
26
1 1/4
29
30
16
406
1/4
7/16
11
5/8
16
3/4
19
7/8
23
26
1 1/4
29
15/16
30
17 1/2
445
1/4
3/8
9/16
14
11/16
18
7/8
22
25
28
15/16
29
nd
a
br nly
er s O
h
Ot rill
D
V
183.35
Air Volume requirements for various hole diameter and drill pipe
combinations - for 5,000 ft. and 7,000 ft. per min. annular velocity
D. hole diameter
(in)
Q. - 5,000 CuFt/
min free air
Q. - 7,000 CuFt/
min free air
2 7/8
327
458
4 1/2
3 1/2
218
305
116
162
2 7/8
390
546
3 1/2
282
395
178
249
2 7/8
491
687
3 1/2
4
382
280
535
392
2 7/8
637
892
3 /12
530
742
426
596
1,025
4 3/4
5 1/8
5 5/8
(D2 - d2)
6 1/4
6 3/4
7 7/8
9 7/8
V7000
5000
266
183.35Q
(D2 - d2)
Tricone bits
11
12 1/4
13 3/4
15
17 1/2
3 1/2
732
4 1/2
513
718
382
535
3 1/2
908
1,271
805
1,127
4 1/2
690
966
560
784
3 1/2
1358
1,900
4 1/2
932
1,305
5 1/2
658
921
3 1/2
1358
1,900
4 1/2
1138
1,503
5 1/2
867
1,214
6 1/2
625
875
6 5/8
493
690
355
497
4 1/2
1665
2,331
5 1/2
1383
1,936
6 5/8
1063
1,488
873
1,222
7 3/4
570
798
1323
1,852
7 3/4
1022
1,431
8 5/8
627
878
450
630
1964
2,749
7 3/4
1662
2,323
8 5/8
9
1272
1090
1,779
1,526
8 5/8
2063
2,888
1882
2,635
10
1365
1,911
10 3/4
941
1,317
3,400
10
2429
10 3/4
2004
2,806
10
3409
4,772
10 3/4
2985
4,179
12
2209
3,093
13
1527
2,138
10
3743
5,240
14
16
3007
1370
4,210
1,918
Tricone bits
Nozzle installation
4. Put the nozzle into the nozzle boss, with the
beveled edge to the inside, the flat end to the outside. Place a nozzle nail into the nozzle hole.
5. With a hammer, pound this nozzle nail down until
the nail head contacts the bit.
6. DO NOT flatten the head of the nozzle nail against
the bit.
5 to 6
6 1/4 to 7
3/8
API Pin
size
2 7/8
3 1/2
3 1/2
Air
course
size 3
each
5/16
3/8
1/2
9/16
200
300
400
500
600
10
22
47
62
77
16
35
47
59
10
25
35
45
18
26
34
11
18
24
5/16
42
52
62
3/8
33
43
51
7/16
27
34
41
1/2
23
29
33
9/16
18
23
29
3/8
27
36
45
7/16
21
1/2
7 7/8 to 9
4 1/2
28
35
21
27
9/16
20
5/8
11/16
3/4
3/8
26
36
46
7/16
19
27
35
1/2
21
9/16
9 7/8 to 11
6 5/8
5/8
11/16
3/4
7/8
Example 2
a. Bit size: 9
b. Air volume delivered: 1200 cfm
c. Maximum operating pressure rig: 50 psi
From the table, select 11/16 nozzle (39 psi)
1
7/16
1/2
9/16
268
27
20
5/8
12 1/4 to 15
6 5/8
to 7
5/8
11/16
3/4
7/8
1
1 1/8
1 1/4
19
Tricone bits
Nozzle selection
Air pressure drop across Atlas Copco Secoroc blasthole bits with various nozzle size. Air volume delivered - cubic feet per minute
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
55
65
75
42
50
58
66
74
31
38
44
58
58
72
81
61
69
78
48
57
65
73
79
41
48
54
61
34
41
47
51
55
66
75
83
42
49
55
33
39
45
26
32
21
26
20
1400
1500
73
79
1600
1700
1800
64
71
67
73
79
56
62
67
63
69
75
81
51
59
67
76
84
37
43
49
55
61
67
73
80
31
36
41
47
52
57
62
25
29
34
39
44
50
21
25
29
34
37
41
1900
69
73
79
55
60
65
71
77
47
51
55
60
65
2000
2100
2200
70
75
79
2300
2400
2600
2800
3000
71
54
62
70
77
42
50
58
65
72
79
33
39
45
53
60
66
71
77
26
32
38
43
49
54
59
64
68
73
78
19
25
32
36
41
46
49
53
58
62
66
70
74
78
20
24
29
34
39
43
47
51
54
58
62
66
70
74
78
19
22
26
31
36
40
43
47
50
54
57
61
64
68
71
75
79
20
24
26
30
32
35
38
41
44
46
49
52
55
59
63
69
75
19
21
23
25
28
30
33
35
38
40
42
47
52
57
46
53
58
63
69
75
25
30
35
41
18
23
27
33
38
43
47
52
56
60
65
70
75
19
23
27
31
34
38
42
46
50
55
59
63
67
72
19
22
25
27
31
34
38
42
46
49
53
57
61
64
68
72
20
23
26
29
32
35
39
42
45
48
52
55
58
62
66
70
19
22
25
28
31
34
37
40
42
45
48
51
53
57
61
65
17
19
21
23
25
27
28
30
33
35
37
40
42
44
47
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
33
37
41
17
19
21
25
27
29
31
17
19
23
25
Above pressure drops are for bits without anti-backflow valves. For bits with anti-backflow valves, add 3 psi.
Tricone bits
periodotitie, are less abrasive, but because of the interlocking nature of the ferro-magnesium minerals, tend
to be tougher rocks to drill in spite of the fact they are
softer and less abrasive.
If silicified, (silica has been introduced into the rock
through alteration processes) igneous rocks of both extrusive and instrusive types can be very difficult to drill. It
is very common for extrusive igneous rocks (volcanics to
be silicified.
Sedimentary rocks
Igneous rocks
Extrusive igneous types: rhyolite, andesite, basalt, dacite,
latite, tuff, agglomerate
Intrusive igneous types: granite, monzonite, granodiorite, diorite, gabbro, peridotite, syenite
Igneous rocks form by solidification from a very hot,
molten mass called magma, either on the earths surface
or below it. Igneous rocks (where they have not been
altered after their formation by weathering or other
chemical action) can be very hard and tough and possess low porosity.
There are two main classes of igneous rocks: extrusive
and intrusive. Extrusive igneous rocks are those
rocks that are expelled onto the surface of the earth by
volcanic activity. Common rocks of this type are basalt,
andesite, rhyolite, and latite. Ash flows from the rock
type called tuff. Agglomerate is a volcanic rock
made up of fragments of other rocks that have been
picked up and transported by molten lava as it flows over
the land surface. Extrusive igneous rocks will generally
have a very fine crystalline structure due to the fact that
they cooled rapidly from the original molten rock.
Intrusive igneous rocks are those rocks that solidify
below the surface of the ground. They will generally
have a coarse crystalline structure. Intrusive rocks that
cooled very slowly will have the largest crystal structure,
while those that cooled more quickly will have a smaller
crystal structure.
Tricone bits
Metamorphic rocks
Types: slate, quartzite, marble, hornfels, schist, gneiss
Metamorphic rocks are formed by the action of heat,
pressure, and chemical action on pre-existing rocks of
any type. Generally, some change in chemical composition has taken place from the original as a result of the
heat, pressure, and introduced chemical constituents.
Metamorphic rocks can range from very coarse grained
to extremely fine grained, depending on the degree of
metamorphism.
Argillite results from very mild metamorphism of shale,
mudstone or claystone. Slate results from an increased
level of metamorphism on those same rocks. Quartzite can be formed from sandstone, graywacke or arkose. Quartzite is formed when silica is introduced into
sandstone and/or siltstones, and cements the individual
grains together. Marble is derived from limestone or
dolomite, and is a recrystallization of the original structure. Hornfels is a term applied to fine-grained rocks
formed by intense contact metamorphosis (heat, pressure, introduced chemicals) at the borders of igneous
rock masses. Hornfels are massive rocks unlike schist or
gneiss described below.
Schist is a low grade regional metamorphic rock which
has foliated structure and can be split into thin plates.
Some of the original structure of the rock may still be
present. There can be mineral segregation, where some
minerals may occur in bands, where they did not occur
in bands and in the original rock.
Gneiss is a high grade to very high grade regional
metamorphic rock that is generally coarse-grained and
banded, in which the bands alternate between mafic
(iron rich) minerals and felsic (non iron) minerals.
Similar to various igneous rocks in that they are crystalline and have some of the same mineral constituents,
metamorphic rocks are usually difficult to drill. This is
caused not only by the hardness and character of the
various metamorphic minerals, but by the general interlocking character of mineral crystals which produces a
tough rock, difficult to spall.
Amphibolite
Specific
gravity
Coompressive
strength, UCS
Psi
Mpa
3.07
61,335
Poissons
ration
stress vs.
strain
Tricone bits
Modulus of rigidity
Engineering classification
of intact rock
Psi
Mpa
Psi
GPA
423
6,641,000
45,800
15,080,000
104.0
Based on UCS
strength
A, very high
Based Youngs
compressibility
1 - low
Andesite
2.81
26,535
183
3.944.000
27,200
9,367,000
64.6
B, high
2 - medium
Argillite
2.81
19,720
136
12,194,500
84.1
B, high
1 - low
Basalt
2.94
44,950
310
4,596,500
31,700
11,295,500
77.9
A, very high
2 - medium
Chert, dolomitic
2.67
29,290
202
3,436,500
23,700
8,149,000
56.2
B, high
2 - medium
Conglomerate
2.67
23,925
165
4,698,000
32,400
11,295,500
77.9
B, high
2 - medium
Diabase
2.94
46,545
321
5,408,500
37,300
13,891,000
95.8
A, very high
1 - low
Diorite
3.01
39,730
274
0.29
6,119,000
42,200
15,515,000
107.0
A, very high
1 - low
Dirorite, augite
2.74
48,285
333
0.25
4,886,500
33,700
12,194,500
84.1
A, very high
1 - low
0.14
Dolotmite
2.60
18,995
131
0.18
2,900,000
20,000
6,902,000
47.6
B, high
2 - medium
Gabbro
3.00
44,805
309
0.33
6,394,500
44,100
17,255,000
119.0
A, very high
1 - low
Granite
2.66
37,700
260
0.2
3,422,000
23,600
8,584,000
59.2
A, very high
2 - medium
Granite, aplitic
2.65
51,185
353
0.26
4,756,000
32,800
11,687,000
80.6
A, very high
2 - medium
Granite, gneissic
2.66
30,305
209
0.02
1,299,200
8,960
2,697,000
18.6
B, high
3 - high
Granite, pre-Cambrian
2.80
0.27
7,583,500
52,300
11,904,500
82.1
2 - medium
Granodiorite
2.74
36,540
252
0.24
4,060,000
28,000
9,947,000
68.6
A, very high
2 - medium
Greenstone
3.02
39,005
269
6,104,500
42,100
15,225,000
105.0
A, very high
1 - low
Hematite ore
5.07
88,015
607
29,000,000
200.0
A, very high
1 - low
Hornfels
3.19
77,285
533
5,930,500
40,900
13,891,000
95.8
A, very high
1 - low
Limestone
2.68
22,330
154
0.28
3,842,500
26,500
9,874,500
68.1
B, high
2 - medium
Limestone, chalky
1.89
4,205
29
0.02
780,100
5,380
1,609,500
11.1
D, low
3 - high
Limestone, dolomitic
2.78
28,710
198
0.29
5,452,000
37,600
14,094,000
97.2
B, high
1 - low
Marble
2.72
23,925
165
0.3
4,393,500
30,300
11,397,000
78.6
B, high
2 - medium
Marble, taconite
2.71
9,005
62
6,945,500
47.9
C, medium
2 - medium
Marlstone
2.31
21,895
151
0.11
1,609,500
11,100
3,610,500
24.9
B, high
3 - high
Meta-rhyolite
2.84
18,125
125
4,582,000
31,600
11,397,000
78.6
B, high
2 - medium
Monzonite, Quartz
2.68
22,475
155
10,498,000
72.4
B, high
2 - medium
Phyllite, green
3.24
18,270
126
4,756,000
32,800
11,092,500
76.5
B, high
2 - medium
0.22
Quartzite
2.65
54,230
374
0.13
4,466,000
30,800
10,150,000
70.0
A, very high
2 - medium
Quartzite, hematitic
4.07
42,485
293
0.2
5,887,000
40,600
14,195,500
97.9
A, very high
1 - low
3 - high
Sandstone
2.34
477
0.1
57,855
0.4
E, very low
Sandstone, argillaceous
2.80
15,225
105
0.05
2,146,000
14,800
4,509,500
31.1
C, medium
3 - high
Sandstone, calcareous
2.60
22,910
158
0.16
3,465,5000
23,900
8,018,500
55.3
B, high
2 - medium
Sandstone, ferriginous
2.60
19,140
132
0.22
2,189,500
15,100
5,553,500
38.3
B, high
3 - high
2.15
12,601
87
-0.09
890,300
6,140
1,508,000
10.4
C, medium
3 - high
2.31
13,094
90
-0.03
1,624,000
11,200
3,146,500
21.7
C, medium
3 - high
Schist, sericite
2.70
23,490
162
3,799,000
26,200
8,700,000
60.0
B, high
2 - medium
Shale
2.81
31,320
216
0.09
3,857,000
26,600
8,439,000
58.2
B, high
2 - medium
Shale, carbonaceous
2.30
16,240
112
949,750
6,550
2,015,500
13.9
B, high
3 - high
Shale, siliceous
2.80
33,495
231
0.12
4,422,500
30,500
9,874,500
68.1
A, very high
2 - medium
Siltstone
2.76
37,120
256
3,668,500
25,300
7,714,000
53.2
A, very high
2 - medium
Skarn, garnet-pyroxene
3.28
18,850
130
5,046,000
34,800
12,499,000
86.2
B, high
1 - low
Syenite
2.82
49,935
303
4,103,500
28,300
10,701,000
73.8
A, very high
2 - medium
Syenite, porphytric
2.70
62,930
434
4,393,500
30,300
10,295,000
71.0
A, very high
2 - medium
2.87
38,570
266
4,016,500
27,700
8,903,000
61.4
A, very high
2 - medium
Tactite, epidote
272
0.11
A. After the break-in period, bit cones should
be checked to be sure that all are about the
same temperature. One hot cone generally
indicates that the air passage to that particular
bearing has become obstruction. If one cone
is hot the bit should be inspected before any
damage occurs.
B. Make sure that all assembly grease is blown
out of all three cutters. When the air is turned
on, air should blow out of the back of each
cone.
III. Provide adequate air to the bit to insure trouble
free bearing performance and reduced abrasion
wear on cones and shirttails.
A. The compressed air serves two functions:
Air to the bearings, to cool and clean the
assembly.
Hole cleaning to remove cuttings from the
blasthole.
To insure maximum bearing life, a 40 psi mini mum pressure drop across the bit is desirable.
Tricone bits
B. Hole cleaning is based on feet/minute of up
hole annular velocity.
Air volume should produce a minimum
of 5,000 linear feet per minute annular
return velocity for removal of light cuttings
and 7,000 feet per minute for heavy material.
Low up-hole velocity causes cuttings to fall
back to bottom until they are reground small
enough to be carried out of the hole.
An increase in torque, torque fluctuations,
either hydraulic pressure or amps, or an
increase in air pressure, are all indications
that the hole is not being cleaned.
C. Some indications that the hole is not being
properly cleaned are:
Increase in torque indication through higher
hydraulic pressure or higher amp meter
reading.
Increase in air pressure.
Excess of cuttings in the bottom of the hole
(more than one foot - after completion of
hole and after making a cleaning pass).
Heavy wear and/or damage indications on
shirttails.
D. Some reasons for an increase in air pressure
while drilling:
Foreign material in the bit, coming from
inside the air system, or cuttings coming in
through the air nozzles or shirttails.
Air passages to the bearings becoming
plugged with cuttings.
IV. Turn the air on before lowering the bit to collar the
hole. Keep the air on until the bit is finished
drilling and is out of the hole. Always rotate the
bit when moving in or out of the hole.
A. Make sure the cab gage pressure is at its normal
reading and air is circulating through the
bit before starting to drill. Inadequate air to
the bearings is a principal cause of overheating
and early bearing failure.
B. Always rotate when coming out of the hole to:
Help clean cuttings from the hole.
Keep cuttings from entering the bearings
around the back face of the cone.
Decrease the possibility of damaging the bit
or stabilizer on a ledge or other protrusion in
the hole.
D. Never use the hydraulic down pressure on the
bit to aid in levelling the machine.
V. Maintain as high a pressure drop across the bit
as possible when in wet holes, or when water
injection is used.
A. The extra pressure drop helps to keep water
and cuttings from entering the bearings.
B. When adding extra drill steel in wet holes,
always make three or four cleaning passes to
get the bottom of the hole as clean as possible.
C. Never remove any device that the
manufacturer has installed from inside the bit.
VI.
A. When making this inspection rotate the cones
and make sure the bearings are clean and not
locked with cuttings.
B. If the cones do not rotate freely, start the
air compressor and blow the cuttings from the
bearings, then repeat the inspection.
C. Any time the cones cannot be freed, the bit
should be taken off for inspection and cleaned.
VII. Never allow the bit to drop while on the end
of the drill steel, even for distance of a few
inches - dropping the bit can cause cracking of
the welds, and/or indentations in the bearing
races. Results will be premature bearing failure.
VIII. When a partially dull bit sits idle for a shift or
longer, rotate the cones by hand to insure that
they turn freely before drilling.
274
Tricone bits
A. If the bit sits idle for any length of time, in
freezing conditions, and where water
injection is used, water can freeze inside the
bearings and air passages. The air temperature
from compressor will normally melt the ice if
enough time is allowed before starting to drill.
B. The drill steel and bit should be warm before
the water injection is used. This will prevent
the water from freezing to the cold surfaces.
C. A partially dull bit should never be left down
the hole when repairs require lowering the
head assembly to the deck. This bit should be
substituted by a dull bit to protect the drill
steel threads.
D. Procedures for cleaning a bit that has been
taken off the drill and will be reused:
Tricone bits
Industry overview
The quarry and mining operations typically have high
equipment utilization, drilling 60%, even up to 80%, of
the working day. Companies drilling small to medium
blast holes between 85 to 152 mm (3 38" to 6") find that
performance and service life are critical.
For those operations drilling large blast holes (greater
than 152 mm), performance, reliability, fuel efficiency,
servicelife and support are critical. This is often the ideal
application for considering premium DTH (Down-TheHole) hammers with faster drill rates resulting in less
time in the hole. This not only reduces labor costs, but
lowers wear and tear on expensive drills. For surface
mining, pre-splitting is often carried out to improve slope
stability. The pre-splitting holes are often 115-140 mm
(4 " - 5 ") and can be made before the drilling of the
production holes.
Selecting the right hammer
The optimum range of hole size for blast hole drilling
with DTH is 90 mm to 254 mm (3 "10"). Smaller blast
holes are generally drilled using tophammer, and larger
holes generally use rotary machines.
In other applications, like foundation drilling, DTH hammers can be used with single bit in hole sizes up to 914
mm (36"). With multiple hammer units CD (Cluster Drills)
drill holes up to 70" or 1778 mm as standard. Larger
cluster drills can be delivered as per customer request.
As a rule of thumb, the smallest hole diameter a DTH
hammer can drill is its nominal size. A 4 inch hammer
276
will drill a 4 inch (102 mm) hole. The limiting factor is the
outside diameter of the hammer, because, as hole diameter reduces, airflow is restricted. Maximum hole size
for production drilling is the nominal hammer size plus 1
inch, so for a 4 inch hammer the maximum hole size is 5
inch (127-130 mm).
Choosing the right hammer is largely determined by
hole size and type of rock formation. Ideally, the size of
the hammer should match the required hole dimension
as closely as possible, leaving just enough space for cuttings to evacuate the hole.
Secoroc hammers are purpose-matched for all rock types
and applications. Where high performance is the main
criterion, Secoroc COP Gold hammers are recommended
in blast hole drilling and Secoroc QLX hammers in deep
hole drilling applications. The QLX hammer has proven
superior performance and adaptability to different air
requirements thanks to the Air Select System.
Where proven technology is required, the Secoroc COP
and QL hammers are known for their reliability and
longevity. They are practically bullet proof, making them
useful for production drilling in quarries, shallow water
well drilling, and underground blasthole drilling.
QM is similar to Standard, but with heavy duty chuck and
wear sleeve, and a back head fitted with tungsten carbide
buttons for wear protection in harsh and abrasive conditions. These also protect the back head from excessive
wear when rotating out of the hole through broken rock.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Economy kits
In hard and abrasive drilling condition the external parts
of DTH hammer is wearing out before the internal parts
reaches their fatigue limits. In these conditions the E-kit
can serve as a tool to reduce the total drilling cost. With
the E-kit the hammer can be rebuilt and the internal part
re-used for another run. The cost saving can be substantial as the cost for an E-kit is only 50% of a new hammer.
An E-kit contains all the needed parts for a rebuild and
will ease the logistic constrains as all needed parts can
be ordered under one product number.
Medium abrasive
5-10 000 m
None abrasive
>10 000 m
Breakout bench
Reverse circulation
Technical specifications
Model
COP 44 Gold
COP 54 Gold
COP 54 Gold QM
COP 64 Gold
COP 64 Gold QM
QLX 35
TD 40
QL 50
QL 50
QL 60
QL 60
DHD 3.5
Product code
9704-03-34
9705-05-34
9705-05-36
9706-05-34
9706-05-36
9703-03-68-00
89001469
89001243
89001255
89000959
89000960
Product number
General specifications
English
Connection thread
Metric
English
Metric
English
Metric
English
Metric
English
89001572
Metric
English
Metric
3.9
100
4.7
120
4.9
126
5.6
142
5.8
146
3.1
79
40.8
1 037.5
51.5
1 194.2
51.5
1 194.2
49.5
1 258
49.5
1 258
31.4
799
89.3
40.5
145.0
65.7
167.0
75.6
211.0
96.0
240.0
109.0
65.0
29.5
2.6
65
3.7
95
3.7
95
102
102
2.5
63.5
4.3
110
5.3
134
5.5
140
6.1
156
6.5
3.5
90
5.1
130
152
152
178
178
4.1
105
Bore (in/mm)
3.2
82
3.9
100
3.9
100
4.7
120
4.7
120
2.52
64
17.4
7.9
33.0
15.0
33.0
15.0
45.0
20.5
45.0
20.5
12.0
5.5
Stroke (in/mm)
4.5
115
4.5
115
4.5
115
4.5
115
4.5
115
101.6
508
35
435
30
435
30
435
30
435
30
435
30
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
3 000
4 067
215
101
311
147
311
147
334
158
334
158
219
103
1 540
1 540
1 389
1 389
1 389
1 389
1 303
1 303
1 303
1 303
1 509
1 509
321
151
425
201
425
201
509
240
509
240
288
136
1 677
1 677
1 497
1 497
1 497
1 497
1 447
1 447
1 447
1 447
1 699
1 699
427
201
557
263
557
263
688
325
688
325
348
164
1 842
1 842
1 614
1 614
1 614
1 614
1 548
1 548
1 548
1 548
1 858
1 858
533
251
719
339
719
339
862
407
862
407
400
189
1 973
1 973
1 750
1 750
1 750
1 750
1 691
1 691
1 691
1 691
1 987
1 987
639
302
891
421
891
421
1 072
506
1 072
506
444
210
2 095
2 095
1 886
1 886
1 886
1 886
1 817
1 817
1 817
1 817
2 087
2 087
745
352
1 009
476
1 009
476
1 326
626
1 326
626
645
275
2 218
2 218
2 022
2 022
2 022
2 022
1 962
1 962
1 962
1 962
2 293
2 293
819
387
1 081
510
1 081
510
1 504
710
1 504
710
847
340
2 303
2 303
2 118
2 118
2 118
2 118
2 063
2 063
2 063
2 063
2 500
2 500
6-19
1 300-4 120
6-19
1 600-4 400
7-20
1 600-4 400
7-20
1 500-2 000
957
452
2 462
2 462
Operational specifications
Feed Force (lb / kN)
Rotation (rpm)
278
1 100-3 300
25-100
5-15
1 300-4 120
20-70
20-70
15-60
15-60
9-7
70-100
Technical specifications
Model
QLX 50
QLX 55
QLX 60
QLX 65
RC 50
QL 50
QL 50
QL 60
QL 60
RC 50
Product code
9705-05-68-00
9705-05-68-14
9706-05-68-00
9706-05-68-14
9705-52-67-00
89010092
89010093
52352465
52352473
Product number
General specifications
Connection thread
Outside diameter (in/mm)
English
Metric
English
Metric
English
Metric
English
52292273
Metric
English
Metric
4.8
121.9
5.08
129.0
5.6
142.2
5.88
149.4
5.13
130
41.76
1 060.7
41.76
1 060.7
41.67
1 090.7
41.67
190.7
45.4
1 152
153.0
69.5
178.0
80.9
205.0
93.2
235.0
106.8
72
158
3.7/4
95/102
3.7/4
95/102
101.6
102.6
102
5.25
133
5.5
140
6.13
155.5
6.5
165.1
538
136
152
152
8.5
215.9
8.5
215.9
6*
165*
Bore (in/mm)
3.95
100.25
3.95
100.25
4.75
120.65
4.75
120.7
4.48
113.7
33.0
15.0
33.0
15.0
47.0
21.4
47.0
21.4
38
17
Stroke (in/mm)
3.75
95.3
3.75
95.3
3.75
95.3
3.75
95.3
2.5
64
500
34.5
500
34.5
500
34.5
500
34.5
500
35
5 000
6 770
5 000
6 770
6 000
8 100
6 000
8 100
5 000
6 800
257
121
257
121
360
170
360
170
N/A
N/A
1 426
1 426
1 426
1 426
1 500
1 500
1 500
1 500
N/A
N/A
374
177
374
177
502
237
502
237
466
220
1 547
1 547
1 547
1 547
1 616
1 616
1 616
1 616
1 744
1 744
508
240
508
240
655
309
655
309
N/A
N/A
1 668
1 668
1 668
1 668
1 732
1 732
1 732
1 732
N/A
N/A
657
310
657
310
818
386
818
386
648
306
1 788
1 788
1 788
1 788
1 847
1 847
1 847
1 847
2 026
2 026
822
388
822
388
993
469
993
469
792
374
1 909
1 909
1 909
1 909
1 963
1 963
1 963
1 963
2 238
2 238
951
449
2 340
2 340
1 500-2 000
50-80
9-7
1 500-2 000
50-80
9-7
2 000-3 000
30-60
9-13.3
2 000-3 000
9-13.3
30-60
secoroc grinding
Every regrinding operation requires its own special tool. The wrong one can easily damage your bits.
With Secoroc grinding equipment complemented by a global service organization you neednt worry.
Your bits will soon be as good as new.
Grinding machine
Secoroc BQ3
Secoroc Jazz
Secoroc Manual B
Secoroc HG
DTH/COPROD
bits
Reaming
bits
Integrals
Secoroc BQ3-DTH
Secoroc Swing
Secoroc Senior
Recommended
280
Can be used
secoroc grinding
Grinding
Secoroc BQ3
Secoroc BQ3-DTH
Secoroc Jazz
Electrical specifications
400 V 3-phase 50 Hz
230 V 3-phase 50 Hz
400 V 3-phase 60 Hz
230 V 3-phase 60 Hz
440 V 3-phase 50 Hz
Electrical specifications
400 V 3-phase 50 Hz
230 V 3-phase 50 Hz
400 V 3-phase 60 Hz
230 V 3-phase 60 Hz
440 V 3-phase 50 Hz
Grinding capacity
Maximum height of drill bit
Maximum diameter of drill bit
Maximum bit skirt diameter
Minimum distance
between buttons
Prod No.
87004800
87004801
87004803
87004805
87004806
200 mm (7 78")
127 mm (5")
120 mm (4.75")
3.5 mm (964")
Technical data
Air pressure, max.
7 bar (101.5 psi)
Air pressure, min.
5.5 bar (80 psi)
Air consumption
40 l/min
Capacity of cooling-fluid tank
22 l
Output, spindle motor
1.50 kW
Output, driving plate motor
0.37 kW
Output, coolant pump motor
0.44 kW
Speed, spindle
14 900 r/min
Speed, table (50 Hz)
62 r/min
Speed, table (60 Hz)
74 r/min
Voltage working lighting
24 V
Weight, excluding packaging
222 kg (490 Ib)
Transport dimension L 1 730 x W 1 030 x H 1 160 mm
(68.11" x 40.55" x 43.94")
Accessories included in delivery
Allen key, 4 mm (1 piece)
Centring cup, 11 mm
Centring device (1 piece)
Coolant concentrate, 0.5 l
Extractor
Filter key
Grinding wheel, uncoated for centering
Protective goggles
Operators instructions and spare parts list
Note:
Secoroc BQ3 must be completed with grinding
wheels, centring cups, bitholders (indicate button
size and thread dimension) and indexing templates.
Prod. No.
87004900
87004901
87004903
87004905
87004906
Grinding capacity
Maximum height of drill bit
650 mm (2'1 58")
Maximum diameter of drill bit
178 mm (7")
Minimum distance between buttons
3.5 mm (964")
Technical data
Air pressure, max.
7 bar (101.5 psi)
Air pressure, min.
5.5 bar (80 psi)
Air consumption
40 l/min
Capacity of cooling-fluid tank
22 l
Output, spindle motor
3.00 kW
Output, table drive motor
0.25 kW
Output, coolant pump motor
0.44 kW
Speed, spindle
14 900 r/min
Speed, table (50 Hz)
22 r/min
Speed, table (60 Hz)
26 r/min
Voltage working lighting
24 V
Weight, excluding packaging
345 kg (760 lb)
Transport dimension L 1 200 x W 1 200x H 1 700 mm
(47.24" x 47.24" x 66.93")
Accessories included in delivery
Allen key, 4mm (1 piece)
Coolant concentrate, 0.5 l
Extractor
Protective goggles
Operators instructions and spare parts list
Optional accessories
- Auxiliary set for grinding
threaded bits (excl.
bitholder and templates)
Prod. No.
87003939
NOTE:
Secoroc BQ3-DTH must be completed with
grinding wheels, centring cups and bitholders
(indicate button size, bit diameter and type of
hammer).
Prod. No.
87004100
Prod. No.
87004315
87004268
87004214
87004628
87004456
87004450
87004465
NOTE:
Secoroc Jazz must be completed with grinding
wheels, centring cups, bitholders and indexing
templates.
281
secoroc grinding
Grinding
Secoroc Manual B
Secoroc HG
Secoroc Manual B
Secoroc HG
Grinding capacity
Maximum diameter of bit skirt
Threaded bits, maximum diameter
Retrac, maximum diameter
Tube drilling, maximum diameter
* Large clamping device necessary
Prod. No.
87001890
90 mm (3 916")
127 mm (5")
*127 mm (5")
*152 mm (6")
Technical data
Air pressure, max.
7 bar (101.5 psi)
Air consumption
15 l/s
Coolant container
10 l
Idling speed of hand-held grinder
30 000 r/min
Speed of bit rotation
0-45 r/min
Weight, excluding packaging
55 kg (121.3 Ib)
Weight, including packaging
90 kg (198.4 Ib)
Transport dimension
L 1 200 x W 800 x H 850 mm
(3'11 210" x 2'7 510" x 2'9 510")
Accessories included in delivery
Allen key, 4 mm
Centring fingers (4 pcs)
Grinding templates, spherical and ballistic
Hand-held grinder, 30 000 r/min
Open end spanner, 14 mm (2 pcs)
Protective goggles
Operators instructions and spare parts list
Optional accessories
- Vibration absorbing sleeve to fit the
hand-held grinder
- Set of 5 centring fingers
Prod. No.
87001931
87001935
NOTE:
Secoroc Manual B must be completed with
grinding wheels and bitholders.
282
Grinding capacity
Maximum height of drill bit
Maximum diameter of drill bit
Maximum diameter of bit shank
Prod. No.
87002300
506 mm (1'7 78")
203 mm (8")
170 mm (6 ")
Technical data
Air pressure, max.
7 bar (101.5 psi)
Air consumption
15 l/s
Coolant container
10 l
Idling speed of hand-held grinder
30 000 r/min
Speed of bit rotation
0-45 r/min
Weight, excluding packaging
110 kg (253 lb)
Weight, including packaging
148 kg (326 lb)
Transport dimension
L 1 200 x W 800 x H 940 mm
(3'11 210"x 2'7 510" x 3'1 010")
Accessories included in delivery
Allen key, 5 mm
Allen key, 6 mm
Centring fingers (4 pcs)
Grinding templates, spherical and ballistic
Hand-held grinder (spherical, 30 000 r/min)
Open end spanner, 14 mm (2 pcs)
Protective goggles
Operators instructions and spare parts list
Optional accessories
Prod. No.
- Centring fingers (set of 5 pcs), 30 000 r/min 87001935
- Clamping device for threaded bits
87002401
NOTE:
Secoroc Manual B-DTH must be completed with
grinding wheels and bitholders.
Grinding capacity
Button size
Prod. No.
87002435
7-20 mm
(932"-2532")
Technical data
Air pressure, max.
7 bar (101.5 psi)
Air consumption, unloaded
50 l/s
Air consumption, loaded (at 6 bar, 86 psi)
42 l/s
Hose dimension, air
12.5 mm (")
Hose dimension, water
6.3 mm (")
Idling speed
17 000 r/min
Water flushing pressure, max.
4.5 bar (65.3 psi)
Weight, excluding hoses
2.8 kg (6.2 Ib)
Accessories included in delivery
Adjustable angle connector
Allen key, 2 mm
Allen key, 3 mm
Allen key, 5 mm
Claw coupling (6.3 mm)
Grease gun
Grinding templates, spherical and ballistic
Hose (PVC 03)
Hose (PVC 6; L = 0.1 m)
Hose clamp (78.5 mm)
Hose clamp (1113 mm)
Hose clamp (2638 mm)
Nipple
Pipe (L = 0.3 m)
Seal kit
Seat
Support ring
Operators instructions and spare parts list
Optional accessories
- Lubricator
- Reconditioning tool for grinding cups
Prod. No.
87002750
87002810
secoroc grinding
Grinding
Secoroc Swing
Secoroc Senior
Secoroc Swing
Prod. No.
87002482
Technical data
Air pressure, max.
7 bar (101.5 psi)
Air consumption (at 6 bar, 86 psi)
25 l/s
Cutting-edge angle
110
Cutting-edge radius
80 mm (3 532")
Gauge grinding arrangement included
Hose connections:
- Air
12.5 mm (")
- Water
6.3 mm (")
Idling speed
4 080 r/min
Power output
1,10 kW
Size of grinding wheel
- D x T x H
125 x 63 x 32 mm (47/8" x 215/32" x 1")
- DI x TI
80 x 50 mm (3 5/32" x 2")
Spindle diameter
16 mm (5/8")
Weight incl. grinding wheel and
1.5 m water hose
27.5 kg (61 lb)
Accessories included in delivery
Grinding template
Grinding wheel, soft
Pin wrench
Protective goggles
Operators instructions and spare parts list
Optional accessories
- Grinding wheel, hard
- Grinding wheel, soft
- Chuck bushing wear gauge
H19 (0,75")
H22 (0,85")
H25 (1")
Prod. No.
87002589
87002811
90002667
90002668
90002669
Electrical specifications
220 V 3-phase 50 Hz
220 V 3-phase 60 Hz
380 V 3-phase 50 Hz
380 V 3-phase 60 Hz
415 V 3-phase 50 HZ
415 V 3-phase 60 Hz
440 V 3-phase 60 Hz
Prod. No.
87002485
87002493
87135402
87002494
87002488
87002495
87002496
Technical data
Air pressure, max.
7 bar (101.5 psi)
Cutting-edge angle, adjustable
90-130
Grinding wheel
-DxTxH
200 x 102 x 32 mm (7 78" x 4" x 1 )
- DI x TI
150 x 80 mm (5 78" x 3 532")
- Cutting-edge radius, adjustable 80-130 mm (3 532"-5 18")
Idling speed, electric 50 Hz
2 840 r/min
Idling speed, electric 60 Hz
1 690 r/min
Output 3-phase
1.50 kW
Rod hex. max.
25 mm (1")
Weight excluding packaging
105 kg (232 lb)
Weight including packaging
120 kg (265 lb)
Transport dimension
L 800 x W 600 x H 650 mm
(2'7 " x 1'11 58" x 2'1 58")
Secoroc Swing.
Prod. No.
87002591
87002813
87000519
90002667
90002668
90002669
283
secoroc grinding
Dimension,
mm
Product No.
Product code
Spherical
Dimension,
mm
Product No.
Product code
Dimension,
mm
Product No.
Product code
19
87003966
9500-3966
18
87003965
9500-3965
19
87003967
9500-3967
87001028
9500-1028
Ballistic
87001026
9500-1026
87003407
9500-3407
Full-ballistic
87001389
9500-1389
87003408
9500-3408
87004720
9500-4720
10
87001023
9500-1023
87003409
9500-3409
87004721
9500-4721
11
87003406
9500-3406
10
87003410
9500-3410
87004722
9500-4722
12
87001024
9500-1024
11
87003411
9500-3411
10
87004723
9500-4723
13
87001339
9500-1339
12
87003412
9500-3412
10,95
87004724
9500-4724
14
87001025
9500-1025
13
87003413
9500-3413
12,7
87004725
9500-4725
14,5
87004708
9500-4707
14
87003414
9500-3414
14,5
87004726
9500-4726
15
87001384
9500-1384
14,5
87004717
9500-4717
15,83
87004727
9500-4727
16
87001027
9500-1027
15
87003415
9500-3415
18
87003964
9500-3964
16
87003416
9500-3416
Centering cups*
Grinding wheels
for steel grinding
Dimension
Product
No.
Product
code
Button
size
Product No.
Product
code
Button
size
Product No.
Product
code
1014 mm
87001530
9500-1530
7,0 mm
87001040
9500-1040
13,0 mm
87001385
9500-1385
87001631
9500-1631
8,0 mm
87000842
9500-0842
14,0 mm
87001043
9500-1043
87001632
9500-1632
9,0 mm
87001047
9500-1047
14,5 mm
87001443
9500-1443
87001633
9500-1633
10,0 mm
87001041
9500-1041
15,0 mm
87001386
9500-1386
87001634
9500-1634
11,0 mm
87000840
9500-0840
16,0 mm
87001387
9500-1387
87001635
9500-1635
12,0 mm
87001042
9500-1042
18,0 mm
87003943
9500-3943
12,7 mm
87000839
9500-0839
19,0 mm
87003944
9500-3944
284
secoroc grinding
Product No.
Product
code
87003475
87003476
87003960
87003477
87003962
87003956
87005007
87005005
87005006
87003978
87004081
87004641
87003479
87004569
87003521
87004562
9500-3475
9500-3476
9500-3960
9500-3477
9500-3962
9500-3956
9500-4685
9500-4686
9500-4687
9500-3978
9500-4081
9500-4641
9500-3479
9500-4569
9500-3521
9500-4562
Product No.
Product
code
R25
87000792
9500-0792
R28
87000793
9500-0793
SR28
87003961
9500-3961
R32
87000794
9500-0794
R32
87001848
9500-1848
SR32
87003963
9500-3963
R35
87003360
9500-3360
SR35
87003957
9500-3957
R38/T38
87000795
9500-0795
SR38
87003979
9500-3979
T45
87000796
9500-0796
T51
87000802
9500-0802
7 taper
87001044
9500-1044
12 taper
87001045
9500-1045
ST58
87001726
9500-1726
ST68
87001573
9500-1573
64, 76, 89 mm
87000798
9500-0798
87000799
9500-0799
Type
Secoroc Manual B Threaded bits
87003522
87003523
9500-3522
9500-3523
87003524
87003525
9500-3524
9500-3525
87003526
87003527
9500-3526
9500-3527
87003992
87004056
9500-3992
9500-4056
COP 32
87002420
9500-2420
COP 34
87003691
9500-3691
DHD 3.5
87004514
9500-4514
DHD 340, TD 35
87002391
9500-2391
DHD 350
87002390
9500-2390
DHD 360
87002389
9500-2389
DHD 380
87004523
9500-4523
TD 40
87004604
9500-4604
QL 40, TD 50
87004515
9500-4515
QL 50, TD 60
87004033
9500-4033
QL 60, TD 80
87004002
9500-4002
QL 80
87004516
9500-4516
TD 90
87004517
9500-4517
RC 50
87004605
9500-4605
COPROD 76
87004414
9500-4414
COPROD 89
87003155
9500-3155
COPROD 102
87004415
9500-4415
COPROD 127
87002396
9500-2396
Bitholder type A
Bitholder type C
Bitholder type B
285
secoroc grinding
286
Dimension, mm
Product No.
Product code
7,0
87002566
9500-2566
8,0
87002567
9500-2567
9,0
87002568
9500-2568
10,0
87002569
9500-2569
11,0
87002570
9500-2570
12,0
87002571
9500-2571
13,0
87002572
9500-2572
14,0
87002573
9500-2573
15,0
87002574
9500-2574
16,0
87002575
9500-2575
18,0
87002576
9500-2576
19,0
87004558
9500-4558
20,0
87002577
9500-2577
7,0
87002579
9500-2579
8,0
87002580
9500-2580
9,0
87002581
9500-2581
10,0
87002582
9500-2582
11,0
87002583
9500-2583
12,0
87002584
9500-2584
13,0
87002585
9500-2585
14,0
87002586
9500-2586
15,0
87002587
9500-2587
16,0
87002588
9500-2588
78
87002700
9500-2700
910
87002701
9500-2701
1112
87002702
9500-2702
1314
87002703
9500-2703
1516
87002704
9500-2704
1718
87002840
9500-2840
1920
87002841
9500-2841
secoroc grinding
Bit size,
mm
Grind Matic X
Sandvik RG 300
Sandvik RG 320
Sandvik RG 340
Sandvik RG 360
Bit
angle
Wheel
angle
Dimension
(DTH), mm
Dimension
(DITI), mm
Product No.
Product
code
35
90
132
300 x 23 x 32
87002594
9555
3841
90
132
300 x 26 x 32
87002595
9556
9558
45
90
132
300 x 29 x 32
87002597
4851
90
132
300 x 32 x 32
87002616
9577
76
90
132
300 x 52 x 32
87002603
9564
76
75
126
300 x 42 x 32
87002608
9569
76
105
139
300 x 58 x 32
87002609
9570
Secoroc Swing
Sandvik RG 100
Secoroc Senior
Grind Matic Junior
125 x 63 x 32
80 x 50, hard
87002589
9550
125 x 63 x 32
80 x 50, soft
87002811
9500-2811
125 x 63 x 32
80 x 50,
hard endurance
87004700
9500-4700
125 x 63 x 32
80 x 50,
soft endurance
87004701
9500-4701
200 x 102 x 32
87002591
9552
200 x 102 x 32
87002813
9500-2813
150 x 83 x 32
87002590
9551
150 x 83 x 32
87002512
9500-2812
Grinding templates
Integral rods and bits
10
10
15
5
10
15
1/4"
1/2"
3/4"
Min.
0,5
3/4"
Grinding template
1"
,5
1/2"
1 1/2"
14
1/4"
3/32"
1/8"
3 mm
2,4 mm
r= 80 mm 3,5/32"
,95
10
10
20
12,7
30
Skivvinkel
Wheel
110
110
40
D/3
Dimension, mm
Product No.
Product code
90002610
9101
7 - 14,5
90002944
9104
7 - 14,5
90503414
9105
10,95 - 19,1
90510753
9129
10,95 - 19,1
90510758
9130
90002611
9102
Integral rods
Cross-type bits
287
DrillCare
Extended warranty
Peace of mind for three years with no small print. Let us protect your investment.
Features Benefits
Three years, unlimited operating hours
Focus on your production
Follow Atlas Copco maintenance schedule
Preventive maintenance
Atlas Copco genuine parts and selected oils and lubricants
Meet warranty conditions
Planned audits
Assures rig reliability
Service agreements
Best-in-class maintenance to ensure reliability and highest availability of your drilling equipment.
Features Benefits
Total maintenance
Minimize unplanned repairs
Preventive maintenance
Lowest operating cost
Fixed-price repair
Extended warranty period
Parts-only plans
Genuine Atlas Copco parts and selected lubricants
288
DrillCare
Fluid Management
Safer, cleaner reliability.
Features Benefits
Hydraulic hose first aid kit
Limit downtime
Hydraulic filter cart
Maintain clean, efficient systems
Atlas Copco premium air hose
Safety and reliability
International expertise
Superior productivity
Service
Technical support
that stands out
Safety and
environment
290
service
Service kits
Remanufactured Components
When you use Atlas Copco remanuactured compo-nents, you can rest
assured that we will have the part you
need in stock when you need it.
Service
Optimization through
tailored technology
solutions
Healthy equiment
through remote
monitoring solutions
292
service
Trained people
perform
Atlas Copco provides the very best training as part of
our customer service, and appreciates the difference
between operators who are already experts at handling
our equipment and those who need additional training.
We are more than willing to share the benefits of our
long experience in the market and our complete toolbox
of best practices, to the benefit of all our customers.
Thanks to well-trained staff we are able to offer you
Atlas Copcos premium service support. Our service
technicians go through a rigorous certification process,
ensuring that you always get the best possible technical
support close-by, readily available, whenever needed.
Anyplace, Anywhere,
Anytime
Atlas Copco is a world leading supplier in the Mining
and Rock Excavation sector.
The Group delivers sustainable solutions for increased
customer productivity through innovative products and
services. Atlas Copco was founded in 1873. Today it has
a global reach spanning more than 170 countries.
We are committed to sustainable productivity which
means that we do everything we can to ensure reliable,
lasting results with responsible use of resources;
human, natural, and capital.
293
simulator training
Specification
Measures
Length
5m
197"
Width
4m
157.5"
Height
2.97 m
117"
Weight
2,500 kg
5,500 lbs
glossary
Glossary of terms
A
and pullback in the tower. Also used in hoisting. May be rotating or rotation resistant.
Cable Reel A device that holds the electrical power cable on electric driven blasthole
drills.
Carousel A rotating device that holds
extra drill pipe. It can be moved under the
rotary head to add and remove drill pipe
from the string, or the rotary head moves
over it.
Carbide, Tungsten W2C. A very hard
compound used in inserts in rock bits.
It has a very high melting point. It is very
strong in one direction but very brittle in
another.
Catwalks Walkways around a working
area of a drill.
Cavitation The pitting of a solid surface
by the formation of low pressure bubbles
formed in the fluid. Air being allowed into
the inlet of pumps.
Centralizer Bushing A circular ring
installed around the drill pipe in the drill
table to keep the pipe aligned properly with
the rotary head. It usually has a replaceable
insert in the center.
Chain Wrench A special wrench, consisting
of a chain section and a metal vee section,
with jaws, that grips the drill pipe and/or the
DHD to tighten or loosen the connections.
Collar the Hole Opening at the top of the
blasthole; the mouth where rock has been
broken by blasting. Usually the first few
feet of the blasthole that are cracked
and broken.
Compressor An asymmetrical rotary screw
driven device for compressing air. May
be single- or two-stage, depending on the
discharge pressure.
Console The panel that contains most of the
drills controls. Also called the operators panel.
Conveyor Equipment used to carry material to crushers and screens for reduction
and separation.
Cooler (Hydraulic oil Cooler (HOC),
Compressor Oil Cooler (COC)) All drills
have a cooler or coolers for the hydraulic
fluid and the compressor oil. The engine
radiator is also sometimes referred to as
an engine cooler.
Coring The act of procuring a sample of
the formation being drilled for geological
information purposes.
Glossary
Feed Chain Heavy duty chain links connected to the rotary head through upper
and lower sprockets and the traveling
sheave block. They are adjusted similar
to a cable.
296
glossary
Hydraulic Motors Piston or vane type motors, driven by hydraulic pumps, that rotate
various devices on a drill.
Hydraulic Pumps Piston, vane and gear
type hydraulic pumps that provide flow for
the various actuators on the drill.
Hydrostatic Head The pressure exerted
by a column of fluid, usually expressed in
pounds per square inch.
PLC Programmable Logic Controller. A device that monitors many aspects of a drills
operation.
Percussion Drill Drill that chips and penetrates rock with repeated blows.
Glossary
Shot A charge of high explosives deposited in a series of holes to shatter the rock.
Sub A coupling with different type or diameter of threads at either end. The term pin
denotes a male thread, and box, a female
thread. To connect two components with
different threads. See Adapter.
298
glossary
Atlas copco
Where to find us
300
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