Atlas Copco

Blasthole Drilling
Advantage – Pit Viper in Open Pit Mining

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

Interested in increasing your productivity?

The Pit Viper blasthole drills have earned a well-   deserved reputation for dependability and productivity.
Operator safety and ergonomics also contribute to their high long-term value. Whether you are
searching for simple and rugged, or advanced and automated, the Pit Viper will be a strong contender.
With the Atlas Copco Rig Control System (RCS) option you can start with a simple basic concept and
still have the flexibility to add advanced functions later. Atlas Copco also offers complete drill string
and service packages tailored to your specific requirements.

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.
Printed matter no. 58 388 351

Second edition 2011

2011

www.atlascopco.com/blastholedrills
A safe approach to your future
At Atlas Copco, we strive to make your future more productive. By focusing not
only on today, our goal is to offer reliable, lasting results for years to come.
We put an emphasis on safety to give you a secure working environment.
It's not just a business practice; it's an Atlas Copco state of mind—Safety F!rst.
Advantage — Pit Viper
Your purchase is just the start
The Pit Viper blasthole drills have earned a reputation for productivity and smart design. To enhance that,
Atlas Copco offers training for drill rig operators on simulators—giving an extremely realistic experience in
a controlled environment. Ergonomics have always been a part of the Pit Viper design, but this training keeps
operators safe while enabling them to learn without wear and stress on rig components in the field.
Atlas Copco is much more than a rig sales company. We also offer complete service packages, and this
training opportunity to keep the advantage on your productivity.
If you need more reasons to invest in a Pit Viper, find out more at www.atlascopco.com/blastholedrills.
Contents
Foreword
113 Tough fast-track to Sydvaranger – Iron/Norway
    2 Foreword by Brian Fox 117 Steep Wall Open Pit Mining at Zhelezny – Iron/Russia
Vice President Marketing 121 Coal mining in eastern Australia – Coal/Australia
Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions LLC 127 Boosting Siberian energy – Coal/Russia
129 Hidden treasure – Coal/USA
Talking technically 133 Finding a Perfect Balance – Coal/USA
135 Moving mountains – Coal/USA
  3 From gunpowder to Pit Viper 139 Coal and Gold Mining in Kazakhstan –
  11 Ergonomics and safety Coal and Gold/Kazakhstan
 13 Personnel rig protection 141 Drilling for coal in Vietnam – Coal/Vietnam
 17 An introduction to surface mining
 23 Putting rotary drilling into perspective Product specifications
 29 Automated surface blasthole drilling
 35 Tricone rotary blasthole drilling 144 Drilling methods guide
 39 Optimizing the rotary drill string 146 Specifications guide
 41 Increased productivity with DTH drilling 147 Blasthole drill rigs
 45 Selecting the right DTH drilling tools 171 Drill rig options
 51 Taking advantage of single-pass drilling 188 Hurricane booster
 53 Blasting in open cut metal mines 189 XRVS Compressor
 63 Drilling in Arctic conditions 190 Tricone rotary blasthole drilling
 65 The new mid range Pit Viper 235 196 Bit selection
 69 Development through interaction - Pit Viper 270 200 Sealed bearing
 73 Large diameter drilling – Pit Viper 351 205 When to change a bit
 77 Peace of mind 206 How a rock bit drills
 79 The economic case for routine bit grinding 208 Importance of records
 83 Secoroc Jazz 210 Air practices
220 Rock formation & drillability
Case studies 223 Guides for best bit performance
226 DTH hammer specifications
 85 Aitik eyes top three efficiency – Copper/Sweden 228 Secoroc grinding tools
 91 Pit Vipers beat the chill – Copper/USA 236 DRILLCare
 95 Arsarco’s choice: both diesel and electric – Copper/USA 238 Drill simulator training
 97 Reopening of Copper Mountain – Copper/Canada 239 Glossary of terms
 99 Innovation through interaction – Gold/USA 244 Where to find us
101 Unforgiving ground – Gold/USA
105 Penasquito powers up – Gold/Mexico For latest updates contact your local Atlas Copco Customer
109 Secoroc hammers go for gold – Gold/Turkey Center or refer to www.atlascopco.com/blastholedrills

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
Layout: Rafaella Turander, ahrt informationsdesign, Örebro, Sweden, turander@ahrt.net
Editing team: Cecilia Einarsson, Diane Norwood, Elisa Davidson,Gunilla Lindberg, Justin Cocchiola, Marino Wallsten, Mark Bausch,
Matthew Inge, Nichole Schoch, Torbjorn Viberg, Ulf Linder
Adviser: Dustin Penn, dustin.penn@us.atlascopco.com
Contributors: Brian Fox, Clarence Zink, Daniel Jonsson, Dustin Penn, Gunnar Nord, Jeff Rose, Jim Langford,
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, Stephen Boyce, Kyran Casteel, Scott Ellenbecker.
Digital copies of all Atlas Copco reference editions can be ordered from the publisher, address above, or online at www.atlascopco.com/rock.
Reproduction of individual articles only by agreement with the publisher.
Printed by: Executive Press, Richardson, Texas, www.executivepress.com
Legal notice
© Copyright 2011, 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. ("registered trademarks or trademarks" may
sound redundant, but is actually correct in my opinion and is not an unusual statement. For instance, it is possible that not every name is registered
everywhere, in which case it would not be appropriate to say that all names are registered trademarks.)

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 1

Foreword
These are exciting times in the surface mining industry. A lot
has changed since the first edition of Blasthole Drilling in
Open Pit Mining came out in 2009.
Technology is advancing quickly in the industry, and we pride
ourselves as being among the leaders. Our Rig Control System
(RCS) has established itself as a very reliable platform from
which to build advancing levels of automation. RCS is avail-
able on all Pit Viper Series models today, and we’ll integrate
it to our smaller machines as we move forward. Teleremote
operation and autonomous drilling are no longer futuristic
thinking. We have demonstrated such advanced technology,
and continue to test and prepare for commercial release.
While we are moving towards unmanned operation of drills,
we realize that it doesn’t fit every application. We’ve put a
great deal of focus on the safety of mine personnel on and
around the rig. Options designed to make it easier to access
and service equipment are being developed by our Engineering
team with heavy input from our customers.
I was reminded recently of a long-standing quote in the mining
industry. “I’ve never seen a shovel pass a drill yet.” Very true,
and as shovels and trucks get larger and faster, we must con-
tinually improve the productivity of our machines. As world
demand increases, the amount of material mined annually con-
tinues to grow. Further, increasing strip ratios and lower ore
grades require substantially more material movement to get
the same output. Productivity improvements alone won’t keep
up. The availability and utilization of the rigs must continue
to increase as well.
Atlas Copco prides itself in building highly productive, reliable
equipment. As the equipment is only as good as the support
behind it, we’ve undertaken a major effort to improve our parts
availability, service capacity (including manpower, competence
and service outlets) and technical documentation. We’re never
satisfied with where we stand, and are always looking for input
from the mining industry to help guide us.
Committed to Sustainable Productivity is Atlas Copco’s brand
promise. This second edition of Blasthole Drilling in Open
Pit Mining contains some great case stories showing how our
brand promise translates to real-world results.
We hope you enjoy this second edition.

Brian Fox
Vice President, Marketing
Drilling Solutions LLC

brian.fox@us.atlascopco.com

2 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Talking Technically

From gunpowder to Pit Viper

Drilling and blasting
The rotary blasthole drilling rig
was a long time coming. Gun-
powder was invented in China
about 1000 A.D. But in Europe at
least it took another 500 years or
more before miners started to use
it for blasting and a further three
centuries for the introduction of
mechanized drilling in surface
mines. Mobile blasthole drilling
rigs have been in use for only
some sixty years.

Gunpowder
The application of blasting agents
apparently began in Hungarian mines
sometime during the sixteenth cen-
tury. To make better use of the explo-
sive force, miners started to place the
powder in holes and it is certain that
drilling and blasting were used in sev-
eral German and Scandinavian mines
early in the seventeenth century, for
instance at the Nasafjäll silver mine in
Lappland in 1635, and in 1644 at the
Röros mine in Norway.
One-man drilling with the help of
a drill steel and sledgehammer was
the established technology used in the
Drilling with sledgehammer was the established
method before the development of the rock drill.
The Pit Viper is designed for production drilling of large holes in hard rock conditions.
eighteenth century. This physically
demanding technique evolved only
slowly but, despite the mechanization
of other industries, remained in quite
widespread use until well into the
twentieth century. However, powered
drills did start to mount a challenge in
the 1800’s, the competition in the USA
being symbolized by John Henry who
in 1870 hammered through 14 feet in
35 minutes while the steam drill only
completed nine feet.
The first patented rock drilling ma-
chine was a steam driven percussion
drill invented by J. J. Couch in Phila-
delphia in 1849 but it may have been
preceded by a machine manufac-
tured by the Scottish engineer James
Nasmyth ten years earlier. This patent
spurred a period of rapid development,
accelerated in the 1860s by Nobel’s
inventions of the blasting cap and
safe dynamite explosives. From 1850
to 1875 some 110 rock drill patents
were granted to American inventors
and seven for drill carriers while 86
patents were issued in Europe during
this period.
In 1851 James Fowle, who had
worked with Couch, patented a rock
drill that could be powered by steam
or compressed air and could rotate the
drill steel by means of a ratchet wheel
controlled by the piston's back-and-
forth movement. In the 1860’s large
scale rock drilling machines were built
for tunnelling by engineers in Europe
and the United States. One of the most
successful of these early rock drills
was the second refined version of the
Burleigh rock drill, which was put into
service in October 1866 at the Hoosac
tunnel in Massachusetts. The perfor-
mance at this tunnel project showed
that rock drill development had taken
the step from an experimental product
to a proven and rather reliable technol-
ogy.
In 1871 the American inventor Simon
Ingersoll patented a steam powered rock
drill, later to be operated on compressed
air. Ingersoll formed the Ingersoll Rock
Drill Company in the same year. During
the following year Ingersoll purchased
the Fowle-Burleigh patents and also
merged with the Burleigh company.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 3

 Talking Technically

In 1871, a number of patents were issued to the

inventor Simon Ingersoll, who started the Inger-
soll Rock Drill Company The machine produced
by Ingersoll was at this time regarded as the best
rock drill yet produced, and it was followed in
the mid 1880s by another success, the famous
“Ingersoll Eclipse” machine. The Ingersoll rockdrill was a simple and strong design with few moving parts.

The new compact rock drill launched by
Ingersoll was a simple and strong design
with few moving parts. The designers
had kept in view the tough conditions
in which the rock drill had to work, and
the contemporary technical opinion
regarded his new rock drill as the best
yet available on the market. During the
years to come Ingersoll bought out many
small firms and expanded his company.
The Ingersoll Rand name came into
use in 1905 through the combination of
Ingersoll-Sergeant Drill Company and
Rand Drill Company.
The AB Atlas enterprise had been
founded in February 1873 at a time
when the Swedish railway net was
being rapidly expanded. Three years
later, now with 700 employees and the
Stockholm shops completed, AB Atlas
had delivered more than 600 railway
wagons. Diminishing demand from the
railroad sector, combined with years of
losses, led to a reconstruction in 1890.
During the years to follow new product
lines were added, including compressed
air tools, compressors, diesel engines
and the first Atlas rock drill which was
launched in 1905.
it was very heavy for manual use.
Immediately and for the next 25 years
Atlas focused on light weight hand
rotated drills like the Cyclop, Rex,
and Bob. The real Atlas winner among
lightweight hand-held rock drills was
the RH-65 from the year 1932. This
machine had more efficient shank and
chuck designs for better steel guidance
and longer shank life. Used with the
new pusher leg feed system developed
in the 1930s, the RH 65 was the most
important element in what was later
to become known as the "Swedish
method" of underground drilling.
In the United States Ingersoll-Rand
expanded into pneumatic tools in 1907
by acquiring the Imperial Pneumatic
Tool Company of Athens, Pennsylvania.
In 1909 the company bought the A.S.
Cameron Steam Pump Works and en-
tered the industrial pump business.
Ingersoll Rand also acquired the J.
George Leyner Engineering Works
Com-pany. This firm had developed a
small, pneumatic hammer that could be
operated by one man. This “Jackhamer”
introduced in 1912 became a popular
item, and the company progressively
developed the design as well as sup-
plying compressors to the expanding
construction and mining industries in
North and South America
Rock drilling tools
The parallel improvement of drill steel
quality had started during the 1890s

Further development
The design of the first Atlas rock drill
featured an advanced rifle bar rota- The first drill made by Atlas "pneumatic rock drill No. 16" had a weight of 280 kg (617 lb) and was heavy
tion but with a weight of 280 kg (617 lb) and difficult to handle - at least two men were needed to move it.

4 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining


with development of heat treated drill
steel that could better resist deformation.
But sharpening the tips required exten-
sive haulage of tons of drill steel between
drilling sites and the work shops. The
detachable drill bit was developed in
1918 by A L Hawkesworth, a foreman
at the Anaconda copper mine in Butte,
Montana. The first versions used a dove-
tail joint to the drill steel while later ver-
sions were threaded or tapered. The rods
were retained at the workings and used
with new or re-forged bits.
In Europe during the German col-
lapse in 1918 a team was formed at
the Osram lamp factory to develop
cemented tungsten carbide as a substi-
tute for industrial diamonds. In 1926 the
first cemented tungsten carbide became
available as a “magical” machine tool
for turning and milling operations. Early
tests were made in 1928 trying to use
tungsten carbide bits for rock drilling in
German mines and before World War
II promising results were obtained. By
this time the research team had scattered
and some members had been forced to
leave the country. One of these, Hans
Herman Wolff, found refuge in Sweden
where he worked at the Luma lamp fac-
tory. Dr Wolff manufactured a number
of bits according to designs provided by
Erik Ryd at Atlas.
The bits were tested in the Atlas
test mine. In 1942 Atlas, Sandvik and
Fagersta signed a cooperative agree-
ment and it was not until 1945, after a
long improvement process, that the new
cemented tungsten carbide drill bits
were as economical to use as conven-
tional steel bits.
The post-war years saw Atlas achieve
further major advances. In 1948 the com-
pany introduced an RH 65 upgrade, the
RH 656, which was designed to use the
new cemented carbide tipped drillsteels.
The superior performance of the “Light
Swedish Method” was exploited world-
wide and culminated in 1962 with the
completion of the Mont Blanc tunnel.
With development of highly mecha-
nized drill rigs and with the introduc-
tion in 1973 of the COP 1038 hydraulic
top hammer drill Atlas Copco laid the
foundation to become a world leader in
top hammer drilling technology. (See
article from wagon drill to SmartRig,
Surface drilling, Fourth Edition 2008).
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 5
Talking Technically
The US patent for a dual roller cone bit was issued to Howard Hughes Sr. in 1909.
Rotary bits the best alternative. However, as drillers
sought to use the rotary system for pro-
Rotary drilling with drag bits was the gressively harder rock formations so
common method used in oil drilling. the feed force (pulldown) available had
These bits were suitable when drill- to be increased. Roller cones with long
ing in soft formations like sand or steel teeth were used in softer forma-
clay but not in rock. The solution for tions for gouging the formation while
drilling large diameter holes in rock roller cones with shorter teeth were
was by using rotary crushing technol- used for crushing and spalling harder
ogy instead of trying to cut hard rock formations.
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 Sharp-
Hughes Tool Company, and after
Sharp's death in 1912 the name was
changed to Hughes Tool Company.
The company continued develop-
ment of the roller cone bit and in 1933
The Secoroc Omega sealed bearing tricone bits
two Hughes engineers invented the
are now regarded as the ultimate blasthole bit
tricone bit. This bit had three conical solution.
rollers equipped with steel teeth.
Drilling was accomplished by trans-
ferring a pulldown force to drive the A parallel development of the tri-
teeth into the hole bottom. The three cone bits made it possible to use these
roller cones turned as the drill string high loads on bits. To extend the life of
was rotated, and the teeth crushed and the bits in hard and abrasive rock the
spalled the rock. steel teeth were replaced by cemented
While tophammer drills could be tungsten carbide inserts. Tungsten car-
used for small blast holes in rock, this bide inserts have significantly in-
method was not suitable for large hole creased the number of blast holes that
diameters; for these rotary drills were the roller cone bits are able to drill.
 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 con-
tinued to increase the life of the bear-
ings 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 uti-
lized is cutting edge.
Downhole drilling
technology
Meanwhile, manual lightweight pneu-
matic drills had also underpinned the
expansion of bench mining in open cut
mines and quarries. But in the 1930’s
The Quarrymaster from 1948 was equipped with a huge 8" bore drifter.
6 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
downhole drills (DHDs ) were intro-
duced for drilling deeper holes. The
main initial development of this tech-
nology took place in Belgium and the
United States. Atlas designed a down-
hole 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
the early 90’s COP44,54 and 64 where
introduce. A high pressure hammer
based on a design from Secoroc, a high
performance hammers series unbeaten
in blast hole drilling until replace by
COP Gold series of hammers in the
beginning of 2000’nds.
In 1955 Ingersoll-Rand introduced a
new downhole drill design and started
to establish downhole drilling on a truly
commercial basis. The Tandematic,
which at the time was claimed to pro-
vide the highest drilling speed ever
attained by a downhole drill, was sup-
plied in two standard sizes – the DHD
275 for 4¾* inch and 5 inch holes and
the DHD 1060 for 6 and 6½ inch . This
later enabled the company to build drill
rigs adapted to be used either for rotary
drilling or with downhole hammers. The
main difference is that downhole drill-
ing requires more air, and consequently
these drill rigs had to be equipped with
a larger capacity compressor and a more
powerful diesel or electric engine.
Downhole drill technology went
through rapid change in 1960’s and 70’s.
In fairly rapid succession I-R developed
the DHD 325 ( their first 6" hammer),
DHD 325A, DHD 16, DHD 1060,
DHD 1060 A and B models, DHD 360
(all 6" drills) and corresponding larger
and smaller models, up to the current
line of DHD’s. Probably the most sig-
nificant change in DHD technology
was the advent of the valveless DHD.
Drill efficiency and life dramatically
improved with the elimination of the
flapper valve. During the 90’s the QL
series of hammers came with the unique
QL (Quantum Leap) design , a still valid
patent. This features makes it possible to
have the piston stroke pressurized 80%
of it’s distance compared with 50% for
other hammer design. The QL feature is
also used in the TD hammers series for
deep hole drilling.
Of course higher pressure and vo-
lume air from the air compressor advan-
cements produced the performance one
sees today. Re-entry to the downhole
drill market at 6 bar** in 1969 also ena-
bled Atlas Copco to take advantage of
improved air compressors and develop
more and more powerful downhole
hammers, reaching 18 bar in the early
1980s and more recently 25 bar and 30
bar in the larger current hammer sizes.
*1 inch = 25.4 mm, **1 bar = 14.5 psi

Secoroc COP64 Gold downhole hammer.
Drill rigs
The mobilization of rotary and down-
hole drills was linked to significant
post-war changes in rotary drilling tech-
nology. 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 1940’s it was rea-
lized 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 flu-
shing improved the penetration rate of
rolling cutter bits such as tricone bits
and extended their life. By using effi-
cient 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 rif le 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
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 7
the range of 4" OD, and was extremely
heavy. Since there was no steel change,
the weight didn’t seem to be much of
an issue.
Quarrymasters were used in some
large iron mines in Canada and the
Atlantic City Iron Ore Mine in Wyoming.
Numerous Quarrymasters were used in
the rock excavation for the St Lawrence
Seaway in Canada.
In the same year also Atlas intro-
duced its first mobile rubber tired drill
wagons for top hammer drilling, but
these were not equipped with any tram-
ming machinery and were intended for
considerably smaller hole diameters.
I-R development work with downhole
drills in the early 1950’s brought about
changes to the drill mounting business.
First, the Quarrymaster was equipped
with the newly developed QRD rotary
head, and this along with the new DHD
325 down hole drill, made for a produc-
tive but heavy and bulky package.
The Drillmaster design, a somewhat
smaller rotary drill, was introduced about
1955. It produced the same performance
as the Quarrymaster in a smaller and
less costly package. Upgraded versions
of the Drillmaster, the DM-1, DM-2
and DM-3 followed in quick succes-
sion. Originally equipped with sliding
vane air compressors up to 900 cfm**,
all were updated to the screw compres-
sor design. The Drillmaster line was
equipped with the DRD and later DRD 2
rotary head to provide drill string rota-
tion. As with the QRD rotary head the
DRD was powered by a vane air motor
and several steps of gear reduction.
All of these drills only used hydraulic
power, from an engine driven hydrau-
lic pump off the cam shaft, to oper-
ate the jacks, tower raising cylinders,
break-out wrench, and dust collector
*1 lb = 0.45 kg, **100 cfm = 42.2 l/s
Talking Technically
drive motor. Neither rotary head was
very useful in supplying straight rotary
power for tricone bits, hence the future
development of the T-4 and DM-4
with hydraulic powered rotary head for
straight rotary drilling. I-R’s first truck
drill was called the Trucm package.
The drill frame package was mounted
on a customer provided truck, often a
used Mack truck. However, none of the
standard truck designs proved very
successful. The normal channel truck
frames were not sturdy enough, result-
ing in many cracked and broken truck
frames. I-R’s answer to this problem
was to join hands with Crane Carrier
Corp of Tulsa, OK, and mount the drill
components and tower directly on an
I-beam chassis frame, often used for
mounting construction cranes. This
product became the TRUCM-3 and the
same style mounting carried over to the
T-4 and T4W introduced in 1968.
A major new stimulus for blasthole
drilling rig development generally was
the introduction in the 1950’s of mil-
lisecond delay blasting. This allowed
blasters to design multi-hole large
volume blasts that could be used for
mass production techniques in open
The truck mounted T4BH was introduced in 1968.
 Talking Technically
The DM50 could use bit loads up to 50,000 lbf
and was launched in 1970.
cut drill and blast mines. In turn this
required the introduction of large,
mobile drilling rigs able to drill large
diameter holes using tricone bits, as
well as the formulation of cheap bulk
mining explosives based on ammonium
nitrate and nitro-glycerine. These and
other developments helped the mining
industry to keep the costs of bench
drilling substantially unchanged during
the 1950s and 1960s, despite increasing
wage costs.
The Quarrymaster and TRUCM ma-
chines were made progressively more
self-contained through the 1950s. By
the end of the decade the air supply was
up to 10 bar and the marketing slogan
“Pressure is Productivity” was promot-
ed. The drill rigs and rock drills were
sold together to maximize revenue but
this did encourage other manufacturers
to build competing rock drills.
Hydraulics technology
adds to drillers options
The similarities between the air requi-
rements of rotary and downhole drill-
ing 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 down-
hole drilling, launching first the truck-
mounted 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 7⅞ inch diameter and
was successfully offered for coal mine
drilling throughout the 1970s. The
8 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
designers also used the power unit,
tower and other components to create
the crawler-mounted Drillmaster DM4
blasthole drilling rig. This machine
was designed from the ground up
for both rotary and downhole drill-
ing. A 36 ft* high tower incorpo-
rated a hydraulically indexed carousel
housing seven 25 ft rods. The rotary
head featured an axial piston hydrau-
lic motor and single-reduction worm
gear for rotation, providing 5.6 kNm
of torque and rotation speeds from 0 –
100 rpm. There was a choice of diesel
engine or electric motor for the spring
mounted f loating power pack and a
range of diesel or electric compres-
sors, enabling use of either rotary or
downhole drilling with the company’s
DHD-15, -16 or -17 downhole drills.
The excavator style crawler undercar-
riage had tracks with 22 inch triple bar
grousers driven by hydraulic motor
through a planetary gear drive and
chain reduction.
In the marketplace the DM4 com-
peted with the more powerful electric
top drive blasthole drilling rigs. The
late 1960s and 1970s saw heavy take-
up of the DM4 rig by the Appalachian
coal mines in the United States. And
the combination of patented rig, drill
and drill rod technology was very
profitable for Ingersoll-Rand. The use
of hydraulic power for rotation and
non-drilling functions meant that more
air could be made available for rotary
and, especially, for downhole drilling.
This engendered an “air race” in the
late 1960s and 1970s. The independent
downhole drill manufacturers were
able to build machines that could drill
at 130 ft/hour in the 6 – 8 inch diameter
hole range – faster than a rotary drill
could achieve in this hole size range,
particularly when drilling in harder
rock types.
The development of screw compres-
sors to supply air for drilling rigs at up
to 20.6 bar led to the 1970s introduction
of an airend to supply both low pres-
sure and high pressure air. These units
were used in portable air compressors
and also onboard drilling rigs, where
they enabled downhole drills to outper-
*1 ft = 0.304 m
**1,000 lbf = 4.44 kN = 453 kilogram-force
Rotary table and Kelly bar concept.
form rotary drills in the 6 - 8½ inch
hole sizes in hard rock mines. However,
rotary drills were still better for rock
compressive strengths up to medium
hard limestone.
The higher pressures were also very
beneficial for water well drilling, in
which air pressure must be sufficient
to evacuate the ground water pressure
from the hole while drilling.
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 Manu-
facturing 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. Ingersoll-
Rand 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

diesel engine drove the hydraulic power
pack from one end of the crankshaft and
the compressor was directly coupled to
the other. This concept was also used on
the next two drills to be launched. The
first one was a new crawler mounted
rig for rotary or downhole drilling, the
DM45 with 45,000lbf weight on bit.
This was followed by a conceptually
similar top drive rotary or DHD model,
the DM30 and a specialized rotary table
variant, the DM-35I, which was intro-
duced in the 1980s for drilling underwa-
ter in phosphate mines. It featured a dual
kelly system that allowed explosives to
be charged through the annulus between
the outer and inner kelly. The inner kelly
would then be removed for blasting.
Later the DM 40SPi was developed for
drilling and shooting deeper holes.
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-Rand’s 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 12½ 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 exca-
vator type undercarriage with easily
replaceable grouser pads and in-line
components on the deck. It was equip-
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 9
Talking Technically
ped with a rotary screw compressor
and a “live” tower with patented angle
drilling system. The tower pivot point
was flush to the drill deck and within
the dust curtain, reducing the length
of unsupported drill rod. It was an all-
purpose machine, with a single-pass
version added in the mid-1980's. The
machine has been upgraded over the
years al-though replaced by the Pit
Viper 351 for hard rock applications.
At much the same time the company
started to offer electric powered ver-
sions of the DM 45 and other models
if customers wanted them, for instance
for use in open pits where the other
key equipment was electric powered. The DM-H, launched in 1979, could be used with
However, although these machines bit loads up to 90,000 lbf (400 kN).
had electric motor power packs they
retained the hydraulic rotation system.
The first electric drill rig was the
DM7B delivered to Clarksburg in 1977,
followed a year later by the DM100
delivered to Rock Springs.
After recovery from the recession
of the early 1980’s, Ingersoll-Rand
launched a medium range Drillmaster,
the DM-M designed for rotary drill-
ing of 9 7/8 inch holes with bit loads up
to 60,000 lbf. Three of the first four
DM-M's went into operation at Peabody
Energy's new Nor th Antelope &
Rochelle Mine in the Wyoming Powder
River Basin, now one of the two larg-
est coal mines in the world. Now, over
25 years later, the prototype DM-M is
still in operation. The machine featured
a carriage feed system with wire rope The first Pit Viper 351 was launched in 2000 and
cables, resulting in a lighter tower and used at the Morenci copper mine in Arizona.
lower center of gravity.
In 1989 this model was upgraded Milestones in development
to the DM-M2 on which maximum bit
Year Model Load on bit
load was increased to 75,000 lbf and
the hole size capability extended up to 1948 Quarrymaster drifter
10 5/8 inch. Stability was improved as 1955 DM3 30,000 lbf
well. In 1990-91 the company intro- 1968 T4BH 30,000 lbf
duced the DML for multi-pass drilling
1969 DM4 40,000 lbf
to 180 ft hole depth.
This new model could drill from 1970 DM50 50,000 lbf
6 to 9 7/8 inch (200 – 250 mm) diam- 1979 DM-H 90,000 lbf
eter holes in rotary mode, and 6 – 8 1983 DM-M 60,000 lbf
7 / inch using a downhole hammer.
8
1990 DML 60,000 lbf
Following a development project based
on a customer consultation exercise the 1992 DM-M3 90,000 lbf
DM-M3 was launched at MINExpo 2000 PV-351 125,000 lbf
1992. Designed primarily for deep 2004 PV-270 75,000 lbf
drilling of overburden for cast blasting
in large coal mines, the first production 2008 PV-235 65,000 lbf
 Talking Technically
Big picture: The electric PV-351E at the Boliden Aitik Mine. Inset: The workplace of today with RCS control
and automated functions.
DM-M3 went into operation in 1993 at
Arch Coal's Black Thunder Mine, one
of the largest coal mines in the world.
For this new model, the designers rai-
sed bit load to 90,000 lbf and the hole
diameter range up to 12 ¼ inch while a
new patented cable feed allowed the use
of 40 ft long drill rods.
The launch of the Pit Viper
Although difficult market conditions
restricted investment in the mid-1990’s,
during 1997 the company started work
on a new generation blasthole drilling
rig design.
To differentiate this new range from
the Drillmaster series, which initially
was designed for drilling large holes
in coal mining and soft rock, this new
series was - from the very beginning
- specified and designed for produc-
tion drilling of large holes in hard rock
conditions.
The first one out was the Pit Viper
351, which was successfully launched at
MINExpo 2000. Weighing 170 tonnes,
measuring 53 feet long, and equipped
with a CAN-bus control system with
seven on-board computers, the new Pit
Viper 351 was at that time the largest
and most advanced drill rig of its kind.
The advanced control system allowed
the drill pattern to be transmitted to
the drill rig via a radio network, and it
also featured production monitoring,
10 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
rock recognition and a GPS navigation
system.
A few months after the Minexpo
show, in April 2001, the PV-351 was
put to work at the Morenci copper mine
in Arizona for final testing and evalu-
ation. The mine had a fleet of 16 drill
rigs from a variety of manufacturers, so
in addition to the new rig being used for
drilling in the hard igneous rock condi-
tions, this was an excellent opportunity
for benchmarking the PV-351 with the
other brands.
The application required 12 ¼ inch
diameter single pass drilling of 57 ft
deep blastholes using up to 90,000 lbf
weight on bit (of the 125,000 lbf capac-
ity). The test was successful: the
PV-351 drilled some 2.2 million feet by
August 2004 at a recorded average rate
of 60,000 feet per month and in some
months even more than 80,000 feet per
month.
Later the same year the multi-pass Pit
Viper 275 was launched at MINExpo
2004. Based on the experience from the
PV-351, combined with customer con-
sultations, a project had been initiated
for development of the PV-270 series.
These drills were specified for a 75,000
lbf bit load capacity and were featured
a similar cable feed system and auto-
matic cable tensioning to that on the
larger PV-351. The multipass version
PV-275 with a 195ft depth capacity was
delivered for a test in December 2003 at
Peabody's Kayenta coal mine in Arizona
The Pit Viper 235 shown at MINExpo 2008.
where it was used for cast blast drilling
for removal of the overburden. This
first machine is still in use there and,
as a result of the good performance, the
mine decided to invest in several addi-
tional units. One of these is prepared for
quick change between a multi-pass and
a single-pass tower as an option to be
adapted for different applications at the
mine.
The first mine to use the single pass
version, the PV-271, was the Barrick
Goldstrike mine near Elko, Nevada.
Since the PV-271 arrived at the mine in
April 2004 it has been problem-free, and
holds an impressive track record with
an average penetration rate of 199 ft per
hour. The long component life and also
the automatic tensioning adjustments for
the cables are much appreciated by the
mine.
Following this tradition of product
launches in Las Vegas, the latest addi-
tion to the Pit Viper series - the PV-235
- was shown at MINExpo 2008. This
is an advanced mid- range drill for bit
loads up to 65,000 lbf, with the RCS Rig
Control System available as an option.
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

Ergonomics and safety

Machine
developments in
a new decade
Ergonomics today has taken on a
broader meaning with the advent
of safer work rules, higher work
efficiencies and superior design
tools. Today engineers can study
and design machines that are effi-
cient to operate, maintain, build
and transport. Engineering tools,
new materials, improved indus-
try standards and new technol-
ogy allow a designer to model a
machine and actually simulate
operation under safer operating
conditions.
  During this decade not much has
changed with the technical perfor-
mance of drilling as cutting struc-
tures remain the same. Rather the
design emphasis has been on effi-
ciency, fewer accidents and ease
of operation. Globalization of mi-
ning to a higher level is also driv-
ing changes. The HIV epidemic in
Africa is reducing the workforce at
an unheard of rate. New deposits Reference dust management improvement.
in arctic regions require a new
emphasis. This article highlights
the advances Atlas Copco Drilling
Not only does the manufacturer look Operator cabins and
at drilling as the sole function of an
Solutions engineers have made to
operator. A multi-skilled operator may
machine interfaces
meet these new challenges.
also manage drilling consumables, com- A rotary drill is recognized as one of
plete basic maintenance and report de- two pieces of surface mining equipment
Ergonomics and safety for tails of bench conditions. These new that sits and works in its waste, heat and
operators roles also must be designed into the ma- dust. The other piece is the shovel or ex-
chine interfaces. cavator. The operator’s cabin, or cab, is
Today much has changed with regard Also with regard to improved ergo- the device used to protect the operator,
to operators, machines and machine nomics and safety, Drilling Solutions a design factor not seriously considered
interfaces. Twenty years ago the indus- engineers work to design systems that as late as 1995.
try took a macro view of an operator’s eliminate or reduce the hazards. In the Nearly everyone would agree today’s
ability to complete a shift without tiring late 1990s when the United States Mining automobiles are safer, quieter, offer a
or having an accident. Today designers and Safety Administration imposed stric- smoother drive and are very user fri-
work to a micro requirement; neither a ter silica exposure limits for operators, endly. The automobile is becoming the
hand nor a finger must be injured over engineers found that improved air qu- acceptable standard in industry when
a 30-year career doing the same func- ality could not be achieved without re- looking at operator cabins. The visual
tion. moving the concentration levels in cer- look of an operator cab has also become
In the past the requirements were for tain applications. The drive then became a design criteria, as personnel equate past
gauges and levers to be properly placed to manage the dust rather than improve operator cabs with a metal box that
to avoid human strain during the work air quality through expensive filtration. induces high fatigue. An automotive’s
shift. Now engineers analyze site paths, The goal of Drilling Solutions is to al- structure and safety systems keep
a process of ensuring that natural hand low the operator to do what comes na- passengers safe. Likewise today’s drills
motions are used to operate equipment. turally and to create a work environ- are engineered to protect an opera-
The drive for safety and efficiency are ment that provides superior comfort tor against hazards that once injured or
integrated. and safety. killed operators.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 11

 Talking Technically
Operator survived rock fall.
The image shows a digital leveling device
on which the background can change colors,
sound an alarm or remove power when an
unsafe angle of operation is
experienced.
The image shows digital readouts of weight
on bit, rotation speed, torque and rate of
penetration. It also can be programmed to
give an operator visual feedback.
The image above shows a rock fall
that the operator survived without in-
jury. Using proper de sign techniques
and better materials. Atlas Copco en-
gineers have delivered an operator cab
that reduces interior noise levels signif-
icantly below the industry benchmark
12 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Comfort combined with ease of operation in one
package.
of 80 dBA. For example, the Pit Viper
351 with 1500 hp was measured below
70 dBA when drilling.
Like automotive climate control sys-
tems are developed to maintain opera-
tor comfort more efficiently, today’s
systems direct the cooling effort on the
operator. The systems are also used to
defrost windows in cold weather cli-
mates just as automobiles do. Drilling
Solutions engineers also are working to
advance the cleanliness of the air the
operator breathes.
Engineers can use computer models
to quickly improve line of site. Cabs
now feature more window space, which
improves visibility, due to glass and in-
sulation technology. Camera technology
allows an operator to watch the areas
where visibility is restricted. The com-
bined effect is to give operators a full
view from the operator’s chair.
The operator chair and flooring play
active roles in reducing drilling vibra-
tions, which add to operator fatigue.
Now an operator’s chair is often referred
to as an operator’s pod, and is adjust-
able to fit a variety of shapes, sizes and
weights. All machine interfaces are now
within the operator’s reach.
Technology can also play a role in
protecting the operator from dangerous
work conditions. Drilling Solutions en-
gineers, working with suppliers, are
creating a system that allows limits of
operation to be defined and to give
an operator feedback when an unsafe
condition exists. As drilling conditions
change within the pit, the machine can
be easily reprogrammed to fit the new
situation.
The result of this combined effort
is to deliver a safe, comfortable work
environment that is suited for the long
shifts required in surface mining.
Maintenance ergonomics
Nearly unheard of a decade ago, in-
dustry standards now require safe, rou-
tine and easy access to all maintenance
points. In the 1990s the Australian New
South Wales MDG-15 Act gave guide-
lines 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 sho-
wed a very high incident rate for person-
nel getting on and off machines. These
results drove the international market to
look at alternatives. As a result, place-
ment of key maintenance points could
only be in a zone from waist to shoul-
ders, 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

Personnel rig protection

Built-in safety
features
For drillers, the safest place to
be is the cabin of the drill rig.
Our equipment has many built-
in features and options that help
to increase operator safety such
as ROPS and FOPS protection.
Moreover today’s cabins are all
designed with smooth edges
and without protruding com-
ponents that could conceivably
injure an operator who omits to
wear a hardhat. But the fact is,
the moment the operator steps
outside, he or she is immediately
exposed to dangers. Over the
years, technological advances
have done a great deal to reduce
the number of accidents and inju-
ries. Atlas Copco is committed
to this task and will continue to
identify risks and improve safety
through our product design.
The safest place to be is the cabin of the drill rig.

Mining safety In order to facilitate what we should means of conducting maintenance in

Since the implementation of the Mining
Safety and Health Act of 1977, a lot has
changed in the past 33 years. More spe-
cifically, 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 dimin-
ish workplace risks. SLAM was initiat-
ed 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
con-stantly be assessing our surround-
ing 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 even-
ing, to walking in that front door; safe
and sound and fully intact.
be doing on a daily basis versus what
we actually do, this is a niche where we
as the OEM are able to further develop
safety into our products. We at Atlas
Copco Drilling Solutions have spent the
past year researching different scena-
rios and situations to find areas that
can further enhance the safety of per-
forming a specific function or task.
We have conducted open-floor meet-
ings with major mining corporations,
spent time on a wide-range of different
mining sites, and coordinated with
various teams world wide in order to
fully understand develop, and offer you
a multitude of Personnel Rig Protection
opportunities for your machines. Our
ultimate aim is to lead the industry by
changing equipment designs to mini-
mize the risk to all parties involved in
the mining process.
Tower access restraint
system
This option provides the mine with a
dedicated resource providing a safe
our towers. The Tower Access Restraint
System meets OSHA Standards 1926
and 1910, as well as Australian and New
Zealand Standards 1891.2:2001.
Drilling Solutions engineers have
designed a set of stairs for access to the
Tower while in the horizontal position.
Each step is made of sturdy steel grat-
ing, with an added slip-resistant grip
strut. The Stairway also consists of a
signed gate at the bottom, as well as
the top of the stairs in order to prevent
accidental entry. There is a continuous
handrail that goes up both sides of the
stairway and then a spacious work plat-
form once you reach the top.
Once you have reached the top and
you are ready to enter the tower to per-
form maintenance, you open the gate,
clip onto each of the shuttles that are
attached to two stainless steel cables
that run the length of the Tower. The
cables are permanently anchored to
the Tower cords and include a shut-
tle on each side on which to hook the
harness. These shuttles are an integral
part of the structure and include a

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 13

 Talking Technically
PV-270 tower access stairs.
(Part of tower fall restraint system)
Tower fall restraint system with infill.
Hydraulic ladder option.
PV-230 standard ladder option.
PV-230 spring assisted ladder option.
14 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
double-locking mechanism for safety
purposes and are specially designed to
withstand the vigors of a mining envi-
ronment. They also allow the opera-
tor full access to the Tower, as well
as being able to smoothly move over
transition pieces without the hazardous
practice of having to unhook from the
cable, allowing the individual to keep
their hands free for tools and the task
at hand.
In addition to the Tower Access Re-
straint System, the bottom of the Tower
is also filled with fiberglass grate deck-
ing. This is a continuous slip-resistant
and sturdy surface for the individual to
stand on while performing their duties.
The final result of combining the
above components is a safe and secure
tool to utilize during regular Tower ser-
vice intervals. In addition, this system
provides improved safety and mobility
for mine personnel.
Access and egress
A lot of emphasis and design hours
went into the multiple options we now
provide for getting on and off the ma-
chine, always keeping ease and safety
in mind. Atlas Copco now provides a
number of different means to access
the deck and cab on the cab side of the
machine. These include your Standard
Ladder, a Hydraulic Ramp, a Hydraulic
Ladder, and Hydraulic Stairs. Each in-
dividual step on the above ladders
is comprised of either sturdy, slip-
resistant steel or fiberglass grating.
One more added benefit to some of the
ladders mentioned is the safety inter-
lock that is built into the RCS control
system. This interlock will not allow
the rig to move while the ladder is in
the down position.
Some of the above options are obvi-
ously more intricate than the Standard
Ladder, but they do provide a more nat-
ural means of accessing the machine.
They can allow the operator or main-
tenance personnel an easy approach
onto the machine, opposed to having to
hoist themself up a vertical ladder. This
ease enables hands to be free for other
needs, such as carrying tools. Even
more so, the Hydraulic Ramp that we
offer provides a flat surface that, can be
utilized as an easy surface for dollies to
be pulled up and, for example loaded
down with a bucket of grease.
When you need to climb on the ma-
chine from the non-cab side you can
either have a Standard Ladder or no lad-
der at all with a handrail in its place.
And in the event of an emergency we
now also offer 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 if need be. When they are not
in use they fold up onto the rig and re-
latch.
The main emphasis of these new
ladder options is not for aesthetics, but
instead to further ensure that there is
a safe means of getting on and off the
rig. The new options above allow for
front or backwards ascent or descent
from the machine. We want to try to
get away from having to “climb on the
rig,” but rather be able to easily access
the decking in a more natural form.
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 machine’s 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 360º 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 win-
dows for further visibility.
Another part of the 360º access is
a decking option that includes a built
in bit basket on the Drill-End of the
machine. By adding this decking op-
tion, 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 360º access
option that is available is an Extended
Cooler decking. Prior to this option
the only way to access the back of

the coolers was by using a man-lift or
some other similar means. By adding
on this decking you add approximately
2 feet (61 cm) to the non-cab side of
the machine. This allows unconstrained
access to the back of the coolers for
cleaning, maintenance or a walkway
to other areas of the machine.
Energy isolation
When working on any piece of machin-
ery this size, there is the constant con-
cern about isolating any energy, whe-
ther it be electrical, hydraulic, or pneu-
matic. The engineers at Drilling Solu-
tions 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 applica-
ble. 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 Iso-
lation box. Inside this box are lockable
turn switches that either engage or dis-
engage 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 iso-
lating 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 spa-
ces in mind, as well as the idea that the
less often a component needs to be ser-
viced, the more production the machine
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 15
Talking Technically
does in the dirt. When you choose the
above option for cooler access decking,
you also then have the opportunity to
pick the Cooler Access Ladder. The
Cooler Access Ladder is a stepladder
integrated onto the decking and hand
railing that provides a safe approach to
accessing the radiator tank on top of the
cooler for filling, checking, or mainte-
nance. As a side note – pressure-relief
safety caps are standard on all machine PV-270 new decking and access options.
radiator tanks. These caps allow the
pressure that naturally builds up in the
tank to safely be released without the
danger of spraying out hot coolant onto
the individual.
In regards to the powerpack, we now
offer a dipstick for the gearbox. Prior
to this the sight glass for the gearbox
was in a hard to see area. Now it is easy
to access and it provides a means to ea-
sily check the gearbox oil level daily PV-230 bit basket option.
or as required. We also have the new (Will be located on drum deck)
Oil-Centrifuge option that doubles the
life of the engine oil. It achieves this
without filters to change or clean.
We are providing new ground le-
vel service options in addition to the
Ground-Level Battery and Starter
Isolation. The first of these is a new
ground level Live-Oil Sampling option.
This option provides the ability to take
samples for Hydraulic Oil, Engine Oil,
and Compressor Oil. The oil continu- PV-270 ground level battery and starter
ally circulates through this area so that isolation.
all samples taken are “fresh.”
Two more ground level service
options that are available are the Quick-
Fill Box and the Quick-Drain Box.
These two boxes located on the non-drill
end of the rig provide a simple means to
either fill or drain the machine of its
fluids. Each connection point is clearly
labeled and consists of a safe quick
connect, each differing in size to avoid PV-270 overview of location of live sampling
cross contamination of fluids. quickfill and quick drain.
Design teams at Atlas Copco are
constantly getting feedback from cus-
tomers or our own field service person-
nel. They let us know if something is
working great, what can be improved,
or if something needs to be completely
redesigned. One of the steps that we
are taking as a company is trying to
phase out welding, and instead use
bolt-in parts. This facilitates in both
making it easier to change out parts From left: Close up view of live sampling,
quickfill and quick drain.
and cuts down on possibly challenging
 Talking Technically

Options PV-270 PV-270 PV-230 PV-230 PV-351 DML DM45 DM30

SEOH* RCS SEOH RCS
Hydraulic Hedweld Ladder ●
Hedweld Spring Ladder ● ●
Atlas Copco Hydraulic Ladder ● ●
Emergency Ladders ● ● ● ●
New Cab ● ● ●
Tower Access ● ● ● ●
Cable Reel ● ● ●
Additional Tower Rest Water Tank ● ● ● ●
Tropical Engine Roof ● ● ● ●
Stainless Steel Battery Boxes ● ● ● ●
Staniless Steel Electrical Boxes ● ● ● ●
Ground Level Battery Isolation & Jumpstart ● ● ● ● ●
Live Sampling ● ● ● ●
Under the Deck Misting ● ● ● ●
Secondary Rod Catcher ● ● ●
Autcrane Option ● ● ● ●
Wormald Fire Suppression ● ● ● ●
Drum Deck Bit Holder ● ● ● ●
Protective Hose Sleeving ● ● ● ●
Dynaset Water Injection Pump ● ●
Secondary Air Conditioning Unit ●
Buddy Seat With Seatbelt ● ● ● ●
Cooler (Radiator Tank) Access ● ●
Engraved Hydraulic Schematic ● ● ●
Centrifuge Engine Oil Filter ● ● ● ●
Gearbox Dipstick ● ● ● ●
Hydra-Flow Fuel System ● ● ● ●
360º Walk-Around Decking ● ● ● ● ●
Housing Option ● ● ● ● ●
Quick Fill Box ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Quick Drain Box ● ● ● ●
*SEOH = Non RCS, Standard Electric Over Hydraulic

the integrity of the material by weld-
ing 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 custom-
ers’ orders.
One of these newly redesigned bolt-
in 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
has been modified is the feed cylinder
supports on the PV-351’s. Again – it
used to be that you would have to
remove the feed cylinders to replace
the worn guides. The guides now bolt-
in as well. By constantly keeping ease
of maintenance in mind, Atlas Copco
Drilling Solutions are hopeful that it
will result in more productivity hours
for you and your mine; less down time
means more drilling time.
Regardless of what drilling rig you
may own, or what piece of equipment
you may work on, we here at Atlas
Copco Drilling Solutions want you
to always be conscious of your every
action on or around the mine site.
Mining is not the safest in-dustry out
there, but with everyone putting forth a
little more effort towards always think-
ing SAFETY FIRST we feel that this
will make a monumental difference
in everyone’s life. As long as you do
your part of ensuring that you are con-
stantly thinking of your safety, you can
rest assured that Atlas Copco Drilling
Solutions will do all within its power
when designing a machine to keep you
just as safe.
Maureen Bohac

16 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Talking Technically

An introduction to surface mining

The wealth
of nations
A well-accepted principle is that
the wealth of a nation comes from
the earth. In the world of mining, a
corollary to this is that “If it can’t
be grown, it must be mined.”
Surface mining techniques are the
principal means used to extract
minerals from the earth. The
yearly rock production yielding
metals, non-metals and coal in the
world totals 16.6 billion tons*. Of
this, the production from surface
mines is about 70% or 11.5 bil-
lion tons. Crushed rock, sand and
gravel - the fundamental materi-
als required for construction - are
largely produced using surface
mining techniques. Their yearly
production rate totals 23.5 billion
tons. To this must be added the
materials needed for the produc-
tion of cement, another 2.3 billion
tons. Finally, the amount of waste
that must be moved in the process
of extracting the valuable materi-
als is estimated at 30 billion tons.
Summing, one finds that the total
amount of material extracted per Photo: Copper mine in the southwest USA.
year using surface mining tech-
niques is of the order of 67.3 bil-
lion tons (Bagherpour et al, 2007). in the future, the actual estimate of ma- engineering and technology for meet-
* 1 ton = 907 kg terials mined using surface mining tech- ing today’s requirements and especially
niques in the year 2038 is 138 billion those of the future. Atlas Copco is at
An increasing demand tons (Bagherpour et al, 2007). the forefront in producing the equip-
The ability of the earth to meet this ment and technologies required today
Today, the population of the world type of demand is not really a question and for addressing the challenges of the
stands at about 6.5 billion people. In of resources, since they are clearly future.
simple terms, this means that every there, but rather a matter of price and
year approximately 10 tons of material cost. In looking at the mineral resource A brief synopsis of
is extracted using surface mining tech- base, one must conclude that, in gener- quarrying and open pit
niques for every person in the world. al, the mining conditions will be sign- mining
If one looks to the future, the UN esti- ificantly more difficult than today. In
mates that in 20 years (2038) the world’s addition, ever-increasing environmen- This introductory chapter will focus
population will have reached about 8.5 tal and health and safety conditions are on those surface deposits that require
billion people. By simply applying expected to be in place. This means that the application of drilling and blasting
the current utilization rate of 10 tons/ the entire mining process from pro- techniques as part of the overall extrac-
person, one would expect the amount specting to exploration to development tion process. Excluded from the discus-
of material extracted yearly by surface to extraction and finally to reclama- sion will be strip mining, the mining of
mining techniques to climb to 85 billion tion will have to become much more sand and gravel deposits and the quar-
tons. One must keep in mind, however, advanced. In many places of the world rying of dimension stone.
that today about 95% of the population today, mine closure must be fully and As indicated, large quantities of raw
growth is in the developing countries satisfactorily addressed before a surface materials are produced in various types
of the world. Based on their expecta- mine can be opened. This translates of surface operations. Where the pro-
tions for improved living standards into requirements for applying first rate duct is rock, the operations are known

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 17

 Talking Technically

is obtained. By adding the desired pro-

Financial duction rate into the model a production
optimization schedule is generated. Based on the
1. Capital and operating schedule, one determines the required
summation
2. Revenue equipment fleet, staffing, etc. to satisfy
3. Cash flow statement
4. Marginal ore utilization
the schedule. This leads allows one
5. Rate of return to calculate the capital requirements
and the operating costs. With these
now-estimated rather than assumed
Refined ore Ore reserve costs, the ore reserves are re-examined
reserves analysis and design alternatives evaluated.
1. Cutoff grade 1. Break-even analysis
2. Drill-hole evaluation
Eventually, an overall financial evalu-
2. Marginal analysis
3. Design alternatives 3. Pit design ation is performed. The double-headed
4. Marginal analysis
arrows indicate the highly repetitive
nature of the process.

Equipment and
facilities
1. Capital intensive
2. Equipment selection
3. Operating costs
4. Capital depreciation
5. selective mining
Figure 1. Financial optimization using circular analysis (Dohm, 1979).
as quarries. Where metallic ore or non-
metallic 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 poten-
tial mining and even when expanding
a current operation, one often employs
a process called circular analysis. As
Figure 2. A diagrammatic representation of a quarry operation.
Production
scheduling
1. Preproduction costs
2. Working room
3. Stripping ratios
4. Sequencing
5. Reclamation
6. Operating schedules
7. Financial
8. Constraints
shown diagrammatically in Figure 1,
the process consists of five components.
Although the figure applies specifically
for the open pit mining of ore depos-
its, a similar procedure is followed for
quarries.
One naturally begins with a descrip-
tion of the deposit and using some as-
sumed costs a preliminary pit design
Quarries
A rather simple but useful definition of
a quarry is a factory that converts solid
bedrock into crushed stone. Quarries
can be either of the common pit type
or, in mountainous terrain, the hillside
type. Pit type quarries are opened up
below the level of surrounding ter-
rain and accessed by means of ramps
(Figure 2). The excavation is often split
into several benches depending on the
minable depth of the deposit. When the
terrain is rough and bulldozers cannot
provide a flat floor, a top-hammer con-
struction type drill rig can be used to
establish the first bench. Once the first
bench is prepared, production drilling
is preferably carried out using DTH- or
COPROD techniques.
The excavated rock is crushed, scre-
ened, washed and separated into differ-
ent size fractions, for subsequent sale
and use. The amount of fines should be
kept to a minimum. Not all types of rock
are suitable as raw material for crushed
stone. The material must have certain
strength and hardness characteristics
and the individual pieces should have
a defined shape with a rough surface.
Igneous rock such as granite and basalt
as well as metamorphic rock such as
gneiss are well suited for these purposes.
Soft sedimentary rock and materials
which break into flat, flaky pieces are
generally unacceptable. The final prod-
ucts are used as raw material for chemi-
cal plants (such as limestone for cement
manufacturing, the paper and steel
industries), building products, and for
concrete aggregates, highway construc-
tion, or other civil engineering projects.

18 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Talking Technically

Quarries are often run by operators who

sell their products to nearby contractors
and road administrators. Because the
products are generally of relatively low
value, they are transport cost sensitive. Waste
Hence, wherever possible, quarries are
discreetly located as close as feasible to Bench
the market. Special measures are requi- slope 72o
Good slope stability
red to minimize adverse environmental
impacts such as noise from drilling, Pit slope 45o
vibrations from blasting, and dust from
crushing and screening to the neighbor-

y
od
ing areas.

eb
Good fragmentation needed

Or
Open pit mines
Two major differences between open pit
mining and quarries are the geological
Figure 3. General principles of open pit mining.
conditions and the demands placed
on the characteristics of the blasted
material. For quarries, a majority of is of prime importance to keep the pit favorable, continuation may proceed us-
the rock products eventually delivered slope angle as steep as possible, thereby ing some type of underground method.
to the customers has only undergone keeping the excavated waste to a mini- Figure 4 shows the Aitik copper/gold
crushing and screening in order to ob- mum. There becomes a point where the mine in northern Sweden. It is Europe’s
tain the desired size fractions. An open quality of the material contained in the largest copper mine producing 18 Mton
pit metal mine, on the other hand, next “ore” bench is not sufficiently high of ore per year. Currently at a depth of
attempts to deliver the ore as pure as to pay the costs of the associated waste. 480 m it is expected to reach of depth
possible via crushers to a concentrator At this point in time either the open of 800 m before decommissioning. The
consisting of mills, separators, flota- pit mine closes or, if conditions are Bingham Canyon mine in Utah (Figure 5)
tion and/or biochemical systems, etc.
The resulting concentrates/products
are eventually sent for further process-
ing before emerging as a final product.
For certain metals, this latter process
involves smelting and refining. The
deposits mined using open pit meth-
ods have a variety of sizes, shapes and
orientations. Sometimes the distinction
between the valuable material and the
waste is sharp such as shown in Figure
3 and in other cases the distinction
is more subtle - based upon econom-
ics. As in quarries, the minerals are
extracted using a series of benches. If
the orebody does not outcrop, the over-
lying material must first be stripped
away to expose the ore. As the initial
pit is deepened, it is widened. The pit
geometry is controlled by a number of
factors including orebody shape, grade
distribution, the stability of the slopes,
the need to provide access, operating
considerations, etc.
For the geometry shown in Figure
3, a significant amount of waste must
be removed (stripped) to access the
next bench of ore at the pit bottom.
Without jeopardizing slope stability, it Figure 4. The Aitik mine in northern Sweden (www.boliden.com).

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 19

 Talking Technically
Figure 5. The Bingham Canyon copper mine near Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. (www.kennecott.com)
has been in production since 1906 and
is one of the largest man-made struc-
tures in the world, measuring 1200 m
Photo: Blasthole drilling of 40 ft (12 m) benches at Newmont's Phoenix mine, Nevada, USA. See page 91.
20 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
deep and 4400 m across the top. It
has produced more copper than any
other mine in history and has many
Orebody
Drilling
Blasting
Overall fragmentation system
Loading
Hauling
Primary crushing
Mine
Mill
Secondary crushing
Grinding
Further treatment
Figure 6. Diagrammatic representation of the
overall mine-mill fragmentation system and the
mine and mill subsystems (Hustrulid, 1999).
years remaining. With respect to waste
removal, the fragmentation demands
are simple. Since, the material is not
required to pass through a crusher, the
maximum size is controlled by the li-
mitations imposed by the equipment
used to load and haul the material to
the waste dump. On the other hand,
good fragmentation of the blasted ore
offers great savings in the total costs of
the mineral dressing process.
Some forward thinking
Extraction of the valuable mineral whe-
ther in quarries or open pits requires a
number of unit operations. Generally,
the rock is drilled, blasted, loaded,
hauled to a primary crusher and then
transported further to a plant of some
type for further processing. Figure 6
shows a schematic of the process.
Often, mines are organized so that
the individual unit operations are se-
parate cost centers. Although there are
advantages to this approach, one result,

Insitu
Drilling
Blasting
Loading & Haulage
Primary crushing
Fragmentation
Conveyor
Secondary crushing
Transport
Grinding
Further treatment
Figure 7. The mine-mill system represented as
fragmentation and transport unit operations
(Hustrulid, 1999).
unfortunately, can be that the individual
managers look at minimizing the cost
of their center rather than on the overall
objective of overall cost minimization.
In reviewing the components in Figure
6, it can be shown that they can be
replaced by two operations, fragmen-
tation and transport. In the simplified
view shown in Figure 7, there are five
different stages of fragmentation each
with a different energy – product pro-
file.
One must carefully examine the best
opportunities for applying fragmenta-
tion energy in the various stages on
the final product cost. For example, in-
creased fragmentation energy can be
relatively easily introduced in the mine
by modifying the drill patterns and
explosive characteristics. This action
may provide an inexpensive alternative
to adding the fragmentation energy in
the grinding circuit. This process of
considering all elements of the frag-
mentation system, logically dubbed
“mine-to-mill” is a recognized part of
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 21
Internal environment
Minimum wall damage
crushing & grinding
Figure 8. Simplified view of the five different stages of fragmentation, each with a different energy -
product profile.
mine-mill optimization. In addition
to production, there are some other
important customers for blast engi-
neering. One is termed the “Internal
Environment” and the other the “Ex-
ternal Environment.” These are shown
in Figure 8.
Both for safety and economic rea-
sons, it is important to preserve the
integrity of the pit wall. Large diam-
eter blast holes, energetic explosives
and wide patterns will be used in the
production blasts which will be subse-
quently loaded out using large excava-
tors and haulage units. Near the pit wall,
much more precise techniques involving
smaller diameter holes, specially de-
signed explosives, and special timing
procedures are employed to minimize
wall damage (Figure 9). Unless great
care is taken, large loading equipment
can easily spoil the results of the trim
blasting. The result is that special loa-
ding and hauling fleets may be requi-
red. Failure to protect the pit walls,
translates into the need for flatter slopes
Talking Technically
Drilling
Specified Drill Pattern
External environment
Blast Engineering Minimum: Flyrock, noise,
airblast, ground vibration
Loading & Haulage
Good: Fragmentation,
Pile shape, diggability
Primary crusher
High throughput and
bridging preventation
Secondary
Efficient crushing and
grinding feed
and additional waste removal and/or the
loss of reserves. These, in turn, translate
into higher overall costs for the mining
operation. In carrying out an evaluation
of the appropriate drilling and blasting
practices, emphasizing mine-to-mill
aspects without taking into account
the care of the slopes can result in lo-
wer production costs but at the sake of
higher investment (capital) costs due
to greater stripping or lost reserves.
Therefore care must be taken to include
all the costs when making the analysis.
The “external environment” component
falls into the category of a potential
“show-stopper” since if proper meas-
ures are not taken to fully comply with
standards, the operation could very well
be shut down.
Final remarks
Atlas Copco has the advantage of long
experience in all types of surface drill-
ing operations, with a product range to
match. With its history of innovative
 Talking Technically

Figure 9. Near the pit wall more precise tech-

niques are employed to minimize wall damage.

engineering, the company tends to

think forward, and is able to advise the
user on improving design elements of
the operation that will result in overall
cost savings.

William Hustrulid
Hans Fernberg

References
Bagherpour, R., and Tudeshki, H.
2007. Material handling in world-
wide surface mines. Aggregates
International. Pp 10-14. June.

Dohm, G.C., Jr. 1979. Circular ana-

lysis – Open pit optimization.
Chapter 21 in Open Pit Mine Plan-
ning and Design (J.T. Crawford, III
and William A. Hustrulid, editors).
AIME. Pp 281-310.

Hustrulid, William. 1999. Blasting

Principles for Open Pit Mining.
A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam.

Fernberg, Hans 2002, New trends in

open pits, Mining and Construction
1-2002
Photo: Blasthole drilling and haulage at a mine in the southwest USA.

22 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining


Putting rotary drilling
into perspective
Atlas Copco’s 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 top-
hammer 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 Ingersoll-
Rand’s 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 world’s mining output begins
through drilling of holes with rotary
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 23
drills. Ingersoll-Rand built air-powered
rotary drills for many years prior to the
introduction of their first fully hydrau-
lic unit, the T4, in 1968.
About rotary drills
It is important to note that rotary drills
are capable of two methods of drilling.
The majority of the units operate as
pure rotary drills, driving tricone or
fixed-type bits. The fixed-type bits,
such as claw or drag bits, have no mo-
ving parts and cut through rock by shea-
ring it. Thus, these bits are limited to
the softest material. The other method
utilized by rotary drill rigs is down-the-
hole (DTH) drilling. High-pressure air
compressors are used to provide com-
pressed air through the drillstring to
drive the DTH hammer (see illustration
page 20). The primary difference between
Talking Technically
rotary drilling and other methods is the
absence of percussion. In most rotary
applications, the preferred bit is the
tricone bit. Tricone bits rely on crush-
ing and spalling the rock. This is
accomplished through transferring
downforce, known as pulldown, to the
bit while rotating in order to drive the
carbides into the rock as the three cones
rotate around their respective axis.
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. Feed sys-
tems utilize cables, chains or rack-and-
pinion mechanisms driven by hydraulic
cylinders, hydraulic motors or electric
motors. The preference at Atlas Copco
is to use cables for pulldown, as they
are lightweight and inexpensive, and
allow easier detection of wear to help
avoid catastrophic failures.
 Talking Technically
The tower supports the drill string during drilling as well as the rotation head and feed system.
Down-The-Hole method
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).
24 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
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.
More weight with rotary
It only takes one look to see that the
biggest DTH and tophammer drill rigs
are very different than the biggest rotary
blasthole rigs. In fact, the PV-351
rotary drill rig weighs in excess of nine
times that of Atlas Copco's largest DTH
hammer drill rig, the ROC L8. Yet the
PV-351 is drilling a hole that is gener-
ally only twice the diameter. Take a
typical medium formation tricone bit
with a recommended maximum load-
ing of 900 kg/cm of bit diameter
(5000 lb per inch of diameter). With a
200 mm (7-7/8 in) bit, you could run
about 18,000 kg (40,000 lb) of weight
on the bit. The laws of physics dictate
that for every action, there is an equal
and opposite reaction, meaning that if
you push on the ground with 18,000 kg
(40,000 lb), the same force will push
back on the unit. Therefore, the weight
of the machine must be over 18,000 kg
Rotary drilling method
(40,000 lb) at the location of the drill
string to avoid the machine “lifting off”
TONS
the jacks. To achieve a stable platform
through proper placement of the tracks
and levelling jacks, the distribution of
weight results in an overall machine
weight that approaches or exceeds twice
Principle: the bit load rating. This weight does add
Rotation is provided
by a hydraulic or cost to the machine, but the size of the
electric motor components also translates to long life.
driven gearbox, Even smaller rotary blasthole drills are
called a rotary head,
that moves up and built to run 30,000 hours of operation,
down the tower and some of the large blasthole drills
via a feed system, have clocked over 100,000 hours of use.
generating the
pulldown required
to give sufficient Rig design
weight on the bit.
Flushing of drill
cuttings between
With the exception of one model, the
the wall of the hole rubber-tire mounted T4BH, Atlas Copco’s
and the drill rods is rotary blasthole drills are mounted on
normally done with
compressed air.
excavator style undercarriages. Power-
ful 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.

The drilling platform is supported by a crawler undercarriage except during drilling when it is raised up by hydraulic jacks.
The key component of a rotary blast-
hole drill is the tower, which is some-
times referred to as the derrick or mast.
Atlas Copco towers are four main mem-
ber, 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 hydrauli-
cally 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 pro-
per electrical infrastructure or staffing
to run electric units. Even when elec-
tric power is available, many custom-
ers 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
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 25
Talking Technically
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 importance of air
A key parameter of rotary drilling is
flushing the cuttings from the hole. In
most rotary blasthole drills, cuttings
are lifted between the wall of the hole
and the drill rods by compressed air.
Sufficient air volume is required to lift
these cuttings. Many types of tricone
bits have been developed to meet vari-
ous drilling needs. Softer formation
bits are built with long carbides with
wide spacing on the face of the bit.
This design yields large cuttings which
increase drill speed and reduce dust. It
is important to have sufficient clearance
between the wall of the hole and the
drill rods in order for such large cuttings
to pass. If this clearance, known as an- The ability to carry long drill rods up to 70 feet
nular area, is not sufficient, the cuttings provides more time for drilling.
 Talking Technically

will be ground between the wall of the

hole and the rods or by the bit itself
(called regrinding) until they are small
enough to exit the hole. This results in
excess dust and accelerated wear on the
bit and drill rod.

Bailing velocity
A traditional rule-of-thumb is a mini-
mum 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
Rotary drilling with tricone bits is the most cost efficient method for large hole diameters.
mines and thus need more air coming up
the hole to lift them; 1,525 m3/min (5000
cfm) may not be enough. However, har-
der 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 in-
creasing the diameter of the drill rod.
This is obviously much easier than get-
ting a larger air compressor by retrofit-
ting 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
To control the dust, the area around the hole is surrounded by a dust hood. the application, it is critical to have pro-
per bailing air.

Dust control
A necessary evil created by the air com-
pressor in drilling operations is the ge-
neration of dust. To control the dust,
the area surrounding the hole is en-
closed 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 con-
junction with the dust hood and cur-
tains. The two most popular types of
dust control are dry dust collectors and
water injection. Dust collectors are es-
sentially large vacuum cleaners that
Large diameter holes produced by rotary drills, such as this Pit Viper 275, yield blast patterns with wider pull the dust away from the dust hood
burden and spacing, resulting in fewer holes drilled. and run it through a collection of filter

26 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Talking Technically

Overview - Surface Blast Hole Drills

Dimension Stone Industry

Construction
Aggregate
Industrial minerals (Cement & Limestone)
Gold
Coal
Copper
Iron

1" 2" 3" 4" 5" 6" 7" 8" 9" 10" 11" 12" 13" 14" 15" 16"
25mm 51mm 76mm 102mm 127mm 152mm 178mm 203mm 229mm 254mm 279mm 305mm 330mm 356mm 381mm 406mm

Pit Viper 351

DM-M3
Pit Viper 275
Pit Viper 271
CDM75
IDM70
Pit Viper 235
The Large Rotary and
DML
Rotary/DTH rigs are included
DML-SP
in this handbook. For details
DM45
about small DTH and top-
IDM45
hammer rigs please visit
T4BH
www.surfacedrilling.com
DM30
CDM30
IDM30
DM 25SP
SmartROC D65
ROC L830
ROC L825
AirROC D65
ROC L7CR
30
ROC L6
ROC L625
AirROC D55
AirROC D50
ROC F6
AirROC D45 SH
AirROC D40
AirROC D40 W
ROC L7
40 Rotary
ROC F9CR
ROC F9 Rotary / DTH
ECM 660
ROC D9 DTH
ROC D7
PowerROC T35 DTH / fully pneumatic
ROC D3
PowerROC T30 COPROD
PowerROC T25
AirROC T25 Tophammer
AirROC T25 W
FlexiROC T20 R Tophammer /fully pneumatic
ROC T15

Rotary drilling with tricone bits is the most cost efficient method for large hole diameters.

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 den-
sity of the cuttings at the bottom of the
hole that the air compressor must move.
Water injection systems require fre-
quent refilling of the water tanks, and
in freezing conditions, elaborate heat-
ing systems must be used. Dust collec-
tors 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.
When rotary is better
Every drilling application is different,
so we cannot say that there are parti-
cular breakpoints where you should
transition between drilling methods.
Generally, drilling below 152 mm (6 in)
is best accomplished with tophammer
units. Above this diameter, it is typi-
cally done with a rotary rig, although
tophammer units are doing some of
this work effectively with the introduc-
tion of larger platforms and more pow-
erful rock drills. For harder material,
say above 100 MPa (15,000 psi), uncon-
fined compressive strength (UCS),
DTH is often faster than pure rotary
drilling if provided there is enough air
pressure on board. Simply looking at
our product range (see above) gives an
indication of which methods are com-
monly used for the different diameters
found in construction and mining.
There are certain limitations im-
posed on each method of drilling. With
tophammer percussive drills, the po-
wer of the rock drill itself limits the
ability to transmit adequate force to
larger diameter bits, especially at dee-
per depths when percussive energy is
successively reduced with each new rod
connection. Down-the-hole (DTH) tools
solve this energy loss problem, but their
maximum hole diameter is limited by the
volume of air. To build the air pressure
that translates directly to impact energy,
a certain volume of air is required. Take
for example a Secoroc QL80 203 mm
(8 in) DTH hammer that is designed
to operate at 25 bar (350 psi). Even with
our largest high pressure compressor
686 41 m 3/min (1,450 cfm), the pres-
sure will only build to 23 bar (325 psi),
thus providing less impact energy. In
real terms, each blow of the piston is
about 45 kg (100 lb) less than it is de-
signed for. In some cases, this method
will still outperform rotary drilling.
For most large diameter blasthole
drilling, there is simply not enough
air on-board for a DTH to be as cost
effective as rotary drilling with a tri-
cone bit. Rotary drilling is still the pre-
dominant method of drilling 230 mm
(9 in) diameter or greater. This is driven
primarily by the current limitations of

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 27

 Talking Technically
Total Drilling Cost (TDC) related to bit life and productivity
14000
12000
Footage/24 Hours & Average Bit Life
10000
8000
6000
300 ft/hour,
1500' bit life
High Production
4000
2000
0 $
tophammer units and rig air systems.
Tricone bits also become more cost ef-
fective as the larger bits are equipped
with larger bearings which in turn can
handle higher loads. These higher loads
translate to improved drill rates. An-
other advantage of rotary rigs is the
length of the drill rods that can be car-
ried on board. Longer rods mean fewer
connections. Smaller rotary blasthole
machines utilize 9.1 meter (30 ft) length
rods, while larger units are capable of
running 10.7 meter (35 ft) or 12.2 meter
(40 ft) rods. By comparison, topham-
mer or DTH crawler drills use drill
steel that is generally 6.1 meters (20 ft)
or less in length. Further, some rotary
rigs are large enough to handle a long
tower that enables drilling of the entire
bench height in a single pass. At the
largest open pit mines, rotary units are
drilling 20 m (65 ft) deep holes in a
single pass to match the bench heights
dictated by the large electric shovels
that can dig a 17 m (55 ft) bench.
Productivity versus cost
Studies have shown that pure penetra-
tion rate will increase linearly with
increased pulldown. The same has also
28 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Footage/24 Hours
Bit Life (ft)
Overall Cost/Ft
215 ft/hour,
5500' bit life
Lowest Cost
75 ft/hour,
12,000' bit life
Great Bit Life
Bit Life vs Production 2011 update (1) (Cost vs. Bit Life & Production)
been said of rotation speed. So why
doesn’t every operation use more of
each? Unfortunately, higher pulldown
and rpm usually results in increased
vibration and lower bit life. The vibra-
tion causes increased wear-and-tear on
the rig, but more importantly, it creates
a very unpleasant environment for the
operator. What invariably happens is
that the operator reduces the weight
or rpm until the vibration returns to
a comfortable level. Some operations
limit bit load and rpm even if there is
no vibration in order to improve bit life.
This is often the wrong strategy as the
overall drilling cost per unit, also known
as Total Drilling Cost (TDC), should be
considered. TDC is calculated using the
bit cost per meter/foot and the total rig
cost per hour. The unit cost per hour
includes labor, maintenance and po-
wer, and possibly capital cost. The
drilling speed really doesn’t impact
this cost-per-hour figure. What it does
impact though is the cost per unit
produced (cost/meter/foot, cost/ton,
etc…).
You generally want to push the rig
harder to reduce the cost/foot, but there
will be a point where the rig overloads
the bits (see diagram).
$6,00
$5,00
$4,00
Overall Cost/Foot
$3,00
$2,00
$1,00
Large versus small
There are some drawbacks to rotary
rigs. Smaller crawler rigs are more
flexible with many advantages such as
articulating and extendable booms and
guides that allow drilling at many dif-
ferent angles. Unlike crawler rigs, the
components on rotary rigs are often not
enclosed. They are mounted onto the
frame in an open layout that makes
them extremely easy to service. Large
electric units normally have a machi-
nery house to protect the electrical drive
components, and newer midrange sized
blasthole units such as the PV-235 have
the option of a machine enclosure. The
general trend for 165 mm (6-1/2 in) or
less is towards the smaller, more flex-
ible units. However, many large scale
quarries and small mines still favor
the durability, life and simplicity of the
larger rotary rigs for these small diam-
eters. For the large scale open pit opera-
tions that yield a high percentage of the
total worldwide mineral production, it
is anticipated that rotary drilling will
remain the primary method for years
to come.
Brian Fox
 Talking Technically

Automated surface blasthole drilling

Utilizing the
technology platform

A HOLMBERG 2007
The current series of Atlas Copco
Pit Viper drill rigs is based on the
latest, well proven computer and
information technology. These drill
rigs are of modularized design in
both hardware and software, so PC-card

upgrades of the latest technology

are available for older models. Se-
veral options are available to faci-
litate quality drilling. Atlas Copco
has applied the same new automa-
tion technology for other under- CCI module AP module Resolver module I/O module

ground drilling equipment such as

Simba production drill rigs, Boltec
rockbolting rigs, and ROC surface
crawler rigs. For the customer, this
means commonality of compo-
nents and training, leading to a
better understanding of both the
capability and the maintenance Atlas Copco's Technology Platform.
of Atlas Copco products. For the
company, it allows continuous pro-
duct development, which can be
applied straight across the range.

Introduction
Atlas Copco has introduced a number of
new drill rigs for the Drilling Solutions
Division using a common technology
platform. This approach allows devel-
opment of new functionalities for the
drill rigs, which experience has shown
in both underground drilling and haul-
age as well as surface drilling. The cur-
rent generation of machines is designed
for high productivity, quality drilling
and a comfortable working environment
for the operator. Drilling a hole consti-
tutes a small amount of the direct cost
and time of mining, but has a major im-
pact on the other production processes
because it affects fragmentation, back-
break, underbreak, wall control, load-
ing, 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 excava-
tion 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 operator´s environment and improved drilling performance.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 29

 Talking Technically
RCS cabin on a PV-351.
Rig Control System
The automation platform for Atlas
Copco blasthole drilling equipment is
the Rig Control System (RCS), which is
based on standard PC-computer tech-
nology. The new generation of RCS rigs
has taken a quantum leap forward with
respect to logging capabilities, service-
ability and drilling accuracy. CAN-bus
technology provides the backbone of this
new rig control system. It is flexible and
easily expandable, allowing new units
to be added anywhere along the data bus
by cable.
The electronic modules are all deve-
loped solely for the RCS rigs, and are
ruggedized and protected from external
magnetic and electric influences. For
RCS cabin on a PV-270 series.
30 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
The control system replaces the electric/hydraulic joystick and console layout pictured here.
surface blasthole machines, the flex-
ibility of the system is highly utilized
and can be adapted and configured for
all different types of products. Cus-
tomers can start at a low level of auto-
mation and, as their requirements
change, can upgrade. New functionality
can be added without major rebuilding
of the machines.
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 re-
mote tramming, Measure While Drilling
(MWD) data log files, and International
Rock Excavation Data Exchange Sy-
stem (IREDES).
Safety features
The RCS Basic provides the machine
with additional standard interlocks
compared to the electric-over-hydraulic
machines. A few of the interlocks cre-
ated 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 – pre-
vents damage to the breakout wrench
by disabling pulldown with wrench
not in the stowed position;
• Engine and electric motor informa-
tion displayed over the touch screen
maintenance screens;
• Low fuel, lube and water level mes-
sages; and
• Tram interlocks, so a trigger must be
activated to allow tram function.
 Talking Technically

On the panel structured and integrated fault handling

1. Auto interlock button.
Press and hold this first
and then choose one
of the following auto
functions.
2. Using multilever
rocker switch. Auto-
levels 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 auto-
nomous 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 opera-
tor. 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 condi-
tions, 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
is vital for Autolevel/Autodelevel. This
is to avoid unwanted tip over of the drill
in case of uneven ground conditions or
internal component faults.
Autodrilling
In many cases there are several types
of rock conditions within one blasthole,
and an operator must be alert at all times GPS navigation screen.
to react to these varying ground con-
ditions. With Autodrilling, computers
are now the operators reacting to feed-
back from the machine’s gauges.
Atlas Copco's autodrill feature has
reproduced the expert operator's reac-
tions into an automatic drill control.
When activated, this function will de-
tect the rock when the bit touches the
ground, and start your air, water, rota- Drill dashboard - drilling screen.
tion and feed to collar the hole. After
the collared distance has been met, then
this module will adjust air, water, rota-
tion 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 Leveling screen.
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 drill-
ing and multi-pass drilling, although
a manual rod change must be made at
this time. Settings screen.

Autodrill diagram

Hole building

Start Rock contact detection Collaring Drilling Hole cleaning Finished

Anti-jamming / vibration control

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.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 31

 Talking Technically
Remote Rig Access and communication .
GPS hole navigation
To ensure the blasthole is precisely po-
sitioned where the mine engineer has
designed the blast pattern and is dril-
led to the correct depth, GPS hole navi-
gation has been developed for the RCS
platform. This hole navigation system
uses antennas mounted on the tower
rest and radio antennas on the cab to
produce an accurate bit position. Drill
plans designed with the local mine co-
ordinates are imported to the system,
and the bit position is provided in real
time. The bit position is very accurate
and is calculated by taking into con-
sideration the variability on the bench,
providing the operator with the correct
depth to drill each specific hole. This
feature also provides a moving map
display with zoom functions as the rig
is trammed closer to the desired blast-
hole location. The dominant system for
positioning of a rotary drill on a blast-
hole drill plan is with satellite naviga-
tion based on GPS or GPS and Glonass.
Accuracies up to ±10 cm are possible to
reach depending on installation and
number of available satellites. The inte-
gration of the GPS receiver to the con-
trol system is via a standard RS serial
link. Protocol used is preferably the stan-
dardized NMEA0183. The advantage of
having the GPS system as a positioning
sensor enables customers to choose pro-
ducts of any brand (Trimble, Leica,
Topcon) depending on the preferred
standard in the actual mine.
32 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Rig Remote Access
and communication
The Rig Remote Access (RRA) system
from Atlas Copco gives a customer the
ability to connect the drill rigs to a
standard computer network on a work
site. The RRA system allows access in-
formation on the drill rigs from any
authorized point in a network. The RRA
system basically consists of a commu-
nication server onboard the drill rig and
a network adapter. The server supplies
the user with three functions: a web
server that can connect to any standard
web browser, an FTP server to enable
transferring of data (files) to and from
the drill rig, and a server process that
enables any data to be integrated into
the user's administrative systems.
If a commercially available "office"
network is used on the work site, which
is easy to install into the existing in-
frastructure, it restricts the RRA func-
tionality to only remote access, and does
not permit remote control. Standard
communication equipment is also used
that makes the RRA easy to upgrade
and adapt to new and more effective
equipment when available. The system
also utilizes standard communication
protocols such as PPP or TCP/IP. With a
wireless network connection to the drill
rig, a number of working procedures
in the mine are simplified and several
new features are available to the mine
planning organization. The basic mine
planning and control functions can be
Wireless remote control, compact portable package.
simplified substantially by having a
direct link to the machines. Advanced
work orders that previously were dis-
tributed at the beginning of each shift
can now be distributed instantly. This
leads to a more flexible and adaptable
production organization. Computer
designed drill plans and work orders
that earlier had to be loaded manually
with a PC card can now be downloaded
directly from the office computer where
they were created. This saves time and
personnel and also allows last minute
changes in order to adapt to variations
in geology and ore geometry. Log files
generated during drilling, also previ-
ously transferred from the rig with a
PC-card, can now be collected from
any computer connected to the network.
This means that information carried
by the log files, e.g. production data,
geological and geomechanical data
(strata recognition) is available for the
entire organization as soon as the drill
completes its hole/pattern. Manual shift
reports stating number of holes, drilled
depth, etc. can now be completed auto-
matically from data logs without
human involvement. RRA is also a tool
for more advanced service and mainte-
nance procedures. The operation of the
rig can be followed remotely and moni-
toring of drill rig status can be made
online using a standard web browser
on a remote PC. “Web pages” are set
up similar to the native RCS display on
the rig. Troubleshooting can be done
remotely using the built-in menus in the

RCS system. This can also be done by
specialized technicians and engineers
at Atlas Copco's product companies.
Furthermore, entire replacement of the
RCS software has been done remotely
from Örebro, the Rocktec office. The
RRA system has been introduced to
a number of underground mines and
construction sites since 2003, which
has eased implementation in surface
mining operations.
Wireless remote tramming
The wireless remote tramming function
allows the operator to tram a Pit Viper
from the bench within a 60-meter dis-
tance. This will allow an operator to
walk all the way around the machine
and tram the rig to avoid any blind spots
or next to a highwall or berm to prevent
damage to the machine. This controller
is also equipped with safety triggers, so
the operator must have control of the
unit with his hands to tram the machine.
The function has an emergency stop
button and engine speed control as well,
and can be equipped with additional
functions when available.
IREDES
The data that is transmitted to and from
a drill rig or any other mining equip-
ment 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 Stan-
dard (IREDES) initiative in 2000. A
positive and open attitude between the
IREDES members has led to data pro-
files for the different processes in the
rock excavation process – drilling, loa-
ding and blasting. Atlas Copco is fully
committed to the IREDES standard and
the rotary drilling product line is
IREDES compliant.
Measure While Drilling
Measure While Drilling (MWD), strata
logging, logs several drill parameters
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 33
Teleremote office installation.
during production drilling, and the data
can be used for prediction of geologi-
cal and geochemical variations within
drill patterns on a bench. This can help
determine the strength of that specific
rock type. A rock mass is also intersec-
ted by fractures and faults that strongly
influence the conditions of the rock
mass and, therefore, engineering aspects
such as charging and blasting of the
drill pattern. This data, when integrated
with the blasting plan, should influence
the explosive charging and specific
density applied throughout the pattern,
which will in turn influence the load-
ing, hauling and processing of the ore.
Teleremote operation
This feature uses the mine's wireless
network, either 2.4 or 5.2 GHz frequen-
cy, 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 com-
pressed 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 be-
tween the remote station and the ma-
chine, it will shut down. Additional
safety systems like personnel detection
Talking Technically
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 deve-
lopment 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 ma-
chine between holes on a blasthole pat-
tern. This pattern is interpreted by the
path planner, which is in communica-
tion with the drill regarding direction
and track speed to tram the machine
at an ideal speed to the exact location.
This module can reduce wear and tear
on the machine structures as well as
undercarriage by reducing spot turning
and planning a correct path to the next
hole. The current requirement for this
feature is a "flat" bench, which must be
verified by a mine engineer, to allow
this machine to stay within its limits.
A combination of any or all of these
features are available for deployment
to fulfill a specific mine's needs for
automation. Additional feedback will
be required in the future to further en-
hance the automation package, but the
RCS is Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions'
platform for automation.
Dustin Penn
 Talking Technically

34 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Talking Technically

Tricone rotary blasthole drilling

Rotary tricone
bit elements
Rotary tricone bits consist of se-
veral basic parts: Three “roller
cones” with the bit ‘cutting struc-
ture’ (tungsten carbide inserts or
milled steel teeth) on their exter-
nal surfaces; “bearing races” ma-
chined inside each “cone bore”;
three sets of bearing elements con-
sisting of small “inner” rollers, ball
bearings, and large “outer” roll-
ers; and three “lugs”, each having
inner, ball, and outer bearing races
that match the cone bore races
and hold the different bearing
elements.

Rotary tricone bit

fundamentals
Rotary tricone bits consist of several
basic parts:
• Three “roller cones” that hold the
cutting structure on their external
surface, and the bearings in their
interior
• The “cutting structure” consisting of
either Tungsten Carbide Insert teeth,
or milled steel teeth.
• Three “lugs”, each of which has the
bearing “journals” which match up
with the cone bearing “bore”.
• Inner and outer roller bearing ele-
ments.
• Ball bearing elements.
These basic parts are then assembled
into bit thirds, and three ‘thirds’ are
then assembled into a “tricone” (three
cone) bit.
Once completely assembled into a
finished bit, the bit “pin connection” is
threaded with the appropriate connec-
tion size and type for the bit diameter.
The figure at right illustrates the as-
sembled components of a tricone bit
and presents a ‘cut away’ of one lug/
cone assembly to show the internal
component arrangement.
Note that this figure shows air pas-
sages from the bit interior into the bit
bearing areas. This is an “air bearing”
Elements of a rock bit.
bit. Other types of bearing configura-
tions are “open” (or fluid) bearing, and
“sealed” bearing.
“Open” bearings do not have any in-
ternal 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 tri-
cone bits do not drill by “crushing” rock.
Instead, they actually drill by a mecha-
nism called “spalling”. A European
gentleman named Hertz originally de-
fined this method of rock breakage
back in the 1880’s. If a force is applied
to an “indenter” in contact with a rock
surface, stress fields are set up under
that indenter. As the loading force on
the indenter is increased, the stress
fields extend outward and downward
from the point of contact and loading.
The applied load creates fractures
(cracks) that propogate along the stress
field vectors, seeking a “free surface”.
When these stress vectors find the free
surface, the crack is completed, and the
rock above the stress vector breaks free.
A rock “chip” or “cutting” is created,
and must now be removed.
Because tricone bits apply this force
to several inserts simultaneously on
each cone, the cones must constantly
be rotated to new “indenting” positions
in order to advance the hole. It would
do no good to simply continue to apply
weight to the bit without rotation.
Nothing would happen. The bit must be
rotated to bring new teeth into position
for loading and rock breakage.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 35

 Talking Technically
Air circulation through nozzles and bearings.
36 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Drillhole cleaning /
cuttings evacuation
Once the “cuttings” are created, they
must be evacuated. If the cuttings are
not removed from the hole, the bit will
be ‘eroded’ by the abrasiveness of the
rock chips, and the teeth will quickly
wear down and/or fall out, rendering
the bit ineffective. In blasthole drilling,
hole cleaning is done with compressed
air.
The rotary bit is either attached di-
rectly to the “drill pipe”, or one of a num-
ber of other drilling accessories, (bit
adaptor subs, bit stabilizers) are used to
attach the rotary bit to the drill pipe.
The exact attachment method depends
upon the drilling situation.
In any case, a large volume of com-
pressed air is directed down through the
drill pipe (also called the drill string)
into the bit. The flow of compressed
air is intentionally restricted at the tri-
cone bit by the use of “jet nozzles”, in
order to create ‘back pressure” and a
“pressure drop” through the bit. This
‘back pressure” forces air into the bear-
ings of an “air bearing” bit, to keep the
bearings cool and clean, and to prevent
contamination from entering the bit.
Secoroc wants to achieve an actual
pressure inside the bit of 45 psi (3.1 bar)
or higher. This will direct from 15%
to 25% of the air into the bearings for
bearing maintenance, while the remain-
ing majority of the air creates a “jet blast”
against the face of the hole to blow newly
formed cuttings away from the bit.
The following figure shows the bit’s
internal air path in yellow. Jet nozzles
are shown in purple.
Rock density (specific gravity) varies
greatly, depending on what material is
being drilled. Coal for instance has a
SG of around 1.6, while some iron ores
have a SG greater than 3.8. Most rock
we drill has an in situ SG of between
2.4 and 2.8. If there is a lot of natural
ground water, this can wet the cuttings,
increasing the cuttings SG by about 0.1
SG. Secoroc recommends a minimum
air “Bailing Velocity” of 5,000 - 7,000
feet/minute (1524 - 2134 meters/minute)
for light and dry materials, and 7,000 -
9,000 feet/minute (2134 - 2744 meters/
minute) for rock materials that are wet
or have a high density.
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 manufac-
turing, 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
 Talking Technically

IADC vs. Rock UCS

48000
8-1 to 8-4
70000
36000

7-1 to 7-4
56000
IADC Class

22000

6-1 to 6-4 42000

6000

5-1 to 5-4 28000

1000

4-1 to 4-4 10000

0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 70000

Rock UCS (PSI)

IADC vs. Rock UCS Chart showing comparison of IADC classifications to rock hardness.

rock type exhibits a wide variation in cost”. Considering that the cost of
mechanical properties at an individual owning and operating a modern rotary
site. Individual mines should determine drill rig can approach US$400 or more,
optimum operating parameters for each bit performance needs to be judged on
rock type and drill type at that specific what the total cost of operating the drill
site. is. This then, goes hand in hand with a
high penetration rate, and is accompa-
The value of a bit nied by a ‘good’ service life.
Consider this example:
What is the “value” of a bit? What de- • Drill operating cost per hour =
termines how ‘good’ a bit is? Ask US$300
around, and you will probably get one • Penetration rate of Competitors bits
of these four answers to the question of = 30 meters/hour
‘value’: • Penetration rate of Secoroc bits = 45
• Low price meters/hour
• Long service life • Hole depth = 15 meters
• High penetration rate The “Operating Cost per Meter” is
• Low operating cost calculated by:
Secoroc believes the highest “value” a tri- • OC/m = Drill Operating Cost /
cone rock bit can have is “low operating Penetration Rate
Thus, it is easy to see that for a 15
meter drilled depth hole:
• Competitors Operating Cost / meter
is US$300 / 30 = US$10.00
• Secorocs Operating Cost / meter is
US$300 / 45 = US$6.66
The faster drilling Secoroc bit saves
the mining company US$3.37 for every
meter drilled. That is value.
Bit record keeping
Without keeping track of bit perform-
ance, there can be no way to measure
one bit type against another, and one
bit supplier against their competition.
Secoroc can provide the templates for
two types of “Bit Record Book” to re-
cord bit performance.
Compilation of product performance
histories creates a valuable tool for the
sales person and bit manufacturer. Dif-
ferent bits can be compared at a mine-
site. Performance of the same bit at dif-
ferent minesites can be compared. How
does one drill type compare against an-
other drill type? If a new mine is being
opened, you need to have an idea of
what products to offer, and what per-
formance can be expected.
Secoroc has a global product per-
formance database available in Lotus
Notes. Product performance from
mines around the world can be com-
pared. Sales people easily generate a
variety of reports for their monthly bu-
siness reviews and sales calls. Below
is an example of a report generated by
Perform v6, for two bit types compared
over a five month period:

Performance comparison for distance, of two bit types, over time. Clarence Zink

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 37

 Talking Technically

38 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Talking Technically

Optimizing the rotary drill string

Money in the bank
In rotary drilling, the careful selec-
tion of every drill string component
is vital to achieve accurate holes,
optimal rock fragmentation and
operational efficiency – parame-
ters which affect total operational
costs.

Close attention
When developing a rotary drilling
system, most of the attention is usually
given to the drill rig, the capital equip-
ment that requires significant invest-
ment 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 serv-
ice 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 final-
ly a hole stabilizing roller stabili-zer
or bit sub-adaptor to optimize the per-
formance. Giving the necessary atten-
tion to every part of the drill string will Giving the necessary attention to the drill string components will pave the way for quality drilling and
lead to the lowest total operating costs lower total operating costs.
in rock excavation and fragmentation.
• reduce wear and tear on the drill rig Shock absorber
The rotary drill string • absorb damaging vibrations travelling
back up the drill string At the very top of the drill string –
The primary purpose of the drill string • improve transmission of energy from between the rotary head and drill pipe
is to transmit the rotational torque and the rotary head to drill bit – a shock absorber is commonly used.
weight from the power source – the • centralize the drill bit within the hole As the name indicates, the intention of
rotary head of the rig – to the rock • longer bit life this tool is to reduce the negative effects
breaking drill bit. As for every rock • reduce friction as the drill string of harmful vibrations that travel back
drilling method, the power must be passes through the drill rig deck up the string as a result of the drilling
transmitted as efficiently as possible, • stabilize the hole wall to prevent hole process.
and return as few vibrations as possi- caving The benefits of using a shock absor-
ble, as these cause unnecessary wear on • increase penetration rates and lower ber include:
the rig and reduce penetration rates. drilling costs • improved torque control
When selecting components for the • achieve blast hole accuracy for im- • increased drilling penetration rates
drill string, attention must be given to proved blasting efficiency • better drill rig availability and exten-
the different roles of the support tools • improve the end result – the frag- ded drill rig drive head and mast life
in the string. The aim can be to: mentation of the blasted rock. • longer service life of drill bits

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 39

 Talking Technically
Smoothdrive™
shock absorbing
sub
Square drive
Welded strap
method flange method
WLS
EZ-Drill™ Duralloy™
roller stabilizer bit sub adaptor
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 pri-
marily on the inner sleeve as cuttings
are blown upwards, between the drill
pipe and the inner sleeve.
Drill pipe
The role of the drill pipe is to transfer
sufficient amounts of rotational torque
and weight to the drill bit. The goal is to
establish an optimal rate of penetration
40 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Smoothdrill™
shock absorbing
sub
Threadsaver
sub
Full length repairable
Teamalloy™
body drill pipe
(box-box optional)
OD
ID
Centeroll™
rotary deck bushing
(repairable)
Duralloyª bit sub
Secoroc Tricone bits
while still achieving an acceptable life
of the Tricone bit. The use of a strong
and straight alloy drill pipe is one of
the best ways of preventing wobbling
of the drill string and hole deviation.
Drill pipe is subjected to a severe and
abrasive environment, due to the rapid
evacuation of drilling cuttings through
the annulus of the hole, causing a sand-
blasting effect on the drill pipes. It is
logical, therefore, to utilize only the
best alloy steel for both the threaded
connections and the body of the drill
pipe. Special wear protection material
is applied to the most critical areas of
erosion at the bottom of the drill pipe.
The drill pipes can, in most cases, be
refurbished to prolong service life.
Bit sub adaptor or stabilizer
To connect the bit to the drill pipe, a
wearprotected bit sub adaptor is gener-
ally used when the rock formation is
relatively competent, and not in need
of stabilization within the hole. In some
softer, fractured rock formations, it is
worthwhile to consider the use of a sta-
B
bilizer as an alternative. The roller sta-
bilizer contains three roller assemblies
A
which provide support against the hole
walls, serving to both guide the drill bit
in a straight direction and pack the wall
D
of the hole to prevent caving in. The
use of either straight or spiral-bladed
C
stabilizers is strongly discouraged as
this causes excessive friction when
E
these blades are at full gauge diameter,
while they also lose gauge diameter
rapidly rendering them virtually useless
as a stabilizer after only a few shifts. In
addition, the spiral-bladed stabilizer
slows down the evacuation of the cut-
tings. So, to achieve improved hole
straightness, hole wall integrity, and at
the same time increase the effective life
of the stabilizer, only stabilizers with
rollers fitted with cemented carbide
inserts are recommended.
All in all, when you consider the
significant amount of capital invested
in a rotary blasthole drill rig and the
annual investments in Tricone drill bits,
the selection of the best quality rotary
drill string tools that are suited to the
application, is critical to the eventual
success of the drilling program. The
rotary drill string tools should not just
be considered as mere support tools, but
rather as an essential, integrated part of
the total rotary drilling system.
The following basic criteria should
be considered when deciding which
rotary drill string tools will best opti-
mize overall drilling performance and
cost effectiveness:
• are quality materials and innovative
design used to address specific drill-
ing problems?
• can the tools be refurbished for an
economical second run?
• does the supplier of the tools offer
application and follow-up service?
In conclusion, straight blast holes
drilled exactly to the pre-planned hole
bottom positions, pave the way for
lower total operating costs, taking into
account the entire process – drilling,
blasting, secondary breaking, loading,
haulage and crushing/screening.
Rick Meyer
 Talking Technically

Increased productivity with

DTH drilling

Cutaway section of Secoroc COP 64 Gold.

in joints; and efficient energy transmis- to the sales of hammers. The flexibility,
DTH growing sion, with the piston striking directly productivity and manoeuvrability of
in popularity on the bit. The COP 34-64 series of
hammers was introduced from 1992,
these rigs, when equipped with a COP
hammer, make them the most produc-
The DTH drilling method is grow- and immediately became the bench- tive combination on the market today.
ing even further in popularity, with mark for productivity within DTH
increases in all application seg-
ments, including blasthole, water
drilling. Over the years, the increase in COP Gold series
well, foundation, oil & gas, cool- average drilling pressure, from 17 bar
ing systems and drilling for heat to a current market standard of 30 bar, The increase in drilling pressure also
exchange pumps. DTH competes has improved hammer performance, had some negative impact on the inter-
favourably with rotary drilling in and productivity has increased pro- nal components of the DTH hammer,
open pit mines, mainly thanks to
portionally to air pressure. The intro- as the increased stress promoted the
increased productivity and flexibil-
ity. Open pit mining has adopted duction of the Atlas Copco ADS and risk of premature failures. So, in 1998,
smaller holes where rotary drilling SDE series of high-performance, high- Atlas Copco Secoroc decided on a long-
has either been replaced by DTH, pressure DTH rigs gave another boost term strategy to improve reliability,
or where DTH has been introdu-
ced to create a better finish to the
pit wall, as the method is also per-
fect for pre-splitting and smooth
blasting, which avoids back-crack-
ing. DTH drilling offers increased
productivity, and is fa-voured by
contractors for production drill-
ing. In larger quarries, the opti-
mum hole size is 110-171 mm.
With today’s demands for strict
hole control for safe blasting in
populated areas, DTH drilling is a
popular choice among quarry
operators.

Quality holes
In the hole range 100-254 mm, DTH
drilling is the dominant drilling method
today. The main features of DTH drill-
ing in this hole range are: excellent
hole straightness within 1.5% devia-
tion 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 con-
stant penetration and no energy losses New Secoroc hammer and bit ready for action on an Atlas Copco drill rig.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 41

 Talking Technically

extended. And finally a new 12 spline

COP 64.2 steel COP 64 Gold steel Improvement
bit shank with 19% more area than
Yield point ReL(Mpa) 700 1400 100% DHD340A minimize shank failures in
Breaking strength Rm(Mpa) 1000 1950 95% soft or unconsolidated rock.
Hardness (HRc) 32 42 31%
Table 1 reveals not only that the yield point for the new steel grade is twice as high, but Hammer cylinder
also that breaking strength has been almost doubled.
The new cylinder has been redesigned
Table 1 Comparison of COP 64.2 and COP 64 Gold steel. in a number of important ways. COP
Gold boasts a cylinder made of low
while retaining the benchmark status Durability improvements, thanks to alloy wrought and toughened steel, a
of the COP DTH hammers. the higher tensile strength of the new new grade with a higher combined
Stage One of this strategy was the steel grade, are especially noticeable Molybdenum and Vanadium content
development of the second generation when the cylinder approaches mini- (4.8%) than its predecessor. The result
six-inch hammer, COP 64.2, introduced mum thickness limits. COP 64 Gold is greater impact strength and higher
in October, 2000, which incorporated enjoys a greater durability margin than wear and temperature resistance. All
newly-designed steel disc spring and its predecessor. in all, this means greater resistance
lower buffer. Performance was vastly The high demand for COP 64 Gold to breakage, impact, temperature and
improved, thanks to a drastic reduction hammers, particularly in applications wear for the new hammer cylinder.
in the number of internal failures. It where performance and reliability are Thanks to the new steel grade, cylinder
was also possible to rebuild the hammer major considerations, has led Atlas properties have been greatly improved.
without diminishing its performance, Copco Secoroc to add the COP 54 Gold Wear has been reduced, both internally
making it even more attractive. and COP 44 Gold to this increasingly and externally. Cuttings and moving
Stage Two was the introduction of successful range. parts no longer cause the problems
the third generation COP 64 hammer, In July 2004 COP 54 Gold was re- they once did. In effect, the service life
COP 64 Gold, which was unveiled in leased with the same features as the of the cylinder has been extended con-
August, 2001. This version offers su- COP 64 Gold and improved perfor- siderably.
stained performance and improved mance thanks to a heavier and modi-
longevity of the external parts. The fied piston and a 12 spline bit shank. Rebuilding
COP 64.2 resolved internal component The COP 44 Gold was released in
reliability, while the COP 64 Gold has Q3 2009. As the other hammers in With the introduction of COP Gold
experienced a dramatic drop in the nu- the Gold Series It will have improved Series, hammer life will increase sub-
mber of cylinder failures. longevity of the external parts thanks stantially. Less internal and external
COP 64 Gold also boasts improved to the “Gold” cylinder. Internally it is wear, together with a reduced minimum
sustainable efficiency, maintaining an improved with a heavier piston that cylinder wear limit, are key contribu-
average of 96% of original performance will increase the performance and ting factors. As a rule of thumb: If the
throughout its service life, which is a with modified buffers and a steel disc hammer has reach it’s external wear
further improvement on COP 64.2. spring the lifetime of internal parts is limits before 5000 drill meters use an

Secoroc COP 54 Gold.

42 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 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.

Economy Kit and rebuild the hammer,
between 5000 and 10 000 drill meters
consider to rebuild the hammer and
with more than 10 000 drill meters the
internal parts could be subject to fatigue
failures. Ultimately, this means custom-
ers can look forward to increased drill
rig availability.
The sum total of these improve-
ments shows COP Gold Series to have
more than 50% greater service life, in
abrasive rock conditions, than its pre-
decessors.The customer benefits from
lower cost/metre drilled, thanks to less
downtime and greater abrasion resis-
tance, and 30-50% longer life of exter-
nal parts. Higher availability results
from less breakage in the threads of top
sub and chuck-ends of the cylinder, and
there are fewer stoppages for service
and maintenance. Improved penetration
rate and higher efficiency are a result
of reduced friction of the piston, and a
greater life cycle penetration rate is the
overall reward.
To sum up, the customer can drill
more holes per hammer than previ-
ously.
Applications
COP Gold Series is high-pressure ham-
mers, 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
COP STD, in what is an ideal applica-
tion for COP Gold hammers.
In soft unconsolidated rock drilling,
the 12-spline chuck concept and the
improved durability make COP Gold
the perfect hammer. High pressure
yields higher productivity, and drilling
pressures of 28-30 bar are not unusual.
The COP Gold hammer concept
offers customers a tool to meet the most
demanding requirements with sus-
tained productivity.
Leif Larsson

16 000
14 000
12 000
10 000
Drill metres

New Material
8 000 Old Material
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.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 43

 Talking Technically

44 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Talking Technically

Selecting the right DTH drilling

tools
Covering every
application
Atlas Copco Secoroc now has the
most comprehensive range of DTH
hammers, bits, and related equip-
ment of any supplier in the world,
backed by the strongest support
network in the industry. Whether
the call is for reliable hammers to
keep investment to a minimum,
or for the highest productivity to
ensure maximum rig output, Atlas
Copco Secoroc has the solution.
The company is the only manufac-
turer to offer both first and second
choice solutions in almost all typi-
cal DTH applications on a price vs
performance basis. For premium
performance and advanced tech-
nology, QLX (replacing TD) and
COP Gold hammers are offered.
For an optimum blend of features
and cost, the QL (Quantum Leap)
can be the solution for high reli-
ability at economical price. QLX,
COP Gold, and QL hammers are
also energy efficient, consuming
less fuel and with lower energy Quarrying application.
cost per drilled metre than other
DTH hammers. This wide choice
of DTH drilling tools is backed by
a reliable network of distributors
and customer centres that offer a
complete range of parts, service
and support.

Relevant applications
Quarrying
Companies producing in non-abrasive
rock formations should consider ham-
mers 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 reli-
able and productive hammers on the
market. Changing a Secoroc bit.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 45

 Talking Technically
ROC L8.
Dimensional stone quarrying demands
consistent hole straightness, and such
operations typically use smaller size
holes of 90-105 mm in limestone,
granite and marble. Here the QLX 35
hammer is the best choice.
Mineral exploration
Mineral exploration generally occurs in
very remote locations, requiring robust
hammers capable of running high pres-
sures, in sometimes dirty environments.
46 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
For true reverse circulation drilling with
face collection in mineral exploration
and in-pit grade control, the Secoroc
RC50 Reverse Circulation Hammer, in-
corporating the Quantum Leap cycle,
performs particularly well. Geotechnical
Environmental monitoring applications
will appreciate the Secoroc Quantum
Leap or COP hammers. Drilling of
holes for foundation, anchoring or
drainage also demands reliable, works
horses like the QL range of hammers.
Open pit mining
Mining operations typically have high
equipment utilization, drilling up to
80% of the working day with DTH. The
typical applications are normal 130-203
mm-diameter blast holes, 140-171 mm
buffer holes, or 115-140 mm pre-split
holes. Companies should consider
either the QLX or Secoroc COP Gold
hammers. These incorporate the latest
technology, and are the most reli-
able and productive hammers on the
market. For customers who are happy
with rebuilds, Secoroc COP Gold is re-
commended, while for those who typi-
cally run hammers until they wear out,
QLX will be the first choice.
Selecting the right hammer
The optimum hole range of blast holes
for DTH drilling is 90 mm to 254 mm.
Smaller holes are generally drilled
using top hammer, and larger holes ge-
nerally use rotary machines. As a rule
of thumb, the smallest hole diameter a
DTH hammer can drill is its nominal
size. A 4 inch hammer 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 no-
minal 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 determi-
ned by hole size and type of rock for-
mation. Ideally, the size of the ham-
mer should match the required hole di-
mension as closely as possible, leaving
just enough space for cuttings to eva-
cuate the hole. Secoroc hammers are
purpose-matched for all rock types and
applications. Where high performance
is the main criterion, Secoroc COP
Gold and Secoroc QLX hammers are
recommended. In deep hole drilling
applications, the QLX hammer has
proven superior performance and ad-
aptability to different air requirements,
thanks to the Air-Select System. Where
proven technology is required, the
Secoroc QL series of hammer are
known for their reliability and lon-
gevity, and for a reliable workhorse.
The Standard design for COP 54 and
COP 64 Gold hammers can be used

DM45 Blasthole Drill.
down to a depth of 330 ft (100 m) using
a Standard bit size, making it use-
ful for production drilling in quarries,
shallow waterwell drilling, and under-
ground blasthole drilling. QM (quarry
mining) is similar to Standard, but with
heavy duty chuck and wear sleeve, and
a backhead fitted with tungsten carbide
buttons for wear protection in harsh
and abrasive conditions. These also pro-
tect the top sub from excessive wear
when rotating out of the hole through
broken rock
Soft rock
Convex/Ballistic
Rocket bit ballistic
Bit designs and rock types.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 47
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-the-
art technology and deliver both maxi-
mum productivity and profit.
Secoroc COP Gold
• Superior longevity and reliability.
• Easy to service and rebuild.
Medium hard rock (220 Mpa/32000 psi)
Flat front HD
SpeedBit
Concave
Concave DGR
Rocket bit spherical
Talking Technically
• Best suited for production drilling
because of its excellent external wear
resistance and longevity.
• Internal components coated for wear
and corrosion protection. Permits
multiple rebuilds.
• Three start chuck thread for easy bit
changes.
• Bit replacement possible without
using drill rig break-out chains and
wrenches.
• Unique air cushion reduces wear and
tear on drill string and rig.
Hard rock
 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.
Flat front design – HD
Flat front with large spherical gauge buttons for hard and
abrasive formations. Also, front flushing grooves for effi-
cient cuttings removal.
Concave front design
Concave front with spherical buttons Perfect choice for
medium hard to hard, less abrasive, fractured formations.
Minimizes effect of hole d­ eviation.
Concave front design – HD
Concave front with spherical buttons, with larger gauge
buttons. Ideal for medium hard to hard, abrasive and frac-
tured formations.
Concave DGR front design
Concave front with double rows of spherical gauge but-
tons. Only available for 8 in bits and larger. The rein-
forced gauge gives superior protection in medium hard to
hard, abrasive and fractured formations.
Rocket bit
Super high penetration in soft to medium hard formations
with low silica content. The Rocket bit also handles diffi-
cult formations with clay intrusions where other bit designs
will not work.
The Secoroc range of DTH bits ensures that every driller
can demand a solution for every application.
48 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Secoroc QLX
• Provides the industry’s 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.
Selecting the right bit
Atlas Copco Secoroc has a comprehen-
sive range of DTH drill bits to match
all conceivable applications. Each bit
is made from quality alloy steel, and
has been precision machined to pro-
duce a perfect body, heat treated to the
required hardness, given surface com-
pression for fatigue resistance, and
fitted with precision buttons manufac-
tured in-house. Five basic designs are
available: CV Bit, FF Bit, SpeedBit, CC
Bit, and Rocket Bit.
These are designed for specific appli-
cations for all rock types, hardnesses
and conditions. Bit life and rate of pen-
etration 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 bal-
listic 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 abra-
sive formations. Bits are manufactured
to match all diameters of all Atlas
Copco Secoroc hammers.
 Talking Technically

Selecting the right tube

Key features of a high quality DTH
tube are durability, accuracy and man-
ageability. Atlas Copco Secoroc tubes
are made from cold drawn tubing, pro-
viding a superior surface finish and to-
lerance compared to conventional tu-
bes made from hot rolled tubing. This
drastically reduces the risk of scaling
from the tubes entering the hammer,
a major cause of premature hammer
failure. The joints are friction welded
to achieve maximum strength, and the
threads of the end-pieces are heat trea-
ted for optimum durability and stre-
ngth of the thread profile. This not only
ensures long thread life, but also ma-
kes coupling and uncoupling quick
and simple, reducing drilling time.
Tube diameter should be close to the
hammer diameter to provide optimum
flushing, reducing the chances of get-
ting stuck. In most applications, Atlas
Copco Secoroc standard API threads
will be the best choice. Atlas Copco
Secoroc also offers a wide range of
subs and crossover subs to meet an
array of demands, all manufactured to
the same standards as the tubes. Secoroc COP 54 Gold - the production driller´s best friend.

COP Backhammer
Quality Standard End pieces
The COP Backhammer is a tool that
API grade N-80 tubes and adapters
can save and recover a drill string stuck
in a hole. It can be easily fitted in a sui- Lower yield limit N/mm2 min 550 min 550
table tube joint between the drill sup-
Tensile strength N/mm2 min 650 min 700
port and the rotation head to provide
an effective combination of backward Elongation A5 min % 18 21
hammering and vibration to loosen Core hardness HB 190–230 210–250
stuck drill strings.
Surface hardness HRC 58–62

Service and support

Atlas Copco Secoroc service, support
and training follows every purchase,
to ensure that customers extract maxi-
mum productivity from their drilling
operations. Having a knowledgeable
and available Secoroc drilling engineer
on site or on-line makes the difference
between going it alone and tapping the
experience and know-how of a world-
class partner. For example, Secoroc
knows that using higher productivity
bits reduces the cost of each drilled
hole, and the simplest way to cut costs
is to drill holes faster. This has been
Drill tube Wall 23/8" 23/8" 27/8" 27/8" 31/2"
OD (mm) (mm) RD 50 API Reg API IF API Reg API IF API Reg
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 ■

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 49

 Talking Technically

With on-site support, the choice of DTH equipment is even easier to make.

a focus of product development, and
is at the core of Secoroc technology,
ensuring that every generation of prod-
ucts drills faster and more efficiently.
It takes a support team to apply this
knowledge, so that customers can be
assured they run a profitable and effi- dedicated manufacturer of DTH drill-
cient drilling operation in an increas- ing tools in the world.
ingly competitive business climate.
The bottom line is that the customer Leif Larsson
can count on Secoroc service and
support, supplied by the largest, most

50 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Talking Technically

Taking advantage of
single-pass drilling
The easy way to 100
get more blast 90
40' Single-pass,
(12.2 m)
holes per day 80 1
2
40 ft
50 MPa Rock*

Large rotary drills have been in 30 ft

Overall production rate in metres/hr

use for years around the world 70 30' Multi-pass,

in mining applications. In many
open pit operations, these large
drills were equipped with electric
power and long towers for drilling
benches in a single pass. Today,
these features are being added to
smaller equipment. Let’s look at
the benefits of single-pass.
Longer towers
The drilling of large diameter holes,
generally considered to be greater than
9 inches in diameter, is done predomi-
nantly with rotary blasthole drills. One
of the reasons for this is that larger dia-
meter tricone bits allow for large bea-
rings to handle high pulldown forces to
drill through hard rock quickly. These
high pulldown loads require a heavy
tower structure to transmit these pull-
down 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 resul-
ting 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 en-
velope doesn’t change. Drilling a hole
in one pass has many advantages.
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 2
Fig 1. Comparison of single-pass and multi-pass drilling,  = Time lost for rod adding and rod removal,
 = Lost productivity for multi-pass drilling.
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 ex-
tremely hard rock such as that encoun-
tered in taconite, the single-pass be-
nefit might only be 3 percent. At the
other extreme would be very soft coal
overburden. This material can be drilled
with claw-type bits at rates of 400 meters/
hour or more. In this situation, a single-
pass drill would yield an overall pro-
ductivity gain of over 25 percent.
(9.1 m)
50 MPa Rock*
2 40' Single-pass,
40 ft (12.2 m)
1 100 MPa Rock*
30 ft
30' Multi-pass,
(9.1 m)
100 MPa Rock*
* Compressive strength
4 6 8 10 12 14
Drill depth in metres
Simplified operation
Even in situations where the productiv-
ity gain from eliminating rod changes
is relatively small, there are benefits.
Operators don’t have to worry about
the rod changing operation, which con-
sists 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 cross-
threading the tool joints on the drill
rods or dropping a rod. Tasks such as
changing a bit in the middle of the hole
or reaming the hole to clear out cuttings
are much simpler when you don’t have
to add or remove rods. These factors
could increase overall productivity by
a few more percent.

Elimination of rod changing Fig 2. Single-pass Pit Viper rigs

time Rig PV-235 PV-271 PV-351

Adding a rod may take 45 to 60 sec- Hole range 152-251 mm (6-9 ⁄8")
7
171-270 mm (6¾-10 ⁄8") 270-406 mm (10 5 ⁄8 -16")
5

onds depending on the size of the rig, Single pass 12.2 m (40 ft) 16.8 m (55 ft) 19.8 m (65 ft)
and taking the rod back off may take depth

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 51

 Talking Technically
Committed to superior productivity: Single-pass Pit Viper drill rigs such as these at Phoenix Mine, Nevada,
will continue to be developed for smaller dimension drilling.
Less maintenance
The carousel and wrench systems used
routinely in multiple-pass operation are
high wear items due to the nature of
their operation. While they may still be
used on single-pass drills, especially
for changing drill bits, they see a much
lower duty cycle. As mentioned above,
tight drill tool joints can be a problem.
Improvements in breakout wrench sys-
tems have helped address these issues,
but it is still common to see joints that
can’t be broken by onboard wrench
systems.
Given the advantages above, why
wouldn’t every drill be built as a single-
pass? Obviously, it isn’t practical to
build a unit to support a 70 meter hole
in coal overburden. It may be possible,
but you’d end up with a unit with a mast
as long as a dragline boom. The expen-
se of such a unit would probably never
be recovered with the operating cost
savings.
52 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Safety factors
As towers grow in length, the support-
ing mainframe and undercarriage must
grow as well. To maintain the structural
life and reliability of smaller multiple-
pass units, proper safety factors must be
used in the design. The result is a larger
and more expensive machine than cus-
tomers are willing to buy. An example
would be the move from the DM-M2,
a multiple-pass unit with 35-foot drill
rods and a gross weight of about 57
tons, to the single-pass Pit Viper 271
for 16.7-meter holes. The Pit Viper 271
weighs in at around 80 tons.
Many smaller rotary drills operate
on slopes that could not be considered
firm and flat. While single-pass drills
might be capable of operating on a
minor slope (less than 10 percent), they
will generally have a higher center of
gravity than their multiple-pass equiva-
lent, reducing the stability of the unit.
This is often the operator’s perception
as the unit may be capable of slopes
that might be substantially more.
However, many factors must be
taken into account when determin-
ing whether to operate on a particular
slope. Ground conditions are rarely a
single plane. Instead, they are com-
pound angles of widely varying rock
size and type. Most operators err on
the side of limiting the slope they will
attempt to navigate. Thus, single-pass
drills are viewed as being limited to
flat benches only.
As we say at Atlas Copco, we are
committed to our customers’ superior
productivity. We will continue to deve-
lop single-pass units for smaller diam-
eter operations. While we have several
smaller units already capable of single-
pass (the DM25SP and DML-SP), they
are rotary table drive units. They utilize
lightweight towers on relatively small
base units by locating the feed and rota-
tion mechanisms towards the bottom of
the tower. The drawback of this design
is that rotation is accomplished through
a rotary table drive that engages a fluted
kelly bar, driven mechanically by drive
pins. The kelly bars are very expensive
due to the fluting milled into them, and
if the material is abrasive, they wear
quickly and result in high operating
costs. However, in soft applications,
they are a great option.
As most of our applications involve
harder, abrasive material, we are look-
ing to develop tophead-drive units with
longer towers. Adding to our fleet of
large single-pass units, as outlined in
Fig 2, we are testing the new Pit Viper
235. It is equipped with 40-foot drill rods
and can single-pass drill 12.2-meter
holes, which is ideal for many metals
operations. In designing this unit, the
engineering team strived to address
the perceived stability issue that turns
some mines away from single-pass.
The result is a unit that is more stable
than our DML with 35-foot drill rods
and a 9.5-meter capability. We encour-
age our customers to look at single-pass
drilling as it is one of the easiest ways
to get more holes per day.
Brian Fox
 Talking Technically

Blasting in open cut metal mines

Explosives
Since blasting was introduced in
mining as part of the production
process, blasting technology and
blast management have been inter-
connected. Explosives have been
the primary method of break-
ing and loosening rock since the
introduction of black powder.
Over the years, however, blast-
ing technology such as the physi-
cal properties of explosives and
types of detonators has evolved.
The same holds true for the pro-
cess of blast management – from
design principles for production
blasts that are cost-effective and
optimize mining operations, to
safety and accident prevention
during every step of the drilling
and blasting process. Drilling
and blasting results have a major
impact on many processes in a Blasting at the Aitik Mine in northern Sweden.
mine. Therefore, it is important
to find the right combination of
drill pattern, explosives and blast • An oxidizer: a chemical which pro- syrup to firm putty. There are also vari-
design to contribute to the eco- vides oxygen for the reaction. Am- ous blends of emulsion and ANFO type
nomic success of the total mining monium nitrate is the most common explosives, notably so-called heavy
operation. oxidizer; ANFOs. Watergel (slurry) explosives
• A fuel: which reacts with oxygen to are also used in some countries.
produce heat. Common fuels include The physical properties of the explo-
Principles fuel oil and aluminum powder; sive can dictate the handling system
• A sensitizer: which provides voids used to charge the explosive into blast-
When properly initiated, commercial that act as “hot spots” where the reac- holes.
explosives are rapidly converted into tion starts during detonation. Sen-
gases at high temperature and pressure. sitizers are generally air or gas in the Water resistance
When detonated unconfined, a liter of form of very small bubbles, some- The water resistance of explosives va-
explosive expands to around 1000 litres times encapsulated in glass micro- ries considerably. Emulsions have ex-
of gas in milliseconds. When confined balloons (GMBs). cellent water resistance; heavy ANFOs
by rock, expanding explosion gases re- An explosive is classified as detonator- have some water resistance while ANFO
sult in extremely high stresses in the sensitive if it can be reliably initiated has negligible water resistance.
rock. The gas energy released during in an unconfined state by a #8 strength
detonation acts equally in all directions detonator (which has a base charge of Density
but tends to escape through any path 0.46 g of PETN). Detonator-sensitive The in-hole density of explosives has
of least resistance. Therefore, blastholes explosives may or may not contain in- a significant effect on the energy per
should be charged and stemmed so that gredients that are themselves explo- meter of charge length. Higher-density
the gases are confined for sufficient time sives. explosives generate more energy. Ex-
to provide optimum breakage, displace- plosives are supplied in different densi-
ment and looseness of the blasted rock. Properties of explosives ties to enable the shotfirer to control the
The majority of explosives used in total energy released in a blasthole to
today’s surface metal mines are primer- The physical characteristics of the vari- suit the particular blasting conditions
sensitive explosives. Under normal con- ous types of explosives differ markedly. and to achieve the desired result.
ditions of use, a primer is required to For example, ANFO type explosives are
initiate them reliably. loose, free-flowing, granular composi- Sensitivity
All primer-sensitive explosives cotain tions, whereas emulsion explosives have Sensitivity is a measure of the ease with
the following essential components: a consistency that varies from that of which an explosive can be initiated by

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 53

 Talking Technically
Drilling at the Aitik Mine, northern Sweden.
heat, friction impact, or shock. The
trend in commercial explosives is
towards lower sensitivity to initiation
without detracting from detonation
efficiency.
Critical diameter
The critical diameter of an explosive is
the diameter below which a stable deto-
nation does not occur. To ensure reli-
able initiation under normal conditions
of use, explosive suppliers recommend
a minimum diameter for each of their
products. To ensure reliable results under
most conditions, the recommended mini-
mum diameter is larger than the critical
diameter.
Desensitization
Most explosives become less sensitive
at higher densities. Desensitization can
occur at excessive hole depths due to the
static head of pressure. It is also possi-
ble for explosives to be dynamically
desensitized by nearby earlier firing
charges.
Velocity of detonation (VOD)
VOD is the speed with which the deto-
nation 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.
54 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
The VOD of explosives used in sur-
face 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 effi-
ciency, emulsion explosives can main-
tain very high VOD even with poor con-
finement and in small diameters.
Energy/strength
The energy of an explosive expresses
the ability of the explosive to do work.
An explosive with greater energy will
be able to do more work on the surroun-
ding rock. Energy produced by an ex-
plosive can be calculated using thermo-
dynamic codes and measured using a
variety of techniques.
Shock energy, gas energy and
heave energy
Following detonation, high-pressure
gases compress and crush the rock im-
mediately surrounding the explosives.
This results in an increase in the size of
the blasthole and will vary according
to the characteristics of the rock. The
energy that is released by the explosive
can be partitioned into two main types,
the shock energy and the heave energy.
The shock energy that is delivered to
the rock is related to the extent and the
rate of the borehole expansion to a so-
called equilibrium state and includes
the effects due to sub-optimal initiation.
The energy delivered thus far is termed
“shock energy,” which is primarily
responsible for conditioning the rock
and initiating mechanisms that gener-
ate fractures.
The “gas energy” or “heave energy”
is delivered during the later expansion
of the explosive products into the crack
network of the rock. Once a fracture
network is established the gas is able to
expand into the network, both extend-
ing the fracture process and causing
movement of the rock. As this happens,
the gas pressure drops until it vents to
the atmosphere.
Primer-sensitive explosives
Primer-sensitive explosives have rela-
tively low sensitivity to shock, friction
and impact, resulting in excellent safety
and handling characteristics. The reli-
able detonation of primer-sensitive ex-
plosives requires initiation by a primer
(e.g. Pentex™) that is in good contact
with the charge. Ammonium nitrate is
the major ingredient of most primer sen-
sitive explosives.
Detonator-sensitive explosives
Detonator-sensitive explosives include
Pentex™ boosters and Senatel™ pack-
aged emulsions, which can be reliably
initiated by a single #8 strength detona-
tor or by a strand of 10 g/m detonating
cord.
Initiating systems
Initiating systems are used to safely
initiate charges of explosives at pre-
determined times by carrying a firing
signal from one place to another, using
chemical or electrical energy.
 Talking Technically

Modern initiating explosives incor-

porate various explosive and inert
components, which are partly or wholly
consumed in the blast. Small quantities
of signal tubing or wire often remain in
the muckpile.
Non-electric initiating explosives use
pyrotechnic compositions or explosives
to store and transmit energy by control-
led shock waves, detonation or burning.
Electric initiating systems require an ex-
ploder to generate an electrical charge,
which is transmitted along wires. Blast
timing is usually controlled by pyro-
technic (burning) delay elements lo-
cated inside detonators.
Non-electric initiating systems ba-
sed on a signal tube are currently the
most widely used for blasting in surface
metal mines. Most mines now use non-
electric detonators inside blastholes,
with remote initiation of blasts using a
non-electric firing system. Examples of initiating systems produced by Orica (MMU ®) services.
Electronic blasting systems are be-
coming more common, and differ from
electric and non-electric delay systems
in that the delay time is controlled by
a programmable integrated circuit, re-
sulting in very precise timing. The ac-
curacy and programmability of elec-
tronic detonators allows for blast timing
to be tailored to the geometry, geology
and unique requirements of any blast-
ing operation to more effectively use
explosives energy.

Bulk explosives
Specialized equipment and tools are
required to safely and effectively mix
and charge explosives in surface metal
mines. Most of the equipment and tools
used in blasting operations are subject
to statutory regulations.
A Mobile Manufacturing Unit
(MMU®) is effectively an explosives
factory on wheels. Each MMU® is de-
signed to produce and deliver speci-
fied bulk explosives from a manufac-
turing unit based on a conventional
truck chassis. Orica MMU®s are able to
carry large quantities of non-explosive
raw materials to the mine site, avoiding
the need to carry explosives on public
or mine roads. The bulk explosives are
manufactured at the blasthole collar
and accurately delivered into blastholes
at high discharge rates. MMU®s are pro-
ducedin a variety of configurations to Orica Mining Services offers a total loading service to its customers.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 55

 Talking Technically
The Mobile Manufacturing Unit on site (MMU  ®).
meet specific needs. The complexity of
the onboard manufacturing facility de-
pends on the type and number of explo-
sives required. The truck on which this
is mounted is selected to suit the ma-
terial 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 suc-
cessful blast. Blastholes must be accu-
rately primed and charged to the design
specified by the blast designer.
The objective when selecting a com-
bination of explosives is reliable per-
formance, which will ensure the lowest
overall operating costs without sacri-
ficing safety. When selecting explosives,
the principal considerations are:
• Ground water conditions;
• The properties of the rock being bla-
sted, i.e. strength, structure, etc.;
• The diameter and depth of blast-
holes;
• Drilling costs and drilling capacity;
• The relative explosives cost per unit
of effective energy;
• The fragmentation and heave char-
acteristics of the explosives;
• Shelf life;
• Desired results.
ANFO has proven to be the most
cost-effective method of blasting dry
blastholes. ANFO has relatively low
56 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
fragmentation energy, high heave en-
ergy, and is extremely effective in all
but the toughest, most massive rock
types. Wet blastholes ideally should be
charged with a water-resistant explo-
sive, either an emulsion or a watergel.
The explosive will displace the water
up the hole, which may flow into adja-
cent dry blastholes.
Other options that may be considered
are:
• Dewater the holes using in-hole
pumps, compressed air or other
means, and then treat them as blast-
holes containing nuisance water by
charging with water-resistant bulk
or packaged explosives to above the
original water level, then continuing
with ANFO.
• Charge the wet blastholes with pack-
aged explosives until above the water
level. Then charge with ANFO.
Blast design
When starting to work a new mine or
a new area of an existing mine, it is ne-
cessary to develop one or more initial
designs for production blasts. In this si-
tuation, some “rules of thumb,” derived
over many years of relevant practical
experience, should be used for develop-
ing these designs. If a detailed assess-
ment of rock mass properties has been
carried out, computer modeling can
be used to assess the suitability of the
designs developed, and possibly to
indicate alternative superior designs.
Initial blast designs must then be pro-
gressively improved to optimize mining
operations and costs. Optimum designs
help to produce the required fragmenta-
tion, muckpile looseness, muckpile pro-
file, toe conditions and grade control.
In some cases, blast designs must also
minimize flyrock and control ground
vibrations and air overpressures.
Design variables
Bench height normally lies in the range
of 5-18 meters The selected bench
height is influenced by:
• Statutory regulations (excessively
high benches are unsafe and, there-
fore, not permitted);
• Rock mass properties;
• The type and size of digging equip-
ment;
• Grade - control requirements;
• The need to maximize the overall cost
efficiency of drilling and blasting.
Increasing bench height decreases to-
tal drilling consumption of primers and
initiators, the labor required for firing,
and the number of mining cycles. Op-
timum blasthole diameter increases with
bench height. In general, an increase in
blasthole diameter decreases the total
cost of drilling. Drilling accuracy be-
comes more critical in higher benches
and drill deviation can produce costly
consequences.
Blasthole diameter
Optimum blasthole diameter is greater
for higher benches and for larger dig-
ging, hauling and crushing equipment.
Large diameter blastholes are less suit-
able in strong, massive rock; when mi-
nimal broken rock movement is requi-
red; or where it is very important to
control blast vibrations.
At large surface mines, the total cost
of mining is usually minimized by drill-
ing large diameter blastholes. Larger
diameter blastholes reduce costs for
drilling, primers and initiators and la-
bor. They usually need higher powder
factors than small diameter blastholes
to give the same fragmentation, espe-
cially in strong rocks. Smaller blast-
holes give better distribution of energy
in the rock mass.
 Talking Technically

Free faces
Effective free face
Forward displacement of blasted rock
occurs if a blast shoots to a free face
(Figure 1). Some movement of the rock
mass is necessary to allow for crack pro-
pagation. Increased movement assists
crack propagation and can improve frag-
mentation. This may not be the main
objective in some operations (e.g. blast-
ing in ore) so free faces may be limited
(choked) to restrict ore dilution.

Blasthole angle
Vertical blastholes are usually used in
surface metal mines because: Fig 1. Effective free face.
• Angled blastholes are more difficult
to set up and drill;
• Some drills do not have an angled
drilling capability; and Caution!
• Drilling accuracy is greater with
Excessive
vertical blastholes.
Burden Airblast
In free-face blasting, vertical front- Flyrock
row blastholes often leave variable and
excessive burdens between the top and
bottom of the charge (Figure 2). This Required
Burden
variation is greater in high- or shallow-
dipping faces and can cause hard,
immovable toe. Front row blastholes Fig 2. Variable burdens, vertical holes. Fig 3. Excessive blasthole angles cause problems.
collared near the crest to control the
toe burden can cause explosion gases to
blow out prematurely in the face. (See
Figure 3 and 4) Airblast
This blow out creates noise, airblast
and flyrock and reduces blasthole pres- Flyrock
sure near the bench floor level, which
may prevent adequate breakage and
movement of the toe. This may neces- Caution!
sitate the use of some angled blastholes
in front rows. (Figure 5) Correct
Burden
Subdrilling and drilled length of
blasthole
Fig 4. Problems with variable burdens. Fig 5. Angled holes increases rock breakage.
Efficient excavation needs toe condi-
tions that suit the digging equipment.
Toe conditions are affected strongly Priming Bottom priming has several advan-
by the amount of effective subdrilling. The overriding concern in priming is tages over top priming. They include:
Subgrade or subdrilling is the length to locate the primer in the explosives • Improved fragmentation, displace-
of the explosive charge, which lies column and ensure operational safety ment and muckpile looseness;
beneath the designed bench floor level. and efficiency. The primer is generally • Reduced toe problems, better floors,
Unavoidable fallback of drill cuttings placed at or near grade level. Some ope- and cleaner faces;
and small rock fragments reduces the rators place the primer at a known dis- • Reduced noise, airblast, flyrock and
effective subdrilling to less than that tance above or below bench floor level surface overbreak; and
originally drilled. It is good practice to ensure that, should a misfire occur, • Fewer cut-offs and misfires.
to drill a certain extra distance (which the excavator operator does not dig di-
is longer for higher benches and weaker rectly into a primer. Charge distribution
rocks) to allow for unavoidable fall- This may be a valid reason for not Distribution of the explosive char-
back. placing the primer at bench floor level. ges in the rock mass is an important

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 57

 Talking Technically

consideration when determining blast

geometry. Crater blasting to a horizon-
tal rock surface has a less efficient
charge distribution but is preferred in
shallow ore deposits where quality con-
trol dictates low benches, despite a higher
explosives consumption.

Blasthole pattern
Blasthole patterns depend on blasthole
(a) diameter, rock properties, explosive pro-
(a) Paddock
Paddock blast
blast –– staggered
staggered perties, bench height, and the results
needed. Operating experience and blast
modeling results have shown that, in
massive rocks, better fragmentation and
productivity are obtained with staggered
patterns than with either square or rec-
tangular patterns. Equilateral triangu-
lar patterns provide optimum distribu-
tion of explosion energy in the rock.
While staggered patterns give the best
theoretical performance, the initiation
sequence can alter the geometry and re-
(b)
(b) Paddock
Paddock blast
blast –– square
square sults of blasts on square or rectangular
patterns.

Spacing-to-burden ratio
Burden and spacing are related to blast-
hole diameter, depth, rock type and
charge length. Blasthole spacings con-
siderably smaller than the burden tend
to cause premature splitting between
blastholes and early loosening of the
stemming.
This can cause premature release of
(c)
(c) Paddock
Paddock blast
blast –– rectangular
rectangular 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-bur-
den ratio that is too large can cause the
face midway between back-row blast-
holes to remain intact, especially near
bench floor level. This results in tight
digging and possibly unbroken toe.

Front-row blastholes
Special attention should be paid to the
position of front-row blastholes. If the
burden on front-row charges is exces-
sive, it will not be broken by the time
second-row charges detonate. Restric-
tion of motion at the beginning of the
blast can prevent optimum blasting
results throughout the blast. Where
burden is too small, explosion gases
d) Square – Fired on Echelon burst rapidly through the face, causing
Fig 6. Blasthole patterns. noise, airblast and flyrock.

58 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining


Changing burden and spacing
Changes in burden generally affect
fragmentation, muckpile looseness and
toe much more rapidly than changes in
spacing. If enlarging a blast pattern for
improved economy, it is more common
to increase the blasthole spacing in
steps before altering the burden.
Stemming
Stemming enhances fragmentation and
rock displacement by reducing prema-
ture venting of high-pressure explosion
gases to the atmosphere. (Figure 7)
Dry granular materials are best for
stemming because they have inertial
resistance and high frictional resistance
to ejection. Materials that behave pla-
stically or that tend to flow are not suit-
able for stemming, e.g. water, mud, wet
clay. Stemming length can be reduced
significantly if effective stemming is
used, resulting in better explosive dis-
tribution and improved overall frag-
mentation. Optimum stemming length
depends mainly on blasthole diameter,
stemming material, and surrounding
rock properties. Inadequate stemming
increases collar rock breakage, but de-
creases overall fragmentation and dis-
placement because explosion gases vent
to the atmosphere more easily and ra-
pidly. It also creates more flyrock, sur-
face overbreak, noise and airblast.
Long stemming lengths ensure good
confinement of explosion gases, but
fragmentation of collar rock becomes
coarser.
Size and shape of blasts
Most oversize rocks come from the
back, sides and top of blasts. Boulders
are created by open fractures in the free
face, irregular burdens and by back-
break around the perimeter. Damage
from previous blasting around the peri-
meter opens fractures which define
rocks isolated from the rock mass.
These rocks are not fragmented by ex-
plosion-generated strains and cracks,
but are merely pushed forward into the
muckpile. In addition, large rocks that
have been torn loose or dislodged can
slide from the new faces into the muck-
pile. Increasing the blast size reduces
the proportion of large rocks from the
blast perimeter, and therefore improves
overall fragmentation.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 59
(a) Excessive
Airblast & Flyrock
(b) Good
breakage &
displacement
Fig 7. Effect of correct and incorrect stemming.
Allocation of delays
The sequence in which blastholes are
initiated and the time interval between
successive detonations has a major in-
fluence on overall blast performance.
The performance of production blasts
can only be optimized when charges de-
tonate in a controlled sequence at suit-
able discrete, but closely spaced, time
intervals.
Optimum delay allocation for a
blast depends on many factors, which
include:
• Rock mass properties (strength,
Young’s modulus, density, porosity,
structure, etc.);
• Blast geometry (burden, spacing,
bench height, free faces, etc.);
• Diameter, inclination and length of
blasthole;
• Explosive characteristics, degree of
coupling, decking, etc.;
• Initiating system (surface or in-hole
delays, type of downline, non-electric
or electronic, etc);
• Type and location of primer;
• Environmental constraints (air and
ground vibration levels and fre-
quency); and
• The desired result (fragmenta-
tion, muckpile displacement and
profile etc.).
It is not possible to determine optimum
delay allocations from first principles,
but blast monitoring, analysis and inter-
pretation have led to a greater under-
standing of the mechanisms and signi-
ficance of blasthole interaction.
Talking Technically
(c) Poor fragmentation
Delay along rows
The delay time between adjacent blast-
holes in a row is sometimes called the
intra-row delay. Firing a single row of
blastholes with the optimum delay be-
tween holes produces:
• Optimized fragmentation for that
particular blast geometry;
• Forward displacement, which is less
than that for an instantaneous single-
row blast; and
• Reduced overbreak.
Delay between rows
The delay time between the initiations
of rows of blastholes is sometimes
termed the inter-row delay. The delay
between rows can be as important as
the delay along rows in controlling over-
all blast performance. Multi-row blasts
are fired using a time delay between
the detonations of successive rows of
blastholes. The burden on each blast-
hole needs time to move after the deto-
nation to create an effective free face.
Dependent blastholes then fire towards
this new free face developed during the
blast. (Figure 8)
Hole-by-hole initiation
In many situations the simplest method
of blast initiation hook-up is to fire
blastholes row by row or simultane-
ously along echelons. This will rarely
produce optimum blast performance,
especially in terms of fragmentation or
ground vibrations. The end result can be
improved by introducing hole-by-hole
 Talking Technically
3 2
(a) Good "Relief"
1 2
(b) Insufficient "Relief"
Fig 8. Burden relief.
firing, where every blasthole is ini-
tiated in sequence at a unique time.
Where appropriate delays are selected,
hole-by-hole initiation exploits the
positive benefits of blasthole interac-
tion while avoiding most of the nega-
tive effects. This leads to improved
fragmentation and muckpile looseness,
reduced overbreak, lower ground vibra-
tions, and better control over the final
muckpile position and profile.
Final wall blasting
At most open pit mines, the final slope
of the pit affects profitability appreci-
ably. Steep stable pit walls can be for-
med by smoothwall blasting tech-
niques, which include cushion blasting,
presplitting and postsplitting. But with
each of these techniques, the combined
cost of drilling and blasting is relatively
high. In some cases, stable pit walls
can be formed without smoothwall
blasting.
60 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
1 aged. Sufficient standoff distances
3 on a correspondingly smaller pattern.
Careful blast design is the key to pro-
ducing 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 experi-
ence in the pit and trial and error, par-
ticularly if the amount of backbreak
is variable. If the standoff distance
between the back row and the pit
limit is too small, there will be too
much overbreak into the final face.
If the standoff distance is too large,
digging back to the design final face
will be difficult, expensive and may
need a bulldozer. (Figure 9)
• Blasthole depth– If blastholes are
drilled into the berm below then
the succeeding wall will be dam-
need to be maintained to designed
crests.
Smoothwall blasting techniques
Cushion blasting, postsplitting and pre-
splitting are the three common blast-
ing techniques used to produce stable
final walls. Postsplit and presplit blasts
are often used alone to produce stable
walls.
Cushion blasting is frequently over-
looked 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
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 blast-
holes are charged with a light, well-
distributed charge, and fired after the
production blastholes in front have
detonated. Postsplit blastholes split the
rock web between the blastholes to pro-
duce a sound smooth face with minimal
overbreak.
Presplitting requires a row of closely
spaced blastholes drilled along the de-
sign 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,

there are times when special blasting
techniques are required. These include:
• Opening up new benches using
either drop cut or ramp blasting
• Mining of weathered and fresh rock
• Dilution control
• Choke blasting
• Blasting ore and waste together
• Steeply dipping multi vein orebodies
• Shallow dipping narrow vein ore-
bodies
• Flat or bedded orebodies
• Selective ore blasting
• Separate ore and waste blasting
• Deck charging
• Secondary blasting and popping
• Plaster blasting
• Floor and toe blasting
Safety and accident prevention
Safe and cost-efficient blasting requires
all mine operators and supervisors to
understand and follow correct proce-
dures for handling and using explosives.
Most mines now have on-site induction
training to develop skills for specific
jobs, including blasting. Many mines
have written work procedures, which
specify the method, tools and equip-
ment to be used for each job. These pro-
cedures, combined with local mine rules
and statutory regulations, are designed
to maintain the health and safety of
all people working in the mining en-
vironment.
Blasting requires the use of special
tools and equipment, which are usually
subject to statutory regulations. All
tools and equipment used for charging
and firing explosives should be prop-
erly maintained, regularly checked and
correctly used.
There should be no improvisation or
substitution, as this can cause injuries
and accidents.
There are many hazards when work-
ing in and about a mine. The additional
hazards associated when using explo-
sives that need to be mitigated are:
• Electrical hazards that can affect the
use of electric detonators. The sour-
ces of electrical current are static,
stray currents from machinery, light-
ning and radio frequency energy.
• Heavy impact on initiating explo-
sives
• Vehicles driving over explosives
• Hot and reactive ground
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 61
Production
Blastholes
Final Limit
Reduced
Energy per m
No Subgrade
Fig 9. Placement of blastholes along final pit limits.
• Misfires
• Fume
• Walking on rough ground and
around blast holes
• Vehicle and pedestrian congestion
on the bench
Charging blastholes safely
Before charging commences, the bla-
sting area should be barricaded and
marked with cautionary signs and
lights. All unnecessary tools, equip-
ment and people not involved with bla-
sting should be removed from the area.
Smoking must not be permitted near
explosives or charging operations.
The quantity of explosives deliv-
ered to the job should not far exceed
immediate requirements, and any
unused explosives must be returned to
the magazine when charging has been
completed.
Explosives and detonators must be
kept apart in separate containers until
charging commences. These containers
should be located in a safe place, clear
of equipment, and marked by appropri-
ate signs or lighting.
Electric detonators must be kept
clear of all sources of electricity and all
Talking Technically
Could be Presplit
Maybe Smaller
Diameter
Final Limit
potential conductors of stray currents.
Electric detonators should be kept coi-
led, with the lead wires shorted toge-
ther, until they are used.
All blastholes should be cleared of
obstructions and checked for length
before charging. Drilling sludge and
loose rocks should be washed or blown
out before charging.
Economics and benefits
Cost effectiveness of drilling and blast-
ing can be defined in many ways, but
the “bottom line” is that these opera-
tions must contribute to the best overall
economic result for the total mining
operation. Drilling and blasting influ-
ences many different processes in a
mine, with the benefits of a cost-effec-
tive blast being felt anywhere from dig-
ging to maintenance, hauling, crush-
ing and milling, ore recovery to labor
utilization and secondary breakage.
Therefore, decisions on drilling and bla-
sting need to be made in the overall con-
text, and should not generally be based
on short-term economic factors.
The development and introduction of
bulk explosives and efficient delivery
 Talking Technically

Cost per
Tonne Total
Costs
Zone of
Minimum
Total Costs
Load & Haul

Crushing
Unit Costs ($)

A Secondary
Drill
B C
& Blast

Fragmentation
Fig 10. Costs versus fragmentation.

systems has provided a quantum step operations. The optimization criteria

forward in blasting efficiency and has for mine production operations can be
allowed cost reduction through econo- expressed as finding the right combi-
mies of scale. nation of activity costs, and managing
The factors contributing to economic them in order to minimize the overall
production in mines include: production costs (Note: this does not
mean that reducing any particular
Productivity parameter in isolation will necessarily
• Overburden/waste removal result in a lowering of overall costs).
• Primary raw feed/mine production/ Figure 10 schematically represents the
sales tonnage activity costs as a function of maxi-
• Mobile equipment capacity/type and mum fragmentation size. The relation-
availability ship between these activity costs varies
• Fixed plant capacity/type from mine to mine.
• Ore grade control factors The curve is divided into three zones –
• Maximizing reserves through struc- A, B and C. Zone B is where the total
tural stability costs are minimized within a control-
• Minimizing stripping ratio: waste/ lable and acceptable range. In zones
ore A and C the unit costs of one or more
activities make the overall production
Mine conditions cost excessive. In this case, the cost
• Type and extent of overburden/ effectiveness of blasting does not ne-
waste cessarily increase with a decrease in
• Rock type and geology blasting costs, and changes can often
• Height and inclination of operating be counterproductive.
benches The best time to break rock is
• Ground water conditions undoubtedly during the primary blast–
• Environmental constraints the aim being to achieve desired and
predictable fragmentation, muckpile
Labor force competence looseness, and a suitable muckpile
• Training profile for ease of digging. During the
• Motivation and numbers evaluation, other key issues may be:
• To modify fragmentation to suit
Operating costs vs excavator or crusher specifications;
• To make blasting more environmen-
fragmentation tally acceptable;
Drilling and blasting results have a • To improve labor utilization allo-
major impact on each part of a mine's cated to blasting;
The PV-351 can drill blastholes up to 16 inches in
diameter.
• To reduce blasting costs, particularly
in wet areas;
• To protect pitwalls or control over-
break damage; and
• To maximize recovery of product
ore.
The process of optimizing blasting
must be done in a controlled manner
so that the inf luence of changes on
blast performance can be measured
and evaluated. It is most important that
changes are made one at a time, and
that a thorough analysis of the total cost
and the blast performance are made to
enable any benefits to be identified and
quantified.
Acknowledgements
Article produced by Orica Mining
Services, the world's largest provider
of commercial explosives and blasting
systems.

62 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Talking Technically

Drilling in Arctic conditions

Coping with
climatic extremes
The spread of mining to inhospi-
table parts of Mother Earth has
posed a major challenge for mining
equipment design engineers in
terms of both basic machine func-
tions and operator well being. Ope-
ration at high latitude or high alti-
tude requires a significant degree
of redesign. Available coal and
mineral resource geography has
intensified, first with exploration
and then mining activity, in the
Arctic and sub-Arctic central con-
tinental regions of North America
and Asia. In parallel the ability to
build equipment that can operate
economically at temperatures
around -55°C has become increas-
ingly important. Similarly, the
development of mines at high alti-
tudes requires machines that can
cope with low atmospheric pres-
sure as well as low temperature.

The Russian experience
For rotary drill rigs the key base mate-
rials adversely affected by low tempe-
rature operation are steel, rubber and
lubricants.
• At lower ambient operating tempera-
tures steel becomes brittle, creating
possible earlier fatigue failures. For
heavy equipment designers, the task
is to select steel with proper material
properties, to reduce the load or to
reduce the loading cycles. Through
the combination of the three factors,
structural integrity can be equalled
to equipment running in non-arctic
conditions.
Exposure and constant ground contact subject the crawler undercarriage to particular abuse in low tem-
perature, icy conditions, requiring careful selection of materials. Some applications may require heating
the drive elements to keep them working.
• With any rotating equipment, seals
and hoses are used to retain fluids.
Like steel, the newer generation syn-
thetics lose f lexibility, becoming
brittle. With arctic conditions, the
key is again through material selec-
tion to keep equipment doing its pri-
mary function without the aid of
artificial heat sources. In an arctic
application the use of natural rubber
or silicon is better than synthetics.
• To maintain acceptable component
life in arctic conditions effective lub-
rication is essential. Typically this
will require using the standard addi-
tives with a base lubricant that will
flow at the ambient temperatures
and at the viscosities specified for
the application.
Beyond making necessary changes
to base materials, subsystem rede-
sign may be required to meet the low
temperature challenge. Engineers must
decide if the material can be changed,
heat be added or in some cases the part
be eliminated to achieve 5,000 to 6,000
operational hours per year.
Exposure and constant ground con-
tact subject the crawler undercarriage
to particular abuse in low temperature,
icy conditions. Many components either
rotate or articulate (rollers, idlers, drive
sprockets and track chains). Again the
driver is to upgrade the base mate-
rial, steel and rubber, where necessary.
Some applications may require heating
the drive elements to keep seals soft
and pliable.
Similarly, for a diesel engine powe-
ring the rotary rig in these conditions,
special attention must be given to
start-up and lubrication. Atlas Copco
has designed a series of heater pack-
ages for lubricants, the engine block
and batteries. All these packages are

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 63

 Talking Technically

powered by 110, 240 or 380 V AC elec-

tricity provided by the mine electrical
grid or a diesel generator. If getting
electrical power to the drill is impos-
sible, a diesel-powered block heater is
another option available. Likewise if
low ambient fuel is not available use
of 24 V DC fuel heaters is yet another
option available.
Lubrication systems pumping grease
over long distances can be impossible,
and it may be best to redesign with a
component that has impregnated oil
bushings or closed bearings. To prevent
the pump from cavitating, the lubricant
will either have to be heated or replaced
by a special blend that maintains vis-
cosity through the ambient temperature
range.
Dust suppression is most difficult
in low ambient climates. The synthetic
rubber normally used in dry dust col-
lectors becomes brittle in extreme cold,
and articulated components such as
hoses and dust curtains will fail. If the
drop out chute does not close properly
the system fails to back flush. Also moi-
sture entering the collector will freeze Atlas Copco has designed a series of heater packages for lubricants, the engine block and batteries.
when it enters the cold dust collector
chamber. Vibrators can be used to pre-
vent material collecting on the dust
collector body.
Another option under development
is a wet dust control system. To keep
the system from freezing is a design
challenge. In this case short hose con-
nections with diesel fired pre-heaters
create enough energy to keep the Watermist closed. Watermist open.
system in operation.The benefit with
wet systems is the reduced number of
moving parts.
Given that the time limit for human
exposure to very cold air is 15 min-
utes, the cab for artic rigs must be big
enough for two operators and their cold
weather clothing. Additional insulation,
heating and defrosting capability are
also essential. Proheat closed. Proheat open.
The marriage of low temperature
solutions and advanced technology on
Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions rotary
blasthole drills has been successful.
Today over 150 Drillmaster and Pit
Viper class rigs work in coal, gold,
copper, diamond and iron mines where
temperatures can drop below -40C.

John Stinson Wiggins closed. Wiggins open.

64 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Talking Technically

The new mid-range Pit Viper 235

The star of
MINExpo 2008
The new ultra class haul trucks
in the Central Hall arguably may
have achieved the greatest visual
impact at MINExpo 2008, but sur-
face mine drillers attending the
record-breaking Las Vegas show
hailed their own new star in the
North Hall – the Atlas Copco
Drilling Solutions Pit Viper 235
at the Atlas Copco display. This
PV-230 class machine thus fol-
lowed in the tracks of the first Pit
Viper model, the PV-351, which
was launched at MINExpo 2000,
and the PV-270 series models in-
troduced at MINExpo 2004.

Efficiency and productivity

The PV-235 has a weight on bit of up
to 65,000 pounds (29,500 kg) and is
designed for rotary or downhole (DTH)
drilling of 6-inch to 9 ⅞-inch (152 – 251
mm) diameter holes. Competitive per-
formance and excellent long-term reli-
ability have been key marketing points
for the Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions
range of drilling rigs for a long time.
The PV-235 is specified and fabricated
to maintain this reputation, with parti-
cular attention having been paid to the
reduction of horsepower demand and
non-drilling time. The cab and control
technology have been significantly
upgraded and the diesel engine options
are Tier II and Tier III units. Pit Viper 235 is capable of dilling a single pass 40 ft clean hole.
Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions has
again placed great emphasis on flex- hydraulic systems, including the rotary 40 ft tower is fitted. The dimensions for
ibility in application, and the PV-235 is head, that have consistently been pre- the PV-235 version with tower up is 34
available with two towers to drill 35 ft ferred by the Atlas Copco design and feet 2 inches long and 14 feet 6 inches
(10.7 m) or 40 ft (12.2 m) clean 230 mm engineering team for many years. wide (10.4 x 4.4 m). The high-speed
holes. The new machine can be con- operates with the tower lowered.
figured in a surprising number of ways Less mass, more options The plate steel frame is new to blast-
to offer an optimal match to a mine’s hole drill construction and was desig-
particular operating method and envi- Starting at ground level, the PV-235 ned using finite element analysis. The
ronment. has a newly designed platform. It is material thickness is one third that of
Like the PV-351 and the PV-270 built with two-speed hydraulic exca- an equivalent welded plate construction
models, the PV-235 will be available vator style Caterpillar 330 undercar- and has a better fatigue life. The frame
with either a choice of diesel engines riages – the 330L for units with the accommodates the 450- and 600-gallon
or an electric motor. And it retains the 35 ft tower, and 330EL when the fuel and water tanks, which are ISO

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 65

 Talking Technically

block, three-point isolation mounted.

An additional 400-gallon water deck
tank can be fitted if no dust collector
is used. Another 200 gallon belly tank
is now offered with the non-drill end
deck extension.
For safer, easier and quicker trouble
shooting and maintenance, the Grip Strut
open mesh deck provides excellent ac-
cess to the superstructure elements, in-
cluding ground level battery and starter
isolators, deck level access for the service
points on most systems, and quick fills
at waist level. The deck hose and cable
trays manage the routing and clean up
The enclosure option will reduce noise and provide cold weather protection; full-length doors offer easy
the decking. An optional bolt-on drum
service access.
deck on the drill end adds extra space
for lube and other fluids storage tanks,
and cleans up the deck area to allow
300° of access and improved service-
ability. Other optional fittings include a
central lubrication system, fire suppres-
sion equipment, a jump start receptacle
and a spring assisted ladder.
For mounting on this platform, Atlas
Copco Drilling Solutions has decided to
offer customers a wider choice of power
system options than on previous models.
The structure is similar to that designed
The hydraulic automatic cable tensioning cylinder is a time saver for maintenance . for the Pit Viper 351, with an inde-
pendent sub-structure and three-point
mounting. But there is a wider choice of
Cummins or Caterpillar engines, cover-
ing the range 600 – 800 hp at 1,800 rpm
with the Cummins QSX 15 to QSK 19
or Cat C18 to C27 engines, all meeting
Tier II or III regulations.
There is also a wider choice of air
compressors, as either single-stage as-
ymmetrical oil flooded Atlas Copco
or Ingersoll-Rand rotary screw units
are available for low pressure (1,600 –
1,900 CFM, 100 psi) rotary drilling, and
the two-stage equivalents for high pres-
sure (1,250 or 1,450 CFM @ 350 psi or
1,300 CFM @ 435 psi) downhole drill-
ing. A new Electronic Air Regulation
System (EARS) allows low load starting.
An Atlas Copco patent pending
automatic hydraulic clutch between the
engine and the air end has been intro-
duced during 2010 as a new option for
the Pit Viper 235 series. The benefit of
this clutch is that it will disengage the
air compressor from the engine when
For angle drilling the PV-235 uses a pivot at the base of the tower with adjustments from vertical to the air end is switched off. In a tradi-
30 degrees in 5-degree increments, while keeping the deck level. tional power package, the compressor
consumes approximately 30% of its

66 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Talking Technically

rated power at standby. Installation of

this clutch eliminates fuel being used
for this standby power consumption
and allows for a low idle speed. While
changing rods, levelling, or moving
between the holes, the air compressor
is disengaged allowing for horsepower
savings during those cycles as well
as increasing the service interval and
life on the air compressor. The clutch
removes parasitic engine loads at start
up as the compressor is not engaged,
therefore decreasing engine load and
increasing engine life.
The hydraulic system has been
further refined with load sensing and
other features to reduce horsepower de-
mand. The heavy duty Funk gearbox is
driven by a drive shaft from the front
of the engine. There is one piston pump
for rotation; one load sensing piston
pump for the feed, set-up and auxiliary
functions; and one pressure-compen-
sated piston pump for the fan circuit.
The propel function uses the feed and
rotation pumps and there is an in-cab
switch to select the diverter valves. The The RCS option provides various levels of automation.
valve rack is centrally located for easy
service access, at the same time sim-
plifying hose runs and control wiring. and the updated four-rod carousel, the (10.6 kNm) while the 200 rpm option
The pressurized hydraulic fluid tank 40 ft tower can be used to multi-pass delivers 5,200 lbf-ft (7.0 kNm) of torque.
has a capacity of over 100 gallons and drill to a maximum depth of 200 feet Alternatively there is an optional two-
the filters are serviced at waist level. (61 m). speed head delivering either 4,250 lbf-ft
To allow operation at ambient tem- The PV-235 is fitted with a standard (5.7 kNm) at 200 rpm, or 8,800 lbf-ft
peratures up to 125° F (52° C) the cool- single-speed direct drive rotary head (11.9 knm) at 100 rpm. These rotary
ing system features oversized radiators. that requires less maintenance than heads are fitted with adjustable wear
Variable speed control helps to reduce other designs. Operating at 0 – 130 rpm guides. The spur gear head design used
fuel consumption and noise and impro- this unit provides a torque of 7,800 lbf-ft on the present DM45 and DML rigs is
ves cold weather performance. The low
fan speed also lowers noise emissions. Output-side
Clutch coupling
Available as an option is a very smart
enclosure that further reduces noise, pro- Bolts
vides cold weather protection and has
full length doors for service access.

Towers
The open front structure of the three Input-side
torsional
towers available is similar to that used coupling
on the other Pit Viper models – fabri-
cated 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 men-
tioned 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 The optional fuel saving clutch will disengage the compressor when not drilling.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 67

 Talking Technically
The FOPS designed cab offers excellent visibility and comfort.
an option. The single cylinder cable feed
designed for the PV-235’s 40 ft tower
provides a hydraulic pulldown force of
60,000 pounds and a further improve-
ment in non-drilling speeds. The sheave
diameter: cable diameter (D/d) ratio
is 22:1 and reverse bending of the cables,
which can create excess fatigue and
shorten cable life, is eliminated. The
pulldown rate is 140 ft/min with the
40 ft tower and 193 ft/min for the
35 ft tower. Retract is 202 ft/min with
the longest tower and 195 ft/min for
the other. Auto-tensioning of the cable,
necessary to counter the loss of tension
caused by cable stretch is by means of
a single cylinder with exclusive balanc-
ing yoke.
For angle drilling the PV-235 uses
a pivot at the base of the rig tower,
proven on the earlier Pit Vipers, with
adjustment from vertical to 30° in 5°
increments. But the rear telescopic sup-
port legs provided on the larger rigs
are unnecessary. This single pivot de-
sign reduces non-drilling time signi-
ficantly, with tower raising and lower-
ing improved. The rig has a new two-
cylinder impact slide wrench for drill
string breakout that has replaced the
single-cylinder deck fork used on pre-
vious models. The new patented Atlas
Copco twin cylinder break out-wrench
is standard on the PV-235. Breaking the
68 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
pipe joint is done below the table and
allows the deck fork to be used while
clamping the upper rod and allowing
for adjustment from 4 ½" - 8" (115-203
mm) OD drill pipe allowing for wear.
The rear jacks are incorporated into
the new tower rest, as are the exhaust
mounts, air cleaners and lights. The
arch-shaped rest adds torsional stiff-
ness to the frame and riser arms secure
the tower when it has been lowered,
reducing wear during tramming. The
optional non-drill end deck extension
is provided with an integrated tower
access, a fall restraint system and an
extended tower infill for accessing the
tower for service and maintenance while
it is in horizontal position.
Even better cab
Together with the power system en-
closure, if fitted, the most distinctive
feature of the latest Pit Viper is the cab.
The cantilevered pod-type FOPS de-
sign is a further advance on the pro-
gress achieved with the PV-270 series
machines in terms of both capabilities
and appearance. Visibility is enhanced
not only by the shape of the cab and
large glass area, but also by tinted
windows, improved wiper/washers and
six Nordic integral lights (which also
consume less power than conventional
ones). The integrated air conditioning
system, with a hydraulically powered
compressor, evaporator and condenser,
is mounted under the cab rather than
on the side. The Atlas Copco engineers
worked with the cab supplier to achieve
further noise reduction and have tested
at 70 dBa. For easier “housekeeping”
there are fitted floor mats and a sweep-
out door at the non-drill end. Optional
offers are a safety camera system and
a radio/CD player for the cab.
The standard controls are electric
over hydraulic, with push buttons and
in-seat joysticks, one for each hand,
operating the key drilling and tramming
functions. Adding the proven Atlas
Copco RCS computerized network rig
control system, which is an option, pro-
vides various levels of automation, in
common with the rigs manufactured by
the company’s surface and underground
teams in Sweden. For the PV-235 these
options include remote tramming, auto
leveling and GPS navigation, all of
which can help minimize non-drilling
time, and also measure while drilling
logging technology (See page 25 for
RCS explanation). Prospects for the new
Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions model
are good if the PV-235 enjoys the same
level of success as its predecessors.
Dustin Penn
 Talking Technically

Development through interaction

Single- or multi-pass
drilling
The medium scale Pit Viper 270
series drilling rigs provide 75,000 lbf
(340 kN) force on bit and can be
equipped for either rotary or down-
the-hole (DTH) drilling. They com-
bine structural features of the
PV-351, and components success-
fully used on the DM45, DM-M2
and DM-M3 models, and some
new ones, including Tier II engine
options. These features were in-
corporated as a result of exten-
sive discussions with customers
already using the Drilling Solu-
tions equipment range and with
other professionals interested in
the application of the Pit Viper
concept at this scale of rig.

Low center of gravity
Clearly an essential quality for this mar-
ket is f lexibility, though the design
engineering team could not ignore the
across-the-board industry requirement
for maintenance convenience and cost
effectiveness. These two characteristics
are evident from the PV-270 crawler
tracks through to the choice of single-
pass or multi-pass drilling.
The PV-270 machines offer a choice
of proven Caterpillar and Atlas Copco
undercarriages to enhance their com-
patibility with other mine fleet members.
The PV-271 is built with the extended
version of either the CAT 345XL or
the Atlas Copco GT3400, while the
PV-275 can have either the standard
19-foot 6-inch (5.9 m) CAT 345XL with
GFT110 final drive or the ACGT 3400
tracks.
The design and testing process used
for the PV-270 main frame was gener-
ally similar to that for the Pit Viper 351.
To ensure long frame life without re-
builds, the I-beam used is 24 inches
thick with a cross section of 162 lb./ft.
– smaller than the PV-351 frame but
larger than the one used on the DM-M3
rig. The structure achieves a low cen-
ter of gravity for good stability and
Pit Viper 275 used for blasthole drilling in South African coal mine.
reduces drilling vibration. Single pass
stability ratings, adjusted for dynamic
conditions, are 5° with cab facing
downhill and 8° tramming across the
slope, both with tower up, and 10° with
tower down, cab facing uphill. The eq-
uivalent multi-pass figures are respec-
tively 11°, 13°, and 16°. The rigs also
offer the customer a choice between a
standard three jack configuration and
four, with the rear jacks tied as on the
Pit Viper 351.
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 com-
pressors suitable for the rotary or down-
hole drilling options. The engines offe-
red, 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/radiator cooler
package.
The Ingersoll-Rand compressor op-
tions are a 1,900 CFM (900 l/s) unit or a
2,600 CFM (1230 l/s) supplying 110 psi
(760 kPa), plus a 1,450 CFM (680 l/s)
air compressor delivering air at 350psi
(2,400 kPa) for downhole drilling. The
CAT C32 engine is fitted on those rigs
using the 2,600 CFM compressor.
The electric power pack option com-
prises alternatively a 700 hp (520 kW)
WEG 6808 motor running on 6,000 V
AC/50 Hz current and coupled with
an 1,800 CFM/50Hz Ingersoll-Rand
air compressor, or a 900 hp (671 kW)
WEG 6811 motor running on 4,160 V
AC/60 Hz power that is coupled to
the Ingersoll-Rand 2,600 CFM/60 Hz
air compressor. An electric powered
version for downhole drilling is avail-
able for the PV-270 machines, albeit
limited to 1,070 CFM and 350 psi for
50 Hz application. The motor is totally
enclosed and is cooled by a fan with
the highest rating in the industry, which
allows the unit to operate without a ma-
chinery house. An oil-immersed non-
flammable 40 kVA transformer pro-
tects the motor, providing 380 V AC
for the extensive heating package used
for all the reservoirs. The high voltage
safety circuit and the operator controls
run on 110 V AC that is converted to

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 69

 Talking Technically

24 V DC so that the electric machine

can use the same components as the
diesel-driven rigs.
Experience shows that electric mo-
tors typically last 20,000 – 30,000 hours
before replacement or rebuild in this ap-
plication, as compared with the 10,000
– 14,000 hour life usually attained by
diesel engines. This is one reason why
there is growing interest in the electric
Pit Vipers, to which Atlas Copco has
also responded by matching the electric
power pack to a mine’s available power
supply. For example, four PV-275 rigs
have been delivered to the Moroccan
phosphates producer Office Chérifien
des Phosphates (OCP) for operation at
5,500 V AC.
Like that on the PV-351, the hydrau-
lic system for the 270 series utilizes a
leak-free, clean specification. However
it has the single gearbox and three
pumps configuration used on the
DM-M3 rig, albeit with larger units;
using fewer components has proved to
reduce operating cost. There are two
main pumps for feed, rotation and pro-
pel, while the double pump supplies the
auxiliary functions.
The air cleaners are similar to those
on the PV-351, with one provided for
the Cummins engine, two for the CAT,
one for the 1,900 CFM air compressor
The PV-275 can be used for angle drilling with 0 - 30° adjustment in 5° increments.
and two for the 2,600 CFM unit. These
Photo from an Australian coal mine.
and the other serviced units are easily
accessed from the PV-270 deck, which
is designed on similar lines to that of
the PV-351, while retractable ladders
are also available.

Three towers
The two machines comprising the Pit
Viper 270 series are primarily differen-
tiated by their towers. These are of sim-
ilar 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 dimen-
sioned 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
The PV-271 live tower is dimensioned for 55-foot single-pass drilling, there is also a 65-foot clean hole single PV-275 is designed for multi-pass drill-
pass drilling tower option where the rotary head and tower has to be down when moving the drill rig. ing to a maximum depth of 195 feet.

70 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining


The PV-271 Rotary head.
There is also a 65-foot clean hole tower
option, but with this unit one drill pipe
must be racked and the rotary head
brought down in order to lower the
tower for relocation.
Like the power pack, the variable dis-
placement rotary head for the PV-270
rigs is very similar to the proven design
used on the DM-M2 machine. The ro-
tary head also has a filtered lubrication
pump to keep the motor splines lubri-
cated. Equipped with two motors the
188 hp (252 kW) rotary head delivers
up to 8,700 foot pounds (11.8 kNm) of
torque. Maximum speed is 150 rpm.
Internal spur gear speed reduction gives
better torque on rough ground and in
other circumstances where the head
stalls later than other designs.
The hydraulic rod support with
automatic actuation is essentially the
same as that proven on the DM-M3 rig.
There is also an upper fixed rod catcher.
Again like the PV-351, the Pit Viper
270 series drilling rigs use the cable
feed system introduced on the DM-M3,
however with some redesign to achieve
faster feed speeds. The feed rate is 127 ft.
/min. (38 m./min.) and the retract
rate is 158 ft./min. (48 m./min.). The
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 71
The rigs with the RCS option are fitted with the new state of the art PV-235 cabin, featuring excellent
visiblity and comfort..
automatic tensioning is derived from
the PV-351 system which has proved
problem-free to date. The pipe handling
system on the PV-271 is similar to that
on the PV-351, and the PV-275 is simi-
lar to the DM-M3. The PV-270 series
machines also use the same patented
system for angle drilling as the Pit
Viper 351, with 0 - 30° adjustment in
5° increments for the multi-pass PV-275
and 0 - 20° adjustment in 5° increments
for the single pass PV-271. These rigs
are quite widely used for angle drilling,
both in coal mines and in metal mines
for toe blasting.
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 Pit Viper 235 cabin into the PV-270
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 require-
ments of ISO 3449 Level 2, is ther-
mally insulated and pressurized, and has
Talking Technically
adjustable vents for climate control. The
air conditioning unit is side mounted,
which, along with other detailed fea-
tures, makes this cab easier to service
so no roof access is required. The sound
damping has been tested down to 70
dB(A). The operator enjoys excellent
visibility over the ergonomically de-
signed wrap-around console. The con-
trols are predominantly electric-over-
hydraulic sticks.
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 suppres-
sion, 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. A new option is the Atlas Copco
computerized RCS control system (See
 Talking Technically

article page 25.) Several PV-270 machines

have been delivered with RCS. There
is also an option for non-drill tower
access ladder, fall restraint system, and
extended tower infill for accessing the
tower while in horizontal position.

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 wor-king 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 ope-
rations, 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 Freeport-
McMoRan which now has over 20 ma-
chines. Most recently, the PV-270 series
has broken into the Australasian coal
and metals markets.
Many of the PV- 270 series rigs have
been ordered for coal applications
mainly in South Africa, Russia and
the USA. The other major applications
are in copper and gold, mostly in the
Americas, and iron ore mines in Africa,
Latin America, Russia and Ukraine.
Almost all of the PV-275 machines
are equipped for rotary drilling, but a
significant number of the PV-271 units
have ben configured for downhole
drilling, mainly single-pass drilling of
8-inch diameter holes at gold mines.
Since the first PV-275 was shipped
for testing at Peabody’s Kayenta coal
mine in 2003 and the 2004 MINExpo
launch of the new models, more than
two hundred units of the PV-270 series
rigs have been shipped to customers.
PV-270 series rigs have been shipped
to customers.

Dustin Penn

PV-271 working in copper mine.

72 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Talking Technically

Large diameter drilling

Pit Viper 351
The giant Pit Viper 351 is a flexible
rotary drill rig with a weight on
bit of 125,000 pounds (56,700 kg),
and the ability to drill 10 5/8 -inch
to 16-inch (270-406 mm) diameter
holes to a maximum depth of 135
feet. However, at MINExpo 2000
many customers commented :
“It’s set up to single-pass drill a
65-foot-deep hole.” The PV-351
is ruggedly constructed with an
operating weight of 385,000-
415,000 pounds (175-188 tons).
However, it takes only touch
screen controls and a joystick to
operate.

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 subjec-
ted 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 (3407 liter) water and two
600 gallon (227 l) fuel, as well as the for-
ward jacks and rear tower support and
jacks assembly. There are four levelling
jacks with 10 inch (254 mm) bore and
72 inch (1829 mm) stroke. The rear jacks
are cross linked to minimize frame
twisting.
Power for the multiple hydraulic sy-
stems and air compressor used on the The diesel powered PV-351 can be offered with Cummins or CAT 12-cylinder engines.
PV-351 comes from either a diesel
engine or an electric motor. Either dri- ambient temperature of 125°F (52°C). Caterpillar 3512, rated at 1650 hp (1230
ves the hydraulic power pack via a drive Two 12-cylinder diesel engines with kW) at 1800 rpm.
shaft and the air compressor directly. electronic monitoring systems that The 1400 hp (1044 kW) electric po-
A floating power pack sub-base iso- meet the EPA Tier I standard are wer unit comes with a rear access plat-
lates the components from vibration. offered; the Cummins QSK 45, rated form and, optionally, a 1500 ft (457 m)
Two coolers allow operation up to an 1500 hp (1119 kW) at 1800 rpm, and the capacity cable reel for a 2 inch (51 mm)

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 73

 Talking Technically
cable. The WEG 6811 squirrel cage motor
normally runs on a 50 or 60 Hz, 4160 –
7200 V AC power supply. The machi-
nery house for the electric unit, contai-
ning the majority of the main compo-
nents, is hydraulically pressurized and
has two access doors and removable
roof panels. Some 80–85 percent of the
components used in the rig are the same
in the diesel and the electric versions.
The hydraulic system has a 350 gallon
(1325 l) tank with three-micron filtra-
tion. To ensure reliable operation, the
designers made extensive use of hard
piping with Stauff clamps for hoses,
O-ring face seal fittings and two quick
change filters. There is a single gear-
box and five pumps. The main Parker
Denison variable displacement pumps
control the propel motors and drill feed/
rotation. Other pumps run various aux-
iliary functions. The use of integrated
circuit blocks reduces the number of
hose connections.
Pit Viper 351 “live” tower. The well proven Ingersoll-Rand asym-
metrical screw compressor features twin
rotors in parallel, variable volume elec-
tronic control and lubrication pumps
that minimize load during startup. It
delivers up to 3,800 CFM (107.6 m 3/
minute) of air, which is the highest rate
ever available on a blasthole drill. At
110 psi (758 kPa), it´s a pressure that
ensures improved bit life. The air clean-
ers employ an innovative three-stage
system in which the elements are easy
Weg motor – 1400 hp. to access and easy to change. Quick
release co-vers make for easy operator
maintenance.
The PV-351 is designed to be a
maintenance friendly machine. The su-
perstructure is laid out to allow safe, easy
movement and good access to service
points. The rig has standard Wiggins
Quick Fills for programmed maintenance
and daily refilling. The spool valves are
located above the deck and all the filter
elements are easy to reach. The stand-
ard decking to the rear of the tower and
the tower access ladder enable service
personnel to inspect the rotary head and
other tower components while the tower
is down.
Versatile tower
Valve stand offering excellent accessibility for Like the main frame, the tower for the
maintenance. PV-351 was designed with the aid of
74 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
finite element analysis and tested by
dynamic strain testing. The tower is
of open front construction, fabricated
by certified Drilling Solutions weld-
ers using rectangular steel tubing, and
has four main vertical members. The
design retains the unique “live” design
used for the Drillmaster towers, which
enables the operator to raise and lower
the tower with the rotary head at the
top and the rods in place; a capability
that typically saves 4 – 10 hours of
work when moving a rig.
The tower is dimensioned for drill-
ing 65 feet (19.8 m) in a single pass.
Using a longer starter rod, the operator
can drill 70 feet (21.3 m) in a single pass
but the tower cannot be used live. There
is also a two-rod carousel with key lock
retention for a 35 ft (10.7 m) long and
8⅝-inch to 13⅜-inch (219 – 340 mm)
diameter drill pipe, so the PV-351 can
drill to a depth of 135 feet.
Drill rotation uses the hydraulic drive
rotary head system that the Garland
team has preferred to an electric motor
drive for a long time. It is the compact
size and light weight of this design that
makes possible “live” tower operation
of the PV-351 and preceding Drillmaster
rigs. The variable displacement rotary
head on the big Pit Viper has two 14-
cubic inch motors that deliver 340 hp
(254 kW) and a maximum torque of
19,000 foot-pounds (25,759 Nm). Maxi-
mum speed is 170 rpm. Simply adjusted
extended head guides maintain align-
ment during descent and a separate
lube pump improves motor spline life.
A rod support system, actuated auto-
matically by detection points at the
rotary head, supports the pipe at its
mid-point whenever the rotary head is
near the top of the tower.
Another important feature of the
Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions rig de-
sign is the patented cable feed pulldown
and pullback system developed in-house
and introduced on the DM-M3. It is
low-cost, four times lighter and much
quieter than a chain feed, but offers good
buckling resistance. The cables absorb
the loads transmitted by drilling before
they reach the rotary head so that drill-
ing is smoother and bit wear is reduced.
As well as providing 120,000 pounds
(54,446 kg) of pulldown and 125,000
pounds (56,700 kg) of bit load, the dual

Comfortable cabin with excellent visibility.
Automatic cable tensioning – pull-down cables
jack screws.
cylinder system delivers 70,000 pounds
(31,752 kg) of pullback and retract speed
is 140 FPM (42.7 m/min). The system
also improves rig safety as the operator
can detect dangerous amounts of wear,
whereas a chain feed can fail catastro-
phically. The downside is that stretch-
ing in use results in a loss of cable ten-
sion, but this has been countered by an
automatic tensioning system that uses
independent hydraulic motors and jack
screws to tension the pulldown cables
and hydraulic cylinders to tension the
pullback ones. The system maintains
tension, ensuring accurate rotary head
alignment, and eliminates maintenance
hours for tensioning.
The break out system may not be the
most technically sophisticated piece of
equipment on a rotary drilling rig, but
from the operator’s point of view, its ef-
fectiveness is very important in terms
of the physical effort required and the
non-drilling time involved. On the
PV-351 primary break out is achieved
simply and effectively by a sliding
fork and reverse rotation. A patented
self-adjusting hydraulic tong wrench,
already proven on the DM-M3 rigs,
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 75
The optional cable reel for 1600 feet of 2-inch cable.
is used for auxiliary break out. Neither
operation transmits shock loads to
the tower. The PV-351 has a patented
system for angle drilling between
vertical and 30° in 5° increments. The
same system is used on the DM-M3 rig.
There is a short, independently sup-
ported pivot point and hydraulic cylin-
der at the base of the tower, and two
telescoping rear legs are attached to the
tower close to the rotary head’s upper-
most position and to the tower rest at
the rear of the rig. Locking pins are
remotely activated. This configuration
allows the tower to pivot at deck level,
minimizing the amount of unsupported
drill pipe, which gives the operator a
better view of the deck. The hole to be
drilled can be collared within the Pit
Viper’s dust hood.
New generation cab
The operator’s cab designed for the
PV-351 represented a major step forward
for rotary drilling rigs. Structurally it
incorporates FOPS protection meeting
the ISO 3449 Level 2 standards, floor-
mounted air conditioning with adjustable
Talking Technically
vents, and sound damping to 75 dB(A).
The cab is raised to improve forward
visibility and provides a good direct
view of the rig deck as well. The wind-
screen has wiper/washers as standard;
there is a pressurizer, and sun shades
are optional. The operator’s ability to
maintain high productivity through a
shift is further enhanced by an adjust-
able, swiveling suspension seat that is
optimally placed for using the touch
screen machine interface and the
multi-function stick controls for feed,
rotation, propel and tower raising. The
sticks for jack operation and tramming
have safety triggers and auxiliary func-
tions are push-button operated.
The PV-351 is equipped with the
Atlas Copco computerized Rig Control
System (RCS). RCS is time proven yet
remarkably agile to continually support
current technology advances. Based on
the highly reliable and well proven
CAN-bus (Controller Area Network)
system, RCS uses a single main cable
through the rig interconnecting a series
of modules controlling the drill’s sen-
sors and actuators. This simplistic
modular design allows upgrades to
 Talking Technically
Operators panel with the RCS touch screen.
higher levels of automation with little
machine downtime. The RCS touch
screen displays a selection of data,
including all pertinent drill informa-
tion using internationally recognizable
symbols. The screen is not affected
by dirt and can be used by operators
wearing gloves. The PV-351 rigs being
supplied to Boliden’s Aitik copper mine
in Sweden are equipped for Remote
Rig Access, enabling Atlas Copco
to check the drilling performance,
maintenance requirements, etc. from
distant locations. Aitik already uses
this technology to good effect for other
major equipment units. This includes
the RCS (computerized Rig Control
System page 25), GPS positioning,
MWD (Measurement While Drilling)
data collection functionality, Autodrill,
Auto levelling and wireless data trans-
fer.
Options
A number of equipment options are avai-
lable 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
for operation in ambient temperatures
down to -40° C, a four-camera LCD
vision system and attention horn, and a
76 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
wireless remote propel control. Remote
controlled tramming with the operator
off the rig is mandatory in certain situ-
ations under some regulatory authori-
ties. Additional options are a Hiab crane
for loading and unloading bits and ac-
cessories, hydraulic retractable stair-
case, tower ladder and much more. Op-
tional equipment for electric Pit Vipers
includes a 5-by-8-foot cable reel for
1,600 feet of 2 inch cable, a load break
switch, a power factor correction system,
a machinery house pressurizer, and a
2,100 gal (7,950 l) water injection system.
Extensive experience
It is now almost eight years since the
first PV-351 started drilling at the then
Phelps Dodge Morenci copper mine.
This prototype machine has now oper-
ated for more than 40,000 hours. A
second field follow machine went to
Northgate’s Kemess mine in May 2003.
Atlas Copco decided to invest consider-
able 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 Codelco’s Chuqui-
camata copper mine in Chile and to the
Excellent view of the drill deck from the cabin.
Anglo Platinum Potgietersrust opera-
tion (now called Mogalakwena) in
South Africa. Codelco reported excel-
lent results with the first machine
and ordered a second rig that arrived
at Chuqui in September 2006. Soon
after, another PV-351 started operating
at Codelco’s Radomiro Tomic mine
and Andina ordered electric powered
machines. The first two PV-351 rigs
at Anglo Platinum now have a fleet of
nine electric machines.
There are now PV-351 fleets work-
ing for Vale at Sossego in Brazil, at the
Penasquito precious metals mine in
Mexico, and at the Los Pelambres and
Spence copper mines in Chile. Anto-
fagasta chose a mix of diesel and electric
rigs for Los Pelambres and Rio Tinto
has done the same at the Rössing ura-
nium mine in Namibia, southern Africa.
Antofagasta minerals has invested in
electric PV-351 units for its Esperanza
project in Chile, while BHP’s Escondida
mine is building up a fleet of diesel
PV-351’s. A fleet of machines are oper-
ating at Newmont’s Batu Hijau mine
in Indonesia and Atlas Copco has also
supplied four PV-351E drilling rigs to
Boliden in Sweden for their Aitik 36
project.
Dustin Penn

Peace of mind
Focus on uptime
A large and growing number of
customers count on the econo-
mic advantages of involving Atlas
Copco in the servicing of their
equipment throughout its opera-
tional life. They know that quali-
fied service and maintenance are
the most important factors in
maximizing efficiency and mini-
mizing downtime. Atlas Copco
continues to harness technology
and improve skills to deliver com-
prehensive parts and services to
meet those needs.
Parts and Services
Developing valuable service and ma-
intenance programs that provide high
quality care for customers using new
Pit Viper and other drilling rig models
around the world has involved a number
of key steps:
• alignment with a proven, traditional
approach to parts and service provi-
sioning already practiced within the
Atlas Copco group;
• taking into account the global spread
of the drilling rig fleet;
• achieving the highest possible level
of competence within Atlas Copco
Customer Service Centers around
the world;
• providing top quality materials, parts,
services and documentation neces-
sary for optimal drilling rig opera-
tion and maintenance; and
• state-of-the art distribution center.
Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions parts
and services team has built a customer
care program for direct delivery to the
mine site. program is designed to en-
sure continued reliability and highest
possible availability of drilling equip-
ment, yielding to the customer superior
productivity and the lowest total cost of
ownership. Every element in the portfo-
lio of products and services is designed
with customer care in mind.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 77
Our Service Agreements provide customized protection plans taking the quality of care up a level.
Genuine parts
Genuine Parts are manufactured to the
same quality standards as the compo-
nents used for drill rig manufacture.
They undergo the same endurance
testing and quality assurance process.
Consequently, these parts are warran-
ted between scheduled machine ser-
vices and will maintain the reliability,
availability and performance of the
drilling rig.
In addition to individual parts, Atlas
Copco Drilling Solutions packages
comprehensive service kits contain-
ing all required components for spe-
cific tasks. The prices for these kits
are always more favorable compared
to the individual component costs;
they reduce inventory size and admin-
istration as well as minimize service
time. To support customer needs, our
129,000-square-foot climate controlled
distribution center in Allen, Texas, pro-
cesses and ships over 1,000 line items
daily. The facility is staffed by more
than 75 dedicated employees ensuring
quick, accurate order fulfilment to a 24⁄7
global drilling fleet.
Atlas Copco Fluids
Formulated by specialist suppliers to
exacting Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions
Talking Technically
specifications, the Atlas Copco Fluids,
like the genuine parts, subject to rig-
orous quality assurance procedures.
Their use ensures extended warranty
eligibility as well as helps to minimize
downtime and optimize service life.
Extended warranty
Designed to offer additional protection
against unscheduled component failure
for a three-year period with unlim-
ited operating hours, the Extended
Warranty offers fair, simple coverage
with no small print. It covers the air
compressor, rotary head, hydraulic
pumps and motors, hydraulic feed and
jack cylinders, main frame and tower,
and Atlas Copco approved undercar-
riage.
To meet warranty conditions, the cu-
stomer is responsible for following the
Atlas Copco service schedule and plan-
ned audits, and must use genuine parts,
selected oils and lubricants. Following
these procedures allows the customer to
focus on production while assuring rig
reliability. The extended warranty can
also be linked to Service Agreements.
Service agreements
Taking the quality of care up a level,
Service Agreements provide customized
 Talking Technically

protection plans for drilling opera-

tions. These service solutions feature
total maintenance, preventative main-
tenance, fixed-price repair and parts-
only plans. They utilize genuine Atlas
Copco parts and materials so that the
extended warranty period is secured.
They minimize unplanned downtime
and they help customers achieve lowest
total operating cost for their drilling
equipment.

Fluid Management
Basic fluid management means looking
after health, safety and the environment
as well as the costs of production. Fluid
Management is built on a philosophy of
Hydraulic Hose First Aid Kit - Provides an immediate replacement for every hydraulic hose on our drill rig.
best practices in contamination control
insuring clean fluid power.
Atlas Copco Fluid Management
aims higher; addressing HSE and
targeting the optimization of machine
productivity at the lowest total cost of
ownership possible. Atlas Copco Fluid
Management delivers the difference.
SAFER, CLEANER RELIABILITY:
• Our SAFER fluid handling equip-
ment has been embraced by the
world's top mining companies.
• Our CLEANER contamination con-
trol and decontamination devices
protect and extend the useful life of
your key components.
• Our RELIABILITY solutions keep
your equipment running properly
and at the lowest cost possible.
Hydraulic Filter Cart - A superior contamination control device with maximum protection in mind.
Confidently deliver fluid power by
making Atlas Copco hydraulic hose
assemblies in your custom Mobile
Hose Module. Maximize the useful
life of Atlas Copco Fluids by monitor-
ing fluid health through oil sampling
and onsite oil trend analysis. Predict
optimal component change out dates
before failures occur. Rebuild and reuse
cores with cost saving seal and rebuild
kits. The tools are in stock and avail-
able. Training can be accomplished for
groups or individuals upon request.
Order today or simply contact us for
more details.

Jeff Rose

Onsite Oil Test Center allows immediate decision SAFER Fluid handling device insures clean top
making capabilities on fluid health. ups of fluid.

78 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining


The economic case for routine
bit grinding
Cutting hole costs
The button bit was originally de-
veloped to do the job of an insert
bit, without the necessity for fre-
quent grinding. However, it was
soon found that the service life of
a button bit increased consider-
ably if the cemented carbide but-
tons were ground.
   Nowadays, it has become ex-
tremely important to grind button
bits at proper intervals, in order to
extend the service life of the rock
drilling tool, maintain penetration
rates, and drill straight holes and
lower the total cost.
   In all rock excavation opera-
tions, the cost is usually ex­pressed
in cost per drilled metre (cost/dm),
in cost per cubic metre (cost/m3),
or in cost per tonne.
   The cost to produce a hole de-
pends on how fast it can be drilled,
and how many tools will be con-
sumed. The cost to produce a cubic
metre of rock is dependent upon
the cost of the hole, and the cost of
blasting. If the blasthole is of poor
quality, then more explosives will
be consumed in blasting the rock.
Unsharpened bits very often give a
poor quality hole with deviation.
   Grinding constitutes around
2% of the costs of the entire drill-
ing operation. To run the business
without grinding could multiply
this cost, with up to 100% added
when production losses are taken
into account. Labour and mate-
rial are the highest costs, while
the machine investment cost
is low when ­u tilization is high,
with a large number of bits to be
ground.
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,​
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 79
Talking Technically
throughout its life, maintains the cor­
rect button shape and pro­t rusion. It
features correct centring on all buttons,
producing a high quality cemented car­
bide 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. It is dif­
ficult 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, and a possibility
of scratches due to the larger diamond
grain used. 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,
The Secoroc BQ3 grinding machine can handle
regardless of the amount of wear on the
drill bits up to 127 mm in diameter.
wheel, ensuring that the bit will achieve
Total bit life
drill metres
700
600
10 regrindings
per drill bit
500
400
300
200
Grinding interval
100 drill metres
0
10 20 30 40 50 60
Diagram 1: Typical bit life grinding at different intervals.
 Talking Technically
Diagram 2: Risk of total loss when a bit is overdrilled.
standard penetration rate throughout its
entire life. It has also been shown that
bit life is increased considerably when
grinding wheels are used, rather than
grinding cups. Wheels also excavate
steel around the button, simplifying the
grinding task, and giving the bit a more
exact profile.
Diagram 3: Penetration rate drops as the button profiles flatten.
80 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
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
third of the button diameter. When
the number of drilled metres to reach
this stage has been established, then a
calculation of bit life can be made, by
multiplying by the number of times it
can be reground. As a general rule, a bit
can be reground 10 times, but smaller
bits may achieve slightly less than this
figure, while larger bits may achieve
more. So, if the grinding interval has
been established as 60 drill metres,
then the average bit life will be 660
drill metres (diagram 1). If a bit is
overdrilled, and the wear flat is more
than half of the button diameter, there
is a tendency towards cracked buttons.
There is always a sharp edge created
on the button, and this becomes sharper
the more the bit is overdrilled. This
sharp edge, especi­a lly on ballistic
buttons, is very brittle. Once the edge
cracks, pieces of cemented carbide
break away and circulate in the hole,
causing secondary damage to the but­
tons.
When a bit doesn’t show any vis­
ible wear flat, it may be suffering from
micro cracks on the cemented carbide
surface. This is known colloquially
as snakeskin, and can be clearly seen
when using a magnifier. In this case,
the surface has to be ground away, oth­
erwise the micro cracks lead to more
severe damage on the buttons.
Likewise, buttons which protrude
too much must be ground down to
avoid damage (diagram 2).
Penetration rate
When the right bit has been chosen
for the rock condition, it will provide
maximum penetration rate, along
with acceptable hole straightness. In
rock conditions like Swedish granite,
with a compressive strength of around
2,200 bar, the bit gets a wear flat after
just 10-20 drill metres, accompanied by
a small drop in penetration rate. When
it has a wear flat equivalent to one-third
of the button diameter, the penetration
will have dropped by 5%. If the bit is
used further until it has a two-thirds
wear f lat, the penetration will have
dropped more than 30% (diagram 3).
When a bit has a heavy wear flat it tends
to deviate, and, by the time it reaches
the bottom of the hole, it will have devi­
ated far more than planned. As a result,

the blast will produce coarse fragmenta­
tion, and much secondary blasting may
be required.
In slope hole drilling, it is of utmost
importance that the holes are straight.
If the holes deviate, the slope walls will
be uneven, making rock reinforcement
more difficult than expected.
Rock formations with different
layers and joints are often characterized
by heavy hole deviation, putting extra
stress on the remaining rock tools in
the drillstring. A sharp bit always cuts
better, and will prevent both deviation,
and its disadvantages.
Grinding machines
Two parameters guide the selection of
the right grinding machine: the number
of bits to be ground; and whether the
machine should be portable or station­
ary. Several kinds of grinding machines
are available to satisfy these parameters.
In most cases, a simple machine will
suffice for a small operation, grinding
only a few bits.
The semi-automatic machines are
more suitable for larger operations,
such as mines and construction sites,
where the machine can be stationary,
and the rocktools can be brought to it.
Secoroc HG is a water or air-cooled
handheld machine for grinding cups.
Both spherical and ballistic cups are
Diamond grinding wheels.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 81
Talking Technically
9
8
7
Labour cost
6
Grinding material cost
5
Machine cost
4
3
2
Annual grinding volume – buttons.
1
Figures on the left side of the diagram
0 show cost per button in SEK.
5 000
10 000
25 000
50 000
75 000
100 000
Cost of grinding reduces dramatically with volume.
available. The machine is driven by up intended for down-the-hole bits and
to 7 bar compressed air, and is suitable COPROD, but can also be used for
for a small grinding operation. threaded bits with a special bit holder.
Secoroc Manual B is an air-driven Secoroc BQ3 is the latest semi-
portable grinder using diamond-coated automatic machine, with many fea­
grinding wheels for spherical, ballistic tures such as auto-indexing device,
and full-ballistic buttons. The machine timer control, automatic feed, and
is mounted in a box fitted with wheels an automatic centring arm. These
and handles for easy set up. It is mainly features, coupled to an ergonomic
for threaded button bits, but small design, ensure high productivity, and
down-the-hole bits can be ground in the machine is designed to handle
this machine. A steel spring is mounted large volumes of threaded button bits.
in the profile of the grinding wheel, Cooling water is recycled after the
where it functions as a centring device, waste product has been separated in
allowing for easy grinding. a container. Secoroc BQ3-DTH is the
Secoroc Manual B-DTH is similar latest grinding machine for mainly
to the Secoroc Manual B. It is mainly down-the-hole and COPROD bits.
Secoroc Manual B.
 Talking Technically

Secoroc Manual B-DTH. Secoroc BQ3-DTH.

It can also be used for threaded bits

with a special bit holder. The machine
has the same features as Secoroc BQ3,
and can grind bits up to 178 mm (7 in)
diameter.

Grinding advice
The Secoroc grinding machine’s 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 machine’s 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.
Secoroc’s advice is to use Secoroc
grinding machines, with profiled dia­
mond grinding wheels, for grinding
button bits. It is the only solution able
to consistently deliver perfectly shaped
buttons on customers’ bits.
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.

Comparison of grinding wheel with grinding cup. Daniel Jonsson

82 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining


Secoroc Jazz
Secoroc Jazz for correct and professional grinding.
Rig mounted
grinder
In today’s 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 mainte-
nance needed if optimum drilling
productivity is to be achieved.
   Regrinding the cemented car-
bide 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 con-
stantly on the move from one job
site to another, has been an elu-
sive goal. However, Atlas Copco
Secoroc has now come up with
the solution, by developing a rig-
mounted semi-automatic grinder.
The Secoroc Jazz, equipped with
a profiled diamond grinding
wheel, achieves the same quality
of grinding onboard the rig as that
previously associated with static
workshop models.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 83
Development
Atlas Copco Secoroc has gained exten-
sive knowledge and experience of re-
grinding large volumes of button bits
with stationary grinders, such as the
Secoroc BQ3 and Secoroc BQ3-DTH.
These, toge​ther with previous genera-
tions of similar grinders, have all used
profiled diamond grinding wheels for
working on spherical, ballistic and full-
ballistic 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 deliv-
er the same perfectly shaped spherical
and ballistic buttons after regrinding.
This is increasingly important in rela-
tion to ballistic buttons, which are
becoming more and more popular.
Secoroc Jazz
The air-driven Secoroc Jazz helps opti-
mize the performance of the rock drill
and drill string, ­without the bit leaving
the rig. It is user friendly, is designed
Talking Technically
for economy of air consumption, and
can easily be retro-fitted to most rigs
in current use. It is delivered with an
attachment for bolting on to existing
rigs, which allows the operator to fold
away the grinder when not in use. It
will also be available through the sales
companies as an option on new Atlas
Copco drill rigs. To make the grinder
ready for work, it is simply a matter of
hooking up the air hose, connecting the
electricity, and filling up the water tank
for the mist cooling.
The low air consumption of the
Secoroc Jazz makes it possible to grind
bits without interrupting drilling opera-
tions. The grinder is semi-­automatic,
and features an automatic centring
device for placing each button in the
correct position under the grinding
wheel. An indexing bit holder is used for
the gauge buttons, and there is a handy
time relay for setting grinding time.
Secoroc Jazz is a very flexible grin-
der that will have a bene-ficial influ-
ence on drilling economy. It will grind
spherical and ballistic buttons, on threa-
ded or tapered button bits, as well as big
DTH - and COPROD bits from 35 mm
(13 ⁄8 in) to 254 mm (10 in) in diameter.
 Talking Technically

Grinding instructions for button bits

When to regrind

Button bits should be reground when the penetration

rate drops, or if any of the cemented-carbide buttons are
damaged (fractured buttons should be ground flat). It is both
practical and economical to redress the buttons when the
wear flat reaches about 1/3 of the diameter of the button.
Look out for “snake skin”

If microscopic fatigue cracks – so called “snake skin”

– begin to appear on the cemented carbide buttons, the
cracks must be ground away. In any event, bits should be
reground after 300 metres of drilling at the most.
   This should be done even if there are no visible signs
of wear and the penetration rate continues to be good.
If snake-skin is not removed, the cracks will deepen and
ultimately result in button fracture.
Do not grind away too much cemented carbide

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.
Always grind broken buttons flat
Grinding the button bit in a profes- drilling output and produc­t ivity will
sional way makes sense, because grind- be significantly lower, and costs may
ing accounts for only a fraction of the escalate.
cost of the entire drilling operation.
When a drilling programme is carried Daniel Jonsson
on without correct service of the bits,

A drill bit can remain in service as long as the gauge but-

tons maintain the diameter of the bit. Fractured buttons Secoroc Jazz
must always be ground flat to prevent chips of cemented
carbide from damaging the other buttons. Technical Data

Avoid grinding the gauge Air pressure, maximum 7 bar (102 psi)
Air pressure, minimum 6 bar (87 psi)
Air consumption 25 l/sec
Coolant container 3l
Air tool oil consumption 1.8 cl/hour
1 Output, spindle motor 1 kW
Speed, spindle 15,000 rpm
Gauge button anti-taper has to be removed by grinding,
although excessive reduction of the bit diameter should Voltage 24 V (D.C.)
be avoided. Leave about max 1 mm of the wear flat.
Weight, exclusive of packing 90 kg (198 lbs)
Transport dimension 800 x 500 x 700 mm
Grinding Capacity
Maximum distance between bit holder
250 mm (9 7⁄8")
and grinding wheel

If necessary, remove some of the bit-body steel below

Maximum diameter of drill bit 254 mm (10")
the gauge buttons, so that a clearance (taper) of 0.5 mm Minimum diameter of drill bit 35 mm (13⁄8")
is maintained. If the flushing holes start to deform, open
them up with the aid of a rotary burr or steel file. Minimum distance between buttons 3.5 mm ( 9⁄64")

84 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining


Aitik eyes top three efficiency
The Aitik 36 project will raise ore production from 18 Mt/y to 36 Mt/y by 2014. The investment will make Aitik one of the most cost-efficient mines
in the world. (Photo: www.boliden.com)
Boliden on course
With the Aitik 36 expansion com-
pleted in 2010 mining is now sche-
duled 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 de-
liver 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 pre-
cious metals concentrate to the Rönn-
skär smelting and refining complex at
Skelleftehamn, from the Aitik open pit
mine. The company has periodically
upgraded the mining and treatment of
low-grade ore to maintain financially
viable production. Now, following com-
pletion of the Aitik 36 Project, Boliden
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 85
Sweden, Copper Mining at Aitik
is in the process of doubling the plant
throughput rate to 36 Mt/y of even lo-
wer grade ore. What’s more, instead of
closing in 2016 the mine should con-
tinue working until 2029.
At present the operation is firmly on
track to meet its goals, Mine Manager
Patrik Gillerstedt reports. As with pre-
vious expansions at Aitik Boliden has
opted for the most cost effective appro-
priate technology available: one result
is that the mine has added four Atlas
Copco Pit Viper rigs to the production
drilling fleet.
Securing copper supply
Located near Gällivare and 60km north
of the Arctic Circle, Aitik rails material
400 km to Boliden’s Rönnskär complex
at the Baltic port of Skelleftehamn. It is
the facility’s largest copper concentrate
supplier although Rönnskär treats a
range of concentrates and scrap to yield
refined copper, lead, precious metals
and zinc clinker. The company operates
four more primary metal production
facilities and is the third largest copper
and zinc metals supplier in Europe.
In 2006 Boliden concluded that,
whereas the existing 18 Mt/y operation
was scheduled to close in 2016, a new
state-of-the-art and larger scale con-
centrator would be technically and eco-
nomically able to continue recovering
concentrate from significantly lower
grade ore reserves at Aitik. The avail-
able tonnage would allow Aitik to pro-
cess 36 Mt/y by 2014 and continue pro-
duction until 2029. Concentrate ship-
ment to Rönnskär could be improved
by building a rail spur from the mine
site to the main line instead of trucking
the material to the station at Gällivare.
The €600 million ($845 mn) Aitik 36
Project was launched in 2007, the new
transport and processing systems
came fully on-stream in April 2010
and the official opening by King Carl
XVI Gustaf was held on August 1.
 Aitik eyes top three efficiency
Boliden undertook a thorough evaluation before deciding to invest in four new Pit Viper 351E rotary drill rigs.
Boliden’s criteria included the ability to drill 311 mm holes to a depth of 19 meters.
The mining operation is based on pro-
ven and probable reserves of 630 Mt.
As of December 2006 proven reserves
totalled 520 Mt, grading 0.29% copper,
0.2 g/t gold and 2.0 g/t silver, while pro-
bable reserves were 110 Mt and the
overall resource stood at approximately
one billion tonnes. Although the grade
is low Aitik does get a little help from
nature, notes Mine Manager Patrik
Gillerstedt. “We are fortunate in having
good rock conditions here that enable
us to have really steep slopes – 47° on
the footwalls and 52° on the hanging
wall – which means we don’t 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 extrac-
tion rate the Aitik 36 project team de-
cided 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 Salmijärvi,
one kilometer southeast of the main
mine. In all more than 80 Mt/y of rock
will be moved and Aitik 36 included
a largely new in-pit crushing and con-
veying system to contain mine site rock
86 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Peter Palo, Boliden’s Production and Service
Superintendent..
haulage costs as well as additional new
shovels and trucks. Boliden under-
took a thorough evaluation of available
options in 2007 and decided to continue
primarily with electric-powered equip-
ment. Loading and haulage capacity
would be raised by buying new models
from the suppliers of the existing
fleets. But the drilling rigs evaluation
persuaded Boliden to switch supplier.
Drill fleet build-up
Aitik’s primary blasting requirement is
to produce a fragmentation suited not
only to the loading, hauling, crushing
and conveying equipment but also to
the grinding system Boliden favors.
“We are using autogenous milling”,
explains Patrik Gillerstedt, “and it is
extremely important to get the drilling
and blasting right”.
The blasthole drilling effort at Aitik
has been shared between Boliden per-
sonnel doing the bench production
drilling and an NCC team contracted
to do the pre-splitting. Aitik chose to
retain this division of labor so NCC was
able to continue using its Atlas Copco
ROC L8 machines for downhole drill-
ing straight contour holes. Boliden,
on the other hand, needed to upgrade
their f leet of large rotary drill rigs
with 4 new units. The project team’s
primary criterion was the ability to single
pass drill 311 mm diameter holes to
a depth of at least 19 m: drilling big
311 mm holes going 16 to 17 m deep
eliminates the risk of deviation, points
out Peter Palo, Boliden’s Production
and Service Superintendent. Also ex-
tremely important for the fragmenta-
tion is the positional accuracy of each
hole; the more accurate the holes, the
wider the pattern can be. That way
Aitik can actually save drill meters and
drill fewer holes. Ability to drill the
right hole depths is also important,
with smooth blasting to yield good flat
surfaces for the large loaders and
trucks. Drilling to the right depth also
means there will be less loose rock to
drill through on the next level down.
Consequently, the team looked for
features such as finger-tip joystick con-
trols, programmable automatic drilling
modes and GPS-based hole naviga-
tion. Other major considerations were

The PV-351 could 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.
good built-in safety and productivity
enhancing features such as an operator-
friendly cabin, ease of raising and low-
ering the tower for tramming, and the
ability to drill angled holes. Operators’
opinions regarding the merits of the
various models available were there-
fore particularly important and Boliden
was able to take some of them to the
Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions (ADS)
premises in Garland to check out the
Pit Viper rigs. Palo says the feedback
was clear; the operators preferred the
ergonomics of these machines, espe-
cially the joystick control.
Equally, the electric version of the
hydraulic drive rotary head Pit Viper
(PV-351E) met the Boliden managers’
requirements as to drilling capability
and ease of operation. Indeed, commen-
ted Peter Palo, the team was convin-
ced that the Pit Vipers were the most
advanced rigs of their kind on the mar-
ket. Not only does the RCS rig control
system enable drill and blast plans to be
loaded directly into the rigs’ computers,
the system also provides a high level of
automation such as GPS hole naviga-
tion – a major contributor to hole depth
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 87
Aitik eyes top three efficiency
quality – plus remote tramming and
auto-drilling as well as auto-levelling.
The Rig Remote Access system allows
remote maintenance problem-solving.
Moving about the PV-351E is safe and
four cameras provide good visibility
where there is no sight line. The 65 ft
tower can be lowered in eight minutes
or less, enabling much quicker reloca-
tion times than some competing rigs
can achieve. The angle drilling option
is relatively expensive but Aitik calcu-
lated that having it fitted to just two of
the four rigs would achieve the degree
of operational flexibility required.
Preparations for delivery of the
PV-351E machines started during 2008,
including training at the ADS head-
quarters for Swedish Atlas Copco rig
assembly and maintenance personnel
and for Boliden operators. Assembly
of the first machine was completed in
January 2009. The local Atlas Copco
team worked with Aitik engineering
personnel under the guidance of ADS
experts from Garland. The rigs are
maintained by Aitik staff assisted by
an Atlas Copco technician, with servic-
ing after each 250 hours of operation.
In October 2010 Boliden reported 95%
availability. Atlas Copco has also con-
tinued to provide training for new
operators.
Pit Vipers in practice
The electric Pit Viper 351 is very heavy,
with an operating weight of 185 t, and
very large: 16.4 m long, 8.1 m wide and
31.4 m high with tower up. Even so sin-
gle pass drilling with the Pit Viper is
a one-person job, although the ope-
rator of a hired-in wheel loader does
the power cable shifting. The hydraulic
drives, cable feed system and rig con-
trol technology also make the PV-351E
quite different to operate from the
rigs previously in use at Aitik. Never-
theless, according to an experienced
driller, Gerd Martinsson, the PV-351E is
rather easy to handle. Hanna Wikman,
only recently trained by Atlas Copco,
agrees: “It seemed pretty complicated
at first but I soon got the hang of it.
The controls are well placed and the
screen quickly displays all the drill-
ing data you need, engine hours, drill
speed, rpm, pull-down pressure etc.”
 Aitik eyes top three efficiency

Hanna says she uses the GPS to locate

her position in relation to the drill plan
sent by the mine’s control center via
the Wireless LAN and finds the auto
de-levelling system helpful, though
she prefers manual levelling. The mine
works three 8-hour shifts daily Monday
– Friday and four 12-hour shifts over
the weekend.
Equipped with 9.9 m drill pipe and
311 mm bit (at the lower end of the
machine’s 270-406 mm range), the
Pit Vipers typically drill blastholes
to a depth in the 17-18 m range but in
some locations down to 19.50 meters,
close to the rig’s 19.8 m maximum.
For standard 15 m high bench drilling
the typical hole spacing is 7 x 9 meters
in waste rock, 6.5 x 8.5 m in ore, and
the rigs drill 200-300 holes for a blast-
ing round designed to yield around
700,000 t rock. Penetration rates vary
considerably with rock type but by
October 2010 the net rate was 33 m/
hour – 144 m/8-hour shift, higher than
Aitik’s projected 27 m/h target. Bit
life is around 1000 m, sometimes less.
Forcit is contracted to charge each hole
with about a ton of Kemitti 600 emul-
sion explosive. The company has built
a matrix factory on the mine site and
delivers the constituents to the blast-
ing site. Purpose-built trucks mix the
constituents and charge the blastholes.
Now that management and opera-
tors have a clear idea of the Pit Viper’s
capabilities and characteristics in ope-
ration various tests are underway at
Aitik to further boost efficiency in the
future. These include using Secoroc’s
new PARD (Percussion Assisted Rotary
Drilling) low impact DTH hammers
combined with matching Secoroc PARD
tricone bits to increas penetration rate.
Aitik reports that the system in-
creased drilling rates by an impressive
48 per cent. Drillers are also using the
rig’s auto-tramming feature to tram to
the next drilling position on the
planned path so they can auto-locate
each hole. The Atlas Copco Orealyser
launched at Bauma 2010 has also been
tested at Aitik.

Smart pre-splitting
One of the four Pit Viper 351E drill rigs at the Aitik Mine: The Atlas Copco Rig Control System (RCS) offers a While Boliden was evaluating produc-
wide range of features for automation, safety and communications. tion drilling options NCC ordered

88 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Aitik eyes top three efficiency

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 mine’s W-LAN network.

new ROC L830 Mk II rigs to replace

older machines. During 2009, when
a new SmartROC D65 came to Aitik
for testing, the contractor was suf-
ficiently impressed to buy the unit for
the pre-splitting contract. NCC Site
Manager Stig Fredriksson says the
main reason for this purchase was that
the SmartROC delivers all the benefits
of the Atlas Copco RCS technology.
The new rig and one ROC L830 are
successfully drilling both 140 mm and
165 mm pre-split holes to depths of
33-35 m, typically at a 1.5 m spacing,
using Secoroc COP54 and COP64 DTH
hammers and spherical button bits. The
NCC team maintains the rigs and the
on-site workshop houses two Secoroc
Grind Matic regrinding machines.
Typically the bits drill about 65 m
before they need a regrind and can be The typical hole spacing for the PV-351E is 7 x 9 m, drilling vertical holes to a maximum depth of 19.5 m
reground 10 times. using two 9.9 m drill pipe in a single pass.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 89

 Aitik eyes top three efficiency

Aitik open pit mine, Sweden.

NCC says the SmartROC has been

working two shifts daily, drilling about
6,000 to 7,000 meters/month and aver-
aging about 90% availability. The rig’s
Full Drill Cycle Automation option
allows the operators to prepare material
on the bench while the rig finishes the
hole by itself, enabling high productiv-
ity. Also much appreciated in this tough
environment, where winter tempera-
tures can drop to -35°C, both the DTH
rigs have warm and comfortable cabins
that make life as easy as possible. A
second SmartROC D65 with some
serviceability enhancements suggested
by NCC was expected to arrive on site
during November 2010.

Drilling with confidence

“We have now succeeded in fine-tuning
our operations, particularly when it
comes to the blasting, where we have
put a lot of effort into establishing the
right powder factor. The result is an
increase in mill throughput averag-
ing about seven per cent”, says Patrik
Gillerstedt.
He believes that the current produc-
tivity level is comparable with that of
the world’s most recently developed
mines, irrespective of ore to waste
ratio. “Our big challenge is to achieve a
very low cost per ton of metal and that
means we have to be super efficient”,
he concludes.

Acknowledgements
Kyran Casteel of Mineral Industry
Intelligence & Information, followed by
Tore Marklund, Rob Naylor and Terry
Greenwood of Greenwood Communi- Pre-splitting on the Aitik benches:This SmartROC D65 is a highly productive and comfortable rig to operate in
cations, visited the Aitik operation in these harsh conditions where temperatures can drop to -35 degrees in winter. Togethe r with a ROC L8 it drills
2009 and 2010. 140 and 165 mm holes to depths of 33–35 m.

90 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 USA, Butte, Mt

Pit Vipers beat the chill

Pit Vipers fit for
cold climate
The city of Butte, MT, was once
one of America’s biggest mining
regions. Named "the richest hill
on Earth," its underground opera-
tions eventually extended to some
12,000 miles of drifts. Today it is
the Continental Pit mine that do-
minates the landscape and, since
2005, two Pit Viper drill rigs that
feed production.

The continental pit

Today, many cities that saw their rise in
the late 19th century offer a skyline of
Victorian architecture and brick high
rises, but not many also have head
frames jutting out amidst their skylines.
In its heyday, Butte’s population was
nearly three times its current size, num-
bering over 100,000 inhabitants. Every-
one was focused on building fortunes
in a growing metals market or offering
services to the mining industry.
A dozen antique head frames now
mark the former underground activ-
ity, like monuments to an unforgotten
period of history. One of the country’s
leading mining institutions, Montana
Tech at the University of Montana, still
keeps a decline active so tomorrow’s
geologists and engineers can learn from
the past.
Underground mining ceased in 1975
and large scale open-pit mining began
in 1955 with development of the Ber-
keley Pit, which closed in 1983. The
Continental Pit opened in 1980 and is
currently 7,320 ft long, 3,640 ft wide
and 380 ft deep. Projected dimensions
are 8,000 x 6,000 x 800 ft.
Mining in Butte today takes on a
very different look. Montana Resources
bought the property from Atlantic
Richfield in 1986 and reopened the
Continental Pit. The company stopped
mining in 2000 due to high electricity
costs and resumed in 2003.
From 1986 to 2006, the Continental
Pit has given up 1.4 billion pounds PV271's team up to quickly finish holes on a blast pattern.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 91

 Pit Vipers Beat the Chill
From left, Gary Hayes and Clint Byington discuss outfitting the rig with tank heaters.
of copper and 163 million pounds of
molybdenum from 285 million tons of
milled (dry) ore.
According to Wikipedia, from 1880
through 2005, the mines of the Butte
district have produced more than 9.6
Cold package solution with heater blanket mounted on air receiver tank.
92 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
million tons of copper, 2.1 million tons
of zinc, 1.6 million tons of manganese,
381 thousand tons of lead, 87 thousand
tons of molybdenum, 715 million troy
ounces of silver, and 2.9 million ounces
of gold.
A city on a hill
From the top of the west ridge, on the
impressive campus of Montana Tech,
one looks out to a grand view of a city
that slides away to the valley below.
The active Continental Pit nips at the
city’s edge, cresting at the far eastern
ridge. As the older Berkley Pit grew
over the years and the city has shrunk
in population, hundreds of homes have
been sacrificed to the growth of the
mine.
On a daily basis, 102,000 tons of rock
are mined from the pit with 52,000 tons
of ore milled. To keep the three shov-
els and 170- and 240-ton haul trucks
moving, Montana Resources uses two
Atlas Copco Pit Viper Series PV271
drills, which were acquired in May of
2005 to replace four older drills.
In the past Montana Resources had
used electric drills, but because diesel
provided mobility and convenience
with no electric power cables, “the
decision was made to purchase diesel
drills,” says Gary Hayes, maintenance
supervisor for Montana Resources
mobile fleet.
“They’ve done really well for us,”
says Hayes. The availability for the
month was at 94 percent, with year
to date being 85 percent. The goal for
availability is 90 percent, but staying
ahead of the shovels is what counts.
Cold package
Because cold is an issue in Montana,
the mine has had to make accommo-
dations for the weather. Each drill is
outfitted with a 40 kW generator to run
the cold package, which includes heat
blankets and heaters for the hydraulic
tanks, batteries, separator tank …etc.
The engine is kept warm when not in
operation with a ProHeat system. The
mine is currently in the process of rout-
ing engine exhaust through the water
tanks to keep the drilling water from
freezing during the winter. Previously
alcohol was used as freeze protection
but as costs rise, the mine wants to
utilize the drill’s spent energy to keep
costs down.
“The key is to keep going,” says
Hayes. Shutting down means heating
up the system to get started again.

Drilling on the Continental Pit in Butte, Montana.
Growing the mine
Montana Resource’s driller Brian
Lankford likes operating the PV271,
commenting on benefits such as how
the speed of the bit can be changed
and about the drill’s maneuverability.
“Having no cable is a plus, but simply
turning it is better with this drill,” says
Lankford.
“Changing the bit and bushing takes
about 22 minutes with this drill. Our
old drills took three hours,” explains the
operator. The mine bench where this
PV271 is working is seven holes wide
with 22 ft x 22 ft spacing. The bench is
Brian Lankford finds the control console easy to monitor in order to make adjustments.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 93
over a hundred yards long with holes
48 ft deep. Lankford says the rock
nearest the high wall is harder, taking
28 minutes to drill the 9⅞ inch holes.
But further out, holes take as few as 12
minutes to drill.
Stamina and longevity
Since the drills went into production
in 2005, they have had few issues. The
first drill is due for a complete rebuild
in December. “If you run a piece of
equipment 24/7, things start wearing
out,” the operator remarks. “We have
had no structural issues, as of yet.”
Pit Vipers Beat the Chill
Montana Resources works closely with
their dealer, Modern Machinery, which
keeps a complete supply of parts to
cover any standard issue. Hayes says
they really rely on Modern Machinery.
“Modern has a couple guys who can
walk right to a problem if there is one,
and they have done a great job working
with our guys to educate them on the
drills,” says Hayes.
“When we reopened in 2003, 70 per-
cent of our employees were new to mi-
ning,” states Hayes. “We put six guys
with Modern technicians and had class-
es to educate them on the maintenance
and operation of the drills.”
Once called the “richest hill” on
Earth, mining is showing no sign of slo-
wing around Butte. Although there are
12,000 miles of underground mine wor-
kings under Butte, it is up to Montana
Resources to change the landscape of
Butte, and the PV271 is a big part of
that future.
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Atlas
Copco Mining & Construction maga-
zine No 3 2007. Story and pictures
by Scott Ellenbecker, Ellenbecker
Communications.
 Pit Vipers Beat the Chill

Brian Lankford takes measurements of a 9 7⁄8 -inch hole to 28 feet deep.

94 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining


Arsarco’s 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 mine’s pits. (*TEAMALLOYTM is a registered Atlas Copco trademark).
Single pass drilling
with PV-271
Efficient, profitable operations
rely on the right equipment for
the job at Asarco’s Mission Com-
plex mine, one of the largest mi-
ning operations in the United
States. Mine management at
Mission Complex combined the
cost-effective production of an
electric Pit Viper 271 drill rig
with the independent mobility
and time-saving capability of its
diesel counterpart. The result was
a more efficient, more profitable
operation.
Mission Complex Mine
Mission Complex, located 18 miles
south of Tucson and operated by the
Grupo Mexico subsidiary Asarco Inc.,
is one of the largest copper mines in
Arizona, a state that produces 65% of
the nation’s raw copper. On average
the total Mission Complex produces an
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 95
average of 160,000 tons of rock daily,
equating to 53,000 tons of ore. Annual
production in 2009 was 56.2 million
tons. The mine’s ore-to-waste cut off
is 25 percent copper.
When they were selecting rigs to
replace their aging fleet, Asarco man-
agement looked for those that could
provide cost-effective, high produc-
tion management of the mine’s 40-foot
benches with an additional 7 feet of
sub-drill. Mission’s bench patterns
vary by formation, from limestone to
wollastonite with many variations in
the middle.
The softer rock is a 30 by 35 foot pat-
tern. They pull it in to 18 by 22 feet in
the harder formations. In the past this
presented them with problems with
pipe, because the rock is so abrasive.
To meet the demanding conditions of a
mine of this size and of rock this hard
on tools, mine management combined
the features of diesel and electric rigs.
They focused on two Atlas Copco Pit
Viper blasthole drill models, ultimately
choosing the single-pass capability of
the PV-271 over the 351s.
USA, Asarco
They are now running two PV-271s.
One is a diesel model, just under three
years old. The second, the electric mo-
del, entered service in December 2009.
They purchased the diesel model to
extend the drill reach from the existing
power capacity and to add versatility to
their drill fleet. At the time, they were
operating vintage electric-powered
rigs and one fairly new diesel-powered
DM-M2 in three pits.
Adding a diesel-powered PV-271
met the bench and drilling require-
ments in a single-pass drill rig that also
offered versatility and could move in
any of the pits.
To make the 47-foot holes they run
the PV-271 with two 25-foot and one
8-foot section of Atlas Copco 8 ⅝-inch
Teamalloy* pipe. Below that they use a
41-inch bit sub adapter above a Secoroc
air-bearing 10 ⅝-inch tricone bit.
Comparable performance
Aside from one having a power cable,
“The drills operate identically,” said
Juan Salido, a Mission mine driller.
 Asarco’s Complex Equipment Solutions
The Diesel Powered PV-271 moves with ease back and forth on the bench increasing productivity by redu-
cing setup time.
The electric drill came with a larger
compressor, 2,600 CFM, whereas the
diesel Pit Viper has a 1,900 CFM com-
pressor. In regard to drilling produc-
tivity, both average 8,000 to 10,000
meters per month.
Mine manager Hal Galbraith said
the diesel PV-271 worked great for his
mine. “I wouldn’t say we ran the tracks
off the rig, because we did haul it on
our lowboy too, but it went everywhere
in the mine.” Since then, the mine has
focused operations to just two of the
pits, but the diesel Pit Viper still moves
wherever needed within the mine.
Time on task favors Diesel
Drill and blast manager Larry Maddox
noted that the diesel rig offers a sig-
nificant advantage, working well at
moving into tight spots on the bench to
allow drilling to continue before power
is moved into the working area for the
shovels. “Moving an electric drill just
takes more time compared to a diesel
rig: having the cable crew available,
cutting the power, moving the cable,
planning the cable drops. You just
can’t put a value on the mobility you
get from a diesel drill.”
Salido added that “it may only take
20 minutes to move the cable but 40
minutes or more for the crew to get
there.” Anything that slows a cable mo-
ving crew stops operations. For exam-
ple, if the cable needed to be moved for
96 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
an afternoon blast and the crew got a
flat tire on the cable truck, everything
would be held up until the tire could be
changed.
The diesel model obviously maxi-
mizes time spent drilling. Softer rock
at the mine may take only 20 to 30 min-
utes to drill each 47-foot hole. Other
formations that contain more garnet-
tectite and wollastonite, however, may
require as much as two hours for the
same hole requirements. Maddox said,
“I think if you had plenty of time, elec-
tric would be better because of the cost
to operate and maintain, but mobility
more than makes up for it with the
diesel drill.”
Comparing operating costs
One exception to this preference for
diesel is in operating cost. The electric
drill currently operates at 61 percent
of the energy costs of the diesel drill.
There is a point when this advantage
outshines the time-saving, independ-
ent mobility of the diesel rig. For
instance, when diesel fuel edged up to
$4 a gallon, the electrical rig was more
attractive.
Galbraith listed some of the addi-
tional, indirect costs to factor in with
use of an electric drill before making a
decision. Each electric rig requires four
4,000-foot cables at $100,000 each.
A 138- 4160 substation to power
the drill costs $250,000. Additional
manpower required to build the infra-
structure and to move the cable during
each relocation must be included in the
comparison.
Outfitting the rigs
Efficient drilling operations at Mission
are the result of strategically match-
ing pipe and bits to these PV-271s.
Teamalloy pipe has a much higher cost
per piece price than other pipe but its
durability and longevity mean cost per
foot is less in the long run.
A 25-foot section of Teamalloy
pipe lasts 6 weeks at Mission. Initial
outside dimension of the pipe is 8.65
inches. They will run it down to 8 or
7.9 before replacing it. The pipe shows
its wear at the lower end of the joint, in
what operators refer to as a “penciling”
effect. They rotate these sections, since
sections closer to the bit wear faster.
This distributes wear evenly among the
sections to increase longevity overall.
As for bits, the air-bearing works the
best in this formation with an average
life for a bit at 7,500 to 8,000 feet. Each
drill will go through about two bits a
week, depending on the ground.
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 produc-
tive. 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, you’ll make $10 on
the back end.”
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Atlas
Copco Mining & Construction maga-
zine No 1 2011. Story and photos
by Scott Ellenbecker, Ellenbecker
Communication, who visited the mine
in June 2010.

Reopening of Copper Mountain
The diesel PV-271’s independent utility enabled it to set up quickly in any part of the Superpit, especially
beneficial during pit push backs.
High-tech pays off
In spite of extreme cold weather
arriving earlier than expected,
Copper Mountain Mining Corpo-
ration’s careful planning, perse-
verance and high tech investment
in reopening a 15-year dormant
copper mine remains on track to
achieve full production by June
2011. This was achieved by com-
bining the benefits of both diesel
and electric-powered Pit Vipers
in their blasthole fleet. Their suc-
cess has inspired interest in other
regional mines abandoned de-
cades ago when mineral prices
fell. Intelligent fleet choices are
proving that revisiting these
mines can be a promising venture.
Promising outlook
It’s a full six months before startup, yet
an historic mine being reopened by the
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 97
CANADA, PRINCETON, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Copper Mountain Mining Corporation
is already rewarding the Princeton,
British Columbia, region with new
jobs and a promising outlook for an
economic windfall from the billions of
dollars of copper, silver and gold the
mine will generate. It comes none too
soon for this area of British Columbia,
whose forest industry has suffered
from both pine beetle devastation and a
downturn in the forest industry overall.
During its previous life, the open-
pit porphyry mine had already yielded
770,000 tonnes of copper, 258 mil-
lion grams of silver, and 20.7 million
grams of gold from 23 years of con-
tinuous production before it closed in
1996, when copper prices were low.
Exploration in 2006 by its new owner,
however, promised that the mountain
would reward the company with ano-
ther 17 years’ worth of production from
its untapped mineral deposits.
Data-based confidence in
projections
Combined evidence from past drilling
and modern exploration convinced
stakeholders that there are still at least
680,000 tonnes of copper left, with pre-
cious metal credits of more than 12.8
million grams of gold and 127.6 million
grams of silver.
Earlier this year, Copper Mountain
Corporation President and CEO, James
O’Rourke, said the company anticipates
full production to reach 32,000 tonnes
per day, amounting to over 45,000
tonnes of copper a year and reaping
significant amounts of gold and silver
as by-products. With operational and
financing costs totaling about $1.30
(USD) per pound, the copper will sell
at about $2.80, which O’Rourke notes
is a significant margin.
The overwhelming evidence that
there are significant resource deposits
yet to mine come from nearly 5,000
historical drill holes combined with
more than 400 of the company’s own.
Continued exploration of the deep-
seated porphyry in the fall of 2010
further confirmed extrapolated predic-
tions. And the life of mine strip ratio is
estimated to be just 2:1.
High profitability, low risk
Although reopening a mine of this size
is a formidable task, the project did
come with some built-in benefits, such
as a ready, skilled workforce from pre-
vious mining operations in the area, as
well as a pre-existing infrastructure at
this site. Only 15 miles from the town
of Princeton, a paved highway runs past
the mine, and the site has ample water
resources with an ideal location for
processing the extracted ore. Copper
Mountain partnered with Mitsubishi
Materials early on, who provided ideal
security for the venture both in finan-
cial backing and by ensuring the mine
a reliable buyer for the ore.
The conscious effort to reduce oper-
ational risk has been evident in every
 Reopening of Copper Mountain
The diesel rig’s components arrived on site in September.
component of the enterprise, including
choice of equipment. For instance, to
move the 22.7 million tonnes of mate-
rial by May 2011 in preparation for full
startup in June, and then to move the
additional 54.9 million tonnes anticipat-
ed during the first production year, all
blasthole drilling has been awarded in
a three-year agreement to Altas Copco
and its Pit Viper series, as well as all
drilling rig parts, ancillary equipment
and tools.
Gary Wright, the Atlas Copco sales
representative for southwestern Canada,
said, “It’s good for startups because it
creates a partnership with the manufac-
turer and the mine. It includes every-
thing from service to the steel and bits
and allows everyone to work together.”
The first rig, a diesel-powered
PV-271, which had been in operation
since September, was joined by its elec-
tric counterpart in November. A second
electric model, a PV-351, completed the
trio of Pit Vipers at the site in January
2011.
Alastair Tiver, Copper Mountain’s
Chief Engineer, said a mix of electric
and diesel is working well. “Use of
electric allows us to lower operating
costs,” he said. “The pit will be deve-
loped with a series of push backs, so
having a diesel rig affords us some
additional mobility to move a rig
from one mining area to another,
98 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
should additional drilling capacity be
required.”
Strategy for reaching the
metals
Peter Holbek, Vice President of Explo-
ration and leader of the mine’s explora-
tion teams, explained the three-pronged
approach the company is undertaking
to realize the company’s production
goals. They have incorporated and ex-
panded all three pits of the mine under
one all-encompassing “Super Pit.”
First the company will drill in areas
of known mineralization from the
previous operation. Second, they will
drill in outer target areas that, although
they were drilled previously, were not
fully explored. And third, they will go
after deeper targets, confident in the
corroborative data from the new and
historical information.
The company purchased the origi-
nal, diesel-powered PV-271 for its
ability to move quickly into other areas
without the need to relocate power. The
decision to purchase electric-powered
Pit Vipers was based on economy.
Although they would have purchased
a third PV-271, Mine Manager Art
Pratico said the PV-351E was immedi-
ately available.
The current PV-271s, with their
ample 2,600 CFM (73.6 m 3/min) air
By December, the rig had already logged more than
1,200 hours.
compressor packages, are well-matched
to 270 mm (10 ⅝") Epsilon rotary bits,
which will allow quick clearing of the
holes.
Pratico said the rigs are working
well driving 7.62 meter (25 ft) drill pipe
while smoothly operating on the mine’s
15-meter (49 ft) benches to stay ahead
of scheduling goals. The electric model
does give them the benefit of lower
operating costs. Other than that, the
diesel and electric perform comparably.
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 instan-
taneous.
So how has the PV-271 been perfor-
ming 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-271’s high-tech upgrades give
operators rich options without alienat-
ing those who are new to the series. It
“operates just like any other drill rig,”
Pratico said, meaning it doesn’t require
a steep learning curve to train an opera-
tor’s 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.
 USA, Elko, Nevada

Innovation through interaction

First PV-271
ever built
When the Pit Viper 271 drill was
developed, Atlas Copco’s engine-
ering and marketing staff worked
closely with customers to design
a rig for greater efficiency when
the truck and shovel mining me-
thod is used. Jim Owen works at
Barrick Goldstrike Mine near Elko,
NV. He is not a driller or mechan-
ic, but his day-to-day responsi-
bilities give him the experience
to know the PV-271 better than
just about anyone.

Product development
Atlas Copco has a creed that is stated
in most internal and external commu-
nications. “We are committed to your
superior productivity through interac-
tion 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 custo-
mers, 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 Copco’s 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 rig’s
daily operation. Owen said, “I’m re-
sponsible for everything below the
tophead: shocks, subs, steel, bits, bush-
ings, and preventative maintenance on
the drills – whatever is needed. I just
keep the drills moving.”
Barrick’s 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 perform-
ing 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, that’s 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.
Owen is impressed with component
life, too. On the first rig he got 10,000
hours totaling 1.2 million drilled feet
on the first rotary head and so far
17,000 hours on the second rotary head.
Design has had much to do with this.
“I really like these drills,” said Owen,
emphasizing his personal reason that,
“they save me so much work!” He com-
plimented the rig’s smooth operation
stating, “It is even easier on bits because
not having to add a rod, there is no air
loss which sometimes results in back
reaming.”
One of the features that Owen really
likes is the Automatic Tensioning Ad-
justment for the cables. “As you drill the
cable stretches and slackens up. With
a smaller drill you’re manually adjusting

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 99

 Innovation through Interaction
Jim Owen, Drill Supervisor, plays an important role in the rigs' daily operation and is responsible for
everything needed to keep the drills moving.
about once a month or so,” said Owen,
who is glad this is not necessary with
the longer cables on the PV-271. The
task of manually adjusting the tension
requires lowering the tower which takes
time. With the automatic tensioning
feature on the PV-271 the work is done
automatically.
Interaction from the
beginning
The PV-271 was developed to increase
productivity in open-pit, hard rock mi-
ning. Not only was the entire drilling
process examined, but also how it fit
with mining operations as a whole. To
ensure they hit the mark, Atlas Copco
turned to Goldstrike and worked clo-
sely with the Goldstrike operations team,
which included Jim Owen. Interacting
with Goldstrike and other customers
during the development of the PV-271
ensured that Atlas Copco developed a
drill that met the mining industry’s
exact requirements, not just what they
THOUGHT was required. For Goldstrike
100 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
that meant the drills needed op-timum
footage, but they also needed to
drill to the shovel’s optimum perfor-
mance. “A 50-ft bench would work great
for the shovel, but this size drill is per-
fect with a 40-ft bench,” said Owen.
Increasing the footage rate was a re-
sult of completing a full hole without
adding or removing drill steel. Effi-
ciencies came with more time over
the hole and reduced setup and tram-
ming time. Goldstrike uses two 25-ft
steel and one 10-ft sub for a total of
55-ft. Including the ground to rotary
head space when jacked up, this gives
Goldstrike the required 40 to 46 ft of
clean, straight hole.
Production drilling at Goldstrike is
done with 9⅞- and 8¾- inch bits for
trim and presplit work. Owen said, “We
changed the breakout wrench because
the drill was designed for 7⅝- inch
pipe, but we use 7-inch pipe because
it’s a better fit for the 9⅞- and 8¾- inch
bits – and it’s also cheaper.” Pipe could
be an expensive item but because they
are not making connections, drill steel
lasts them about eight months. He said
when they are finished with the pipe,
there is nothing wrong with it other
than its diameter is reduced. The wall
thickness on the bottom of the 10-ft sub
is 2½ inches for extra strength above
the bit.
Owen said he doesn’t know a guy
who would complain about the PV-271
– including drillers and mechanics.
“Mechanics can be intimidated with
electronics over hydraulics, but it’s so
much easier to work on. And once a
guy works on it, they find it’s better,
not much more difficult than the wiring
on your boat trailer,” he said with a
chuckle.
“I have no problem bragging up the
PV-271,” said Owen. “It’s faster, more
reliable and the factor of safety…every-
thing just came together on this rig.”
When talking about the rate of drilling,
Owen said, “I’ve seen one driller get
5,500 ft in one shift.” Today Goldstrike
is all rotary drilling with a tricone bit.
Owen said, “13,000 ft on a bit is not
uncommon and hammer drilling isn’t
necessary.” Because the rigs at Gold-
strike use tricone bits, a 1900 cfm
110 psi low pressure compressor is all
that is needed. Many compressor options
are available on the rig, depending on
the type of drilling.
“Innovation through interaction” are
big words describing how the PV-271
came to be. It was mostly guys who use
drills sitting down with guys who make
drills and saying, “We need a drill that
is perfect for what we do.” For those at
Barrick Goldstrike, that started with a
hole size, required depth and a need to
mine gold more efficiently. A couple of
years ago, Goldstrike reached a mile-
stone of 30 million ounces of gold
mined. “That’s the largest gold removal
from any one pit in the world and we’ve
mined a couple million since then,”
commented Owen. So it’s safe to say
the PV-271 is doing its job.
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Atlas
Copco Mining & Construction maga-
zine No 2 2008. Story and pictures
by Scott Ellenbecker, Ellenbecker
Communications.

Unforgiving ground
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.
Improvement and
teamwork are the
keys to success
at Phoenix Mine
The formation in Newmont’s Pho-
enix Mine near Battle Mountain,
NV, contains high levels of abra-
sive quartzite but also contains
precious gold, copper, and silver.
Newmont started mining opera-
tions at Phoenix (formerly Battle
Mountain Gold) three years ago
and the planners knew they were
working with a challenging geo-
logical formation. But as it turned
out, it was more challenging than
anticipated.
Hammer drilling
with PV-271
Mine manager Mark Evatz said, “Any-
thing that touches Phoenix rock wears
fast. The rock fights back here. The Pit
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 101
USA, Battle Mountain, Nevada
Viper is big and bad and can take it.”
Evatz is talking about Atlas Copco’s 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 6¾-inch
bits. The mine’s PV-271s are outfitted
with a single 1450 cfm, 350 psi oil-
flooded air compressor.
Phoenix has six Atlas Copco PV-271
drill rigs plus an Atlas Copco DML and a
DM45 midrange blasthole rig. The mine’s
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 con-
tinuous point of improvement since ope-
rations began at the mine. The single-
pass depth capability of 55 ft (16.5 m)
on the PV-271 helped with that. Origi-
nally, 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
that plan resulted in drilling an aver-
age of 47 ft an hour. When depths were
changed to 44-ft drill depths, support-
ing blasting of 40-ft benches, they were
able to utilize the single pass capacity
of the PV-271, and performance increa-
sed to over 60 feet an hour. Although
the drill depth change largely suppor-
ted the improvement, other aspects of
continuous improvement associated
with increased knowledge of the Pit
Viper drills helped as well.
“We are below our budgeted drill
costs,” said Evatz. “This is partially be-
cause the best cost- per- foot comes from
hammer drilling when in hard rock.”
Pat McAmis, maintenance planning
general foreman, concurred with this.
“You can try to put more drills on the
bench, but space and costs don’t make
that practical.”
The mine focuses on maximizing
blast-induced fragmentation while
maintaining the integrity of the ore
zones (minimal dilution). Although the
crusher can handle 30-inch boulders,
 Unforgiving ground
Single pass drill of 40-ft benches with PV-271 rigs.
McAmis said, “The goal is to maxi-
mize what you’re digging – keeping a
methodical approach.”
At the Phoenix mine, “drills are top
priority machines and we mine to feed
the mill,” said McAmis. He is pleased
with the performance of the PV-271 and
has no major concerns, complimenting
the support from Atlas Copco and his
distributor, Cate Equipment. “We’re all
in it to make money and you have to
be fair, but I would say we work well
together.”
Day to day contact
Drill operator Clinton Riddle started in
mining in 1976 and has seen a lot of tech-
nology advancements over the years.
“For me, things really started to change
the last couple of years.” He cited that
these advancements include the speed
of drilling with air, computerized con-
trols, and automation on the rigs.
102 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Depending on the formation and area
of the mine, Riddle said a 45-ft hole can
take 5 to 45 minutes. As he drills, he
watches his computer monitor, which
tells him the hardness of the rock, the
drilling rate, and performance statis-
tics such as time per hole, torque and
rotation. The color-coded block on the
right of the screen shows red for harder
rock formation and yellow or green for
softer formation. This helps him antici-
pate what changes may be required in
the hole. He said the color bar is nice to
have, but it’s still just a guide.
Riddle said the average shift com-
pletes about 18 45-ft holes, but there
are some eight- to 12-hole days and he’s
seen as many as 50 a day. Atlas Copco’s
Western Region manager, Jon Torpy,
has been in mines all around the world.
About the rock at Newmont, Torpy said,
“We, as Atlas Copco, have only seen a
handful of locations that have the diffi-
cult drilling conditions found at Phoenix,
and the PV-271, coupled with the TD65
hammers, are the best tools for the
job.”
Maintenance superintendent Walt
Holland is responsible for the entire
mine’s equipment maintenance at New-
mont’s Phoenix Mine. He said that he
looks at mining equipment like a three
leg stool – drills, shovels, trucks – and
all have to be working to keep things
moving. Because of the hardness of the
rock, “drill maintenance is very impor-
tant at Phoenix,” said Holland. Other
Newmont properties may drill 120 to
130 ft an hour, but at Phoenix, they are
now up to 60 ft per hour. “The rock hard-
ness at Phoenix is unique to the world,”
he pointed out. “What I like about the
Pit Viper rig is its quality. I am getting
92.5 percent availability and that is
really good.” The operators were given
additional training required for the
single pass rig and they feel very com-
fortable operating them now. “We have
a great history with Atlas Copco and
have worked right through any issues
that have come up,” Holland said.
In recent months, productivity at
Phoenix has increased and Holland
credits this in part to good communica-
tion between operations, maintenance,
and engineering. “Phoenix is success-
ful because we don’t 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 you’re 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 technol-
ogy 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 har-
dest rock at Lone Tree as a comparison
 Unforgiving ground

when beginning operations. Basing eq-

uipment estimates and mining prac-
tices on Lone Tree’s numbers, our drill
production was half of Lone Tree’s,”
Evatz said. For another equipment
example, Evatz said dozer grousers re-
quire 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 ham-
mers a month and hundreds of 6¾-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. His responsibili-
ties include everything from evaluat-
ing bit and hammer performance,
maintaining hammers, and sharpening
bits to flipping a casing in order to maxi-
mize hammer life. Jim Wheeler, Atlas
Copco senior area manager for consu-
mables 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 6¾-inch hammer bit’s gauge row, A PV-271 coupled with TD65 hammers have proven to be the best tools for the job.
which has increased bit performance.
Having someone there watching the in daily operation since the Pit Viper At the site, Tony Silva, who is re-
performance of all consumables ensures arrived at the site and everything is sponsible for stocking the spares and
that all pieces are working together, going well. We are getting a penetra- rebuilds the hammer when required,
reducing drilling costs and improving tion rate of 60 to 180 feet (20-50 m) per uses the Secoroc rebuild kit to replace
productivity. hour.” the back head, ham mer case and
About 150 bits are used per month, chuck.
Maximum productivity and in these extraordinarily abrasive Other hammers previously used at
conditions, regrinding is not considered the site did not stand up as well to the
The TD 65 is a robust, high-powered an option. However, in order to reduce abrasive conditions, particularly the
down-the-hole hammer designed for bit consumption as much as possible, outer parts which are usually the first
maximum productivity in combination Secoroc has changed the carbide in the to wear down. However, on the TD 65,
with large drill rigs. At Phoenix Mine it buttons to a tougher grade. Wheeler the backhead, hammer case and chuck
is equipped with 165 mm (6¾ in) button said, “Back in 2007, Newmont Phoenix are all designed using a thicker mate-
bits but will also take bits up to 216 mm was testing several hammer and bit rial. Replacement parts are required.
(8½ in). The TD 65 also ranks as the manufacturers. They chose us because In addition, the TD 65 has a revers-
most powerful hammer on the market, our equipment drills faster and lasts ible hammer case so when the lower
delivering 2,160 blows per minute at longer. They also agreed to use only end becomes worn (most of the wear
the maximum air pressure of 30 bar Secoroc consumables on the under- occurs from the bottom up), it can
(435 psi). Jim Wheeler, Atlas Copco’s standing that we would take the respon- simply be disassembled, flipped over
senior area manager, said it was chosen sibility for the on-site service and and drilling can continue.
for its high penetration rate and that maintenance. The mine is very positive Atlas Copco estimates that the ham-
it has been living up to expectations to this arrangement and definitely sees mer can normally be rebuilt two to three
since delivery. “The hammer has been the benefit of this kind of service.” times before the outer parts need to be

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 103

 Unforgiving ground

Cutting backheads – cemented tungsten carbide inserts – protect the hammer and case against wear.
They also help to prevent the hammer getting stuck in the hole.

Helping Pheonix to maximize performance: Jim

Wheeler, Atlas Copco’s Senior Area Manager,
says: “The TD65 has been in daily operation
since the Pit Viper arrived and we are getting
Robust and high-powered: These TD 65 hammer components prevent exceptional wear in abrasive rock. a penetration rate of 60-180 feet per hour.”

replaced. Other features designed to
give increased productivity include a
special “hardbody” chuck, a patented
Quantum Leap air cycle which powers
the piston to more than 80 percent of
the stroke, and a patented Air Select
regulation system which enables the air
consumption of the hammer to be more
precisely matched to the air output of
the compressor.
The hammer that won the
battle of Phoenix rock
When the Atlas Copco Pit Viper 271 was
put to work at the Phoenix Mine, the
down-the-hole hammer was a crucial
part of the overall solution. Drilling con-
ditions in the region known as the high
desert in northern Nevada are among
the most challenging in the world. The
quartzite encountered here is notorious
for its hardness, and nowhere is it more
abrasive than at the Phoenix Mine, lo-
cated just south of Battle Mountain.
“Anything that touches Phoenix rock
wears out fast. Here the rock fights back,”
stressed Mark Evatz, mine manager.
Evatz added that incorporating some-
one 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.
Despite the tough geological condi-
tions at Phoenix Mine, Atlas Copco was
confident that the Pit Viper 271 and, in
particular, Secoroc’s Total Depth TD 65
down-the-hole hammer were up to the
task. When Newmont began operations
at Phoenix, it was estimated that $205
million would be necessary to build
and start up the mine. After two years,
those numbers were closer to $230 mil-
lion due to escalated construction labor
and material prices. Although mining
took time to reach the desired produc-
tion levels, it has been achieved.
Evatz concluded, “We looked at an
aggressive ramp-up with Phoenix. We
can accelerate problem solving by wor-
king together with Atlas Copco and Cate
Equipment, which makes us all more
successful.”
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Atlas
Copco Mining & Construction maga-
zine No 2 2008. Story and pictures
by Scott Ellenbecker, Ellenbecker
Communications.

104 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining


Penasquito powers up
Powerful fleet: Five of the eight Atlas Copco Pit Viper 351 blast hole rigs lined up in the Peñasquito open pit gold mine.
A perfect match for
large hole drilling.
In just 14 months the site of the
Goldcorp Penasquito mine in the
state of Zacatecas, Mexico, was
transformed from a flat open valley
into a mine producing more than
500,000 tons of rock each day. Its
choice of Pit Viper drills and Seco-
roc drill pipes and tricone bits has
proven to be the perfect fit.
A total community program
Peñasquito is Mexico’s largest open pit
mine and comprises the Penasco and
Chile Colorado/Azul deposits that con-
tain gold, silver, lead and zinc. At an
elevation of 1 900 m above sea level,
the surface of the site is made up of ap-
proximately 30 meters of alluvium.The
virtually flat topography has helped the
mine carry out its development plan
that includes moving large amounts of
rock. “I’m used to mining in mountains
so this is easy mining by comparison,”
says Mine Manager, Tim Collins.
The company reports that annual
production over the life of the mine
Blasthole Drilling in open pit mining 105
(estimated to be 22 years) is expected
to ramp up to approximately 500 000
ounces of gold, 30 million ounces of sil-
ver and more than 400 million pounds
of zinc.
The Peñasquito project is considered
a total community improvement pro-
gram that includes educating future
generations by building schools. When
looking for potential employees in the
surrounding area, Peñasquito found
that most of the local inhabitants had
no mining experience or even a driver’s
license. Today, however, 70 percent of
Peñasquito’s truck drivers are local wo-
men, many of whom had never driven
before, and now work at the mine as
a result of Goldcorp’s investment. In
addition, operating millions of dollars
of earth moving equipment required an
intensive training program before the
workers entered daily production.
Powerful fleet
From the outset, it was the mine ma-
nagement’s vision to achieve a high le-
vel of production, but first it was neces-
sary to find the right combination of
equipment and support for the project.
To drill and blast half a million tons of
ZACATECAS STATE, MEXICo
rock every day, the mine needed a spe-
cial drilling fleet and rig management
program. The mine uses only Atlas
Copco drill rigs which include eight
Pit Viper 351 blast hole drill rigs plus a
DML and an ECM 590 for specialized
tasks.
Production hole size is 311 mm
(12 ¼ 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, Peñasquito
chose rigs with Atlas Copco’s Rig
Control System (RCS), which simpli-
fies the drilling functionality for the
operator.
They have it all
“These drills have it all,” says Mine
Manager Collins. “The operator only
needs to move it and level it and the rig
drills its own hole.” Collins adds that
he does have four experienced drillers
 Penasquito powers up

who like to drill manually and they can

match the auto-drilling performance.
“There are times when the bit can take
more down pressure and less rotation;
a skilled operator can feel that,” said
Collins. The Rig Control System (RCS),
integrates common drilling functions
such as collaring a hole with low pres-
sure air and down pressure, applying
just the right amount of water and anti-
jamming, with several high-tech options
such as GPS hole navigation.

Ensures efficiency
RCS ensures efficient drilling, but many
features are also for the safety of the
Drilling and blasting half a million tons of rock every day: The Atlas Copco Pit Viper 351 drill rigs in operation miners and equipment. These include
at Penasquito. The RCS system ensures efficient drilling and the software provides several standard safety jack and tram interlocks which ensure
interlocks. that the rig and tooling are secure before
a rig can move.
The mine has installed a complex
dispatch system that integrates with the
GPS on each haul truck, shovel, drill rig
and every other piece of mining equip-
ment. The entire operation is monitored
from a control room where two dispat-
chers and a maintenance person watch
and direct the activity in the mine.
All data is recorded and is retrievable
by those in the mine who need constant
equipment information. However, the
operation can also be monitored in real
time through a web-browser interface
anywhere in the world.

Technology is the future

“Technology is the future of mining,”
continues Collins. “If you’re monito-
ring maintenance and operational data
to this level, decisions are made when
they need to be made. Mining is more
efficient today than it once was – tech-
nology has a lot to do with that – and
safety can only move forward at the
same time.”
When searching for the right equip-
ment, Alan Hernandez, Project Engineer,
Technical Services, and Tim Collins,
spent seven months travelling around
the world trying to decide which pro-
ducts would fit the program. “There
were some hard decisions, but for drill
rigs it was always Atlas Copco,” said
Hernandez. More time was spent deba-
ting which Atlas Copco drill models
The single pass Pit Viper 351 will drill 50 holes per 12 hour shift, at the 15 m (49 ft) high benches. would best fit the plan.

106 Blasthole drilling in open pit mining


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.
“We looked at feasibility studies, cal-
culations, pit design, tonnage – every
scenario that would determine what
would work best,” says Collins. “For
most equipment it was a matter of eli-
mination. The choice consistently came
down to service and support, but with
Atlas Copco there was no debate.
“As far as drilling goes, everything
here comes from Atlas Copco,” he adds,
complimenting the speed and penetra-
tion rate of the Pit Viper 351. “The 351
will drill fifty holes per twelve-hour
shift.” The fleet at Peñasquito drills an
average of 2,300 to 2,500 holes per-
week. To keep ahead of the crushers,
about 15 million tons of inventory are
kept in the pit. “I like to keep at least
a month ahead,” says Collins. This
inventory allows time to support the
drills. “The maintenance plan includes
having two or three rigs serviced for
preventative maintenance. That takes
care of normal wear and tear. I can say
the Cummins engines in all our drill
rigs are solid, they don’t even burn oil.”
Blasthole Drilling in open pit mining 107
Close support
In addition to parts and training, Xavier
Garcia, Atlas Copco’s Key Account
Manager for Goldcorp, personally han-
dles drilling consumables at the mine.
“Twice a month, Xavier spends nearly
a week here analyzing bits. Sometimes
it feels like he practically lives here,”
says Collins.
Atlas Copco’s Marcus Pantoja and
Octavio Garcia (Service Manager and
Product Specialist) also play a key role,
providing training, equipment start-up,
commissioning and technical support.
To date, the epsilon tricone bit line
has changed from eH53CA to eH61 CA,
eH62OA and eH64OA, to adjust to the
rock formation. “We are constantly re-
viewing bit wear and performance.
We’ll keep testing bits until we settle
on the one that works the best,” he says.
“A great advantage has been the use of
the TeamAlloy Drill Pipe from Atlas
Copco Thiessen, which seems to last
forever.”
Penasquito powers up
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Atlas Copco
Mining & Construction magazine No 3
2009. It was written by Scott Ellenbecker
after a visit to the mine in September
2009.
The Peñasquito mine will have a long
life. As of December 31, 2008, proven
and probable gold reserves totalled 17.4
million ounces.
Silver reserves totalled 1 045.7 million
ounces, while lead and zinc stood at
7.07 million tons and 15.36 million tons
respectively.
Measured and indicated gold resources,
inclusive of proven and probable re-
serves, increased 39 % to 17.8 million
ounces.
Measured and indicated silver resour-
ces increased 55 % to 1.3 billion ounces.
For further information and the latest
updates visit: www.goldcorp.com
 Penasquito powers up

Example of Pit Viper 351 Drill String used at Penasquito

Shock Sub

Drill Pipe Lifting Bail

Top Spindle Sub

TM
TEAMALLOY Drill Pipe

TM
TEAMALLOY Starter Drill Pipe

TM
CENTEROLL Deck Bushing

TM
DURALLOY Bit Sub

TM
EZ-DRILL Roller Stabilizer

Secoroc Tricone Drill Bit

Bit Breaker Basket

Drill string
Production hole size 311 mm 12 1/4 in
Bench heigh 15 m 49 ft
Secoroc epsilon Tricone Rotary drill bits H61CA, eH62OA, eH64OA
The entire drill string from the rotary head to the tricone rotary drill bit is supplied by Atlas Copco
Thiessen and Atlas Copco Secoroc.

108 Blasthole drilling in open pit mining

 Usak, Turkey

Secoroc hammers go for gold

Secoroc COP
Gold hammers
The number of meters drilled is
directly tied to the productivity
level of a mine. The type of rig,
hammers and bits must be able
to handle the geology of the site
while achieving the desired per-
formance levels – and do so cost-
effectively.

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 du-
rable with a 10-15 percent longer service
life than equivalent hammers. Further-
more, 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 main-
tenance personnel, have seen produc-
tivity levels increase beyond expecta-
tions since the mine opened in 2006.

Secoroc hammers on the job

At 157 km², the Kisladag gold mine in
the Usak province of western Turkey is
the largest gold mine in the country. It
is owned by Tuprag Metal Madencilik
San. Tic. A. (Tuprag), a wholly owned Kisladag Mine Manager Ahmet Raci Uslu in front of one of two Atlas Copco DM45 rigs that enables his
subsidiary of Eldorado Gold Corp. team to surpass productivity expectations.

Blasthole Drilling in open pit mining 109

 Secoroc hammers go for gold

Tuprag uses two Atlas Copco DM45

A B C C C ……
rigs equipped with Secoroc COP 64
Gold DTH hammers for bits with a
QL60 shank. In addition, there is an
10 m

Atlas Copco ROC L6 equipped with a

Secoroc COP 34 DTH hammer for bits
A = 22 m Pre-split holes
B = 11 m Buffer holes
10 m with COP 34 shanks for presplitting, or
C = 11 m Production holes a COP 54 Gold DTH hammer for bits
Pre-split Buffer Production
with a QL 50 shank for production.
holes holes holes The result is reliable performance on
the site that has continuously increased
production from 70,895 ounces in 2006
1m
to 109,177 ounces in just the first six
rm

4.2 m
Be

5.5 m
months of 2009. The grade is 1.41 gram
2.5 m
4.2 m per ton.
5.5 m

4.8 m
Maintaining productivity
5.5 m

Kisladag started commercial produc-

10 m tion in 2006 with a local mine contrac-
tor 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 tran-
sition to being a fully owner-operated
The drilling pattern at the Tuprag open pit with 152–165 mm production holes, 152 mm buffer holes and pit. The transition, which included
95 mm pre-split holes. The purpose of the pre-split holes and the row of buffer holes is to ensure the technical and practical training of ope-
stability of the final walls of the pit. rators 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 pro-
ductivity 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 capa-
city 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 ope-
rations 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
The ROC L6 with a Secoroc COP 34 DTH hammer drills the pre-split holes. Each hole is 95 mm in diameter per hour drilling pre-split holes. Hole
with an average depth of 45 m. Hole spacing is 1 m. (Inset) the blasting sequence of the pre-split holes. diameters are 95 millimeters and the

110 Blasthole drilling in open pit mining

 Secoroc hammers go for gold

spacing between the holes is 1 meter.

The holes are 22 meters deep and have
an inclination of 65-77 degrees.
For production drilling, the ROC L6
with the Secoroc COP 54 Gold hammer
averages 400 meters per shift. Each
DM45, equipped with a Secoroc COP
64 Gold hammer, averages 31-35 meters
per hour. The hole diameters are 152-165
millimeters and the drilling pattern is
5.5 meters x 5.5 meters with vertical
holes. The production drilling benches
are 10 meters high with 0.5-0.8 meters
of sub-drilling.
The total drilling capacity for all
rigs is 58,000 m/month. This is inclu-
ding 2 x DM45 and one ROC L6. The
availability of the rigs is 92%.
Hole quality is checked by measur-
ing tape before each blast. Kisladag
uses cord, downhole delays and surface
delays for detonators and ANFO and
emulsion ANFO explosives.
While high speed drilling increases
the number of holes completed per day,
air consumption, fuel costs, penetration
rates and bit and hammer life have a
major impact on profitability. The
operating life for the Secoroc DTH
hammers with E-kits is: COP 34-9,900
meters; COP 54 Gold-12,853 meters;
and COP 64 Gold-27,332 meters.
Bahadir Ergener, RDT/GDE product manager, Atlas Copco-Turkey, demonstrates how to use a gauge to
Maximizing, determine when a tungsten carbide bit needs regrinding. Kişladağ uses a Secoroc Grind Matic BQ2-DTH.

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 drill-
ing 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 grind-
ers extend the service life of the bits,
which also results in less wear and tear
on each rig’s drillstring. The availability
of consumables and parts, as well as the
durability of the equipment, also played
a role in Ahmet Raci’s Uslu’s decision
to use Atlas Copco at Kisladag. “We
have our own maintenance shop and
crew. We get good maintenance sup-
port from Atlas Copco Turkey and a
good supply of parts and consumables
– that makes life easy for us,” he says.
Exceeding productivity
expectations
Since the first year of commercial
production (July 2006), Kisladag has
surpassed productivity expectations.
Initially, plans were to increase produc-
tion in year four, but Tuprag was able
to move forward with expansion in year
two. And the trend continues. Tuprag’s
parent company, Eldorado Gold, re-
cently completed a review of the
Kisladag mine. The study identified
opportunities to effectively increase
annual production by 30-40 percent,
while decreasing unit operating costs
by approximately 15 percent – all of
which is expected to be achieved using
Tuprag’s existing fleet.
For Ahmet Raci Uslu, the relation-
ship with Atlas Copco and the reliabil-
ity of the equipment will continue to
contribute to the production capability
of Kisladag. And with Secoroc equip-
ment offering the lowest cost per meter
in the industry, taking all costs into
consideration, his fleet will also make
a major contribution to the mine’s prof-
itability.
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Mining
& Construction, No. 3 2009, and was
updated June, 2010.

Blasthole Drilling in open pit mining 111

 Secoroc hammers go for gold

Tuprag: Equipment Summary

Equipment Hole Avg. drill meters/ Fuel
diameter hr/shift consumption
Presplit ROC L6 with COP 34 95 mm/ 45 m/hr* 45 l/hr
DTH hammer and bit 3 ¾ inch 18,000 m/month
Production ROC L6 with COP 54 152-165 mm/ 40 m/hr* n/a
DTH hammer and bit 6-6 ½ inch n/a
DM45 HP (No 1) 165 mm/ 34 m/hr* 69 l/hr
Secoroc COP 64 QL60 shank 6½ inch 19,000 m/month
DM45 HP (No 2) 165 mm/ 34 m/hr* 72 l/hr
Secoroc COP 64 QL60 shank 6½ inch 21,000 m/month
* including rod change

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.

112 Blasthole drilling in open pit mining

 Norway, sydvaranger

Tough fast-track to Sydvaranger

The refurbished primary crushing station beside the Bjørnevatn open pit now treats ore from the new Hyttemalmen and Kjellmannsåsen pits. Bjørnevatn, closed in
the 1990s, will be restarted in 2011-12.

Norwegian iron
Up at latitude 69° 45’N Australian
registered Northern Iron Ltd has
been rewriting history. Some 86
years after Sydvaranger A/S first
started mining in Norway and 13
years since iron ore production
ceased, the firm commenced con-
centrate shipments from rede-
veloped facilities. A drilling fleet
supplied and supported by Atlas
to come into production. The project
is a joint initiative of the Norwegian
firm Tschudi Shipping Company and
Australian mining entrepreneurs who
together formed Northern Iron Ltd
(NIL) in Perth, WA during 2007 to
acquire the Sydvaranger assets Syd-
varanger Gruve AS, known as SVG,
is the local operating company. In
January 2010 OM Holdings became a
significant shareholder.
with Corus covering 45% of planned
output over five years. The Anglo-
Dutch steelmaker had successfully
utilized Sydvaranger concentrates prior
to the 1996 closure.
Planning and engineering provided
for a production rate of 7 Mt/y ore,
ICELAND

Artic
Circle

Copco is one component of the

new project economics. NIL’s intention was to restart pro- FINLAND

duction as quickly as possible in order

SWEDEN

NORWAY

to convert high iron ore prices and

R U S S I A

ESTONIA
SCOTLAND

Chasing the iron ore boom demand to quick cash flow, explains
NORTHERN LATVIA
IRELAND

IRELAND
DENMARK
LITHUANIA

John Sanderson, who became the com-

UNITED KINGDOM RUSSIA
WALES
ENGLAND
BELARUS

Late in 2009 the process plant at the pany’s Chief Executive Officer in No-
NETHERLANDS
BELGIUM
P O L A N D
GERMANY

LUXEMBOURG

port of Kirkenes in Norway shipped vember 2009. By combining process-

CZECH
REPUBLIC U K R A I N E
SLOVAK
REPUBLIC
FRANCE
MOLDOVA
LIECHTENSTEIN AUSTRIA

iron ore concentrates for the first time ing equipment already on site with
SWITZERLAND
HUNGARY

SLOVENIA
R O M A N I A
CROATIA
I TA LY BOSNIA-

since 1996-7 – when the mine at nearby new systems the Coffey Mining project
PORTUGAL SAN- HERZEGOVINA
MONACO
ANDORRA MARINO

Y U G O S L AV I A BULGARIA

SPAIN

Bjørnevatn closed. The 21st century steel team in Perth which NIL engaged was
MACEDONIA

ALBANIA

GREECE T U R K E Y

economics have created fresh interest able to fast-track concentrator rede- MOROCCO SYRIA

in several Northern European iron velopment. Prospects also improved

TUNISIA MALTA CYPRUS
ALGERIA LEBANON

ore resources, both new and preworked, in January 2009 when Northern Iron Sydvaranger is the northernmost iron ore mine in
but Sydvaranger was the first venture reached a five-year offtake agreement Europe.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 113

 Tough fast-track to Sydvaranger
The Atlas Copco DML rig, fitted with a QAS 40 generator set and a Secoroc TD80 hammer for high pressure drill-
ing of the 8 inch diameter blast holes.
yielding 2.9 Mt/y concentrate over
a 30 year mine life, with early stage
ordering of a new mining fleet help-
ing NIL to schedule start-up for mid-
2009. The dedicated eight kilometer
rail line running north from the mine
to Kirkenes (the most northerly in the
world) was reopened and Sydvaranger
was able to ship a first cargo of iron ore
in November 2009.
Equipment selection for
a remote mine site
Although Kirkenes is the northern
terminus for the Norwegian passenger
shipping route it is pretty remote. The
35 km2 mining concession south of the
village of Bjørnevatn is only a few
hundred meters from the border with
Russia and the nearest major town is
Murmansk. The Algoma type Banded
Iron Formation deposits extend 12 km
along a north-south strike and typically
dip 70-80°. The mine planning study
determined the optimal mine schedule
on the basis of a probable reserve of
111.5 Mt. The former Bjørnevatn open
pit and underground workings have a
probable reserve of 90.5 Mt at 32 %
(total) Fe while the undeveloped Hytte-
malmen and Kjellmannsåsen deposits
respectively have probable reserves of
114 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
4.2 Mt at 33% (total) Fe and 16.8 Mt
grading 32 % (total) Fe.
To restart mining the Bjørnevatn
open pit, which is adjacent to the pri-
mary crusher and cobbing plant, will
require quite extensive pre-stripping
and some zones within the pit that may
need highwall stability control. So SVG
decided to mine 14m high benches at
Hyttemalmen and Kjellmannsåsen
first, although both are further from the
crusher. Hyttemalmen will probably
work for two years, Kjellmannsåsen
for 4-5 years, with the Bjørnevatn pit
kicking in during 2011-12. However,
SVG does not intend to open up the
underground workings any time soon.
The modified redevelopment plan was
based on initially producing 2.65 Mt/y
and later 3 Mt/y of concentrate with a
P80 of 53 micron.
For mining equipment, refurbish-
ment was not an option and reliability
was essential. In February 2008 Coffey
Mining invited preferred bidders to
the site so these companies could de-
cide whether or not to proceed. Anders
Berglund, who is Business Line Man-
ager – Parts & Services at Atlas Copco
Anlegg og Gruveteknikk AS in Oslo,
Norway, recalled that he, Oslo General
Manager Gunnar Pedersen and Daniel
Manin, the Regional Business Manager
for Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions
based in France, attended a general
briefing in late February. The quo-
tation was to be submitted by 1 April
and had to include a Maintenance &
Repair Contract (MARC) as well as
the equipment. Once the quotation had
been provided details were explained
and discussed at meetings in May
and June, attended by Messrs Manin,
Pedersen and Berglund plus André
Gullholm, the Oslo-based Business
Line Manager for Atlas Copco Surface
Drilling Equipment.
The orders, including provisional
figures for the MARCs, were con-
firmed in July 2008, with Atlas Copco
providing the rock breaking, drilling,
lighting and other auxiliary equipment
and Pon Equipment, the Caterpillar dea-
ler in Norway, supplying Terex-O&K
mining class excavators plus wheel
loaders, haul trucks, general purpose
excavator, dozers and graders all from
Caterpillar. EPC Skanexplo, which
claims to have developed Scandinavia’s
most extensive system for delivery of
explosives directly into shot holes, has
a 5-year contract to truck explosives to
the holes and has constructed an emul-
sion blending factory on-site. OTR sup-
plies and maintains tires.
Equipment mobilization
Preparation work for the two new pits
started in August 2008 and blasting
approvals came through in November.
Mobilization of the Atlas Copco drill-
ing equipment fleet started in February
2009 and the MARC was finalized in
March. The Contract has three compo-
nents: Atlas Copco’s investments and
personnel costs – estimated in advance
– are covered by a monthly manage-
ment fee; the team’s repair and main-
tenance operating hours are invoiced
monthly, work being planned using
Atlas Copco’s ProMaint software; the
third part is a supplementary element
for rock tool maintenance introduced
during negotiation of the main MARC.
As well as equipment maintenance
Atlas Copco’s service contract at Syd-
varanger includes extensive operator
training, notes Anders Berglund.
The MARC defines a number of
Key Performance Indicator measures

The main MARC team totals 23 people, including two breakdown mechanics per shift and five planned preventive maintenance mechanics per day.
that Atlas Copco has to meet – cover-
ing availability, mean time between
breakdowns, mean time to repair, out-
standing work and the Lost Time Injury
Frequency Rate. Berglund noted that
the Australian safety regime in place is
stricter than normal Scandinavian prac-
tice but this is a good thing, he said,
because it drives development of safer
maintenance routines. Working with
the Contract Manager in the Atlas
Copco office on-site are the Contract
Administrator, Planner and Store
Supervisor. The main MARC team
totals 23 people, including two break-
down mechanics per shift and five
planned preventive maintenance me-
chanics per day (one shift). Another
team of three to five people works on
the rock tools MARC in a separate
building, using Secoroc Grind Matic
BQ2 machines.
First machines to arrive were eight
QAS 20 lighting sets from Atlas Copco
Airpower and two ROC L830 down-the-
hole (DTH) drilling rigs. Two more
L830 rigs, together with two DML drill-
ing rigs ordered from the Atlas Copco
Drilling Solutions operation in Texas,
were on site by August 2009. SVG also
added an Atlas Copco ROC D9 top-
hammer rig for bench preparation work
at this time. Berglund commented that,
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 115
Tough fast-track to Sydvaranger
despite the summer Midnight Sun, the
lighting towers were well used during
mobilization.
Two of the ROC L8s came equipped
for bench drilling and two with a
reverse circulation system for grade
control drilling; one of these was later
converted for production drilling. The
hydraulic top-head drive DML ma-
chines, selected with the larger benches
at Bjørnevatn in mind, are fitted with
the 24-bar HP (High Pressure) option
so they can also be used for DTH drill-
ing. Each DML rig is equipped with a
Mammoth Wrench breakout tool.
The L830 rigs drill 140 mm (5.5 inch)
holes with Secoroc COP 54 Gold DTH
hammers and the DMLs have TD 80
DTH hammers for drilling 203 mm
(8 inch) holes. The ROC D9 has a
Secoroc COP 2560 top hammer drill
and is used with T45 Speedrods and
76 mm (3 inch) bits. All the drilling
rigs have been fitted with a water mist
system for dust suppression and all
fluid tanks and piping are heated for
winter use. The rock tool maintenance
MARC is by no means insignificant.
The magnetite ore is extremely abrasive
and bit wear rates are unavoidably high.
On the basis of the test mining results
and SVG’s planned output rates Atlas
Copco calculated that from 10,000 to
14,000 bit regrinds will be required
annually, each taking 20 minutes on
average.
Mine production builds up
Serious mining started during the
quarter to June 2009. The SVG miners,
including twelve full-time drillers
mostly trained by Atlas Copco, work
two 10-hour shifts with a blasting break
from 16.00 to 20.00 hours. The MARC
service crews work two 12-hour shifts.
At the start of operations a significant
proportion of both the SVG and Atlas
Copco personnel worked on a fly-in,
fly out basis, using purpose-built ac-
commodation very close to the mine.
However, during fourth quarter 2009
both Atlas Copco and SVG started
local recruitment and a training pro-
gram organized in cooperation with
the Norwegian Government and a lo-
cal technical school. The majority of
people on site are Norwegian with about
20% from elsewhere in Scandinavia
and Europe. John Sanderson says the
whole SVG operation will need 350
people with full rate production on a
two-shift basis.
Late completion of the new primary
mill delayed commissioning of the
process plant from the scheduled July
 Tough fast-track to Sydvaranger
Sydvaranger Mine Production
2009
Period Ore tonnes
May – June 72,000
July – September 343,000
October – December 378,000
2010
Period Ore tonnes
January – March 875,000
April – June 978,000
July – September 911,000
Nameplate quarterly ore tonnage = 1,600,000 tonnes
start-up until October so a reduced
mining target of 250,000  t /month was
introduced in early August. The mine
management team took advantage of
the delay to determine the best combi-
nations of Secoroc drill string compo-
nents for production drilling and also
to assess the value of pre-split drilling
with the ROC L830 rigs. Senior mining
engineer Andrew Buechner remarked
that the ore/waste boundaries are sharp
and the host gneiss is softer to drill
than the magnetite but blasts create a
fair amount of large slabs. On the other
hand fragmentation of the hard banded
ore is good. The required powder factor
is 0.9 kg/m3.
With the start of commercial pro-
duction during October-November
2009 the mining rate started to ramp-
up again and January-March 2010 ore
The HB 4200 hydraulic breaker in action.
116 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Waste tonnes
357,000
618,000
675,000
Waste tonnes
1,360,000
2,216,000
2,386,000
output rose by 131 % and waste by 101%
relative to fourth quarter 2009. By April
ore plus waste production was above
plan, leading to a 43 % increase in
the second quarter, followed by a 3%
rise in the third (see Table). Of July-
September ore production, Kjellmanns-
åsen contributed 497,000 t and Hytte-
malmen 414,000 t.
John Sanderson says that Sydva-
ranger management is confident the
Atlas Copco drilling rigs were the right
choice and is, overall, happy with the
set-up and service so far. “We are con-
fident that it will get even better”, he
concluded.
Great ambition, hard graft
The first concentrate shipment, a spot
sale of 69,500 t to the Chinese market,
Eight QAS20 provide light and power.
left Kirkenes on the MV Great Ambi-
tion in late November 2009. At the start
of loading John Sanderson commented:
“The journey to production has not
been without challenges and obstacles
but we now look forward to focusing
on building a solid company supplying
high grade iron ore concentrates to the
world steel industry”.
In practice progress continues chal-
lenging because the process plant at
Kirkenes has attained neither rated
throughput nor target product qual-
ity for various reasons, mostly but not
only to do with refurbished plant units.
The company therefore implemented a
US$25 million Production and Quality
Improvement program in February
2010. Intended to get the plant up to
rated capacity and to achieve target
product quality, this rectification pro-
gram was completed ahead of schedule
and under budget but achieving full
nameplate capacity will require further
work on the comminution circuits, esti-
mated to achieve 90 % of nameplate by
October 2011 and 100 % by April 2012.
Looking forward
Offsetting the output rate and qual-
ity issues, Northern Iron has been
relatively fortunate on the marketing
front. Chinese steelmakers have been
prepared to buy the concentrates at dis-
counted prices and rising demand plus
improved product quality have enabled
Northern Iron to increase concentrate
sales tonnage and halve the initial
discount. In July 2010 NIL delivered
a trial concentrate shipment to Corus
and the two firms are negotiating a
modified contract based on anticipated
product quality. Recently the first iron
ore cargo to travel the Northern Sea
Route was shipped from Kirkenes to
China, in more than one third less time
than the conventional routes take.
Acknowledgements
Kyran Casteel of Mineral Industry
Intelligence & Information visited the
operation in 2009 and 2010. This article
first appeared in Atlas Copco Mining &
Construction magazine No 1. 2010.

Steep Wall Open Pit
Mining at Zhelezny
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 Russia’s major
phosphate fertilizer manufactu-
rers, has decided to utilize super-
deep mining at the Zhelezny open
pit until reserves are exhausted in
2049. The technique relies heavily
on precision drilling with equip-
ment supplied by Atlas Copco.
Treasure Trove
Discovered in 1933, the ore deposit at
Kovdor in Russia’s Murmansk Oblast
(67° 33’ N, 30° 30’E) is unusual, pro-
bably unique. The discrete, deep and
more or less downwardly conical car-
bonatite deposit hosts 45 recorded mi-
nerals and is the type locality for five of
these. It is also one of the Kola Penin-
sula’s two major sources of Apatite for
fertilizer production, one of the world’s
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 117
few reserves of Baddeleyite (containing
zirconia), and a substantial supplier of
Magnetite.
The mining method developed for
the Zhelezny open pit is a bit special
too. Described as a breakthrough tech-
nique in Russia, super-deep mining re-
quires extraordinary control of drilling
and blasting on near vertical benches.
Kovdorsky GOK, which is part of the
Eurochem fertilizer group, wants to mi-
nimize ore dilution while maintaining
production rates – although bench areas
will decrease as the mine deepens. The
rim of the pit is approximately 200
meters (m) above sea level and is 2.3
kilometers (km) in length, 1.7 km wide
and presently 170 m deep. Whereas
mining was scheduled to cease in
2015 Kovdorsky GOK now intends to
mine down to 660 m below sea level,
thereby accessing an additional 330-
400 million tonnes of ore and enabling
Zhelezny to produce 23 million tonnes
Russia, Kovdor
per year (Mt/y) until 2032. Output will
then decline until closure around 2049.
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 Melik-
Gaikazov and Mikhail B Togunov, re-
spectively Technical Director and Chief
Mining Expert at Kovdorsky GOK.
Super-deep mining is not the opera-
tion’s 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
 Steep Wall Open Pit Mining at Zhelezny

2.5 4.0 4.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 (m)

15 m

238 m
B B
C C C

A = Pre-splitting holes 15 m
B = Buffer holes
Sea level C = Production holes
A

A typical drilling pattern for drilling and blasting

the Zhelezny benches.
*The Kovdor property also includes deposits of
apatite-shtaffelite (AShR) and apatite-calcite ores.
During the period 2000 – 2006 engineers developed
an AShR open pit mining plan with 12 m high
benches. The apatite-calcite part of the deposit
below the AShR is regarded as a long-term strategic
660 m phosphate reserve.
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.
was extended by draining part of Lake
Kovdoro and diverting the High Kov-
dora River to access all of the primary
orebody. The pit has since been pro-
gressively deepened, with necessary
changes to the material transportation
systems and equipment fleet. Particu-
larly interesting are the Cyclical Line
Technology (CPT) in-pit crushing and
conveyor systems used to haul ore and
waste.
Privatization in the early 1990s –
as Kovdorsky Gorno-obogatitelnyi
Kombinat (Kovdorsky Mining and Pro-
cessing Combine, Kovdorsky GOK) –
was followed by a difficult period. But
in 1998 management started exploiting
baddeleyite-apatite-containing waste
from magnetite-only processing stored
in sedimentation ponds*. This enabled
Kovdorsky GOK to compensate reduc-
tions in mine apatite and baddeleyite
output made in response to low iron ore
demand until 2005.
In 2001 EuroChem Mining and
Chemical Company JSC (EuroChem),
reputedly Russia’s largest integrated
fertilizer producer, acquired the Kov-
dor facilities. A report for Kovdor’s
40th anniversary in 2002 commented
that 1997-2001 had been a period of
stabilization for the operation and for
Kovdor city.
During 2003 the Kovdorsky team
introduced (and later modified) a
Strategic Development Programme
suited to EuroChem’s phosphate feed-
stock requirements that covered the
period until 2015. Commenting on pro-
gress in the period 2003 – 2006, senior
personnel1 pointed out that the mine
succeeded in restoring ore production
to the desired long-term 16 Mt/y target.
The planned apatite concentrate recov-
ery from open pit ore in 2010 would
be about twice the amount achieved in
2001.
Super-deep mine planning
The mining licence for Kovdor allows
mineral extraction from the primary
orebody to a depth of two kilometer
and a major mine redesign to exploit the
lower levels started early this century.
The start of super-deep mining was
preceded by several years of advanced
and extensive studies using some of the
most sophisticated methods of testing,
calculation and data processing in the
industry. In view of general trends and
advances in rock mechanics Kovdorsky
GOK decided to continue development
of the Zhelezny pit to lower levels
rather than switch to underground
mining. To avoid widening the surface
pit rim and creating large volumes of
waste rock the project team focused
on super-deep mining of benches with
vertical or near vertical highwalls.
Initial geomechanical studies ena-
bled expert organizations to produce
parameters for the engineering geolo-
gists and a 3D geological-structural
map of the Kovdor deposit for use in
forecasting potential slope failures.
Five engineering-geological sectors of
the pit were defined and for each one
the bench slope angles, bench heights
and widths of safety berms were cal-
culated.
This information was used to deve-
lop specifications for super-deep ex-
cavation using methods such as pre-
split drilling and blasting. These speci-
fications are used in conjunction with
techniques for the relief of water pres-
sure in the benches; stabilization of
weak rock masses by, for instance, rock
bolting and cement mortar injection;
and thorough slope stability monitor-
ing for which Kovdorsky is using three
methods: visual observation, surveying
with electronic and optical instruments

118 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Steep Wall Open Pit Mining at Zhelezny

including laser scanning, and seismic

monitoring in high risk areas.
Once the deep mining concept was
approved by EuroChem, the Giproruda
institute started work on the mine
redevelopment plan in 2004 and two
years later completed the project –
“Reconstruction of the open cut for
restoration of the project capacity of
Kovdorsky GOK by means of the use of
steeper constant open-pit benching and
in-crease of the open pit depth and du-
ration of open-pit mining”. Two pit
design versions were used for techno-
economic evaluation. Stage One of for-
ward development will hold open pit
output at 15-16 Mt/y of baddeleyite-
apatite-magnetite ore and 7 Mt/y of
low-iron apatite ore until 2032, there-
after production will decrease gradu-
ally until closure.

Drill and blast design

Blasting at Zhelezny was thoroughly
modernized from the late 1990s to 2005.
The mine introduced non-electric ini-
tiation with Nonel and Primadet sys-
tems and from 2000 progressively
switched to EVV emulsion explosives
– VET emulites. Consequently, in
2006 as compared with 2001 (figures
in brackets), 99.1% of blasting was with
EVV, using 21,500 t (9,400 t) of explo-
sive, and yielded 15.25 Mm3 (7.5 Mm3)
of blasted rock; 200t (2,400t) of con-
ventional explosives blasted 0.23 Mm3
(2.59 Mm3) of rock. VET explosive is
mixed by the Russian company Eastern
Mining Services Ltd, a subsidiary of
Maxam, delivered to the holes and
charged using SZM mixing-charging
machines. The new technology signifi-
cantly reduced the number of misfires.
The super-deep mining system re-
quired further improvements to blast-
ing practice. Firstly, it was essential to
reduce fragment size as even sizeable
increases in the amount of explosive
used in the 250 mm production blast
holes did not fragment the rock to di-
mensions sufficiently small to improve
performance of the CPT systems, truck
haulage, or comminution. Secondly,
the drill-blast system used in the zones
near the pit rim must maintain the sta-
bility of the benches and steep highwalls
and not disturb the rock mass outside
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 pro-
portion of wet blast holes is expected to
increase, waterproof explosives would
be required.
Blastability studies led to the defini-
tion of five categories and for each one
the burden, hole distance and height of
explosive charge are calculated in rela-
tion to hole diameters, bench height,
grade of emulsion charge and row posi-
tion in the blasting sequence (see illu-
stration 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 diam-
eter holes. Using emulsion explosives
reduces impact on the environment, es-
pecially the urban area close to the mine
as they emit less gas and dust pollu-
tants and the vibration effects are easier
to control. For routine planning mine
surveyors and drill-blast engineers
use the GIS GEOMIX information
system developed by Kovdorsky and
the VIOGEM FSUE organization and
introduced in 2004. They report that
this has improved blast preparation
and stabilized the quality of ore feed to
the process plant. System development
continues.
Upgrading the drilling fleet
For more than 30 years Zhelezny relied
on Russian-built electric powered ro-
tary drilling rigs to drill 250 mm and
270 mm diameter holes. But, as Mikhail
Togunov pointed out, a fleet able to drill
a wider range of hole diameters with
optimum efficiency would be crucial
for super-deep mining.
Accordingly, in 2004 Kovdorsky
GOK acquired one imported rig for

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 119

 Steep Wall Open Pit Mining at Zhelezny
A major player in Kovdovsky’s Super Deep Mining programme: Atlas Copco’ s DM45 HP (high pressure) rig
on the pit’s upper, 12 m high benches.
drilling 171.4 mm diameter holes. Two
Atlas Copco ROC L8 down hole drill-
ing (DTH) rigs were added in 2005 in
order to drill 140 mm pre-split holes
and also 165 mm buffer hole rows
close to the margin of the benches. The
new rigs demonstrated the advantages
of using smaller holes that match the
physico-mechanical properties of the
rock.
These results and the bench configu-
rations required for super-deep mining
persuaded Kovdorsky GOK to use die-
sel-powered as well as electric drilling.
The diesel rigs could drill the required
smaller hole sizes and also work effi-
ciently where long tramming distances
are a disadvantage for rigs with power
120 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
cables. Nevertheless, the old electric
rigs achieve high performance indi-
ces and Rig Numbers 15 and 16 have
respectively completed 500 and 600
drill km since they went into operation.
So Kovdorsky GOK has retained five
SBSh electric rotary rigs plus the two
ROC L8 and one other DTH machines.
Management also looked for an exter-
nal drilling partner.
These efforts led to the deployment,
starting in 2007, of a second drilling
fleet comprising Atlas Copco large blas-
thole rigs operated by a Russian con-
tractor, Technobur. This company, ba-
sed in Moscow, was formed in October
2004 by an experienced team speci-
fically to carry out mine drilling. Prior
to the contract at Zhelezny, Technobur
had started work at Olcon’s Olenogorsk
iron ore mine north of Kovdor and
has a Pit Viper 275 there. The com-
pany also tested a DM 45 against SBSh
rigs at Olenogorsk, finding the diesel
machine was 30% faster. Presently
Technobur operates an Atlas Copco fleet
at Kovdor comprising three DML LP
rigs (1600 and 1200), one Pit Viper 275
LP, one DML HP 1250 and two DM 45
HP machines. This fleet usually does
more than 70% of the meters drilled at
the mine, over 40,000 m of a total of
55,000 m in a month being typical.
All the rigs are set up for multi-pass
drilling. To a depth of 70 m above sea
level benches are 12m high but below
this level they are generally 15 m high
with 3 m sub-drill. Production holes are
normally 14-20 m in depth. Presently
the slope angles range 35-40° from
vertical but the long term aim is to
make them as near vertical as possible.
The rotary rigs use Russian tricone bits
while the down hole production drill-
ing is done with Atlas Copco Secoroc
COP64 hammers and 165 or 200 mm
bits. The DML and DM 45 high pres-
sure rigs can be used either for down
hole drilling or for rotary, in which
case the pressure and engine power
are reduced. They are fitted with incli-
nation angle indicators for use when
tramming. Technobur services the rigs
with help from Atlas Copco, explained
the company’s site manager Evgeny
Perevozchikov.
The project has been progressing
according to plan and Kovdorsky GOK
expects to reach its first stage targets
in 2011.
Reference
1. D S Strezhnev, N A Ganza, I V Melik-
Gaikazov, A P Ivakin, N N Mel’nikov,
N V Cherevko: Kovdorsky Mining-and-
Processing Integrated Works Builds the
Future: Realization of Strategic Program of
Long-term Collaboration. Eurasian Mining
– Gornyi Zhurnal 1, 2008.
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.
 eastern Australia

Coal mining in eastern Australia

Hunter Valley
Shipping 260 million tonnes in
2008, Australia is the world’s larg-
est exporter of black coal. Roughly
one third comes from coalfields in
New South Wales, two thirds from
those in Queensland. Pit Viper
275 rigs are contributing to pro-
duction from the Hunter Valley in
New South Wales and the Bowen
Basin in Queensland.

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, Australia’s 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 lo-
cated and where Rob, who is the Regio-
nal 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 Main-
tenance Supervisor, whom we met at
an office complex known as Cheshunt
Bathhouse located in the southern sec-
tion of the HVO.
Located 24 km northwest of Single-
ton, the Hunter Valley Operations, are
100% owned by Coal & Allied Indu-
stries Ltd, which in turn is managed
by Rio Tinto Coal Australia. Rio Tinto
describes the Operations as a multi-
seam, multi-pit open cut mining ope-
ration. 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 pro-
duction began in 1979, and the Lem-
ington mine, which commenced coal-
ing 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.
and included Lemington when it was
acquired in 2001. The company will
approximately produce between 10.5
and 13.5 Mt/y.
In addition to the Hunter Valley Ope-
rations, the Coal & Allied portfolio in-
cludes the quite new Bengalla strip mine
4 km west of Muswellbrook and the
integrated Mount Thorley Warkworth
open cut mines 15 km southwest of
Singleton.
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 en-
gine that will meet the relevant Austra-
lian environmental impact regulations
for some time to come. C&A had good
previous experience with the Pit Viper’s
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
ambient temperatures of over 50° C.
Dale had also had positive feedback
from Pit Viper owners concerning the
steps taken by Atlas Copco Drilling
Solutions to improve features that had
been weak points on the older rigs.
At the crunch, Atlas Copco quoted a
competitive purchase price and the com-
ponent life cycle costs were acceptable.
Atlas Copco also offered to pro-
vide a maintenance technician for 12
months: previously an Ingersoll-Rand
Drilling Solutions rig owner himself,
this technician has also helped the Atlas
Copco team at Muswellbrook to iden-
tify maintenance issues.
Regulatory issues
However, life is not too simple for eq-
uipment purchasers in Australia, espe-
cially 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

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 121

 Coal mining in eastern Australia
HVO Maintenance Supervisor Dale Radnidge (right) with Atlas Copco’s Rob Swan.
have the standard version of the PV-275
modified in a number of respects. Dale
Radnidge, the maintenance electrician
and maintenance fitters at HVO were
involved and so was the unit’s produc-
tion trainer.
The order was placed late in 2007,
not too long after the AIMEX mining
equipment show in Sydney, and Atlas
Copco was able to deliver the PV-275
that had been displayed - in yellow
and gray livery – to the Muswellbrook
workshop.
C&A also ordered a new Atlas Copco
DML rig that required rather more
modification than the Pit Viper. Mr
The Coal and Allied Ltd Pit Viper 275 is fitted with a Cummins QSK 19 Tier 2 compliant engine.
122 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Radnidge explained that a major aim of
purchasing these two rigs was to start
to create a unified fleet of different size
drills with a common cabin design so
that each operator can easily switch
from one model to another when neces-
sary. The DML rig has replaced an ex-
isting competitor machine, whilst ano-
ther elderly competitor machine had
been put on stand-by when the PV-275
started work.
Modifications
The HVO maintenance team were able
to inspect the Pit Viper at the Atlas Copco
workshop. They could therefore make
recommendations as to the changes to
be made in addition to those modifica-
tions necessary for regulatory reasons.
These additional alterations were in-
tended to make it easier to maintain
the PV-275.
Meeting NSW electrical equipment
requirements necessitated taking out
the whole electrical system and install-
ing a different one. Some of the hydrau-
lic system components also had to be
changed.
Operation
The mines presently use a walk meter
and laser depth indicator in conjunction
with mine survey data for drill positi-
oning as the hardware needed to use
the GPS system on the PV-275 is not in
place yet. The DML has the Aquila sy-
stem fitted for use with HVO’s Modular
Mining Dispatch f leet management
system. Dispatch is also being used to
monitor the availabilities being achieved
by the two new Atlas Copco drilling
rigs. At the time of the visit, the Pit
Viper was being used with five rods
to drill 54 m holes in overburden for
blasting and stripping by either dra-
gline or shovel. However, the drilling
requirements range from 10 – 60 m
depth although the bulk of the benches
are drilled with 30 – 40 m vertical
holes. Hole size is 7⅞ in for coal and
partings and 10⅝ in for overburden.
Pre-split holes are drilled at either 10
m or 80 m spacing, in both cases at a
15° angle. Approximately 20 – 25% of
drilling time is spent on the pre-splits.
All nine drilling rigs working at HVO
use Secoroc tools provided through a
separate supply and service contract
that has been in force for six years.
HVO has two Bucyrus International
draglines (1 x 1370, 1 x 1570), six P&H
electric shovels and a Terex-O&K RH70
hydraulic excavator. As well as the Atlas
Copco drilling rigs there are six older
ones from other manufacturers. Mr
Radnidge explained that this mixed fleet
was built up as a result of the merging
of the mines that are now part of the
Hunter Valley Operations. C&A has
been using the maintenance plan-
ning tools in the SAP software port-
folio since May 2008.

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.
Summarizing, Dale Radnidge said
that not only was the deal which Atlas
Copco offered sound but the working
relationship that C&A has established
with the Atlas Copco team has been
good too. C&A is comfortable with the
purchase. Indeed, HVO had planned
to buy two more rigs, which had been
shipped to Australia. However, in
the current economic climate this will
not be possible during 2009.
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
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 123
Coal mining in eastern Australia
The HVO Pit Viper was being used to drill 54 m
holes in overburden, using five rods.
near Gladstone. The Bowen Basin ac-
counts for roughly half the world’s sea-
borne 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 equi-
valent Pit Viper 275. He is now an en-
thusiastic customer and advocate. Cur-
rently the company has two Pit Vipers
working at widely separated mines in Hole sizes are 7 7/8 in for coal and partings, 10 5/8 in
the Bowen basin. The first to be delivered for overburden.
 Coal mining in eastern Australia
Drillpro Services deploys one of the company’s two PV-275 rigs at the Wesfarmers Curragh Pty Ltd Curragh
North extension.
is at the Curragh operation between
Blackwater and Emerald, one of several
mines lying close to the Tropic, and the
second about 300 km further north at
the Coppabella mine.
Phil Smith finds the Curragh Pit Viper easy to use.
124 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Curragh North
Operated by Wesfarmers Curragh Pty
Ltd, which is wholly owned by Wes-
farmers Ltd, the Curragh mine was first
developed by an ARCO-led consortium
mainly to supply thermal grade coal to
the Stanwell power station near Rock-
hampton in Queensland. Subsequently
metallurgical coal production has grown
and the company exports this grade
together with surplus thermal coal.
Target export tonnage for the Financial
Year July 2008 – June 2009 was 7.0 Mt
while 4.0 Mt would go to Stanwell.
Production from the original Cur-
ragh mine has been supplemented
by the development of the Curragh
North extension. There are three dra-
glines working at Curragh and two at
the extension, where there are also hy-
draulic excavators loading Caterpillar
trucks (793 and 789 models). Both types
of coal are mined from this extension:
one grade is taken to the coal prepara-
tion plant at the original mine by a belt
conveyor, the other is hauled by large
high-sided truck-trailer units. The plant
also washes coal from Yarrabee, some
25 km to the north.
Thiess has the overburden stripping
contract at Curragh North, with Drillpro
doing the drilling and other specialist
firms, including Orica, carrying out the
blasting. The overburden is mainly sand
and gravel. John Anderson explained that
Drillpro Services has worked at Curragh
for 11 years. Under the current three-
year contract the company operates and
maintains two drills that belong to the
mining company as well as the one
PV-275 and one DM-M3 that Drillpro
owns itself. The Pit Viper is working at
the Curragh North extension.
From January 5 to January 18, 2009
Drillpro had drilled 51,000 meters, as
compared to the mine’s target of 25,000
m/week. This requires a penetration
rate of 850 m per 10 hours drilling per
shift. However, Curragh was looking
to increase the rate to 30,000 m/week.
From early August 2008, when the
PV-275 started work, up until the time
of our visit on January 20, 2009, the rig
had drilled 130,000 meters. The rig was
still using the original drill rods and
had thus far achieved 98% availability,
Mr Anderson said. Both this Pit Viper
and the one at Coppabella drill 270 mm
holes. However, the Curragh machine
has a Cummins QSK engine while the
Coppabella PV-275 has the Cat C27
option.
 Coal mining in eastern Australia

Usually Drillpro uses a DM-M3 for

drilling 25° pre-split holes and 20°
bench holes for cast blasting. Some-
times, commented John, Drillpro gets
held up because the pre-split holes are
not blasted soon enough. However, the
area we visited had a soft wall so pre-split
drilling was unnecessary. We watched
Phil Smith operating the PV-275. He
drilled the A/O hole to 51m and the holes
H11 to A11 to between 47 and 50 m.
Phil Smith has 17 years’ experience
in exploration drilling followed by 3½
years of production blasthole work,
including drilling with the DM45 and
the Driltech D75 rigs. He told us that
the PV-275 is better than both of them: it
is easier to use and has more feel for the
drilled rock. The cabin’s perforated
blinds were very helpful in the bright
Australian sun, eliminating glare but
providing sufficient visibility for Phil
to move the rig from one hole to the
next drilling position. John Anderson
remarked that he would like to have a
window in the cabin roof to provide
a view of the mast, but the design of
the FOPS cab makes this impossible.
Instead there is a camera system which
the operators took some time to get
used to, but now find perfectly satis-
factory.

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 Copco’s 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 altera-
tions Atlas Copco was considerably
The second Drillpro PV-275 works at the Coppabella & Moorvale JV’s Coppabella mine.
assisted by an adjacent firm of boil-
ermakers which could generate the
required drawings and do some of the modifications and additions included: mast; a Hiab crane, with its own power
fabrication. a modified walk-up ladder; one plat- supply mounted under the cabin, to
In addition to rewiring according form in front of the cabin and another help with drill tools handling; addition
to Queensland standards, the main to provide high level access to the of a Chubb fire suppression system on

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 125

 Coal mining in eastern Australia

a rail around the engine; two lifting

hooks; and a microwave and fridge.
Several of the standard features were
relocated for greater convenience, such
as the isolators, which were moved to
the back end of the frame to be within
reach from ground level, the Wiggins
fast fill unit and the lube drums. Phil
Smith was particularly enthusiastic
about the Hiab crane which makes his
life a good deal easier, he said.
The Coppabella machine was deliv-
ered with the lift hooks pre-fitted,
an upgraded engine fire suppression
system and greasing access for the
driveline to the pump. In addition, extra
tanks were fitted for dust suppression
so that refilling is required after two
shifts. As well as a Hiab crane and extra
platforms like those on the Curragh Pit
Viper, there is an access to the mast and
the camera on the mast via the top of
the cabin.

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 Cop-
pabella and Moorvale Joint Venture. The
Joint Venture comprizes Macarthur Coal
Ltd (73.3 % stake held via Coppabella
Coal Pty Ltd); CITIC (via CITIC Au-
stralia Coppabella Pty Ltd), Marubeni
Corp. (via Mapella Pty Ltd), and Sojitz
Corp. (via Winview Pty Ltd) each hol-
ding 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 han-
dling and preparation plant has a capac-
ity 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 start-
ed in July 1998 and the first coal was mi-
ned in October 1998. By April 2007
Coppabella had yielded 40 Mt of run
of mine coal. Macarthur Coal’s attrib-
utable 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,
Drillpro’s 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.
low volatile PCI grade metallurgical
coal that is railed to the Dalrymple Bay
Coal Terminal near Mackay. But, in
response to market trends, Coppabella
has revised its mine plan in order to
mine thermal coal and reduce PCI
grade output, demand for which has
fallen sharply. This also meant that 140
people were laid off in mid-December
2008.
John Anderson’s son Matt joined
Drillpro Services in 2003 and now man-
ages four contract sites in the area. Of
these Coppabella, where Neal Torresan
is the company’s site supervisor, is the
largest but the other clients are pre-
stigious – BHP Billiton Mitsubishi
Alliance (BMA), whose Poitrel mine
is operated by the contractor Leighton;
Vale Australia’s Broadlea; and Peabody’s
Eaglefield, where the main contractor is
Macmahon. Drillpro was also bidding
for work at BMA’s South Walker Creek
mine, where Thiess is the mining con-
tractor.
At Coppabella, overburden removal
is primarily by dragline, coal mining by
large excavators loading trucks. Orica
is responsible for blasting the holes
Drillpro drills under the terms of an 18
month contract. There are presently three
producing pits; East, Southern and
Johnson. Drillpro has the PV-275 and
one other rig operating, one spare
machine and one parked unit, all of these
being of other make. (When bidding for
new contracts having idle machines can
help, commented Matt Anderson.)
The Coppabella PV-275 rig drills
20° angle, 18 meter pre-splits and 12-18
meter main bench holes, of which some
are angled at 20° but most are vertical.
The coal is 13-14 m thick in places at
a depth of approximately 37 meters
below surface. Jason Camielleri was
operating the drill during our visit to
the Johnson Pit South.
Routine servicing of the Coppabella
machine’s Cat C27 engine is done by
Drillpro but any guarantee work is
done by the Caterpillar dealer. At the
time of our visit the machine had done
about 1000 hours.
Acknowledgements
Kyran Casteel, a Contributing Editor for
Coal Age and Engineering & Mining
Journal, visited the New South Wales and
Queensland coalfields in January 2009.

126 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Russia, Southern Siberia, Kuznetsk Basin

Boosting Siberian energy

Standfirst
Economic growth in southern Si-
beria is increasing year-on-year
and at the Kuznetsk Basin coal
field, new mining enterprises are
appearing and existing operations
are introducing the latest equip-
ment to boost their productivity.

The DML expectance

The Kuznetsk Basin (Kuzbass) is well
known for its huge coal resources, half
of which, some 693 million tons, are
coking coals, the main commercial fuel
for smelting iron. Today, more than 100
underground coal mines and open pits
are in production with, 17 coal clean-
ing plants producing different grades.
Annual production of power station and
coking coals is some 1.5 billion tons.
Drill-and-blast contractor Azot-
Cher nigovets Ltd. offers blasted
material preparation for the open pit
Chernigovsky mine with an annual
production of some 6 Mt.
“In our f leet there are only for-
eign rotary blasthole drill rigs,” says
Vladimir Bornev, site supervisor.
“We drill blocks with five rigs, three
of which are Atlas Copco DML rotary
blasthole rigs.”
The plan for 2007 was to achieve
1.1 million drillmeters and by the 11th
month, the company was well on track
to meeting this goal. Comparing the
DML rigs, the most popular in Kuzbass,
with their domestically manufactured
counterparts, Bornev says that the Atlas
Copco rigs are very productive and
maneuverable, with the powerful diesel
engine and compressor productivity
among the main benefits. “Local rigs
achieve a maximum of 10,000–11,000
drillmeters per month, while the plan
for our DML is 20,000–22,000 drill-
meters per month,” he says. “In fact,
one of our drill rigs has broken all
records at the mine; in August it drilled
30,500 meters. The DML rigs are built
much better, quality-wise, and the
design is more sound and reliable.”
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 record-
breaking DML, says, “The cabin is well
insulated, with good visibility and ope-
rating 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 excel-
lent and if you follow the manufac-
turer’s 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 com-
plete technology process,” comments
Khlebunov. “We sell fully prepared
cubes of rock mass and run operations
both at Chernigovsky and at a number
of other open pits.” The set task per
shift for the DML is 400-500 drillmeters,
so it achieves 800–900 drillmeters per
day over two shifts. Says Khlebunov,
“We hold a record of 1,300 drillmeters
per day. Our success is the result of co-
ordinated efforts by all those involved.
We want to prove what the drill rig and
the enterprise is capable of.”
Bachatsky open pit
At the Bachatsky open pit, owned by
Kuzbassrazrezugol, the average thick-
ness of the coal seams is 32 meters. Here,
too, the main goal is to increase pro-
ductivity at minimal cost. The rig fleet
has been completely renewed; the pre-
vious 14 electric drill rigs have been
replaced with four diesel and two
electric rigs. Two DM-M2 and two Pit
Viper 271 rigs are in use and the miners
are happy with the equipment.
Alexander Bogatiriov, deputy tech-
nical director, says, “Though the rigs
belong to different classes, I think they
are equal in terms of productivity. Ope-
rators hold the same opinion; the
DM-M2 is not second to the Pit Viper.
Competition between the rig operators

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 127

 Boosting siberian energy

produces such great results with the

DM-M2 as 30,600 drillmeters per
month and with the PV-271 37,000 drill-
meters per month, which can be com-
pared with a performance of some
8,000 drillmeters per month for the
conventional Russian drill rigs.

Single-pass capability
The first drill rig was commissioned
in 2004 and was the second such drill
rig in Kuzbass. To increase productiv-
ity, 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 theo-
retical productivity capabilities of the
rigs,” says Bogatiriov. “As for mainte-
nance, 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 Copco’s local distributor, Mi-
ning 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, work-
ing hand-in-hand with the customer to
steadily boost the productivity of the
equipment.
“The operators traditionally believe
that productivity increases depend so-
lely 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 serv-
ice, 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
This article first appeared in Atlas
A winter’s day at the Bachatsky open pit: The Atlas Copco drill rigs DM-M2 and Pit Viper 271 help Copco Mining & Construction No. 1
to produce coal for both the domestic and international markets. 2008

128 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 USA, Wyoming

Hidden treasure beneath

America's western prairie
Multi-pass drills
meet demand
Much of the world relies on coal
for electricity generation. This is
especially true in the United
States, where coal is responsible
for over 50 percent of the power
produced. To meet this need, over
1 billion tons of coal is mined on an
annual basis. The proven DM-M3
and now the PV-275 are the drills
of choice in large scale mining ope-
rations in Wyoming. These robust
drills, with their ability to drill large
deep holes at an angle, have be-
come the standard in the Powder
River Basin.

Powder River Basin

Under the rolling grasslands of north-
east Wyoming, massive seams of low-
sulfur, sub-bituminous coal are mined
on a scale unmatched anywhere on earth.
The Powder River Basin (PRB) is home
to 13 major open-pit coal mines, all of
which would be considered large in
their own right. Combined, these mines
tallied 451 million short tons (410 mil-
lion metric tons) of coal production in
2008. Individually, the PRB is home to
the 10 largest coal mines in the United
States, and quite possibly the five larg-
est in the world. Two mines, Peabody
Energy’s North Antelope/Rochelle
Mine and Arch Coal’s Black Thunder
Mine, each produced over 88 million
short tons (80 million metric tons) in Massive amounts of overburden - up to 300 ft (91 m) - are removed to reach the seams of coal that can
2008. exceed 80 ft (24 m) thick. Powder River Basin coal is treasured because of its low sulfur content.
The key to the success of these mines
is the thick coal seams, which can ex- high coal production, an enormous primary stripping tool. Draglines are
ceed 80 feet (24 meters) high. While the amount of overburden must be moved. very cost-efficient earthmovers as they
geology may seem very favorable, strip utilize massive buckets (up to 160 cubic
ratios continue to increase as mining Dragline operations yards, or 122 cubic meters), and deposit
progresses. Many of the mines now their material directly without need for
average 3 cubic yards of waste to 1 ton When moving this amount of material, haulage units or conveyors. Unlike a
of coal. This translates to overburden mines turn to the lowest cost equipment shovel or loader, which has a limited
cover in excess of 300 feet (91 meters) available. Many of the PRB mines uti- digging height that dictates the bench
in many areas. Therefore, to meet the lize large walking draglines as their height (usually less than 60 feet, or

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 129

 Hidden treasure beneath America's western prairie

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.

18.3 meters), a dragline is capable of

deep digging depths beyond 100 feet
(30.5 meters).
While the dragline is a very effective
earthmover, the overall cost of over-
burden removal can be reduced through
cast blasting. Cast blasting is a method
of drilling and blasting that uses high
explosive energy to throw a sizeable
portion of the bank into the adjacent
empty pit where the coal was previously
removed. This method often results in
casting 30 percent or more of the bank
overburden material to its final resting
place, known as the “effective cast” or
“cast to final.”
As dragline operations require a flat
bench, large track dozers with special
wide blades (sometimes referred to as
carrydozers) push the cast material
down and build a bench at a set height
above the coal seam. The dragline will
A dragline digs on the spoil side of the pit. Draglines move in small steps via a cam-type walking mechanism. then uncover the coal seam. This mining

130 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Hidden treasure beneath America's western prairie

method allows for the excavating of a

large vertical block of material ranging
from 100 feet (30.5 meters) to 200 feet
(61.0 meters) or more in depth, com-
pared to the 50-foot to 60-foot (15.2 to 18.3
meter) vertical benches taken by truck/
shovel methods. A challenge of the drag-
line method is maintaining stability of
the face (known as the highwall) after
excavation, especially when water is
present in the material.
Drilling for cast blasting applications
generally involves deep depths (up to
235 feet or 71.6 meters), large diameters
(up to 12 1/4 inches, or 311 mm) and
angles up to 30 degrees from vertical.
Large diameters result in wider drill
patterns, reducing the number of holes
drilled. Because of the size of the drag- Drilling at an angle then blasting the bank into the adjacent empty pit results in casting 30 percent or more
line buckets, large fragmentation size of the bank overburden material.
from the blast is not a concern. How-
ever, some operations have found that important to remember that the drilling material is so soft that tricone bits are
smaller diameters such as 11 1/4 inches depth increases as the angle increases. rarely used. Instead, aggressive claw-
(286 mm) yield better blasting results For example, if mining a 200-foot type bits are the standard. Contrary to
with the tighter spacing. (61.0 meter) bench, the drilling depth the general belief that soft material calls
Deep blasthole drilling has its chal- at 30 degrees would be 231 feet (70.4 for as high a rotation speed as possible,
lenges. Foremost is the amount of cut- meters). these claw bits rotate at lower RPM (100
tings generated by the large diameter, Some mining regions are fortunate or less), but their design allows them
deep holes. A 12 1/4-inch (311 mm) hole to have soft material, which yields ex- to shear through the material at rates
to 200 feet (61.0 meters), assuming a tremely fast drilling rates and less wear exceeding 1,000 feet/hour (305 meters/
swell factor of 30 percent, would yield on buckets, tires and truck beds. The hour).
7.9 cubic yards (6.0 cubic meters) of PRB is in this class, with much of the To handle the high penetration rates,
cuttings. This is a very large pile that material having a compressive strength large air compressors must be used. This
smaller drills simply cannot contain of less than 5,000 psi (34 MPa). The is especially true in the PRB as these
under their dust hoods. Even though a
small unit might have sufficient pull-
down, rotary torque and air to drill
a hole, it wouldn't be effective due to ex-
cess cuttings falling back down the hole
after the hood area is filled.
Most of the drilling for dragline ope-
rations is done at angles between 20
and 30 degrees. The angle drilling
serves two purposes. First, the angle
can be set to roughly the same angle as
the desired highwall. This is done to
help keep a consistent face-row burden
to improve the effectiveness of the cast
shot. In simple terms, the burden at the
top of the highwall (the crest) should be
similar to the burden at the bottom of
the highwall (the toe). Second, angle
drilling can help shape the direction
of the cast shot. As the blast projects
perpendicularly from the bore hole, an
angled hole gives a vertical component
to the blast, helping lift the mate-
rial and therefore throw it further. It is Drillers on the DM-M3 appreciate the clear view of the breakout wrench and easy access to controls.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 131

 Hidden treasure beneath America's western prairie
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.
drills often use smaller diameter drill
rods to increase the annular area (the
gap between the wall of the hole and
the drill rod) to allow the larger cuttings
generated by the claw bit to exit the hole
without having to be reground to a
smaller size. High volume compressors
of up to 2,600 cubic feet per minute are
used, and it is important to have suffi-
cient air pressure (100 psi, or 6.8 bar, or
more) available to prevent plugging bits.
Because of the light weight of the over-
burden (approximately 3,000 pounds
per cubic yard, or 1.04 tons per cubic
meter), bailing velocities may dip below
the 5,000 feet per minute (1,524 meters
per minute) recommendation that the
industry would normally prescribe, yet
still effectively clean the hole.
132 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Building Drills for the PRB
Atlas Copco’s DM-M3 and Pit Viper
275 (PV-275) are ideal for coal mining in
the Powder River Basin and the DM-M3
was, in fact, first designed for mining
the overburden in the PRB. Jon Torpy,
a regional manager for Atlas Copco,
said, “The DM-M3 is in a class of its
own with the right balance of air, rotary
head performance, bit load, and depth
capacity. The PV-275 has taken these
strengths and added to them. The DM-M3
was designed to drill the Powder River
overburden so it can drill the deep angle
holes required to reach the coal.”
Walt Schroeder is a product support
sales representative for Atlas Copco,
but prior to working for Atlas Copco,
The 235-ft drill depth of the DM-M3 allows the
dragline access to the deep coal in one blast. The
DM-M3 can drill at an angle of 30 degrees, which
maintains the angle of the highwall and helps
shape the direction for the cast shot.
Schroeder was a driller. He has operated
many drills including seven years on a
DM-M3. Schroeder said, “I have never
had a bad word to say about the DM-M3
and it’s always the truth. Ask anyone
who has operated one. There is no other
drill that can mast over to 30 degrees
and drill 240 feet – all day, every day
and never even grunt!”
Schroeder added, “When this rig was
designed there were definitely miners
involved. There isn’t a more comfort-
able rig to operate; they got it right when
they engineered this rig. I’d say this is
the most ergonomic drill on the planet
and I’ve never run a rig that I like more.”
Schroeder’s confidence speaks to
durability, too. Availability is critical
according to Schroeder. “There is not
a drill made that has the air, power and
overall drilling performance at this
depth and angle that can match the av-
ailability of the DM-M3. I know guys
you wouldn’t let operate your lawnmo-
wer who are drilling with the DM-M3
– this rig is tough!”
Acknowledgements
Story and pictures by Brian Fox and Scott
Ellenbecker. Portions of this article first
appeared in Mining & Construction USA,
No. 1, 2009.
 USA, Powder River Basin

Finding a Perfect Balance

Dry Fork balances
ecology and mining
As one of the newest coal-fired po-
wer plants in the nation, Dry Fork
Station is a testament to how
nature and progress can coexist.
In fact, technological advances in
drilling equipment, coupled with
ecology-conscious coal-mining
management, ensure that a re-
sponsible and mutually beneficial
relationship between all stake-
holders will continue well into
the future.

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, commer-
cial operation began in 1990. Approx-
imately 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 aw-
ards, 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 Fuels–Wyoming, Inc.
(WFW) is owned by a collective of co-
operative power companies. The mine
primarily supplies coal to the utilities
associated with those rural coopera-
tives. Dry Fork is an industry showcase
representing how mining, energy pro-
duction and nature can realize sustain-
able success. Dry Fork balances mining
operations with conservation practices.
The mine’s 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.
tons will be used in the new Dry Fork
Station, a 385 megawatt power plant lo-
cated adjacent to the mine.
The Dry Fork Mine is a truck and
loader operation with Le Tourneau
1850 and 1400 loaders and Cat 793D
240 ton and 789B 190 ton haul trucks.
The drilling is done with a new Atlas
Copco DML blasthole rig with the
new Atlas Copco Secoroc Grizzly Paw
10  ⅝ inch (270 mm) bit. In the past, the
mine drilled 9 inch (229 mm) holes with
an older rig, but with the new DML
they were able to increase hole size,
which allowed them to expand their
pattern by nearly 30 percent.
As good as new
Every element is part of the mine’s rec-
lamation plan. Animals, trees, surface
rocks – it is all documented in the per-
mitting process. Director of Regulatory
Affairs Beth Goodnough is the keeper
of the permit. “It’s a constantly evol-
ving permit. Currently it’s 25 volumes
long and growing.”
Goodnough sited specifics to the re-
mediation plan: “We make efforts to
replace wildlife microhabitat impacted
by mining by replacing shrubs, build-
ing rock piles, planting trees and bu-
shes, and installing rock and bluff type
ledges in the reclamation. The permit
requires us to restore one shrub per
square meter on 20 percent of the rec-
lamation.
The seed mixes are rather complica-
ted and include the Wyoming big sage-
brush, silver sagebrush and a variety of
native grasses and forbs. The mixes are
tailored to grassland areas, wetlands,
bottomlands, shrub patches and mixed
sagebrush/grassland post mine areas.”
To support habitat, rock outcrops are
also replaced where the integrity of the
rock makes it possible. Another recently
constructed feature is a 4 acre alluvial
valley floor that was recreated in a re-
claimed area to look similar to the one
that had been present prior to mining. In
another area, the mine has succeeded
in establishing a wetlands channel and
has three restored wetlands ponds. In

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 133

 Finding a Perfect Balance
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.
addition to reclamation, all climate and
sub terrestrial elements are examined
and monitored. “Wetlands, hydrology,
air quality, climatology, archeology,
wildlife — everything is monitored,
documented and reported monthly or
annually. I see different in-spectors
once or twice a month, federal and state,
we have a variety of folks with differ-
ent focuses watching what we do,” said
Goodnough.
As for how close reclamation efforts
are to pre-mining conditions, Good-
nough said, “We’re trying to do in 10
years what it took nature hundreds of
years of evolution to accomplish.” In
total the mine manages approximately
10,000 acres (40.5 km2) of land. Of the
mined area, nearly 20 percent of what
has been disturbed has been reclaimed to
what it was, before any mining activity.
Goodnough said the goal is to re-
store disturbed land right behind mined
land. “We want a one to one ratio as
we go forward – an acre reclaimed for
an acre disturbed.” Dry Fork isn’t alone
in its efforts to keep the Powder River
Basin sustainable. The region is known
for following thorough reclamation pro-
cesses.
134 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
The right machine
The DML is a new drill for Dry Fork,
but drill operator Mark Lindsey said,
“It didn’t take but a couple weeks to get
comfortable with the controls. I like the
carousel system: it’s very user friendly.
There are good safety features on this
rig, too, keeping you from screwing up.”
Lindsey thinks the drill has “lots of
air power and drills fast overall.” The
DML is outfitted with a 1900 cfm air
compressor.
As for the technology factor Lindsey
said, “I wasn’t too sure I’d like the drop
GPS, but now I’m spoiled because the
depth is always right on the money.
Now I really like it.”
Mine Superintendent John Barnes
said, “It’s an advantage with the lar-
ger diameter hole because we don’t
have to shoot daily.” He likes that the
driller, Mark Lindsey, can be doing
other things and they can stay ahead.
Each blast usually requires 35 to 40
holes. When overburden is less than
Deeper than 30 feet and they drill on
a 60-feet (18 m) deep, 20-degree angle.
The overburden is generally 60 feet
deep. He said, “The Grizzly Paw bit
performs well when drilling through
rock.” The drill’s penetration rate is typi-
cally around 25 to 32 feet per minute
(7 to 10 m/min).
Dry Fork is toward the north end
of the Powder River Basin producing
higher moisture, low sulfur, sub-bitu-
minous coal at 8,000 to 8,200 btu per
pound. The mine has two pits with coal
of different properties, which allows
the mine to mix loads to a power plant’s
specifications.
Coal depth is a varying factor in the
Powder River Basin coal region. This
makes reclamation a bit more difficult
too. Barnes said, “We map everything
to ensure post-mining contours coin-
cide with pre-mining elevations. This
includes setting topsoil aside during
initial excavation so it can be replaced
after reclamation. Basically the reclai-
med land will look just like it does
before, just lower because the coal has
been removed.”
The coal in this part of the Powder
River Basin exists in two layers. Barnes
said, “The coal deposits came in two
events.” The mineable Anderson layer
is on top, which is about 18 feet (5.5 m)
thick and the lower Canyon deposit
is generally 55 feet (16.7 m). A sedi-
mentary stratum about 6 ½ feet (2 m)
thick separates the two coal seams.
When drilling in coal, Lindsey said,
“The Grizzly bit drills like a hot knife
in butter and its easy drilling. It won’t
plug up either.” When drill hole depths
allow, both overburden and coal are
drilled in a staggered pattern at a 20
degree angle.
To be successful here, a mine has to
employ efficient and intelligent people
and equipment. Getting the coal is
just one part of a process that ends in
reclaimed land.
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Atlas
Copco Mining & Construction maga-
zine 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 moun-
tains one 30-ft to 40-ft lift at a
time. Virginia Drilling’s business
philosophy has developed over
time but has remained simple,
says said founding partner and
company president Verlo Stiltner.
“We grow the business by focus-
ing on what you do best and sur-
round yourself with experts.”
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 135
Virginia drilling
In 1998, partners Verlo Stiltner, David
Hale and Mike Sheets started the
contract drilling company Virginia
Drilling to diversify the existing blast-
ing 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
DM45’s, nine Atlas Copco DML’s and
seven Atlas Copco crawler drills in
various sizes, including one ECM 490
and one ECM 470 and two ECM 690’s
and three ECM 720’s.
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
USA, Vansant, VA
drills are dedicated to road, reclama-
tion and underground mine face-ups to
a point that 85 percent to 90 percent of
the work is for the coal mining com-
panies.
Two years ago, the company’s co-
founder David Hale passed away, but
the business has continued to grow with
strong leadership and committed em-
ployees. Today the company has 18
drills on order and has a steady business
growth plan slated for years to come.
Getting started
Because of the existing blasting busi-
ness, Virginia Drilling knew everyone
in the area. Founding partner and con-
struction 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 construc-

tion 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 blast-
ing material on the bench, to work effi-
ciently and maximize outside resources.
The goal was to get costs below indus-
try average and have higher drill uti-
lization.

Partner responsibilities
From the beginning Virginia Drilling’s
partners accepted that they were not
drill experts. Admittedly, Virginia Drill-
ing Chief Operating Officer Clinton
Evans pointed out they had lots to learn
and wanted to work closely with drill
dealer Brandeis Equipment to develop
a maintenance program.
“When choosing a drill it was really
a no-brainer,” said Evans. They went
with Atlas Copco because if its prod-
uct reputation, but also they needed a
strong dealer that would support every
aspect of the drill including parts and
support.
According to Brandeis branch ma-
nager, Barry Justice, 40 percent of their
parts inventory is for Atlas Copco Drills.
“If the drills don’t run, the whole mi-
ning process stops,” said Justice.
Brandeis has 19 service trucks in the
field, running its parts department on
a double shift and supplying 24/7 ser-
vice to Virginia Drilling. All that atten-
tion equates to a higher performance
on the drills. The oldest drill in the fleet
is a 1999 DML with 22,000 hours. Typi-
cally on a mine site the cost of drilling
equipment is approximately 5 percent
to 10 percent of the total expenditures.
This is another reason why some mining
companies don’t focus on their drilling.
Virginia Drilling knows that the ex-
cavation equipment can catch up to them
but can’t pass them.
Atlas Copco regional sales manager
Tom Borer said, “Virginia Drilling has
drills with 20,000 hours on them that
run better than drills owned by others
that have 10,000 hours.”
There is no big secret here; it’s all in
the preventative maintenance (PM) pro-
gram. The main pumps, for example,
Two Atlas Copco DML drill rigs prepare for the next shot that will lower the bench to the coal seam. average 7,000 to 8,000 hours for most,

136 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining


Shouldering the burden for the coal companies. From left: Mike Sheets, Clinton Evans and Verlo Stiltner of Virginia Drilling.
while Virginia Drilling averages 11,000
to 12,000 hours. It’s not uncommon for
Virginia Drilling to get 40 percent gre-
ater life out of their drill compo-
nents because of the PM program.
Mike Sheets said, “It’s all about ta-
king away problems.” Brandeis takes
the burden of maintenance away from
Virginia Drilling and Virginia Drilling
takes away the burden of drilling and
blasting from the coal companies.
He emphasized that his customers’
focus is to move material. They don’t
want to worry about getting the shot
right or all the liability that comes with
explosives.
Sheets said, “If everyone focuses on
the part of the business that makes them
money everyone wins, and if we’re not
drilling holes, we’re not making money.”
To ensure they are drilling holes they
follow the PM program religiously. If a
drill is close to a scheduled PM and a
Brandeis truck is in the area, they will
perform the service rather than let it get
behind. As a contract driller for many
mining operations in the area, Virginia
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 137
Drilling takes total responsibility for
the drilling and blasting operation. The
agreement with its customers is a win-
win for everyone.
When this part of the business began
and the deal was laid out for the custo-
mer, he didn’t believe it. “He told us it
seemed too good to be true,” said Sheets.
They proposed a sliding scale based
on 50,000 to 1 million yards of shot
material with discounts built in for vo-
lume. Virginia Drilling guaranteed the
product amount in the customer’s time-
frame. They absorb most costs related
to putting the product on the ground,
from equipment to human resources to
blasting material.
“When we finished making our
proposal the first response was ‘where
do I sign,’” said Sheets. Today Virginia
Drilling´s client list is long and growing.
Training equals success
People are a critical part of making this
work. At any one time Virginia Drilling
has seven to eight drill trainees, with
Moving Mountains
that number going as high as ten. The
training program has developed over
time to what it is today, a well executed
system. For the first two weeks they
mostly watch and listen. They learn
how to set up on the bench, put the mast
up and down and terminology. They
learn by watching and listening.
“We prefer they don’t even come in
with experience,” said Evans.
They don’t want new employees to
have bad habits and to learn drilling
according to the company’s operation.
After they have a couple weeks with
the best drillers they come in for class-
room work. They learn down pressure,
rotation, penetration rates, bit perfor-
mance and compressor and engine ope-
ration, everything they need to know
about the drill and what its responsibil-
ity is for drilling the hole.
Then the trainees go back in the field
with the experienced driller again to
apply the classroom work. Every month
drillers are evaluated to make sure they
are getting optimum production,
maxi-mum penetration and bit life
 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 as-
pects of training come right back to
keeping the drill working at its maxi-
mum 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.
138 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Performance for results
Drill performance also factors into how
Virginia Drilling bids a job. “Every-
thing is evaluated when looking at the
cost per foot,” said Sheets. “Because we
look at all aspects of the drilling and
blasting process, we know how to find
our efficiencies.”
One drill site may run into five dif-
ferent layers of sandstone in a mine.
Laminated charts plot out the geology
of the mine. The goal is to get the maxi-
mum penetration in relation to the time
in the hole.
“The bit is an integral part of the ope-
ration,” 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 ro-
tation rate its only half the equation.
“We are not willing to sacrifice a drill
to drill faster,” said Clinton Evans. Vir-
ginia Drilling looks to maximizing the
relationship of down pressure to rota-
tion rpm to ensure the life of the drill.
Using 7 ⅞-inch to 9-inch bits on
its DML’s and 6 ¾-inch to 7 ⅞-inch
bits on its DM45’s, operating between
2,500 to 4,000 hours a year, Virginia
Drilling projects 2 ½ million yards of
rock a month. It is expected that each
drill is responsible for 500,000 yards.
The DML’s are equipped with 6 ¼-inch
x 30-ft pipe, while the DM45’s run 5
½-inch x 30-ft pipe.
Virginia Drilling can move drills if
needed, and to meet the required ton-
nage 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 per-
formance and hole sizes dictate what
drills will be used. It goes back to
blasting – try to make the pattern smal-
ler 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 ⅞-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 maga-
zine No 2 2008. Story and pictures
by Scott Ellenbecker, Ellenbecker
Communications.

Coal and Gold Mining in Kazakhstan
The electric-powered DML rig with hydraulic tophead drive.
drilling technology to meet productiv-
Gearing up ity targets and lower their costs.
Two such operations are Bogatyr
for growth Komir and Borly Coal that both operate
The Republic of Kazakhstan, that a mix of Atlas Copco DML and DM45
vast country south of Russia be- blasthole drill rigs. Bogatyr, located
tween the Caspian Sea and China,
in the Ekibastuz coal basin, has total
is on the move. Its infrastructure
is improving and its mining indu- reserves of 4.5 billion tonnes and pro-
stries are being reborn through duces nearly 40 percent of the country’s
new methods and modern equip- coal (46 million tonnes mined in 2008).
ment. It will take time, but the The mine has a fleet of five drill rigs
aim is clear: to become a prime on site, three DMLs and two DM45s.
example of Central Asia’s grow- Each DML drills around 14,000 meters
ing prosperity. Atlas Copco eq-
uipment and service is playing a
per month, while the DM45 achieves
central part in this modernization. about 20,000 meters per month. Both
types are operating on 25-meter ben-
ches. The DML rigs use 228 mm tri-
cone bits, while the DM45 uses 171 mm
Expansive coal reserves tricone bits. All of the rigs are capa-
ble of producing more drill-meters if
Few countries have such expansive re- required.
serves of coal, oil, uranium, methane With a 7-meter burden and 5-meter
and natural gas as Kazakhstan. And in spacing, each blast consists of 400 holes
this land, characterized by vast open to produce more than 100,000 tonnes
plains, Atlas Copco drill rigs have be- of coal and 60,000 cubic meters of
come the rigs of choice among coal waste per day.
producers. Borly, located in the Karaganda re-
Beneath the surface of the Kazakh gion, produces about 7 tonnes per year
Steppe in the north of the country, there from the Molodezhniy and Kulchek
are massive coal reserves. Here, Atlas mines. It uses both DML and DM45
Copco has been working with a number rigs on 45-meter benches, drilling
of mining companies to upgrade their around 17,000 meters per month per
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 139
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 dis-
tinction of having received the world’s
first electric DML drill rig. Meanwhile,
the recent delivery of the country’s first
Atlas Copco RD20 drill rig for oil and
gas, has paved the way for exploration
of the huge Karaganda methane field.
Rich mineral resources
Kazakhstan also has gold, copper, iron
ore and manganese open pits. Here too,
Atlas Copco drill rigs are well repre-
sented. DM45 and DML blasthole rigs
are used by Kazakhmys Copper Com-
pany and Aktobe Copper Company in
the country’s western copper region.
The multi-pass DM30 for hole diam-
eters of 127 mm to 171 mm, is the rig of
choice for Polymetal’s Varvarinskoye
Mine, whereas the single-pass Pit Viper
275, for hole diameters up to 270 mm,
is used by Kazzinc’s VasGold mine.
“We have introduced blasthole drill-
ing equipment to Kazakhstan that can
increase productivity and lower oper-
ating costs,” explains John Stinson,
Global Business Manager, Atlas Copco,
“but it was not a straightforward task.”
From the start, Atlas Copco advan-
ced new ideas into Kazakhstan. The
region traditionally used a common
hole diameter, bench height and annual
meterage using electric-powered rotary
drilling methods.
Atlas Copco converted the country
to diesel-powered hydraulic drills, as
well as high-pressure down-the-hole
(DTH) hammer drilling. Today, the
time-tested technology of DTH drilling
has proven itself at Varvarinskoye Gold
as well at the Aktobe Copper Com-
pany’s “50 Years October” copper mine.
This change-over to DTH drilling was
not always successful initially, but with
time and cooperation, they were able to
achieve its full benefit.
 Coal and Gold Mining in Kazakhstan
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 over-
burden was removed, they studied
DTH drilling for use on harder rock
formations.
Following these studies, the mine
selected eight Atlas Copco rigs—six
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 pene-
tration 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 Copco’s
distributor Ken Group, an experienced
contractor, had been getting good re-
sults with rotary drilling at other cop-
per 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
140 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
the total meters drilled the rig achieved
60 percent of the total productivity rate
of all three rigs in operation at the site.
According to Alexander Merzlikin,
Deputy General Director, Special Pro-
jects, Ken Group, there were no tech-
nical problems and the drill rigs all
achieved the same penetration rate. Ken
Group/GRT also coordinated all sup-
plies and service to keep the rigs run-
ning at maximum efficiency, including
all lubricants, drilling consumables,
parts, maintenance and repairs.
Merzlikin continues: “When you ma-
nage the bench, you need to plan for
up to three months. Our success comes
from teaming experienced operators
with an equivalent service organization
and supply chain. Ken Group/GRT has
a single focus and that is to provide the
maximum meters at the lowest possible
cost.”
Moving forward, Ken Group—GRT
will either expand the contract drill-
ing or offer a structured training and
drilling program for Aktobe Copper’s
operators.
Developing metals
Varvarinskoye Gold Mine in Varva-
rinka was developed in the 1990s
when European Minerals conducted
exploration, followed by pit work with
overburden removal in 2006. Gold pro-
duction began in December 2007 with
copper-gold concentrate following in
March 2008.
Varvarinskoye is located on the nor-
thwestern plains close to the Russian
border. Recently acquired by OJSC
Polymetal of St. Petersburg, Russia, the
mine is a good example of the equip-
ment used for mining development in
Kazakhstan. To date, the mine has been
moving 3 tonnes per year. It operates
five Atlas Copco DM30s and one T3W
high pressure blasthole drill for DTH
drilling. Three DM30s were acquired
when the mine opened, and two more
were recently purchased, expanding the
fleet to meet ore demands.
The mine will be developed to pro-
duce 4.2 tonnes of ore per year for the
processing facility over the projected
15-year life span of the mine. Each
rig is expected to drill 20 meters per
hour to produce 10,000 drillmeters per
month. The drilling pattern consists
of a 4-meter burden with 3.5 meter
spacing (or 4.5 by 3.7 meter, depend-
ing on the rock) with a bench height
of 5 meters and sub-drilling of up to
one meter. The rigs operate at 24 bar,
each applying 55 bar of pulldown with
70-bar rotation.
The mine uses 152 mm hammers,
with the 165 mm bits averaging 1,000-
1,200 meters per bit and 10,000 meters
on the hammers before they are rebuilt.
Vladymir Sterlyagov, Mine Manager
at Varvarinskoye Gold, is satisfied
with the overall success of the DM30
blasthole rigs. One of these is nearing
12,000 hours. Sterlyagov credits drill
supervisor Pavel Bobylev for keeping
the rigs at a high rate of productivity.
It is Bobylev’s working and drilling
knowledge, gained in many different
environments, that has allowed this
team to get the most out of the DM30
and make them successful.
Varvarinskoye has demonstrated the
probability for resources of 3.1 million
ounces of gold and 313 million pounds
of copper.
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Atlas Copco
Mining & Construction No. 1, 2010
Story and pictures by Scott Ellenbecker.

Drilling for coal in Vietnam
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 country’s largest field has
turned to modern drilling tech-
nology to optimize productivity
and efficiency. Atlas Copco is wor-
king with many of the region’s
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 surroun-
ding mountains and continue to the sea
where they stand out as lush, dome-
shaped islands, Ha Long Bay is rec-
ognized as one of the wonders of the
world. In those mountains that overlook
the bay lies Vietnam’s largest coal
reserve.
The coal region in Vietnam is cen-
tered in Cam Pha in Quang Ninh pro-
vince, one of the two towns of Ha
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 141
Long Bay. Geographically the region
is 130 kilometers long, varying from
10 to 30 kilometers wide, or approxi-
mately 1,300 square kilometers. Reser-
ves here total 2.5 billion tonnes of
sustainable supply. Last year the re-
gion’s 70 or more enterprises produced
43 million tonnes, representing 90 per-
cent of the coal burned in Vietnam and
100 percent of the country’s exported
coal.
Diverse needs
Atlas Copco supplies the mines of the
region with rigs matched to the size of
their various pits. With a complete pro-
duct line offering a full range of equip-
ment, and with a staff of technicians
there onsite, Atlas Copco meets the spe-
cific 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 sur-
face 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
VIETNAM, HA LONG BAY
the drilling operations that make them
successful.
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 availa-
bility. Mr. Vu Van Tan, Chief Operator
at Dong Bac, says, “The Atlas Copco
drill rigs have similar penetration rates
with our other rig, but it’s the uptime
of the COPROD L7CR that makes it the
mine’s most productive rig.”
At this mine the ROC L7CR drills
a 165-millimeter (6 ½ 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 mobil-
ity of the ROC L7 and thinks it’s the
best rig for this size operation.
 Drilling for coal in Vietnam
Ptam Trung Kien, Technical Manager for Nui Beo Coal Company in front of their DM45.
Nui Beo
Nui Beo Coal Company is a much lar-
ger operation working adjacent to the
Dong Bac mine. In 2009 the mine pro-
duced 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 mo-
dels. The mobility and faster pene-
tration of Atlas Copco DM45 and DML
blasthole rigs significantly out-drill the
competitor’s 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 mine’s three shifts produce 22 mil-
lion 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-mech-
anical 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
142 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Tay Nam Da Mai prefers the DML drill rig.
than other drills they have operated.
Although he has had no major problems
with his Atlas Copco drills, he likes the
fact that Atlas Copco and Caterpillar
have support people in the area to assist
if he should need them.
The DML and DM45 blasthole rigs
in the area use 230-millimeter (9-inch)
Secoroc tricone bits and 7-meter (23-
foot) rods. At Nui Beo, operations are
currently 100 meters (328 feet) below
sea level on 20-meter (60-foot) benches.
Drilling is done at an angle of 10 to 20
degrees at an incline of 5 to 10 percent.
Tay Nam Da Mai
In comparison, Tay Nam Da Mai Joint
Stock Corporation also operates the
DML, currently drilling at bench
elevations 40 meters (130 feet) above
sea level. The coal seam is about 40
meters below sea level. Benches are 16
meters (52 feet) in depth on a 6 by 5
meter pattern (16 by 20 feet), which is
common in this the area.
Measuring 1.8 kilometers long by
1.5 kilometers wide, this mine produces
1 tonne of coal for every 9 to 10 tonnes
of waste. It yielded one million tonnes
of coal last year and will produce 1.5
million tonnes this year. Here the DML
drills 5,000 to 6,000 meters per month
in the mine’s harder rock and 8,000 to
9,000 meters per month in the softer
formations, with another 15 years of
life at the current production rate.
Mr. Hoa, Deputy Manager Electro
Mechanical department says, “I like
the durability of the Atlas Copco rigs
and their ability to drill more meters.”
Because the competitive rigs have less
availability and drilling performance
is less, “It takes the (competitive rig) a
year to drill the same meters the DML
will drill in three months.”
Because of the variations in pit size
and desired production, the Quang
Ninh province is well served by Atlas
Copco’s product line, with the DML as
a leader in the class.
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Atlas Copco
Mining & Construction No. 3, 2010.
Story and pictures by Scott Ellenbecker.
 DRILLING METHOD GUIDE

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 143

 specification GUIDE
Drilling method guide
Different applications and rock conditions need different kinds of drilling equipment and performance. This guide is
an attempt to start a discussion around the method and equipment that might provide the ultimate solution for an
application. Below, we compare six different drilling methods on offer from Atlas Copco.
The tophammer method
In percussive tophammer drilling the
impact energy is generated when the
piston is striking the shank adapter.
This energy is transmitted from the
rock drill via the shank adapter, drill
steel and drill bit to the rock, where it
is used for crushing. The entire
system of rock drill, drill steel, drill
bit, rotation, feed force and flushing
must harmonize for maximum
drilling economy. The tophammer
method is primarily used for drilling
in hard rock for hole diameters up to
5 ½ inch (140 mm), and the main
advantage is the high penetration
rate in good solid rock conditions.
Handheld pneumatic rock drills are
used for small hole diameters while
rig mounted hydraulic rock drills are
commonly used for hole diameters
above 1 5/8 inch (41 mm). Heavy
hydraulic rock drills with an impact
power of up to 40kW are used for
large hole diameters up to 5 ½ inch.
To maintain good drill steel economy
and hole straightness heavy extension
rods or rigid guide tubes with large
outer diamer have to be used.
Hole diameter:
7
⁄8" - 5 ½" (22  -140 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.
144 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
The COPROD® system
The COPROD system combines the
speed of tophammer drilling with the
precision and long service life of the
down-the-hole method. Inside each
rigid, threaded pipe section is an
impact rod. It is furnished with stop
lugs to hold it in place inside the pipe
section. The COPROD sections are
joined together via the drill pipes.
Since the drill pipes transmit rotation
force only, stress to the threads is
minimal and their service life very
long. All negative effects of the
transmission of impact energy
through the threads are eliminated
entirely. The result is high impact
power with minimal wear. Since the
outer pipes are smooth and flush
along the entire length of the drill
string, it is almost impossible for
jamming to occur. Practical
experience with COPROD has been
exceptionally good. The method
gives good overall economy,
particularly in large scale production
drilling and when drilling in fissured
or otherwise demanding rock
conditions.
Hole diameter:
3 9⁄16" - 6 ½" (90  -165 mm)
Principle: The rock
drill is situated on the
feed beam on the rig
and impact energy is
imparted from above.
Threadless impact
rods are stacked
inside the threaded
drill pipes. The
impact rods are used
solely to transmit
impact energy and
feed force, while the
drill pipes transmit
rotation. COPROD
combines the speed
of tophammer
drilling with the
hole straightness of
the down-the-hole
method.
The down-the-hole method
The down-the-hole method is a
reliable way to drill in various
formation from hard to soft,
competent to broken or abrasive to
non abrasive rock. The rock drill
piston strikes the drill bit directly,
while the hammer casing gives
straight and stable guidance of the
drill bit. This results in minimal
deviation and greater hole wall
stability, even in fissured or
otherwise demanding rock. Since the
annulus between the drill pipes and
the hole wall is comparatively small,
a high flushing velocity is main-
tained, which contributes further to
hole quality. Good hole quality
enables the burden and spacing to be
increased, which saves time and
money. Straight holes make charging
easier and enable the amount of
explosive to be reduced. The reliable
DTH method is an easy way to
produce deep, straight holes. From an
environmental point of view, the
noise emissions and vibration from
DTH drilling are comparatively low.
This is of parti-cular advantage when
drilling in densely populated areas.
Hole diameter:
3 5⁄8" - 9" (90  -229 mm)
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 po-
wer 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).
 DRILLING METHOD GUIDE

The Reverse circulation method
Dual tube reverse circulation (RC)
drilling is a method used for
collecting rock chips to the surface
for subsequent analysis.The air and
rock chips are then blown past the bit
and up through the centre of the
drillstring. to the surface. Normally
the air exhausts through a centrifugal
classifier so that the rock chips and
dust will be captured in a sampler. A
sample of the rock chips can be
collected in bags. The RC method is
used for mineral exploration as an
alternative to diamond core drilling.
Special RC hammers were developed
to improve the productivity and also
to reduce the degree of sample
contamination. With the RC hammer
the cost of drilling is much less than
diamond drilling and the penetration
rates are an order of magnitude
greater than diamond drills. For this
reason, may drill campaigns start
with reverse circulation drills. When
drilling deep holes, below 200 m
(660 ft) it is common to use a
booster compressor.
Rotary drilling methods
The prime difference from other
drilling methods is the absence of
percussion. Rotary cutting, using
fixed type claw or drag bits, is mainly
used for soft rock which is cut by
shearing. Rotary crushing uses tricone
bits relying on crushing and spalling
the rock. This is accomplished by
transferring downforce, known as
pulldown, to the bit while rotating in
order to drive the teeth (commonly
tungsten carbide type) into the hole
bottom as the three cones rotate
around their respective axis. The softer
the rock the higher the rotation speed.
The drill rigs need to be heavy to
provide sufficient weight on bit.
Generally, drilling below 152 mm
(6 inches) is best accomplished by
percussive drilling unless prevailing
rock conditions are suited for rotary
cutting. Rotary crushing is the prime
choice for large diameter holes, above
254 mm (10 inches) in open pit mining,
overburden stripping at coal mines,
and deep well drilling.
The PARD method
The Percussion Assisted Rotary
Drilling system combines percussive
power and rotational force. The high
frequency impacts provides signi-
ficant increases in the rate of pene-
tration (ROP), when drilling in me-
dium to hard rock. The Secoroc PARD
system consists of a high frequency,
low impact energy DTH hammer and
a specially designed tricone drill bit
that is mounted onto a standard
rotary drill and drill string. The sy-
stem is operating at the conventinal
low pressure used for rotary drilling,
50   –100 psi (3.5 –7 bar). The PARD
hammer is featuring a leightweight
piston with a short stroke, and a
unique parallell air flow system,
which distributes the air propor-
tionally between the hammer and
the tricone bit.

TONS
TONS

Hole diameter: Hole diameter: Hole diameter:

4 15⁄16" - 6 ½" (125  -165 mm) 4 3⁄4" - 16" (120 -406 mm) 9 7⁄8" - 12¼" (251 -311 mm)

Principle: The Principle: Principle: By com-

hammer is situated Rotation is bining a low impact
down the hole in provided by DTH hammer with the
direct contact with a hydraulic or high feed pressure and
the drill bit similar electric motor torque of rotary tricone
to the down-the- driven gearbox, drilling, a higher level
hole method. The called a rotary of energy can be pro-
difference compared head that moves vided for rock drilling,
to DTH drilling is up and down than what a DTH
that the RC-hammer the tower via hammer or rotary
collected the exhaust a feed system, drilling can create
air and the rock chips generating alone. The lightweight
through an inner the pulldown hammer piston strikes
centre tube of the required to give the tricone drill bit
hammer and inside sufficient weight resulting in a trans-
the drill string up to on the bit. mission of the impact
the surface where Flushing of energy to the drillbit.
samples can be drill cuttings The impact energy
collected in bags. between the from the hammer
Flushing of the wall of the hole is supporting the
cuttings is done up and the drill rods spalling and rock
through the chuck is normally made cutting process and
sleeve. with compressed is increasing the
air. penetration rate.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 145

 specification GUIDE

Specifications guide
From a pure technical point some readers may find the
definitions and units used on the following pages con-
fusing. Several of the terms and units have a history dat-
ing 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 com-
monly 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 cen-
tury pound-force (lbf) has been used for low precision meas-
urement 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 gener-
ated by hydraulic cylinders expressed as Hydraulic pulldown
and Hydraulic pullback specified in lbf and kN units.

Conversion table
This unit Times Equals This unit Times Equals This unit Times Equals
Length Ounce (US fluid oz) x 29.57 = ml mph (mile/hour) x 0.45 = m/s
mm (millimeter) x 0.001 (10-3) =m Pint (US liquid) x 0.4732 =l mph (mile/hour) x 1.61 = km/h
cm (centimeter) x 0.01 =m Quart (US liquid) x 0.9463 =l ft/s (foot/second) x 18.29 = m/min
dm (decimeter) x 0.1 =m yd3 (cubic yard) x 0.7646 = m3 ft/min (foot/minute) x 0.3048 = m/min
km (kilometer) x 1 000 (103) =m Force Frequency
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 kgf (kilogram force) x 9.81 =N rpm (rev/min) x 0.01667 = r/s
mile x 1609 =m Ibf (pound force) x 4.45 =N degree/second x 0.1667 = r/min
Power Torque (moment of force) Pressure
J/s (joule/second) x1 =W kpm (kilopondmeter) x 9.81 = Nm bar x 100 = kPa
Nm/s (newton meter/second) x1 =W Ibf•in (pound-force inch) x 0.11 = Nm bar x 100 000 (105) = Pa
kW (kilowatt) x 1 000 =W Ibf•ft (pound-force foot) x 1.36 = Nm kp/cm2 x 0.98 = bar
hk (metric horse power) x 735.5 =W Mass (commonly but incorrectly called weight) atm (atmosphere) x 1.01 = bar
hp (horsepower UK, US) x 745.7 =W g (gram) x 0.001 = kg psi (pounds/in2) x 6.895 = kPa
Volume 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 mm2 (square mm) x 0.000001 (10-6) = m2
dm (cubic decimeter)
3
x 1.0 =l ozt (troy ounce) x 31.10 =g cm (square cm)
2
x 0.0001 (10-4) = m2
cm (cubic decimeter)
3
x 1.0 = ml lb (pound) x 0.4536 = kg in (square inches)
2
x 645 = mm2
mm (cubic millimeter)
3
x 0.001 = ml ton (long, US) x 1 016 = kg ft (square feet)
2
x 0.0929 = m2
in (cubic inch)
3
x 16.39 = ml ton (UK) x 1 016 = kg yd (square yard)
2
x 0.8361 = m2
ft (cubic feet)
3
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
Ounce (Imp. fluid oz) 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

146 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining


Rotary blasthole drills
Atlas Copco offers the most comprehensive line of ro-
tary blasthole drills in the industry. With a multitude of
configurations to choose from, you can find the perfect
solution for your needs. Many models can be configured
for either rotary or DTH drilling, and our blasthole pro-
ducts will drill holes from 4 inches to 16 inches in
diameter.
On the following pages, you will find basic specifications
and brief descriptions of the standard and optional equip-
ment available for each model. The different configura-
tions of drill rigs and drill strings make it possible to find
high-performing solutions for a variety of applications.
Safety and ergonomic design with operator comfort and
well-being in mind, as well as simplicity in maintenance,
have been a focus for many years – and are still top
priorities.
When selecting your drill rig, you may have a choice
between high-pressure compressors for DTH drilling or
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 147
bLASTHOLE dRILLS
low-pressure units for rotary drilling, and between diesel
or electric power units. Depending on the drilling pattern
and bench height, you can select between drills suitable
for angle drilling or single- and multi-pass drilling.
Some rig models, like the T4BH and the DM series
that use conventional control systems, are well known
throughout the mining community for their rugged and
reliable designs.The newer Pit Viper series, with its more
advanced designs, can be equipped with the RCS com-
puterized network control system as an option, which
offers possibilities for different levels of drill automation
and communication.
This is only a basic guide. Our product specialists around
the world are prepared to provide you with the informa-
tion you need to select the best drill and drill string
package to suit your specific application.
 bLASTHOLE dRILLS

148 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 bLASTHOLE dRILLS

DM25-SP Technical data

Drilling Method Rotary or DTH - Single pass

The Atlas Copco DM25-SP is a crawler mounted, self- Hole Diameter 4 in - 7 in 102 mm - 178 mm
propelled, hydraulic rotary table drive, single-pass rotary Hydraulic Pulldown 25,000 lbf 111 kN
drilling rig specifically designed for 4 in. to 6¾ in. (102
mm to 171 mm) blasthole applications to depths of up to Weight on bit 25,000 lb 11,300 kg
40 ft. (12.2 m) or 50 ft. (15.2 m) of clean hole, depending Hydraulic Pullback 25,000 lbf 111 kN
on tower selection with either rotary or down-the-hole
drilling. Feed pressure generates a pulldown force of up Single pass depth 40 ft or 50 ft 12.2 m or 15.2 m
to 25,000 lbf (111 kN). The optional angle drilling package Maximum hole
allows the tower to be positioned up to a maximum of 40 ft or 50 ft 12.2 m or 15.2 m
depth
15° from the vertical in increments of 5°. All controls for
Feed speed 72 ft/min 0.36 m/s
positioning are located at the operator´s control console
inside the cab. The package includes a drill pipe support. Rotary table, torque 3,500 Ibf•ft 4.7 kNm
Estimated weight 62,000 lb 28 tonnes
Standard equipment Dimensions tower up (50 ft tower)
• Spacious, thermal insulated and sound-attenuated cab
• Cab pressurizer/heater Length 30 ft 6 in 9.3 m
• Hydraulically retractable dust hood with skirting Height 74 ft 22.6 m
• Nine quartz halogen night lighting package
Width 12 ft 8 in 3.9 m
• Cooling package rated up to 125°F (52°C) ambient
temperature Dimensions tower down (50 ft tower)
• Heavy duty engine silencer/muffler
Length 72 ft 21.9 m
• Separate air intake filters for engine and compressor
• Remote hydraulic tower pinning Height 13 ft 4.0 m
• Hydraulically powered auxiliary chain wrench Compressor range
(Down-the-hole units only)
Low pressure, Rotary 900 cfm@110 psi 25.4 m3/min@7.6 bar
• 230 Gallon (870 Liter) fuel tank
• Hydraulic spur gear and planetary drive rotary table High pressure, DTH 900 cfm@350 psi 25.4 m3/min@24 bar
with 0 to 170 RPM and a maximum torque of 3,500 lbf•ft
Engine (Tier III)
• Three 48 in. (1,219 mm) stroke leveling jacks with 18 in.
(457 mm) pads Caterpillar C15 425HP / 317 kW@1800RPM (LP 900)
• 68,000 lb. (30,845 kg) GVW rated excavator-type Cummins QSX15 425HP / 317 kW@1800RPM (LP 900)
undercarriage
• 19.7 in. (500 mm) wide triple bar grousers Caterpillar C15 525HP / 391 kW@1800RPM (HP 900)
• Separate air intake filters for engine and air compressor Cummins QSX15 525HP / 391 kW @1800RPM (HP 900)
• Reinforced rectangular steel track frame with
Kelly specifications
oscillation yoke mounting
• Full length kelly bar and kelly sub Hole depth* Kelly Suggested bit Thread**
• Deck service catwalk with railings diameter diameters size and
type
• Back up alarm
40 ft (12.2 m) 2 7/8"  (73 mm) 4" - 5 1/2" 2 3/8" IF
3 3/4"  (95 mm) 5 1/2" - 7" 2 7/8" API
4 3/4"  (121 mm) 5 7/8" - 7" 3 1/2" API

50 ft (15.2 m) 2 7/8"  (73 mm) 4" - 5 1/2" 2 3/8" IF

3 3/4"  (95 mm) 5 1/2" - 6 1/4" 2 7/8" API
4 3/4"  (121 mm) 5 7/8" - 7" 3 1/2" API
* Clean hole ** All kellys have pin connections on both ends

High pressure DTH drilling

Up to 6" DTH hammer and max. 7" bit diameter

DM25

Visit www.atlascopco.com/blastholedrills for more information

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 149

 bLASTHOLE dRILLS

150 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 bLASTHOLE dRILLS

DM30 Technical data

Drilling Method Rotary or DTH - Multi pass

The Atlas Copco DM30 is a crawler mounted, hydraulic Hole Diameter 5 in - 6 3/4 in 127 mm - 171 mm
tophead drive, muliti-pass rotary drilling rig specifically Hydraulic Pulldown 30,000 lbf 133 kN
designed for production blasthole drilling to depths of
90 ft. (27.4 m) with a 30 ft. (9.1 m) drill pipe change. Weight on bit 30,000 lb 13,600 kg
A four-position drill pipe changer is optionally available Hydraulic Pullback 10,000 lbf 44 kN
to achieve drilling depths of 150 ft. (57.7 m). Nominal
hole size is 5 in. to 6¾ in. (127 mm to 171 mm). The Single pass depth 26 ft 7.9 m
DM30 generates a bit load force of up to 30,000 lbf Maximum hole depth 150 ft 45 m
(133 kN). The optional angle drilling package allows the
tower to be positioned up to a maxuimum of 20º from Feed speed 100 ft/min 0.5 m/s
the vertical in increments of 5º. Designed for quarrying Rotary head, torque 5,400 Ibf•ft 7.3 kNm
and small mining operations, this versatile drill can be
easily loaded onto a trailer and moved from one Estimated weight 60,000 lb 28 tonnes
location to another. Dimensions tower up
Length 24 ft 4 in 7.4 m
Standard equipment Height 44 ft 4 in 13.5 m
• Spacious, thermal insulated and sound-attenuated cab
• Cab pressurizer/heater/ventilator Width 11 ft 10 in 3.6 m
• Hydraulically raised dust hood with skirting Dimensions tower down
• Nine quartz halogen night lighting package
• Auxiliary hoist for drill pipe and accessory handling Length 42 ft 2 in 12.9 m
• Cooling package rated up to 125°F (52°C) ambient Height 14 ft 6 in 4.4 m
• Heavy-duty engine silencer/muffler
Compressor range
• Separate air intake filters for engine and air compressor
• Remote hydraulic tower pinning Low pressure, Rotary 900 cfm@110 psi 25.4 m3/min@7.6 bar
• Power indexed carousel for two 4, 4½ , or 5 in. High pressure, DTH 900 cfm@350 psi 25.4 m3/min@24 bar
OD x 30 ft. drill rods
Engine (Tier III)
• Remote hydraulic fork chuck for drill pipe breakout
• Hydraulically powered auxiliary chain wrench Caterpillar C15 425HP / 317 kW@1800RPM (LP 900)
• 250-gallon (946 l) fuel tank Cummins QSX15 425HP / 317 kW@1800RPM (LP 900)
• Rotaryhead with single fixed displacement motor with
0 to 100 RPM available, and a maximum torque of Caterpillar C15 525HP / 391 kW@1800RPM (HP 900)
5,400 lbf•ft Cummins QSX15 525HP / 391 kW@1800RPM (HP 900)
• Three 48 in. (1,219 mm) stroke leveling jacks
Drill pipe specification: 30 ft (9.1m)
• 68,000 lb. (30,845 kg) GVW rated excavator-type
undercarriage Drill pipe diameter Suggested bit Thread
• 19.7 in. (500 mm) wide triple bar grousers diameters - rotary
• Reinforced rectangular steel track frame with 4" (102 mm) 5" – 6" 2 7/8" API
oscillation yoke mounting 4 ½" (114 mm) 5 7/8" – 6 3/4" 3 1/2" API
• Deck service catwalk with railings
• Back-up alarm 5" (127 mm) 6 3/4" 3 1/2" API or BECO

High pressure DTH drilling

Up to 6" DTH hammer and max. 6 ¾" bit diameter

DM30

Visit www.atlascopco.com/blastholedrills for more information

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 151

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152 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 bLASTHOLE dRILLS

T4BH Technical data

Drilling Method DTH or Rotary - Multi pass

The Atlas Copco T4BH is synonymous with mobility, Hole Diameter 5 5/8 in - 9 7/8 in 143 mm - 251 mm
power, performance, and productivity. Mounted on a Hydraulic Pulldown 30,000 lbf 133 kN
custom carrier, the T4BH is designed to perform in rough
terrain and has been the leading blasthole drill in its class Weight on bit 30,000 lb 13,600 kg
in the quarry and mining industries for over 35 years. The Hydraulic Pullback 22,000 lbf 97 kN
T4BH is a truck mounted, hydraulic tophead drive, multi-
pass rotary drilling rig specifically designed for production Single pass depth 22 ft 6 in or 27 ft 6 in 6.8 m or 8.4 m
blasthole drilling to depths of 150 ft. (45.7 m) with a 25 ft. Maximum hole depth* 147 ft 6 in or 177 ft 6 in 45 m or 54.1 m
(7.6 m) drill pipe change. An optional 30 ft (9.1m) tower
is also available with the 8 x 4 carrier option. Feed speed 60 ft/min 0.3 m/s
Rotary head, torque 6,000 Ibf•ft 8.8 kNm
7,165 Ibf•ft 9.7 kNm
Standard equipment
• Spacious, thermal insulated sound-attenuated cab Estimated weight 58,000 lb 26 tonnes
• Six quartz halogen night lighting package Dimensions tower up (25 ft tower)
• Rectangular dust hood with skirting
• Auxiliary hoist for drill pipe and accessory handling Length 28 ft 8 in 8.1 m
• Cooling package rated up to 125°F (52°C) ambient Height 36 ft 6 in 11.1 m
• Heavy-duty engine silencer/muffler
Width 8 ft 2.4 m
• Separate air intake filters for engine and air compressor
• Power indexed carousel for five 4 ½ in OD x 25 ft pipe Dimensions tower down (25 ft tower)
• Remote hydraulic fork chuck for drill pipe breakout Length 35 ft 0 in 10.7 m
• Hydraulically powered auxiliary chain wrench
Height 13 ft 6 in 4.1 m
• 225 Gallon (851 Liter) Fuel tank
• 4SV-2-10 spur gear 2-motor rotary tophead with Compressor range
0 to 160 RPM, and maximum torque 6,500 lbf•ft
High pressure, DTH 900 cfm@350 psi 25.4 m3/min@24 bar
• Three 48 in. (1,219 mm) stroke leveling jacks
• Custom designed 3-axle carrier with 380 hp (283 kW) High pressure, DTH 1070 cfm@350 psi 30.3 m3/min@24 bar
diesel engine, 10-speed transmission and 16 in. High pressure, DTH 1250 cfm@350 psi 35.4 m3/min@24 bar
(406 mm) wide flange H-beam frame
• Remote tower pinning Engine ( TierII, Tier III)
2 3

• Back-up alarm Cummins QSX153 525HP / 391 kW@1800RPM (HP 900)

Cummins QSX15 3
600HP / 447 kW@1800RPM (HP 1070)

Cummins QSK19C2 760HP / 567 kW@1800RPM (HP 1250)

Drill pipe specification: 25 ft (7.6 m)

Drill pipe diameter Suggested bit diameters Thread

4"  (102 mm) 5 5/8" – 6" 2 7/8" API

4 1/2"  (114 mm) 5 7/8" – 6 3/4" 3 1/2" API

5"  (127 mm) 6 3/4" – 7 3/8" 3 1/2" API

or BECO
5 1/2"  (140 mm) 6 3/4" – 7 7/8" 3 1/2" BECO

6 1/4"  (159 mm) 7 7/8" – 9" 4" BECO

7"  (178 mm) 9"-9 7/8" 4 1/2" BECO

High pressure DTH drilling

Up to 7" DTH hammer and max. 9 7/8" bit diameter
* Maximum hole depth only achieved with certain pipe sizes and
wall thicknesses

T4BH

Visit www.atlascopco.com/blastholedrills for more information

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DM45/DM50 Technical data

Drilling Method Rotary or DTH Multi pass

The Atlas Copco DM45 and DM50 are crawler mounted, Hole Diameter 5 7/8 in - 9 in 149 mm - 229 mm
hydraulic tophead drive, multi-pass rotary drilling rigs Hydraulic Pulldown 45,000 lbf 200 kN
specifically designed for production rotary or DTH
blasthole drilling to depths of 175 ft. (53.3 m) with a 30 ft. Weight on bit 45,000 lb 20,400 kg
(9.1 m) drill pipe change. Hydraulic Pullback 22,000 lbf 98 kN
Single pass depth 27 ft 5 in 8.5 m
Standard equipment Maximum hole depth* 175 ft 53.3 m
• Insulated cab with FOPS 80 dB(A)
• Cab pressurizer / ventilator / heater Feed speed 146 ft/min 0.7 m/s
• Nine quartz halogen night lighting package Rotary head, torque 7,200 Ibf•ft 9,76 kNm
• Dust hood with curtains and hydraulically raising
Estimated weight 77,000 lb - 35 tonnes -
dust flap 95,000 lb 41 tonnes
• Auxiliary hoist for drill pipe and accessory handling
Dimensions tower up
• Heavy-duty engine silencer/muffler
• Separate air intake filters with quick release dust drop Length 31 ft 10 in 9.7 m
covers for engine and air compressor Height 43 ft 7 in 13.3 m
• Gear indexing carousel for five 4½ in. x 30 ft. pipe
Width 17 ft 2 in 5.23 m
• Sliding hydraulic fork wrench for drill pipe breakout
• Hydraulically powered auxiliary chain wrench Dimensions tower down
• 350-gallon (1,324 L) fuel tank Length 43 ft 7 in 13.3 m
• 4SV-2-10 two motor high speed rotary head with Height 18 ft 5.5 m
spline lubrication, 0 to 160 RPM, and a maximum
torque 7,200 lbf•ft Compressor range
• 30 foot drill pipe change Low pressure, Rotary 900 cfm@110 psi 25.4 m3/min@7.5 bar
• No-bump rod changer
Low pressure, Rotary 1050 cfm@110 psi 29.7 m3/min@7.5 bar
• Ether injection
• Jack-up indicator lights Low pressure, Rotary 1200 cfm@110 psi 34.0 m3/min@7.5 bar
• Three 48 in. (1,219 mm) stroke leveling jacks High pressure, DTH 900 cfm@350 psi 25.4 m3/min@24 bar
• 23.6 in. (600 mm) wide triple bar grousers High pressure, DTH 1070 cfm@350 psi 30.3 m3/min@24 bar
• Reinforced rectangular steel track frame with
oscillation yoke Engine (Tier III)
• Walkways and railings Caterpillar C15 440HP / 328 kW@1800RPM (LP 900)
• Remote tower pinning Cummins QSX15 425HP / 317 kW@1800RPM (LP 900)
• Back-up alarm
Caterpillar C15 475HP / 354 kW@1800RPM (LP 1050)
Cummins QSX15 475HP / 354 kW@1800RPM (LP 1050)
Caterpillar C15 540HP / 403 kW@1800RPM (LP 1200)
Cummins QSX15 530HP / 395 kW@1800RPM (LP 1200)
Caterpillar C15 540HP / 403 kW@1800RPM (HP 900)
Cummins QSX15 530HP / 395 kW@1800RPM (HP 900)
Caterpillar C18 630HP / 470 kW@1800RPM (HP 1070)
Cummins QSX15 600HP / 447 kW@1800RPM (HP 1070)

Drill pipe specification: 30 ft (9.1 m)

Drill pipe diameter Suggested bit Thread
diameters
4 1/2"  (114 mm) 5 7/8" – 6 3/4" 3 1/2" API
5"  (127 mm) 6 3/4" – 7 3/8" 3 1/2" API or BECO
5 1/2"  (140 mm) 6 3/4" – 7 7/8" 3 1/2" BECO
6 1/4"  (159 mm) 7 7/8" – 9" 4" BECO
7"  (178 mm) 9" 4 1/2" BECO
High pressure DTH drilling (DM45)
Up to 6 1/2" DTH hammer and max. 8" bit diameter
DM45

* Maximum hole depth only achieved with certain pipe sizes and
wall thicknesses

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DML-SP Technical data

Drilling Method Rotary or DTH - Single pass
The Atlas Copco DML-SP is a crawler-mounted, hydraulic Hole Diameter 6 in - 9 7/8 in 152 mm - 251 mm
table drive, single-pass rotary drilling rig, specifically
Hydraulic Pulldown 54,000 lbf 240 kN
designed for production blasthole drilling to depths of
up to 60 ft. (18.3 m) in a single pass without a drill pipe Weight on bit 54,000 lb 24,500 kg
change. Nominal hole size range is 6 to 9-7/8 in. (152 to Hydraulic Pullback 54,000 lbf 240 kN
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 Single pass depth 50 ft or 60 ft 15.2 m or    18.3 m
(18.3 m) clean hole tower. Maximum hole depth 50 ft or 60 ft 15.2 m or    18.3 m
Feed speed 100 ft/min 0.5 m/s
Standard equipment Rotary table, torque 7,500 Ibf•ft 10.2 kNm
• Insulated cab with FOPS
• Cab pressurizer/heater Estimated weight 90,000 -100,000 lb 41 - 45 tonnes
• Nine-quartz, halogen night lighting package
Dimensions tower up
• Rectangular dust hood with skirting and hydraulically
retractable front curtain Length (50 ft tower) 37 ft 6 in 11.4 m
• Cooler package rated up to 125°F (52°C) ambient Length (60 ft tower) 37 ft 6 in 11.4 m
temperature
• Heavy duty engine silencer/muffler Height (50 ft tower) 71 ft 7 in 21.8 m
• Separate air intake filters with quick release dust drop Height (60 ft tower) 82 ft 7 in 25.2 m
covers for engine and air compressor
Width 13 ft 10 in 4.1 m
• Hydraulically powered auxiliary chain wrench
• 350-gallon (1,324 l) fuel capacity Dimensions tower down
• Single motor rotary table with variable hydraulic Length (50 ft tower) 68 ft 20.7 m
motor (0-100 RPM) and a maximum torque of 7,500 lbf•ft
Length (60 ft tower) 79 ft 24.1 m
• Hydrostatic motor feed system
• Three 48 in. (121.9 cm) stroke leveling jacks Height (50 ft tower) 19 ft 7 in 6.0 m
• 31.5 in. (800 mm) wide triple bar grousers Height (60 ft tower) 19 ft 7 in 6.0 m
• Reinforced rectangular steel track frame with oscillation
yoke mounting Compressor range
• Walkways and deck railings Low pressure rotary 1,200 cfm@110psi / 34.0 m3/min@7.6 bar
• Full depth kelly bar
Low pressure rotary 1,600 cfm@110psi / 45.0 m3/min@7.6 bar
• Kelly RPM tachometer on console
• Remote tower pinning Low pressure rotary 1,900 cfm@110psi / 53.8 m3/min@7.6 bar
• Back-up Alarm High pressure, DTH 1,250 cfm@350psi / 35.4 m3/min@24 bar
• Ether injection
Engine (2  TierII, 3  Tier III)
• Jack-up indicator lights
Caterpillar C153 525HP / 391 kW@1800RPM (LP 1200)

Cummins QSX15 3
525HP / 391 kW@1800RPM (LP 1200)

Caterpillar C18 3
630HP / 470 kW@1800RPM (LP 1600)

Cummins QSX153 600HP / 447 kW@1800RPM (LP 1600)

Caterpillar C27 2
800HP / 597 kW@1800RPM (LP 1900)

Cummins QSK19 2
755HP / 563 kW@1800RPM (LP 1900)

Caterpillar C27 2
800HP / 597 kW@1800RPM (HP 1250)

Cummins QSK19C2 760HP / 567 kW@1800RPM (HP 1250)

Kelly specifications
Hole depth* Kelly Suggested bit Thread**
diameter diameters size and type

50 ft. (15.2 m) 4 3/4 in. (121 mm) 6" – 6 3/4" 3 1/2 in. Reg.
or
60 ft. (18.3 m) 6 1/4 in. (159 mm) 7 7/8" – 9" 4 1/2 in. Reg.
7 in. (178 mm) 9" – 9 7/8" 5 1/2 in. Reg.
* Clean hole ** All kellys have pin connections on both ends.

High pressure DTH drilling

Up to 7" DTH hammer and max. 8 7/8" bit diameter

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DML Technical data

Drilling Method Rotary or DTH - Multi pass

The Atlas Copco DML is a crawler mounted, hydraulic Hole Diameter 5 7/8 in - 10 5/8 in 149 mm - 270 mm
tophead drive, multi-pass rotary drilling rig specifically Hydraulic Pulldown 60,000 lbf 267 kN
designed for production blasthole drilling to depths of
Weight on bit 60,000 lb 27,200 kg
175 ft. (53.3 m) with a 30 ft. (9.1 m) drill pipe change. An
optional 35-ft. (10.7 m) steel change is also available to Hydraulic Pullback 22,000 lbf 98 kN
handle single pass drilling requirements. Various carousel Single pass depth 27 ft 5 in or 32 ft 5 in 8.5 m or 10 m
capacities are also available for the 35-ft. (10.7 m) option.
Maximum hole depth* 175 ft or 205 ft 53.3 m or 62.5 m
Feed speed 146 ft/min 0.7 m/s
Standard equipment
• Insulated cab with FOPS Rotary head, torque 7,200 Ibf•ft 9.76 kNm
• Cab pressurizer / ventilator / heater Estimated weight 87,000 - 110,000 lb 39.5 - 50 tonnes
• Nine quartz halogen night lighting package Dimensions tower up (30 ft tower)
• Dust hood with curtains and hydraulically raising dust flap
Length 31 ft 10 in 9.7 m
• Auxiliary hoist for drill pipe and accessory handling
• Heavy-duty engine silencer/muffler Height 43 ft 8 in 13.3 m
• Separate air intake filters with quick release dust drop Width 16 ft 6 in 5m
covers for engine and air compressor Dimensions tower down (30 ft tower)
• Gear indexing carousel
Length 43 ft 7 in 13.3 m
• Sliding hydraulic fork wrench for drill pipe breakout
• Hydraulically powered auxiliary chain wrench Height 17 ft 8 in 5.4 m
• 350-gallon (1,324 L) fuel tank Compressor range
• 4SV-2-10 two motor high speed rotary head with spline Low pressure rotary 1,200 cfm@110 psi / 34.0 m3/min@7.6 bar
lubrication, 0 to 160 RPM, and a maximum torque
of 7,200 lbf•ft Low pressure rotary 1,600 cfm@110 psi / 45.0 m3/min@7.6 bar
• 30 foot drill pipe change Low pressure rotary 1,900 cfm@110 psi / 53.8 m3/min@7.6 bar
• No-bump rod changer High pressure, DTH
1,050 cfm@350 psi / 29.8 m3/min@24 bar
• Ether injection (electric motor)
• Jack-up indicator lights High pressure, DTH 1,250 cfm@350 psi / 35.4 m3/min@24 bar
• Three 48 in. (1,219 mm) stroke leveling jacks High pressure, DTH 1,450 cfm@350 psi / 41 m3/min@24 bar
• 33.5 in. (850 mm) wide triple bar grousers
• Reinforced rectangular steel track frame with oscillation Engine (2Tier II, 3Tier III )
yoke Caterpillar C153 540HP / 403 kW@1800RPM (LP 1200)
• Walkways and railings Cummins QSX153 530HP / 395 kW@1800RPM (LP 1200)
• Remote tower pinning
Caterpillar C183 630HP / 470 kW@1800RPM (LP 1600)
• Back-up alarm
Cummins QSX15 3
600HP / 447 kW@1800RPM (LP 1600)
Caterpillar C272 800HP / 597 kW@1800RPM (LP 1900)
Cummins QSK192 755HP / 563 kW@1800RPM (LP 1900)
Caterpillar C272
800HP / 597 kW@1800RPM (HP 1250)
Cummins QSK19C2 755HP / 563 kW@1800RPM (HP 1250)
Caterpillar C272 800HP / 597 kW@2100RPM (HP 1450)
Cummins QSK19C 2
760HP / 567 kW@2100RPM (HP 1450)
Weg motor 6808 700HP / 522 kW@50 – 60Hz
(LP 1200 or HP1050)
Drill pipe specification 30 ft (9.1 m) or 35 ft (10.7 m)
Drill pipe diameter Suggested bit Thread
diameters
4 1/2"  (114 mm) 5 7/8" – 6 3/4" 3 1/2" API
5"  (127 mm) 6 3/4" – 7 3/8" 3 1/2" API or BECO
5 1/2"  (140 mm) 6 3/4" – 7 7/8" 3 1/2" BECO
6 1/4"  (159 mm) 7 7/8" – 9" 4" BECO
7"  (178 mm) 9" – 9 7/8" 4 1/2" BECO
7 5/8"  (194 mm) 9 7/8" – 10 5/8" 5 1/4" BECO
High pressure DTH drilling
Up to 7" DTH hammer and max. 8 7/8" bit diameter
* Maximum hole depth only achieved with certain pipe sizes and
wall thicknesses
Visit www.atlascopco.com/blastholedrills for more information

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Pit Viper PV-235 Technical data

Drilling Method Rotary or DTH - Multi pass

The new Pit Viper series 235 blasthole drills offers Hole Diameter 6 in - 9 7/8 in 152 mm - 251 mm
several advanced options, like the RCS control system, Hydraulic Pulldown 60,000 lbf 267 kN
remote tramming, auto levelling, and GPS navigation. Weight on bit 65,000 lb 29,500 kg
The hydraulic system has been refined with load sensing
and other features to reduce horsepower demand. Hydraulic Pullback 27,000 lbf 120 kN
There are several engine and compressor combinations Single pass depth 40, 35 ft 12.2, 10.7 m
available for either rotary or high pressure DTH drilling.
Maximum hole depth* 240, 210 ft 73.2, 64.0 m
The PV-235 can be supplied with two towers - to drill
35 ft (10.7 m) or 40 ft (12.2 m) clean holes up to 9 7⁄8" (251 Feed speed 140 - 193 ft/min 0.7 - 1.0 m/s
mm) in diameter. Rotary head, torque 5,200 Ibf•ft 7.0 kNm
7,800 Ibf•ft 10.6 kNm

Standard equipment Estimated weight 128,000 lb 58 tonnes

• Spacious thermal insulated cab with FOPS and noise Dimensions tower up (40 ft tower)
abated less than 80 dB(A)
• Cab pressurizer / ventilator / heater Length 34 ft 2 in 10.4 m
• Twelve quartz halogen night lighting package Height 42 ft 6 in 19 m
• Dust hood with curtains and hydraulically raising Width 17 ft 4 in 5.3 m
dust flap
Dimensions tower down (40 ft tower)
• Auxiliary hoist for drill pipe and accessory handling
• Heavy duty engine silencer / muffler Length 63 ft 5 in 19.3 m
• Separate air intake filters with rubber dust evacuator for Height 20 ft 4 in 6.4 m
engine and air compressors
Compressor range
• Gear indexing carousel for 5 ½ in pipe
• Sliding hydraulic fork wrench for drill pipe breakout Low pressure rotary 1,600 cfm@110 psi / 45.0 m3/min@7.6 bar
• Hydraulically powered auxiliary breakout wrench Low pressure rotary 1,900 cfm@110 psi / 53.8 m3/min@7.6 bar
• 450 gallon fuel tank (1,700 l) High pressure, DTH 1,250 cfm@350 psi / 35.4 m3/min@24 bar
• 4SV-2-10 two speed spur gear rotary head with spline High pressure, DTH 1,450 cfm@350 psi / 41.0 m3/min@24 bar
lubrication, 0-180 RPM, and a maximum torque
of 8,200 lbf•ft High pressure, DTH
1,040 cfm@350 psi / 29.8 m3/min@24 bar
(electric motor)
• 35 ft drill pipe changer
• No-bump rod changer High pressure, DTH 1,300 cfm@435 psi / 37.6 m3/min@30 bar
• Ground level battery and starter lockable master-switches Engine (3Tier III, 2Tier II)
with jump start receptacle
Caterpillar C183 630HP / 470 kW@1800RPM (LP 1600)
• Jack-up indicator lights
• Four 48 in (1.2 m) stroke leveling jacks Cummins QSX153 600HP / 447 kW@1800RPM (LP 1600)
• Triple bar grousers 33.5 in (850 mm) wide Caterpillar C272 800HP / 597 kW@1800RPM
• Reinforced rectangular steel track frame with oscillation (LP 1900 or HP 1250)
yoke Cummins QSK192 755HP / 563 kW@1800RPM
• Walkways and railings (LP 1900 or HP 1250)
• Remote tower pinning Caterpillar C272 800HP / 597 kW@2100RPM (HP 1450)
• Back-up alarm Cummins QSK192 760HP / 567 kW@2100RPM (HP 1450)
WEG 6808 700HP / 522 kW@50-60 Hz
Drill pipe specification: 35 ft (10.7 m) or 40 ft (12.2 m)
Drill pipe diameter Suggested bit Thread
diameters
4 1/2"  (114 mm) 6" – 6 3/4" 3" BECO
5"  (127 mm) 6 3/4" – 7 3/8" 3 1/2" BECO
5 1/2"  (140 mm) 6 3/4" – 7 7/8" 3 1/2" BECO
6 1/4" (159 mm) 7 7/8" – 9" 4" BECO
7"  (178 mm) 9" 4 1/2" BECO
7 5/8"  (194 mm) 9 7/8" 5 1/4" BECO
8"  (203 mm) 9 7/8" 5 1/4" BECO
High pressure DTH drilling
PV-235
Up to 8" DTH hammer and max. 8 7/8" bit diameter
* Maximum hole depth only achieved with certain pipe sizes and
wall thicknesses

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Pit Viper PV-271 Technical data

Drilling Method Rotary or DTH – Single pass

The PV-271 is designed to handle 6-¼" up to 8- ⁄ " drill

58 Hole Diameter 6 3/4 in - 10 5/8 in 171 mm - 270 mm
rods. The cable feed system utilizes a dual rod/dual Hydraulic Pulldown 70,000 lbf 311 kN
piston cylinder and offers high feed speeds for increased
productivity. The PV-271 offers a 55 ft single-pass tower Weight on bit 75,000 lb 34,000 kg
with a total depth capacity of 105 ft through a 2-rod Hydraulic Pullback 35,000 lbf 156 kN
carousel with 25 ft rods. It has an option to be delivered
with the RCS Computerized rig control system and a Single pass depth 55 ft* 16.8 m*
new fully integrated cabin, incorporating functions like; Maximum hole depth 105 ft 32 m
remote tramming, auto levelling, auto drilling, and GPS
navigation. Feed speed 127 ft/min 0.6 m/s
Rotary head, torque 8,700 Ibf•ft 11.8 kNm
Standard equipment Estimated weight 185,000 lb 84 tonnes
• Insulated, pressurized, air conditioned cab with tinted Dimensions tower up
glass and suspension operator seat
• Caterpillar 345XL undercarriage with hydraulic track Length 41 ft 3 in 12.6 m
tensioners Height 87 ft 26.5 m
• Hydraulic cylinders driven cable feed system
Width 18 ft 4 in 5.6 m
• Hydraulic motor driven rotary head with spline lubrication,
maximum 8,700 lbf•ft torque; speed range 0 - 150 rpm Dimensions tower down
• Rotary head tachometer on operator console Length 83 ft 7 in 25.5 m
• Remote hydraulic tower pinning
Height 22 ft 1 in 6.7 m
• Two-rod carousel for 6 ¼" to 8- 5⁄8" drill rods
• "No-bump" rod changer Compressor range
• Hydraulically powered breakout wrench (fork chuck) Low pressure rotary 1,900 cfm@110 psi / 53.8 m3/min@7.6 bar
• Hands Free auxiliary hydraulic chain wrench
• 8,000 lb (3,629 kg) capacity auxiliary hoist Low pressure rotary 2,600 cfm@110 psi / 73.6 m3/min@7.6 bar
• Hydraulically retractable dust curtains High pressure, DTH 1,450 cfm@350 psi / 41.1 m3/min@24 bar
• Cooling package
Engine (Tier ll)
• Separate air intake filters for engine and air compressor
• Wide flange structural steel beam frame with oscillation Caterpillar C27 800HP / 597 kW@1800RPM (LP 1900)
yoke mounting Cummins QSK19 755HP / 563 kW@1800RPM (LP 1900)
• Hydraulic Test Station
• 12-light night lighting package-70 watt halogen Caterpillar C32 950HP / 708 kW@1800RPM (LP 2600)
• Full deck service catwalks and railings Caterpillar C27 800HP / 597 kW@2100RPM (HP 1450)
• Two 48" (1.2 m) and one 60" (1.52 m) stroke leveling jacks
Cummins QSK19 755HP / 563 kW@2100RPM (HP 1450)

Weg motor** 6808 700HP / 521 kW@ 50 or 60Hz

Weg motor** 6811 900HP / 671 kW@ 50 or 60Hz

**Only available for low pressure machines

Drill pipe specification: 25 ft (7.6 m)

Drill pipe diameter Suggested bit Thread
diameters
6 1/4"  (159 mm) 6 3/4" – 9" 4" BECO
7"  (178 mm) 9" – 9 7/8" 4 1/2" BECO
7 5/8"  (194 mm) 9 7/8" – 10 5/8" 5 1/4" BECO
8"  (203 mm) 9 7/8" – 10 5/8" 5 1/4" BECO
8 5/8"  (219 mm) 10 5/8" 6" BECO

High pressure DTH drilling

Up to 8" DTH hammer and max. 9" bit diameter
* There is also a 65 ft (19.8 m) clean hole tower option
(see page 66-67)

PV-271

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Pit Viper PV-275 Technical data

Drilling Method Rotary or DTH – Multi pass

The PV-275 is designed to handle 6-¼" up to 8- ⁄ " drill

58 Hole Diameter 6 3/4 in - 10 5/8 in 171 mm - 270 mm
rods. The cable feed system utilizes a dual rod/dual Hydraulic Pulldown 70,000 lbf 311 kN
piston cylinder and offers high feed speeds for increased
productivity. The PV-275 offers a multi-pass tower with Weight on bit 75,000 lb 34,000 kg
195-ft depth capacity through a 4-rod carousel with Hydraulic Pullback 35,000 lbf 156 kN
40-ft rods. It has an option to be delivered with the
RCS Computerized rig control system and a new fully Single pass depth 37 ft 11.3 m
integrated cabin, incorporating functions like; remote Maximum hole depth 195 ft 59.4 m
tramming, auto levelling, auto drilling, and GPS
navigation. Feed speed 127 ft/min 0.6 m/s
Rotary head, torque 8,700 Ibf•ft 11.8 kNm
Standard equipment Estimated weight 185,000 lb 84 tonnes
• Insulated, pressurized, air conditioned cab with tinted
glass and suspension operator seat Dimensions tower up
• Caterpillar 345SL undercarriage with hydraulic track Length 41 ft 6 in 12.6 m
tensioners Height 67 ft 20.4 m
• Hydraulic cylinders driven cable feed system
• Hydraulic motor driven rotary head with spline Width 18 ft 4 in 5.6 m
lubrication, maximum 8,700 lbf•ft (11,800 Nm) torque; Dimensions tower down
speed range 0 – 150 rpm
Length 63 ft 6 in 19.4 m
• Rotary head tachometer on operator console
• Remote hydraulic tower pinning Height 22 ft 1 in 6.7 m
• Four-rod carousel for 6 ¼" to 8-5⁄8" drill rods
Compressor range
• "No-bump" rod changer
• Hydraulically powered breakout wrench (fork chuck) Low pressure rotary 1,900 cfm@110 psi / 53.8 m3/min@7.6 bar
• Hands Free auxiliary hydraulic wrench Low pressure rotary 2,600 cfm@110 psi / 73.6 m3/min@7.6 bar
• 8,000 lb (3,629 kg) capacity auxiliary hoist
High pressure, DTH 1,450 cfm@350 psi / 41.1 m3/min@24 bar
• Hydraulically retractable dust curtains
• Hydraulic Test Station Engine (Tier ll)
• Two 48" (1.2 m) and one 60" (1.52 m) stroke leveling jacks Caterpillar C27 800HP / 597 kW@1800RPM (LP 1900)
• Cooling package
Cummins QSK19 755HP / 563 kW@1800RPM (LP 1900)
• 350 U.S. gallon (1,325 L) fuel tank
• Separate air intake filters for engine and air compressor Caterpillar C32 950HP / 708 kW@1800RPM (LP 2600)
• Wide flange structural steel beam frame with oscillation
Caterpillar C27 800HP / 597 kW@2100RPM (HP 1450)
yoke mounting
• 12-light night lighting package- 70 watt halogen Cummins QSK19 755HP / 563 kW@2100RPM (HP 1450)
• Full deck service catwalks and railings Weg motor** 6808 700HP / 521 kW@ 50 or 60Hz

Weg motor** 6811 900HP / 671 kW@ 50 or 60Hz

**Only available for low pressure machines

Drill pipe specification: 40 ft (12.2 m)

Drill pipe diameter Suggested bit Thread
diameters
6 1/4"  (159 mm) 6 3/4" – 9" 4" BECO
7"  (178 mm) 9" – 9 7/8" 4 1/2" BECO
7 5/8"  (194 mm) 9 7/8" – 10 5/8" 5 1/4" BECO
8"  (203 mm) 9 7/8" – 11" 5 1/4" BECO
8 5/8"  (219 mm) 10 5/8" 6" BECO

High pressure DTH drilling

Up to 8" DTH hammer and max. 9" bit diameter

PV-275

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DM-M3 Technical data

Drilling Method Rotary - Multi pass

The Atlas Copco DM-M3 is a crawler-mounted, hydraulic Hole Diameter 9 7/8 in - 12 1/4 in 251 mm - 311 mm
tophead drive, multi-pass rotary drilling rig specifically Hydraulic Pulldown 90,000 lbf 400 kN
designed for the blasthole drilling of 9-7⁄8 in. (251 mm)
to 12-¼ in. (311 mm) diameter holes. The on-board depth Weight on bit 90,000 lb 40,800 kg
capability is up to 240 feet (73 m) when using 8-5⁄8 in. Hydraulic Pullback 41,500 lbf 185 kN
diameter (219 mm) drill pipe and a 5-rod carousel.
Standard drill pipe length is 40 feet (12.2 m). Hydraulic Single pass depth 37 ft 11.3 m
pulldown is featuring a patented hydrostatic, closed- Maximum hole depth* 200 - 240 ft 61 - 73.2 m
loop system acting through twin, double-rod hydraulic
cylinders and cable. Feed speed 144 ft/min 0.7 m/s
Rotary head, torque 10,183 Ibf•ft 13.8 kNm
Standard equipment Estimated weight 230,000 lb 104 tonnes
• Insulated, pressurized FOPS cab with heater
Dimensions tower up
• Rotary screw 2600 CFM @ 110 psi air
compressor Length 40 ft 5 in 12.3 m
• Caterpillar C32 diesel engine (950 HP at 1800 rpm) Height 67 ft 20.4 m
• Six-light, 70 watt quartz-halogen night lighting system
• Cab and ladder access lights plus dust curtain light Width 18 ft 11 in 5.8 m
• Cooling package Dimensions tower down
• Remote hydraulic tower pinning
Length 66 ft 6 in 20.3 m
• Auxiliary hoist of 8,000 lb (3,600 kg) capacity with lifting bail
• Hydraulically-actuated, drill pipe carousel internal to tower Height 23 ft 9 in 7.2 m
for 4 drill pipe or 5 for 8- 5/8 in. diameter 40 ft.
Compressor range
• Hydraulic sliding fork chuck breakout with auxiliary
hydraulic wrench Low pressure rotary 2600 cfm@110 psi / 73.6 m³/min@7.6 Bar
• 650 U.S. gallon (2,460 L) fuel capacity Engine (Tier ll)
• Wide flange structural steel "I" beam main frame with
oscillation yoke mounting Caterpillar C32 950HP / 709 kW@1800RPM (LP 2600)
• Separate three-stage air intake filters for engine and Cummins QST30 950HP / 709 kW@1800RPM (LP 2600)
compressor
Weg motor 6811 900HP / 671 kW@ 50 or 60Hz (LP 2600)
• Rotary head tachometer
• Three hydraulic leveling jacks and "jacks-up" indicator in cab Drill pipe specification: 40 ft (12.2 m)
• Hydraulically actuated rod support arm to align drill pipe Drill pipe diameter Suggested bit Thread
during rod changing operations and when using the angle diameters
drill option
7 5/8"  (194 mm) 9 7/8" – 10 5/8" 5 1/4" BECO
• Full walkways and railings
• 35.5 in (900 mm) wide, triple bar replaceble grouser pads 8 5/8"  (219 mm) 10 5/8" - 11" 6" BECO
• Rotary head with spline lubrication 9 1/4"  (235 mm) 11" – 12 1/4" 6" BECO

10 3/4"  (273 mm) 12 1/4" 8" BECO

*Maximum hole depth only achieved with certain pipe sizes and
wall thicknesses.

DM-M3

Visit www.atlascopco.com/blastholedrills for more information

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168 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

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Pit Viper PV-351 Technical data

Drilling Method Rotary - Single pass

The Pit Viper 351 is a crawler-mounted, hydraulic Hole Diameter 10 5/8 in - 16 in 270 mm - 406 mm
tophead drive, single-pass rotary drilling rig specifically Hydraulic Pulldown 120,000 lbf 534 kN
designed for the blasthole drilling of 10-5⁄8 " to 16 in
diameter holes. It has a single-pass depth capability of Weight on bit 125,000 Ib 56,700 kg
65’ (20 m) with total depth capability of 135’ (41 m). Its Hydraulic Pullback 60,000 lbf 267 kN
hydraulic driven cable feed system is capable of 125,000
lbf. (511 kN) of bit loading. Due to the light weight of Single pass depth 65 ft 19.8 m
the cable feed system the PV-351 can operate with a Maximum hole depth 135 ft 41.1 m
“live tower”. A patented automatic tensioning system
is eliminating down time for cable adjustments. It has Feed speed 127 - 158 ft/min 0.6 - 0.8 m/s
several advanced options like an auto drilling system, Rotary head, torque 19,000 Ibf•ft 25.7 kNm
auto levelling, remote tramming, and GPS navigation.
Estimated weight 385,000 lb - 175 tonnes -
415,000 lb 188 tonnes
Standard equipment Dimensions tower up
• RCS rig control system, computerized network
• Insulated, air conditioned cab Length 53 ft 10 in 16.4 m
• 3000 CFM (84.9 m3/min) @ 110 psig (7.6 bar) air compressor Height 103 ft 9 in 31.6 m
• Caterpillar 385 Custom undercarriage with hydraulic
Width 26 ft 8 1/2 in 8.1 m
propel and automatic hydraulic track tensioning
• Hydraulic cylinder driven cable feed system Dimensions tower down
• Hydraulic motor driven rotary head with spline lubrication Length 98 ft 29.9 m
• Two rod carousel for 8-5/8" to 13-3/8" diameter x 35’ drill pipe
• “No-bump” rod changer Height 27 ft 11 in 8.5 m
• Hydraulically powered breakout wrench (fork chuck) Compressor range
• Hands Free auxiliary hydraulic wrench
Low pressure rotary 3,000 cfm@110psi / 84.9m3/min@7.6 bar
• 12,000 lb (5440 kg) capacity auxiliary hoist
• Hydraulically retractable dust curtains Low pressure rotary 3,200 cfm@110psi / 90.6m3/min@7.6 bar
(electric motor)
• Four 72 inch (1.83 m) stroke leveling jacks
• Cooling package Low pressure rotary 3,800 cfm@110psi / 107.6m3/min@7.6 bar
• 1200 U.S. gallon (4545 L) fuel tank Engine (Tier l)
• Separate air intake filters for engine and air compressor
• Wide flange structural steel I-beam frame with oscillation Caterpillar 3512 1650HP / 1230 kW@1800RPM (LP 3800)
yoke mounting Cummins QSK45 1500HP / 1119 kW@1800RPM (LP 3000)
• Full deck service catwalks and railings
Weg motor 6811 1400HP / 1044kW@ 50 or 60 Hz (LP 3200)
• Automatic lubrication system
• Nordic Night light package Drill pipe specification: 35 ft (10.7 m)
• Attention horn, propel alarm Drill pipe diameter Suggested bit Thread
• Ground level shutdowns diameters
• Decking in tower (when horizontal) above rod changer
8 5/8"  (219 mm) 10 5/8" - 11" 6" BECO
9 1/4"  (235 mm) 11" – 12 1/4" 6" BECO
10 3/4"  (273 mm) 12 1/4" - 13" 8" BECO
12 3/4"  (324 mm) 15" – 16" 8" BECO
13 3/8"  (340 mm) 16" 10" BECO

PITVIPER 351

atlascopco.com

Visit www.atlascopco.com/blastholedrills for more information

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 DRILL RIG OPTIONS

Rig Control System (RCS)

A HOLMBERG 2007
The RCS creates an automated platform for the next
generation of technologically advanced machines.
Bulky equipment panels have been replaced by sleek,
ruggedized, and easily accessible left and right operator PC-card

panels with push buttons, joysticks and a touch panel

screen. Through these panels, all rig functions can be
controlled. By affixing these control devices to the chair,
the operator will continually remain in full control of the CCI module AP module Resolver module I/O module

machine no matter which way they are turned to

perform their duties.

Providing the backbone for the system is the time proven

yet remarkably agile Controller Area Network-bus (CAN-
bus) standard. All sensors, control devices, and actuators RCS is the common platform shared throughout Atlas Copco´s
are cabled into five strategically placed Input/Output (I/O) equipment.
Modules.The I/O Modules, left and right operators panels,
(optional) navigation system (GPS or GLONASS), and
(optional) CCI module are connected into the back of the
operators display which houses the central computer.
All cabling is built off the latest CAN-bus Open standard
utilizing molded cables.

RCS Basic
The RCS design provides many qualities that are advan-
tageous to not only the operator, but also service tech-
nicians, mine planners, and mine management such as:

Flexibility RCS provides ease of operations even in toughest of

• Modularized system allows for easy add-ons, modifi- environments.
cations, and upgrades equating to minimal downtime
• Onscreen calibration and adjustment of system
parameters A B C

Increased Productivity
• Computer display of all drilling pressures
• Onscreen display of powerhead position
• Rock formation analysis and data logging
• Learning curve dramatically decreased from drill to drill
with standardized approach to controls and hardware
• Auto features provide optimal, consistent and predict-
able results

Ease of Maintenance
• Each I/O Module and sensor is equipped with LEDs to
denote differing levels of performance. Quick deduction
of variables aids decisive troubleshooting, ultimately
decreasing MTTR
• Adjustable automatic identification and display of
system warnings and faults
• Diagnostic menus and troubleshooting capabilities
• Multiple interchangeable parts meaning less overhead
and inventory
(C) Sensors, control devices, and actuators are all cabled into
• Display of engine J1939 data
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.

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 DRILL RIG OPTIONS

Built in Safety
• 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 operator’s seat,
so, as the seat swivels the joysticks and screen swivels Leveling screen.
in conjunction with the operator (they are always in an
optimal and ergonomical location).

Add on Features
Auto-Level System
The auto-leveling/deleveling option closes the gap
between an average and expert operator, increasing
the quality of setup. This feature reduces wear and tear
on the machine structure by limiting torsional effect on
the mainframe and tower during leveling. In normal
conditions, this takes less than 35 seconds and is done From the settings screens, varying levels of access privileges
to an accuracy of 0.2 degrees in pitch and roll. allow for quick customized rig functions, creating a fine tuned
comfortable drilling environment.

Auto-Drill System
When activated, this function will detect the rock when
the bit touches the ground and start your air, dust
suppression, rotation and feed to collar the hole. After
the collared distance has been met, this control will
adjust air, dust suppression, rotation and feed to a
drilling setting. This feature will apply optimal pulldown
and rotation to drill as fast as possible without stalling
the rotation or getting stuck. Once the target depth has
been reached, the Auto-drill will clean or flush the hole,
shutoff the air and dust suppression, and then return the
bit to a tramming safe position. This feature provides
the consistency of drilling to the correct hole depth,
including water flow to maintain the hole so it does
not collapse. Currently this is available for single pass Drill dashboard - drilling screen.
drilling and multi-pass drilling, although a manual rod
change must be made at this time.

CCI – Common Communications Interface

The Common Communications Interface, or CCI, allows
RCS to communicate to other entities and also allows
data transfer to and from the RCS system. In order
for the CCI to wirelessly communicate, the mine must
provide the wireless communications device for their
network. The optional CCI comes complete with the
needed software and Ethernet cable.

GPS navigation screen.

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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 Copco’s required format for data interaction is
in the International Rock Excavation Data Exchange
Standard (IREDES) format.

External drill (RCS) communications in the mine: Drill plans

Production Logging Data Includes: and log files can either be transferred wirelessly via the CCI
• Date and time stamp connected to a mine’s wireless communication device or
hand carried on a USB memory stick.
• Depth tag
• Penetration rate
• Rotation Speed Torque
• Air Pressure
• Feed force
• Hole information: ID, name, & plan ID
• Drill Information: Type, serial #, hours, & state
• Operator logins

RRA – Rig Remote Access System

The Rig Remote Access (RRA) software, which is
loaded on a mine server, gives a customer the ability
to wirelessly send files to and from the drill rigs in
conjunction with the CCI and the mine’s wireless
network. Utilizing a type of encoding, similar to a
standard File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server, a number
of working processes in the mine are simplified,
saving valuable man hours. By having a direct link to
the machines, work orders and log files can now be
distributed on demand.

GPS – Global Positioning System

GPS hole navigation ensures each blast hole is precisely
positioned per the mine engineers design. GPS antennas
are mounted on the tower rest and radio antennas on
the cab to produce an accurate bit position. Drill plans,
designed with the local mine coordinates, are imported
to the RCS in the International Rock Excavation Data
ExchangeStandard (IREDES) format, and the bit position
is provided in real time. The bit position is calculated
by taking into consideration the variability of the bench,
providing the operator with correct depth to drill each
hole. While tramming, the operator views a moving
map display with zoom functions as the rig gets closer
to the desired blast hole location. The dominant system
for the precise positioning of a rotary drill on a blast
hole drill plan is with satellite navigation based on GPS
or GLONASS. Accuracies up to ±10 cm are possible to
reach, depending on installation and the number of
satellites. After each hole is drilled a new entry is
created on the Quality Log file.

Utilizing the High Precision GPS option, drill operators can

ensure near perfect and predictable hole positioning.

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 DRILL RIG OPTIONS

Quality Log File Includes:

• GPS accuracy and quality (number of satellites available)
• Average penetration rate
• Total drill time
• Hole number
• Start hole position
• End hole position
• Drill rig info

Remote Propel System

The remote propel option allows the operator to
wirelessly maneuver the drill using a handheld remote
control within a 60-meter distance on the bench. This
function will allow an operator to safely tram the rig;
avoiding any potentially dangerous blind spots, prevent
any damage next to a high wall or berm, or loading onto
a lowboy. The remote control is equipped with safety
triggers to ensure that the rig will not move unless the
operator has full control to tram the machine. Featured
on the device are an emergency stop button, engine
speed control, dust curtain control, jack control, and
cable reel control (electric units only). The system can
be equipped with additional functions when available. Remote propel handheld device.

Teleremote
The teleremote operator panel has the same look, feel,
and buttons as being onboard the drill. The package
includes a four camera system with a one pan/tilt/zoom
camera operated remotely and visible on a 32" screen.
This compact system can be mounted on a table top or
in a trailer. The teleremote system is to be operated over
the mine network with capacity of 8 Mb/s dedicated per
drill. The remote operator will have full confidence and
awareness of what actions are taking place onboard the
rig as well as in near proximity.

Desktop Viewer
Through a simple software load on a mine networked
computer, the drills current state can be accessed
through our Desktop Viewer. The user will be able to
view all of the RCS screens available to an operator as
if they were in the cab using the touch panel. The drill
will be required to be online via a CCI module. The teleremote package is small in size yet large in capability.

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Electric power pack

As an alternative to a diesel engine as the main source
of power, several drill models can be configured with an
electric power package, consisting of an electric WEG
motor, starter and transformer. Electric ver-sions are
usually less costly to operate due to fewer lubricants,
having an integrated cooling system, and no diesel fuel
costs. In some cases, the operating cost advantage will
in one year cover the additional investment cost for
ordering an electric version. The service life of an electric
motor is considerably longer than for an equivalent
diesel engine, and has quieter operation.

Weg motor options are available for: DML, DM-M3, PV-

235, PV-271, PV-275, PV-351

Four jack configuration

Stability in the set up of the drill rig is important for
the drilling operations. All drill rigs are provided with
hydraulic leveling jacks, as a basic “tripod arrangement”
some models have an option of a four jack arrangement
where the two non-drilling end jacks are tied together
acting as one outrigger.

Available for: DML, DM-M3, PV-271, PV-275

Standard equipment for PV-235 and PV-351

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 DRILL RIG OPTIONS

Cold weather operation

• To secure trouble-free operation and a pleasant
operator’s working environment, there are several
cold weather options available including: additional
cab heater, hydraulic oil and diesel engine heating,
tank heaters, arctic hoses and cold weather fluids.
• A well insulated and heated water injection system is
available.
• Gen-sets are available for some models of drill rigs
• Fully utilized these options allow the drill rigs to
operate in arctic conditions.

Angle drilling package

The Atlas Copco advanced angle drilling package
allows the tower to be positioned from the vertical in
increments of 5 degrees. All controls for positioning
are located at the operators control console inside the
cab. This system changes the pivot point on the tower
to drill deck level and ensures that the hole will always
collar within the dust hood. This design also provides for
stability and ensures that a minimum length of the drill
pipe will be unsupported between the centralizer and
the collar. Good stability and guidance of the drill string
during collaring and drilling will reduce hole deviation.
High precision in drilling and blasting will improve
fragmentation and contribute to lowering overall
production costs

Variations of the angle drill package are available on all

other models

Available for: All rigs

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 DRILL RIG OPTIONS

Water injection system

The water injection system injects a regulated quantity
of water into the air flow going to the drill pipe. The
water content in the air-flushing suppresses the dust
created by the drilling operation. The water injection
system has a hydraulic motor drive, and is operated
from the cab control system.

There are several sizes of water injection systems

available, and the injection tanks are either mounted
within the frame or on the deck to ensure the drilling
water requirements are met.

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.

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 DRILL RIG OPTIONS

Hydraulic Ladder
This Atlas Copco option allows the operator or main-
tenance personnel an easy approach onto the machine.
Instead of having to hoist themselves up a vertical
ladder, this allows an easy approach onto the machine
and 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, PV-275

Tower Restraint System

The tower restraint system is a dedicated resource
providing a safe means of conducting maintenance in
our towers. A specially designed staircase consists of
individuals steps that are made of sturdy steel grating,
with an added slip-resistant grip strut. The Stairway also
consists of two signed gates at both the bottom and the
top, handrails, and a spacious work platform. The Tower
Fall Restraint system incorporates a set of cables and
harnesses. Once inside the tower you have access to the
cables that are permanently anchored to the Tower cords
and include a shuttle on each side on which to hook
the harness. These shuttles are an integral part of the
structure and include a double-locking mechanism for
safety purposes and are specially designed to withstand
the vigors of a mining environment. They allow the
operator full access to the Tower, as well as being able
to smoothly move over transition pieces without the
hazardous practice of having to unhook from the cable,
allowing the individual to keep their hands free for tools
and the task at hand.

Available for: PV-235, PV-271, PV-275

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 DRILL RIG OPTIONS

Additional NDE
Water Tank
An additional 1600 L (422 G) is now available for the
PV-271 and PV-275 machines. This water tank mounts
onto the newly redesigned tower rest on the non-drill
end of the machine.

Note: Diesel Machines Only

Available for: PV-271, PV-275

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 -40°F (-40°C)

upwards to 125°F (52°C).

Note: Mesabi cooler on the right.

Available for: DM30, DM45, DML, PV-235, PV-271, PV-275

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 they’re not in
use, the ladders fold up onto the rig and re-latch.

Available for: PV-235, PV-271, PV-275

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 DRILL RIG OPTIONS

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-271, PV-275

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, PV-275

Extended Cool Decking

and Bit Basket
Two integral parts of our 360º deck access are the Drill-
End Extended Decking with Bit basket and the Extended
Cooler Decking.

The Drill-End Decking Extension is an option that in-

cludes a built-in bit basket on the Drill-End of the ma-
chine. 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,

decking you add approximately 2 feet (61 cm) to the
NCS (non-cab side) of 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, PV-275

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Auto thread lubrication

system
The system includes a cab activated button that initiates
flow of grease through either pneumatic or electric pump
to a nozzle. The nozzle is located on the drill table, and
sprays the grease at the pipe joint threads. This helps to
extend the life of your pipe threads when changing rods.

Pneumatic only available for: T4BH, DM25, DM30

Pneumatic or electric only available for: DM45/50, DML,

PV-271, PV-275

Electric only available for: PV-235, PV-351

Central lubrication system

The Quicklube lubrication system is designed to
provide a relatively simple and inexpensive method of
centralizing and automating the lubrication of machinery
bearings.

The system dispenses small measured amounts of

lubricant at frequent intervals while the machine is
operating. With a fully automated system, the lubricant
is supplied by an electric pump through one or more
distribution blocks to each point covered by the system.
Even those hard to reach areas are assured of being
properly lubricated and purged of contaminants.

Up to 300 lubrication points can be served, depending on

the length of the hose.
• Reliably distributed lubricant in predetermined
amounts
• Delivers lubricant to the connected lubricant points in
a safe manner.
• Each lubrication circuit is equipped with a safety valve
that holds the pressure within permissible values.
• If there is a block in a lubrication circuit, lubricant will
leak from the safety valve.
• Works through lubrication cycles (interval time,
propagation time and load time)

Can be used in cold weather applications if special low

temperature grease is used.

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 DRILL RIG OPTIONS

Remote tramming system

The optional remote tramming system offers the
operator the ability to move the rig from a drive pendant,
which can be worn on the operator’s shoulders. The
remote tram pendant is connected to the rig by a cord,
and is operated by similar joysticks as those used on the
operator’s panel in the cab.

Available for: DM45, DML, PV-235, PV-271, PV-275,

(non RCS rigs), DM-M3

The picture shows: Remote control unit with cord

connection

Note: On RCS rigs this option is wireless,

please see page 210

Video camera system

For improved safety and visibility around the drill rig,
an optional video camera system can be installed.
The system consists of three or four rig mounted
video cameras and a LCD display screen mounted
inside the cab.

Each camera has a motorized lens cover for protection,

and contains a heater which automatically turns on when
the temperature falls below 50° F (10°C). The cameras
are installed in water resistant housings, complete with
illuminators for low light conditions. The camera image
device is an interline – transfer 0 type CDC, with a picture
resolution of 270,000 pixels (horizontal resolution of 380
TV lines and a vertical resolution of 350 TV lines).
The monitor is a 6.8" LCD screen with an auto dimmer.
Screen resolution is 270.000 pixels, and screen controls
include: bright, contrast, color, tint, image selectable,
auto scan time and scale (on/off)

Available for: PV-235, PV-271, PV-275, PV-351

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Central hydraulic
test station
The central hydraulic test station allows for testing of
component pressures. A standard test fitting gauge can
be used and plugged into the desired port for reading
of the system pressure. The hydraulic test station is
mounted on the deck for easy accessibility.

Available for: T4BH, DM45, DML, PV-235, DM-M3

Standard equipment for PV-271, PV-275

(not required for RCS rigs - electronic sensors are

included in the RCS system)

Fire suppression system

A dry-chemical fire suppression system can be provided
with manual activation points. The system is provided
with canister(s) that are located on the deck of the
machine.

The fire suppression canister contain a dry chemical fire

suppressant which utilizes a nitrogen cartridge for the
pneumatic actuator. Several discharge nozzles located
throughout the machine will spray the suppressant when
the system is activated. This fire extinguisher agents
is rated for extinguishing type A (trash/wood), type B
(liquids) and type C (electrical equipment) fires. The fire
suppression canister can be recharged as needed.

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 DRILL RIG OPTIONS

Fast service system

The fast service system consists of ground level, quick
connect fittings for fill and evacuation of fuel, hydraulic
oil, engine oil, compressor oil, engine coolant, and water
(on some models).

Note: Different locations and configurations depending

on rig model

Ground level shut down

All rigs are provided with a standard emergency
shutdown button mounted in the cab. As an option, one
or several additional ground level shutdown buttons can
be provided for mounting outside of the cab. By pressing
the ground level shutdown button; the power to the
engine is then disconnected.

Racor fuel filter

The Racor fuel filter is specifically designed to separate
out any water that may be in the fuel lines, and a Racor
fuel filter with heater option, as shown, is available for
some models.

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Stereo radio with

CD player
The operator’s cab can be equipped with a stereo system
with AM/FM radio, CD player, mp3 jack and speakers.
The package also includes a battery equalizer for 24V to
12V DC conversion.

Available for: DM45, DML, PV-235, PV-271, PV-275,

DM-M3, PV-351

Engine pre-lube system

Special engine pre-lube assembly systems are available
both for Cummins and CAT diesel engines. The engine
pre-lube, lubes the valve zone prior to engine startup,
giving the benefit of less wear and tear on the engine
over time

Available for: DM45, DML, PV-235, PV-271, PV-275,

DM-M3, PV-351

Standard equipment for PV-351 (Cummins)

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-275,

DM-M3, PV-351

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 DRILL RIG OPTIONS

High intensity
discharge lights
The high intensity discharge (HID) night light package
consists of upgrading the standard halogen lights to
Xenon 24V, 35 Watt lamps. With this upgrade the HID
lamps will be mounted in the standard lamp locations.
The HID lamps have great luminous intensity and a color
mimicking natural daylight. These lamps are designed
specifically for forestry, mining and earth moving
applications, and are designed to have low power
consumption. Lights can be turned on when the engine
is on or off.

Available for: DM30, DM45, DML, PV-235, PV-271, PV-275

Sodium 240 Volt night

light package
The 240 VAC night light package consists of additional
400 Watt high pressure sodium lights and additional
150 Watt high pressure sodium lights. These lights are
installed in addition to the standard light package on the
rig and require power from an external 240 VAC power
source (like an optional gen-set).

Available for: DM45, DML, PV-271, PV-275, DM-M3

Standard equipment for PV-351 Electric

186 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 DRILL RIG OPTIONS

Buddy seat
If an additional seat is required in the cab, a fold-up
buddy seat can be mounted inside one of the cabin
walls.

Available for: DM45, DML, PV-271, PV-275

Standard bench: PV-271 RCS, PV-275 RCS, PV-235

Standard seat: PV-351

Torque limit control

Rotational torque limit control is standard on high
pressure drill rigs, and is an option available for low
pressure rigs. The torque limit gauge and controller are
mounted in the cab and operate an electrically controlled
remote valve. Torque limit control is used to limit the
rotation pressure within the closed loop rotation circuit.

Available for: DM25, DM30, DM45, DML, PV-235, PV-271,

PV-275

Cab sunshades
Pull down, fabric sunshades located on all windows are
available.

Available for: DM30, DM45, DML, PV-235, PV-271, PV-275,

DM-M3, PV-351

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 187

 Air compressors and Boosters
Hurricane B4-41 booster
At start to a large family of boosters
Atlas Copco Hurricane boosters are available for all appli-
cations including exploration mining, oil and gas and
construction. The 1,000 psi single stage booster fills the
need for a 1,000 psi in a small package. It’s easy to tran-
sport and service technicians find easy access all points.
Atlas Copco’s Hurricane model B4-41 offers 750 or
1,000 psi booster discharge pressure. This booster
incorporates advanced technologies, application
flexibility and exclu-sive size and weight advantages.
Driven by a John Deere PowerTech 4.5 liter Tier 2 diesel
engine, the B4-41 features a four-cylinder, single-stage
booster block. With 350 psi of suction pressure, the
Hurricane B4-41 model has a capacity of 1,400 cfm
at a maximum discharge of 1,000 psi and 1,800 cfm
at a maximum discharge of 750 psi or the use of a
four-cylinder, turbo-charged drive engine allows for
increased flows and pressures for improved borehole
drilling. Like all Atlas Copco boosters, the Hurricane
188 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
B4-41 provides a better penetration rate, cooler bit
temperatures and longer bit life.
Standard Features
• Automatic load/unload system
• Booster bypass manifold
• Engine speed adjustment
• Double acting concentric valves
• Watercooled booster and diesel engine
• Precooler (a+15°F / 8°C) & suction scrubber tank
• Aftercooler (a+50°F / 28°C)
• Heavy-duty skid with four point lifting
• 24 volt DC starting and operating system
• Suction, interstage and discharge safety relief valves
• Full-function instrument panel monitoring all pressures,
temperatures and controls with full protection
shutdown and fault indicators
 Air compressors and Boosters

Atlas Copco
Some nice picture of XRVS 476 /1000
Quantum leap ham-
Portable Diesel Oil-flooded Compressor
mers to put here

With normal operating pressure 25 bar (363 psi), this

Atlas Copco rotary screw compressor is designed for
continuous duty in harsh conditions. The ability to vary
pressure outputs from lower to higher makes it ideal for
a wide variety of applications a wide variety of applica-
tions where auxiliary air is needed. Leak-free chassis
and central fluid drain system protect the environment.
Easy access to all service points reduces maintenance
time and operating costs. And Zincor-treated canopies
with powder coat paint finish mean improved resistance
to corrosion for long life and high resell value.

Standard Features
• Quiet operation —72 decibels at 7 meters
• Tier-III/Stage-III compliant Caterpillar 6 cylinder,
317 kW (426 hp) engines
• Fuel consumption 75 l/h at full load.
• Guaranteed free air delivery of 975 cfm (460 l/s)
• Maximum operating pressure 392 psi (27 bar)
• Minimum starting temperature 14° F (-10° C)
• Maximum ambient temperature 113° F (45° C)

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 189

 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Tricone rotary blasthole drilling Introduction

Tricone drilling can move much more material in a given

amount of time than DTH drilling due to the generally
larger diameters used, but Tricone drilling may be a less
“ore grade sensitive” method due to larger bit diameters
and therefore greater hole burden and spacings used.

Ultimately, the mine’s “production cost” is the economic

driver: at the end of the day, which method gives the
lowest COST PER TON of material blasted?

Let’s consider this example, for a straight forward “rock

removal” scenario:
• 12 1/4” Tricone bit and suitable drill
• 100 feet (30.5 m) per hour penetration rate
An impressive legacy • 50 foot (15.2 m) bench height, plus subdrill
Atlas Copco Secoroc LLC traces its beginnings back to • US$300/hour drill operating cost
Howard Hughes, Sr., inventor of the first two-cone rotary • 9” DTH and suitable drill
drill bit for rock in 1909. “Our purpose is to never be • 50 foot (15.2 m) bench height, plus subdrill
satisfied but will continue, with the help of our experi-
• 125 feet (38.1 m) per hour penetration rate
enced engineers, to anticipate the requirements of the
drilling industry.” The words spoken by Mr. Hughes are • US$200/hour drill operating cost
valid at Atlas Copco Secoroc LLC today. Howard Hughes,
Sr. left behind an impressive inventor’s legacy, having Which method has the lowest cost per ton?
held 73 distinct patents. The company continued to be a Using the Hustrulid blasting calculations presented in the
leader in development, with the introduction of the first various Atlas Copco Academy sessions (which calculate
TriconeTM rock bit with inter-fitting teeth in 1933, and the burden, spacing, subdrill, and stemming based on hole
first Tungsten Carbide Insert rockbits in 1951. size, face height, and rock and explosive SG), we see the
following production costs:
Lowering our Customers Total Drilling Cost (TDC)
Atlas Copco Secoroc LLC is dedicated to reducing the 12 ¼" 9"
Tricone & Big drill DTH & Small drill
customer’s total drilling costs while maintaining the
highest standards of quality. Atlas Copco Secoroc LLC $300 CPH $200
has repeatedly shown customers that a better bit, though 100 ROP 125
more expensive, actually reduces the cost of the drilled
hole. When a mining engineer or a purchasing group 5676.9 Tons per hour produced 3970.2
takes into account the total cost of operating a drill, it is 1 Drill required for tonnage 1.430
easy to see that the best way to cut costs is to drill the
$0.053 Op cost/ton/drill $0.050
hole faster.
$0.053 Actual cost/drilled ton $0.072
Our goal is not to just meet your expectations, but to
exceed them. As part of our commitment to continuous In this example, DTH drilling is almost 50% more costly
improvement, we constantly look for ways to make our than using Tricones. In fact, it takes another 17% in-
products drill faster and more efficiently. crease in Rate of Penetration, to 146 feet/hour, for the
DTH method to equal the Cost per Drilled Ton of the
Tricones or DTH? Tricone method.
How do you decide on which drilling method to use,
Rotary Tricone drilling, or Down The Hole hammer drill- Depending on the commodity mined, the geometry of
ing? Each has several factors in its favor. DTH drilling in the mining benches, the tonnage production rate needed,
hard ground generally has higher penetration rates than etc., it is advised that rotary Tricone drilling always be
Tricone drilling, and exerts less wear and tear on the drill investigated as a more cost effective way to correctly
because heavy “pulldown” forces are not used with DTH. serve the customer.
But it is much more labor, consumables, and inventory
intensive than tricone drilling. In soft ground, DTH drill-
ing tends to be problematic. DTH loses its penetration
rate advantage at 9 to 10 inch diameter (229 - 254 mm) in
“hard” rock.

190 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Tricone rotary blasthole drilling Elements of a rock bit

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 191

 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Tricone rotary blasthole drilling Bit elements

Cones Carbide Insert Rows

Cones make up the cutting elements of the rock bit and A. Nose
are comprised of the following: B. Inner
C. Next to Gage
1. Tungsten Carbide Inserts - which are pressed into D. Gage
the softer steel material with interference fit to hold
E. Gage Bevel
item in place.

2. Cone Thrust Button - Made of a wear resistant

material used to take axial bearing loads.

3. Outer Cone Shell - Insert land’s and cone grooves.

4. Cone Bore - Internal ball and roller bearing races.

192 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Tricone rotary blasthole drilling Bit elements

Lugs
Coupled in threes, by 120º 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 compressor’s modulation setting is
reached, it will then reduce it’s volume output causing
a decrease in (air?) volume going to the bit.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 193

 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Tricone rotary blasthole drilling Tricone bit inserts

Inserts are the actual physical elements that spall and break the rock. Inserts are made from tungsten carbide pow-
der and a cobalt binder material, which is pressed into the designed shape then sintered. Depending on the applica-
tion, the tungsten carbide inserts in a given bit will have a shape and physical properties best suited for the rock
being drilled.

Conical 90º Chisel or trimmer

The conical insert is used primar- The trimmer is used specifi-
ily in medium/medium-hard rock. cally in the MAGNT product
It is designated in the bit nomen- line. It enhances the gage rows
clature with a C. ability to cut the bore hole wall.
The MAGNT feature is used
in soft to medium brittle rock
formations.

Chisel Wedge crested chisel

The chisel insert is used in soft/ Wedge crested chisel inserts
medium-soft rock. It is the stan- are used exclusively on the
dard insert in soft bits (40’s & gage rows of very soft to hard
50’s) and is designated with an bits (40’s through 60’s). This
F in the bit nomenclature. shape gives a fracture resistant
insert that is much tougher
than concial or regular chisel
inserts on gage.

Ogive Serrated flat top

The ogive insert is used in areas
where the aggressiveness of the
conical insert is required with
additional toughess. The ogive is
designated as an O in
the bit nomenclature.
Serrated flat top inserts are
used on shirttail lips and along
the lug as “armor” to protect
against shirttail and lug wear.

Super Scoop Double Angle Conical

The super scoop is used in very Double angle concial inserts
soft rock. With the patented offset with hardmetal retard erosion
tip, digging and gouging help and provides for increased
penetrate in sticky materials. The ROP.
super scoop is designated with
an S in the bit nomenclature.

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
(60’s 70’s & 80’s) and is designated with an N in the bit nomenclature.

194 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining


Tricone rotary blasthole drilling
Atlas Copco Secoroc LLC uses the IADC (International
Association of Drilling Contractors) code along with
the product line and added bit features to help describe
the bit. The IADC code is a three numbered system to
classify the hardness and type for all roller cone rock
bits. ting structures for improved bearing loading, lowered
First digit – Identifies the bit type and
major hardness class:
1 – Steel Tooth for soft formations
2 – Steel Tooth for medium formations
3 – Steel Tooth for hard formations
4 – Insert for soft formations
5 – Insert for soft/medium, formations
6 – Insert for medium/hard formations
7 – Insert for hard formations
8 – Insert for extremely hard formations types in each size from IADC class 4-2 bits up to
Second digit – Designates the hardness subclass of
major hardness class. This ranges from 1 to 4, where 1
is classified as the softest subclass and 4 is the hardest
subclass.
Third digit – Designates the bit’s features:
1 – Roller bearing
2 – Roller bearing air-cooled
3 – Roller bearing with gage bevel inserts
4 – Sealed roller bearing
5 – Sealed roller bearing with gage bevel inserts
6 – Sealed friction bearing
7 – Sealed friction bearing with gage bevel inserts
8 – Directional
9 – Other
Example: IADC 6-3-2
This is a medium/hard air-cooled roller • 2 – Tapered Gage Tooth
bearing.
Example: 12 ¼ eH63CA
12 ¼ – 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
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 195
Rotary drilling TOOLS
Nomenclature
Product lines:
• eM – epsilon technology evolved from the MAG
product line. Wide variety of drilling applications
using streamlined lugs for greater bailing area and
allowing rapid evacuation of cuttings. Balanced cut
carbide stress and higher capacity bearings for longer
life.
• eH – epsilon technology evolved from the HD product
line. Wide variety of drilling applications using
streamlined lugs for greater bailing area and allowing
rapid evacuation of cuttings. Balanced cutting struc
tures for improved bearing loading, lowered carbide
stress and higher capacity bearings for longer life.
• Om - Omega Sealed Bearing Products
Current sizes are 9 7/8" (251 mm), 10 5/8" (270 mm),
12 ¼" (311 mm) and 13 ¾" (345 mm). Selected bit
IADC class 6-4. Sealed ‘journal bearing’ or sealed
‘roller bearing’, depending on bit diameter. Bit
cones designed for erosion resistance with high
insert retention aspects, to prevent loss of inserts
in erosive/abrasive conditions. Streamlined epsilon
style lug to maximize cuttings removal from bit and
hole bottom. Proprietary carbide grades to maxi-
mize both insert “toughness” and resistance to
abrasion.
Insert/Tooth Type:
• C – Conical
• D – Double Angle Conical
• N – Round Top
• O – Ogive
• S – Super Scoop
• F – Chisel
In Steel Tooth (or Mill) Bits: 1 to 5
• 1 – Conventional Gage Tooth
• 3 – “T” Gage Tooth
• 4 – “L” Gage Tooth
• 5 – “Web” Gage Tooth
Ovoids are standard inserts
and do not have suffixes.
Lug Features:
• A – Armor
• B – Backreaming
• ST – Shirttail protection in tooth bits
• R – Regular circulation
Other Features:
• H – Hard Nose on cones
• G – Gage bevel on tooth bits
• T – Tough carbide (breakage resistant)
• W – Wear resistant carbide
 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Steel tooth bit selection Hard formation bits

Soft formation bits
The Type S, regular circulation steel tooth bit is designed
for optimum performance in formations of low compres-
sive strength, such as soft sand rock, calcite, shale and
clay. These formations quite often contain abrasive ma-
terials such as sharp sand and may be interspersed with
layers of medium and hard formations.
Type H, regular circulation steel tooth rock bits are de-
signed to drill hard formations which contain amounts
of abrasive materials. Formations requiring the use of
this bit type are those having:
1. High compressive strength with low abrasive content
such as dolomite.
2. High compressive strength with high abrasive content
such as dolomite and trap rock.

3. Medium compressive strength with high abrasive

Soft formation bits are designed with long slim, strong
content such as quartz, sandstone and the copper
teeth to permit deep penetration into the formation
ores.
with comparatively light weight. Also, bit geometry is
adjusted to give maximum desirable scraping action on
Compared with the soft and medium formation bits, this
bottom. So specific range of footage or penetration rates
bit has higher capacity bearings and more closely spaced
can be used as a yardstick for determining when to stop
teeth with increased tooth angles to allow the use of
using this type bit, due to wide variation in weight, rotary
heavier weights required to effectively drill hard forma-
speeds and formation variations encountered. However,
tions. The geometry of this bit provides maximum chip-
if excessive tooth breakage occurs, you might safely
ping and crushing action with minimum scraping action.
assume that either the combination of weight and rotary
speed is too great or formation is too hard for this type
The outermost row of teeth on each cone is the driv-
bit.
ing row; that is, this row generates a rock gear pattern
on bottom, which in the case of these strong rocks, is
Normally, these bits are run with relatively light weights,
not easily broken up. Because of this, a webbed gage
ranging from 1,000 pounds to 3,000 pounds per inch of
surface is generally used on heel rows of teeth to keep
bit diameter. Rotary speeds usually range from 120 to
the patterns broken down.
170 revolutions per minute, depending upon the weight
applied to the bit.
Tungsten carbide hardfacing is applied to the “webs” to
strengthen the gage against abrasive wear.
Medium formation bits
Type H bits are commonly run with weights ranging
from 4,000 to 7,000 pounds per inch of bit diameter with
The Type M and regular circulation steel tooth rack bits
rotary speeds decreasing from 40 to 80 revolutions per
are designed for abrasive and non-abrasive medium for-
minute as weight is increased.
mations. Note that this design differs from the “softer”
types principally in the progressive strengthening of
the teeth and change in bit geometry to provide more Steel tooth Tricone rock bit type vs. rock hardness
chipping-crushing action. These bits have more closely Rock UCS (PSI) Steeltooth Tricone bit series Rock Type
spaced teeth with a large included angle and more gage
0
surface to resist the wear in harder and more abrasive
formations. They are particularly efficient in formations Unconsolidated Sands
S series
where shales, sandy shales, and limestones alternate. 2,000 Limestone, Siltstone
Weight can be applied very effectively to these bits due
to the more rugged construction of the cutting structure Clay Stone, Mudstone
and bearings. However, excessive rotary speeds should 4,000
be avoided to reduce the shock loads inherent in drill- Marl, Chalky Limestone
M series
ing these harder formations. This is especially important
when formations are broken, causing rough operation. 6,000
You should avoid combinations of weight and rotary Soft Shales
speeds which promote rough running to prevent pre- 8,000
mature failure of bearings and cutting structure. Drilling
weights commonly range from 1,000 to 5,000 pounds Consolidated
Sandstones
per inch of bit diameter, with rotary speeds from 60 to H series
100 revolutions per minute, depending upon the relative 10,000
weight on the bit. 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, Young’s modulus of elasticity, Poisson’s ratio of stress
vs. strain & internal angle of friction. Any particular bit may be used in harder or softer rock than this chart indicates.

196 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Steel tooth bits 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 with-
stand heavier impact loads. Tungsten carbide hardfacing on the shirttail offers
superior wear resistance. The H series has proven successful in drilling opera-
tions 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

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 197

 Rotary drilling TOOLS

TCI bit selection Bit specifications

Five basic classifications of Atlas Copco Secoroc rock
bits are available for TCI (Tungsten Carbide Insert)
blasthole drill bits. These are divided into the 40, 50, 60, 50 series
70 and 80 series rock bits. The principal design differ- The 50 series bits are
ences are in tailoring the cutting structure of each type to typically character-
most efficiently drill specific formations. For example, 60 ized by more densely
series bits are designed for drilling medium-hard to hard spaced chisel or coni-
formations, the 70 series for hard formations and the 80 cal inserts. This con-
series for the hardest formations. figuration promotes
maximum penetration
rates in soft/medium
The modifications in cutting structure design from series
formations that are
to series are:
fractured or have vary-
ing degrees of hard-
1. The spacing of inserts or teeth is greatest for the
ness.
softer or weaker formations and decreases as the
formation hardness increases.
Applications:
Soft/medium
2. The number of rows and/or the total number of
formations such as
inserts or teeth per bit increases as formation
sandstone, shale, granite
hardness increases.
and some marble.
3. The groove depth and amount of intermesh is
Suggested operating parameters:
decreased as formation hardness increases.
Weight on bit - 3,000 to 6,500 lbs/inch of diameter
Rotations speed - 50 to 150 RPM
4. The insert or tooth projection above the cone
shell is greatest for the softer formations and is
decreased as the formation hardness increases.

Specifications
40 series 60 series
The 40 series bits are The 60 series bits are
typically character- typically character-
ized by large diameter ized by more densely
widely spaced super spaced, shorter pro-
scoop, chisel or conical jecting chisel, concial
inserts. The configura- or ogive inserts.
tion promotes maximum This configuration
penetration rates in promotes maximum
softer formations that penetration rates in
have a tendency to stick medium/hard forma-
and ball up the cutting tions.
structure.
Applications:
Applications: Medium/hard forma-
Soft formations such tions such as hard
as shale, siltstone, soft limestone, hard
limestone and alluvials. shale, basalt and
quartzite.
Suggested operating parameters:
Weight on bit - 1,000 to 5,000 lbs/inch of diameter Suggested operating parameters:
Rotation speed - 50 to 150 RPM Weight on bit - 4,000 to 7,000 lbs/inch of diameter
Rotation Speed - 50 to 120 RPM

198 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Rotary drilling TOOLS

TCI (Tungsten Carbide Insert) bits Bit specifications

70 series 80 series
The 70 series bits The 80 series bits are
are typically charac- typically character-
terized by densely ized by very densely
spaced, shorter spaced, short project-
projecting conical ing ovoid/round top
or ogive inserts with inserts. This con-
a conical or ovoid/ figuration promotes
round top gage insert. maximum penetration
This configuration rates in extremely
promotes maximum hard formations.
penetration rates in
hard formations. Applications:
Extremely hard
Applications: formations such as
Hard formations such chert, hematite ore
as taconite, banded and quartzite.
iron and quartzite.
Suggested operating parameters:
Suggested operating parameters: Weight on bit - 6,000 to 9,000 lbs/inch of diameter
Weight on bit - 4,000 to 8,000 lbs/inch of diameter Rotation speed - 40 to 80 RPM
Rotation speed - 50 to 90 RPM

Technical Data

Pin connection sizes and make-up torques

Bit size range Connection size Torque range
kilogram - pound -
mm inch mm inch
force meter force foot

73 2 7/8 N-Rod* N-Rod* 277-346 2,000-2,500

95-114 3 3/4-4 1/2 60 2 3/8 415-484 3,000-3,500

117-137 4 5/8-5 3/8 73 2 7/8 622-760 4,500-5,500

143-171 5 5/8-6 3/4 89 3 1/2 970-1240 7,000-9,000

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

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 199

 Rotary drilling TOOLS
Tricone rotary blasthole drilling
Sealed bearing tricone bits represent a technological leap
forward over standard “air bearing” roller cone bits. Very
high precision machining to very close tolerances, inno-
vative seal technology, premium lubricants, and proprie-
tary materials and processes make these bits more expen-
sive to purchase. These same qualities also provide vastly
superior service life and cost savings for the customer.
Air bearing bits have existed for the mining industry since
the mid 1950’s, when Hughes Tool Company introduced its
series of RotoBlast air bearing tricone bits. Built with larger
“fit” tolerances and much rougher surface finishes on all
bearing surfaces, air bearing bits are therefore significantly
less expensive to produce. However, these qualities neces-
sarily give lower service life. Normally between 15% and
30% of the air from the air compressor is diverted into the
bit bearings to keep them cool and clean.
Bearings are still subject to contami-nation, even while
drilling, and therefore may wear rapidly. Sealed bearing
bits on the other hand, are made with very close tole-
rances and extremely smooth bearing contact surfaces.
An outer “excluder” keeps contamination (cuttings, grit,
and water) out of the bearings under virtually all circumstan-
ces, while an inner “seal” keeps grease in the bearings to lu-
bricate the bearing elements. The result is a tricone bit with
superior service life without sacrificing productivity (ROP).
200 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Sealed bearing
The Atlas Copco Secoroc “Omega” sealed
bearing product line:
• Exceeds air bearing bit performance by a factor of at
least 2X, in properly applied situations.
• Provides a lower Total Drilling Cost where TDC is used
as a “value” standard.
• Provides a lower Cost/Distance where that is the
“value” standard.
Patents granted on the most recent competitors sealed
bearing bit were very broad and difficult to work around.
Their most important patent was on the “excluder”, the
outer element that is designed to keep contamination out
of, and away from, the actual grease seal. As a result,
extensive research into excluder design, and extensive
field trials under many different geologic and drilling
conditions, resulted in Secoroc being awarded a patent
for its’ excluder design.
One result however, of greatly increased bit life, is a
natural tendency for the ROP to fall below acceptable
standards because the bit teeth become increasingly dull
with time. “Harder” grades of carbide are required to keep
teeth sharp over time, but, harder carbide is more likely to
break if drilling conditions become “difficult”. Atlas Copco
Secoroc has developed proprietary carbide grades for
tungsten carbide inserts used in Omega bits.
 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Tricone rotary blasthole drilling Sealed bearing

A second problem inherent to operating sealed bearing bits

is cone erosion. The longer a bit runs, the more cone shell
erosion takes place, increasing the likelihood of carbide in-
sert losses. Secoroc’s bit cones are designed for erosion re-
sistance where abrasive conditions are expected.Insert re-
tention is insured with projection ratio’s being considered
in all designs.

Product benefits
The Secoroc Omega sealed bearing bit provides better
overall value for customers. Lower TDC, higher ROP, longer
bit life and the ability to use in variable drilling conditions
all contribute to cost savings and profit increases that vary
from mine to mine depending on drill depth and patterns.
Product features provide cutting structure longevity allowing
our customers to significantly reduce bit inventory levels
which also effectively reduces shipping, ordering and
logistics costs.
• Customers will experience less drilling down time due
to fewer bit changes as a result of longer bit life.
• Customers will achieve a higher rate of penetration
with minimal insert breakage, thereby reducing TDC.
• Sealed bearings last longer than air bearings resulting
in more life to the bit and less bit changes.
• Sealed bearings are not adversely effected by water
and corrosion like air bearings.
• Sealed bearings allow for higher loads of weight and
a higher RPM directly effecting TDC.
• Secoroc Omega’s streamlined lug design occupies
less volume in the hole. This increases the total area
available at the bit for cuttings to pass through, allow-
ing cuttings to be cleared from the bottom of the hole
more efficiently.
• Secoroc Omega is ideal for drilling conditions where
ground water is present in holes or from injected wa-
ter into air streams, which can be acidic and can nega
tively effect bit bearings.

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 ¾" 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 break-
age, 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

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 201

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Sealed bearing case study
Newest iteration of bit at 7248 feet with less tooth wear.
US Copper - Largeporphyry deposit drilling
This mine is a large porphyry deposit with extremely
varied ground conditions. The mine groups the rock into
eight main categories with rock sub-types within each
category. What makes the drilling conditions vary so much
is not necessarily the parent rock, but the alteration suites
that were imposed on the parent rock in the pre-mineral,
mineralization and post mineral processes.
The Basin and Range type geology of the area is rather
simple, stacked and layered sediments of the usual
kind, with crustal extension to break things into valley
basins and mountain ranges, but then volcanic activity
introduced hot, molten, igneous material into it, and
varied the geology all together.
This mine is a porphyry deposit that has remained more
or less intact over the eons, without having a lot of the
original deposit eroded away over time. The ore bodies
are mostly quartzite and quartz monzonite formations.
Many areas of this mine contain high percentages of iron
pyrite which has a substantially negative effect on bit life
due to its highly abrasive nature.
Testing of the 12 ¼ OM54CA has been occurring at this
property since the conceptual stages of the Secoroc
Omega bits almost a decade ago. Three different bit types
are cur-rently used to drill the varying formations at this
mine. A 53 type bit is used for a majority of the drilling
with 62 type bits being the next most used bit type. A
small percentage of their drilling utilizes 72 type bits, but
that is usually less than 10% of the total drilling.
A 54 type “hybrid” cutting structure has been developed
over the past 5 years that is successfully drilling different
areas where both 53 and 62 type bits are utilized. This is
very important, because if a 53 type bit is installed and the
drill then moves to an area in which a harder 62 type bit is
needed, the more aggressive bit can be dulled quickly due
to cutting structure damage.
202 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Case study
Previous iteration of bit at 7318 feet. Note the high wear on the
tooth projection.
As is customary in most surface mining environments,
the drills at this property frequently move between
formations, so it was imperative to develop a cutting
structure tough enough to drill a wide range or rock types
without sacrificing speed or Rate of Penetration.
Omega bit testing in late 2009 yielded results in the range
of 2 to 3 times the life of epsilon air bearing direct offsets.
The overall, mine wide result was 2.4 times the average
air bearing bit life with longer runs in the 20,000 to 30,000
foot range. Even though the overall objective for bit life
was achieved, the overall Rate of Penetration, or ROP, was
5% less than the offset bits due to the longer runs.
The major factor in the reduced ROP was wear on the
insert or tooth projection. A follow up iteration was
produced to address this and is currently testing with early
results looking promising. None of the bits in recent tests
have dulled due to bearing failure as the primary dulling
characteristic. The few bearings that have failed are
attributed to bit body wear resulting from cutting structure
damage.
Many times, new bits will start off with a high ROP then
begin dropping off as it progresses through its life. The
goal for this bit is to have an ROP that is more sustainable
over the entire life of the bit. The Secoroc Omega bits can
start with a slightly lower ROP than the more aggressive
53 type bits, but has an overall equivalent or higher ROP
sustained over the entire bit life providing value to the
customer.
A study was done in 2008 to determine the annual cost
savings associated with fewer bit changes. The study
assumed an average bit life for the Omega bit at 2.25 X
the standard bit life. This reduces the overall bit usage by
55.6% saving the customer around $51,000 / year in labor
costs alone, plus eliminates 340 hours of lost production
time per year due to bit changes.
 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Tricone rotary blasthole drilling Case study

Many times, new bits will start off

with a high ROP then begin dropping Cost reduction estimates due to decreased bit changes.
off as it progresses through its life. Bit Reduction Usage /
Condition being Current Mine Usage Secoroc Omega
The goal for this bit is to have an Cost Savings by using
measured / Costs Projections
ROP that is more sustainable over Secoroc Omega
the entire life of the bit. The Secoroc Estimated rotary bit
Omega bits can start with a slightly 270 bits 120 bits 150 bits
usage
lower ROP than the more aggressive
Average estimated
53 type bits, but has an overall 2.25 hours
time for bit change
equivalent or higher ROP sustained
over the entire bit life providing Average number of
value to the customer. employees involved 2-3
in bit change
A study was done in 2008 to Estimated employee
$60
determine the annual cost savings hourly cost
associated with fewer bit changes. Estimated cost
The study assumed an average bit for employees to $337.5
life for the Omega bit at 2.25 X the change a bit
standard bit life. This reduces the
Estimated costs to
overall bit usage by 55.6% saving $91, 125 $40,500 $50,625
change out a bit
the customer around $51,000 / year
Figures used in this chart are preliminary estimates for reduction in cost due to decreased bit changes. Testing was
in labor costs alone, plus eliminates actually conducted at a US mine using estimations only and does not take into account the cost of the bit.
340 hours of lost production time per
year due to bit changes. 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.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 203

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TCI (Tungsten Carbide Insert) bits Bit selection

Tricone carbide insert rock bit series vs. rock hardness

Rock UCS
Tungsten carbide insert Tricone bit series Rock type
(psi)
0 Claystone, Mudstone
40
series Chalky Limestone
4,000 4-1 Soft Shale
to
4-4 Loose Sandstones
8,000 Limestone, Siltstone
Solid Sandstones
12,000 Medium Shales
50 MAG NT
series series Tuff, Soft Schist
5-1
16,000 Andesite, Rhyolite
to
5-4 Omega Quartzite (Sand, Silt)
20,000 series Limestone, Marble
Monzonite, Granite
24,000 Epsilon Gneiss
series Diorite, Diabase
28,000 Hard Shale, Slate
60
series Limestone, Dolomite
32,000 6-1 Basalt
to
6-4 Tactite, Skarn
36,000 Granodiorite
Taconite
HD NT
40,000 series Quartzite
Syenite
44,000 70 Gabbro
series
7-1
48,000 to Banded Iron Formation
7-4
Taconite
52,000 Chert

56,000 Quartzite

80
60,000 series Amphibolite
8-1
to
64,000 8-4 Hornfels

68,000 Hematite Ore

“Lava”, Basalt, Biwabic,

Higher
Quartzite
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,
Young’s modulus of elasticity, Poisson’s ratio of stress vs. strain, internal angle of friction. Any particular bit may be used in harder or softer rock than this chart indicates.

204 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Rotary drilling TOOLS

When to change a bit Tricone bits

At most mines the decision when to change the bit is

typically left up to the driller, with very little guidance
Analyzing a typical bit run
given. This results in most bits being changed only after Rig cost: $200
they have been completely worn out. We believe that a Bit cost: $3,550
typical operation can save $000’s annually by applying
some simple rules. Date Meters Hours ROP TDC/m
9-Oct 727 9 80.8 $7.36
At the end of a Tricone bits life the cutting structure 10-Oct 1,597 20 80.7 $4.70
becomes ineffective either through breakage or wear,
resulting in reduced penetration rate. Using the TDC for- 11-Oct 2,308 29 80.2 $4.03
mula, “cost effective” bit life can be calculated and 12-Oct 3,106 38 81.6 $3.59
related to penetration rate, giving the drill operator a
13-Oct 3,573 46 77.6 $3.57
guide as to when to change the bit.
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

Analyzing a typical bit run, as shown in the table above,

the optimum point in time to pull a bit can be identified.
It is seen that had the bit been removed on the 20th of
October, the run would have been $0.30 per meter more
This bit has too many broken teeth to be effective any longer. cost effective than on the 24th October.

Based on 250,000 meters drilled annually, the projected

savings would be $75,000 per annum.

$8.00 - 80.0
TDC
$7.00 Penetration Rate Penetration rate (m/hr)

$6.00 - 75.0

$5.00
- 70.0
$4.00

$3.00
Optimum time to change bit. - 65.0
$2.00 Lowest TDC = $3.21 per meter

$1.00
- 60.0
$
1597

2308

3106

3573

4078

4431

4753

5251

5662

6174

6774

7162

7492

7893

8295
727

Worn teeth cannot penetrate the rock, therefore productivity

Meters Drilled
diminishes.

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How a rock bit drills Rock failure

Rock cutting, abrasion - vergy small cracks, insert grinds surface. Rock cutting, spalling starts - enough weight applied to hard rock
deeper. Cracks connect. Chips will come free with air blast.

Abrasion Spalling
This is an illustration of the first phase of rock failure, Here, rotation speed (RPM) is still the same but sufficient
called the abrasion phase. This is the result of insuf- weight has been applied to the bit for most effective
ficient weight on the bit. The inserts are contacting the insert penetration into the formation. Note that the shell
rock under very low weight and the resulting action is of the bit is not against the formation.
very similar to placing a knife blade against a grinding
stone. The driller can very easily tell when he is in the
abrasion phase because the cuttings coming out of the
hole will be fine dust.

Rock cutting, deeper abrasion - deeper cracking, but does not

connect. Next cone must crack rock between these teeth.

Rock cutting, deep spalling - cracks connecting at deeper levels.

Cracks connect bertween teeth and between rows.

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.
In this second illustration, the inserts are loaded under
the proper weight to cause the formation to spall. Chips
are removed by the circulating air, allowing the cutting
structure to advance. Under “load” condition, the bit
will drill at maximum efficiency. The driller will note a
large amount of chips with very little dust or fines in the
returns.

It should be pointed out that rock failure can be accom-

plished 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 con-
siderably less than desired.

206 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining


How a rock bit drills
Rock cutting, overpenetration - cuttings trapped betwween cone
shell and rock. Cannot be blown out by air blast from nozzles.
Excess weight
Once the spalling phase has been achieved, applying ad-
ditional 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 de-
crease in penetration rate.
WOB vs ROP
ROP
Weight on Bit (Pulldown)
Maximum cut efficiency
With rotation speed (RPM) fixed, this illustration shows
the effect of weight increases on the rate of penetration.
After the formation has been “spalled” additional weight
will reduce or not increase the drilling rate.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 207
Rotary drilling TOOLS
Cutting efficiency
RPM vs ROP
ROP
RPM
Maximize ROP
With the bit drilling in the spalling phase, it is possible
to increase the penetration rate by maintaining the
proper weight, while increasing the rotation speed
(RPM). The amount of increase possible in the pene-
tration rate is variable and will be determined by the
experience of the driller, the capabilities of the drill
and the formation characteristics.
Maximum Drilling Efficiency
RPM
ROP
Weight on Bit
Maximum drilling efficiency
The preceding charts illustrate: spalling weight plus
rotation speed equals penetration rate. Therefore, opti-
mum drilling efficiency may be reached as follows:
At a set RPM, determine best weight on bit (WOB) to
produce maximum cut efficiency.
At the WOB that gives maximum cut efficiency,
RPM should be determined to produce best rate
of penetration.
Note: High rotary speeds do not necessarily produce
high penetration rates.
 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Importance of records Tricone bits

Drilling hours Bit selection

Keeping complete and accurate records of blast hole A careful study of bit performance records can be of
bit performance cannot be stressed too much. A care- great help in reducing operation costs through selection
ful study of bit records can be of considerable help in of the most economical bit types and operating condi-
determining the proper bit types and best operating tions. An actual case in which the performance records
conditions to use. The meters drilled by a bit and the and bit selection were given full attention is illustrated in
penetration rate have long been accepted “yardsticks” the following example:
for evaluating the performance of a rock bit. However,
these are two different units of measure and many er-
roneous conclusions have been drawn from these two
Summary of average performance data
factors alone. It is therefore necessary to combine these Bit type
two units of measure into one, known as Total Drill Cost
Standard product Premium product
per meter or TDC/meter.
Bit cost US $2500 US $2875
The Total Drilling Cost is then, the cost of the bit plus the Meters/bit 5400 5000
cost of operating the drill.
Meters/hour 28 32
The simplistic cost/m would use bit cost/meters drilled, Rig cost/hour 120 120
indeed this makes up one half of the TDC/m equation. Weight 25000 kg 25000 kg
The speed at which the bit drills is included by dividing
the cost of the drill/hour by the penetration rate of the RPM 80-100 80-100
bit. TDC/meter 4.75 4.33

Hence: TDC $/m = Bit cost

+ Rig cost/hour
Bit meters Bit drilling speed
Analysis of the standard product, indicated that gage row
cutting structure was worn, leading to shirttail wear and
It may be seen in the Table below that three bits of type
failure. The premium product, with enhanced tungsten
A were run alternatively with three bits of type B. The
carbide insert features to allow maximum penetration
record indicates that the formation drilled was relatively
rate was tried.
uniform. Type A average 1418 meters in 27.8 hours; type
B averaged 1577 meters in 33 hours. Which bit was most
Using the TDC $/m equation introduced earlier and
economic if bit costs were the same at US $3000 and rig
performance data from above, a breakeven graph can
rate per hour was US $120/hour?
be constructed.
Type A bit TDC $/m = $4.47
Type B bit TDC $/m = $4.57

Now the bits can be compared and Type A is the better

bit with the lower TDC$/m.

Typical bit performance record

Bit Meters Hours Rate Weight Rotary Premium product

type drilled run M/hr in Kg RPM
Soft Med. Hard
A 1907 38.1 50.1 40000 70/90 X
B 1913 39.5 48.4 40000 70/90 X
A 1303 23.9 54.5 40000 70/90 X
B 1485 32.3 46.0 40000 70/90 X
A 1044 21.3 49.0 40000 70/90 X
B 1334 27.3 48.9 40000 70/90 X
Avg. A 1418 27.8 51.1
Avg. B 1577 33.0 47.7

208 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Importance of records Tricone bits

Drilling hours premium bit breakeven

5500
performance
5000
4500 Breakeven Costs Step 1 Premium bit cost = Hours (point A)
  Rig cost/hour
4000
Meters drilled

3500       2875
156 hours = 24
3000        120
2500
*Plot to the left of zero on the X axis
3000
1500
1000 Step 2  Premium bit cost = Meters (point B)
605 m step 2 (point B) Standard TDC $/m
500
-25 25 50 75 100 125 150 175       2875
= 605
-24 step 1 (point A)       4.75
Hours

Step 3 Draw a straight line through points A and B

Bit performance above the line will return a profit for

the additional investment in the premium product.

Rotary Tricone Blasthole Drilling

Rock Type All rock types, all rock strengths

Hole Sizes 5 5/8" - 17 1/2" (143 mm - 445 mm)

Hole Depth 10 ft - 250 ft (3.04 M - 76.2 M)

Rate of Penetration, Hole-to-hole Soft (coal overburden): 100 - 300 M/hr Hard (iron ore): 20 - 60 M/hr

Very good in typical 10 - 20 meter “benching” Suggest using drill string roller stabilizer in long
Straightness of holes
operations holes for casting or “deep benching” operations

Production Capacity, Typical Tons/

Coal overburden, 7 7/8" (200 mm) bit: 75,000 tons Iron Ore, 12 1/4" (311 mm) bit: 30,000 tons
Shift per drill (10 hrs.)

Low Fuel Consumption, Ltr/Hr 75 - 90 l/hr small to medium drill (0.01 - 0.012 ltr/t) 100 - 120 ltr/hr medium to large drill (0.03 - 0.04 ltr/t)

Economic Drill String Life, M 300,000 meters/pipe, non abrasive rock 40,000 meters/pipe, highly abrasive pipe

Low Drill String Investment Yes, relative to size and hole depth

Suitable for Difficult Drilling Conditions Yes

Suitable for Good Drilling Conditions Yes

Operator Friendly Yes, larger drill cabs, more room, more available amenities

1000 to 4000 CFM, (28.3 - 113.3 cuM/min) depending on drill and bit size. Able to adjust bit air pressure
Flushing Flexibility
with different nozzles. Compatible with “high pressure” (350 psi/24 bar and higher) air compressors.

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 Rotary drilling TOOLS
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
Air is a compressible gas. In air compressor design, air
compressor work and air flow calculations, the standard
unit of volume is the cubic foot. The standard tempera-
ture is 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and the standard elevation
is 0 feet, or sea level. Standard atmospheric pressure
at sea level is 14.7 psia. The Standard Cubic Foot (SCF)
of air has a standard mass of 0.07494 pounds. (Stan-
dard density is .07494 lb./cu. ft.) All engineering air flow
calculations are based on the Standard Cubic Foot and
standard conditions: standard air mass, standard air tem-
perature, and standard atmospheric 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. Com-
pressed 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:
Absolute vs. Gauge Pressure
Pressures are variously reported as “psia” and “psig”.
The ending letter, “a” or “g”, refers to whether the pres-
sure being discussed is “absolute” pressure or “gauge”
pressure.
“Absolute pressure” is the sum of the local ambient at-
mospheric pressure plus any pressure reading on a pres-
sure gauge. “Gauge pressure” is the pressure indicated
by a pressure gauge in the air system.
At sea level and 70o F, a Cab gauge pressure of 37 psig is
therefore equivalent to 51.7 psia: 37 psig + 14.7 psi
ambient atmospheric pressure = 51.7 psia. At 5000 feet,
and 70o F the same cab gauge reading would be equiva-
lent to 49.23 psia: 37 psig + 12.23 psia (atmospheric
pressure at 5,000 ft, 70o F) = 49.23 psia. If no “a” or “g”
appears after psi, the pressure is taken to mean gauge
pressure.
210 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Introduction
Whenever ‘standard’ air volumes are calculated, sea
level atmospheric pressure, 14.7 psia, must be added to
gauge pressure.
Gas Law Physics
Boyle’s Law states that at a constant temperature, the
volume of a gas varies inversely with the absolute pres-
sure: P1 x V1 = P2 x V2
Charles’ Law states that at a constant pressure, the vol-
ume varies directly with the absolute temperature: V1 x
T2 = V2 x T1
Amonton’s Law says that at a constant volume, the abso-
lute pressure varies directly with the absolute tempera-
ture: P1 x T2 = P2 x T1
In our work, Boyles’, Charles’, and Amontons’ laws all
interact through the Combined Gas Law equation:
P1 x V1 = P2 x V2
T1 T2
Air Density and Atmospheric Pressure
As altitude increases, the ambient (local) atmospheric
pressure decreases. The column of air above that
particular point on the earth’s surface is not as deep,
therefore it weighs less, and exerts less pressure on that
point. This allows the “contents” of a SCF to expand
until equilibrium with the new atmospheric pressure is
reached. What starts out as one (1.00) standard cubic
foot of air becomes larger, because the atmospheric
pressure confining it is less.
At sea level, atmospheric pressure is 14.7 psia. At 5000
feet, atmospheric pressure drops to 12.23 psia. This
allows the same weight of air, .07494 lb. (contained in
one cubic foot) to expand into a larger volume. Because
it now has a larger volume, the density is less. At 5000
feet, and 70 Deg. F, one (1) ambient cubic foot of air
weighs .0623 pounds. The original SCF, weighing .07494
pounds has expanded into 1.202 cubic feet: .07494 lb /
.0623 lb = 1.202.
Temperature has the same effect on air as does confining
pressure (altitude). As temperature increases, the density
of air decreases. This can be seen from the gas laws.
Conversely, as altitude decreases, air becomes more
dense. 1.000 SCF becomes 0.89 SCF at -2,000 feet, and
has a density of .0834 pounds per cubic foot.

Air practices
Altitude/Temperature Factor
The A/T factor is used to adjust (“derate”) air compres-
sor intake ratings in response to changes in local altitude
and ambient temperature; and to “expand” the calcu-
lated 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
The speed of the actual air moving up a blasthole.
A geometrical calculation dependent on bit diameter,
drill pipe diameter, and the volume of air circulated
through the hole. Bailing Velocity must be higher than
Chip Settling Velocity or cuttings will not be transported.
Chip Settling Velocity
The velocity a rock chip falling through air wants to
achieve. Theoretical values are calculated from an
adaptation of Stokes Law. Dependent on cuttings
diameter and rock specific gravity.
Chip Exit Velocity
The speed the cuttings (chips) move up the hole. The
difference between Bailing Velocity and Chip Settling
Velocity: CEV = BV - SV.
Tricone rotary blasthole drill air
requirements
There are two things that clean cuttings from a rotary bl-
asthole and must be combined to make drilling efficient:
air pressure and air volume.
Air pressure determines the force of the jet nozzle air
blast blowing against the bottom of the hole to move
cuttings away from the face of the bit.
Air volume, as bailing velocity, lifts cuttings up out of the
hole once they are moved away from the bit face.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 211
Rotary drilling TOOLS
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
Bailing Velocity is dependent on three things: ACFM (free
air), hole diameter, and drill pipe outside diameter. The
value normally calculated is a geometric and theoretical
value that assumes a perfectly drilled straight hole with
no air losses out the side of the holes through cracks and
fractures. We must assume this because no one ever
measures a blasthole specifically for its diameter.
Under normal conditions of dry rock, very light water
injection, little or no ground water, and few if any joints
or fractures, minimum bailing velocities of 5,000 to 7,000
feet per minute (FPM) can be used. In situations where
the rock is a denser, heavier material, velocities up to
9,000 FPM could be used with little problem.
In situations where the rock is wet, or dense, or there is
a high penetration rate (above 180 feet per hour), bailing
velocities of 9,000 FPM or more may be needed. Again, it
will depend on individual situations.
The overriding recommendation for bailing air is to have
a minimum of 1,000 feet per minute Chip Exit Velocity
with drill pipe worn to replacement diameter. If this con-
dition is met, bailing performance will be good under all
other conditions.
Annular pressure calculations will not be discussed here.
Once the reader understands the ‘basics’ of compressed
air use in blasthole drilling, they should pursue an ad-
vanced knowledge of rotary blasthole annular pressures
by obtaining those materials from Secoroc in Grand
Prairie, Texas, USA.
The following discussion of Particle Settling Velocity is
intended to illustrate the problems of varying rock densi-
ties and chip sizes, and how they affect the rate of chip
removal from the drill hole.
 Rotary drilling TOOLS
Air practices
Particle Slip (or Settling) Velocity
Cuttings particles fall through air at velocities dependent
on particle density, particle diameter and shape, and air
density. Large, heavy particles fall faster than small, light
ones. “Slip velocity” is the speed at which a particle falls
through still air. It is also called settling velocity. Slip
velocities in air may be much higher than one would
expect.
If the bailing velocity in a hole is not greater than the
slip velocity of a given size particle, that particle will not
be carried from the hole. It will be reground until it is of
a small enough size to be carried out by the air stream.
Remember: bigger chips indicate more efficient drilling,
and yield faster penetration rates. The following particle
slip velocity equation is from Walker and Mays, Journal
of Petroleum Technology, July 1975.
Particle Slip Velocity
Vt = {(2G x dp x (DenP - DenF)) / (1.12 x DenF)}.5
Where: be delivered as long as the air compressors are properly
Vt = Terminal Slip Velocity of particle, ft / sec
G = Gravity, 32 ft / sec2
dp = Diameter of Particle, feet
DenP = Density of Particle, lb / cubic foot
DenF = Density of Fluid, lb / cubic foot
Given: Bearing Life
Chip diameter = .125”, .25”, .50”
DenP = 145 lb / ft3 for Sandstone
168 lb / ft3 for Granite
181 lb / ft3 for Dolomite
DenF = .07651 lb / ft3 for air at sea level and 59o F
Terminal Settling Velocity, feet / minute:
Also take into consideration that as altitude increases,
air density decreases; thus, particle slip velocity will
increase. Moving from sea level to 5,000 feet, air density
drops to .0637 lb/cu ft. The settling velocity of a 1/2 inch
chip of granite increases from 4330 ft to 4755 ft. It can
now be seen that chips do not leave the hole at the calcu-
lated bailing velocity, and that loss of air from any part of
the hole can reduce the actual bailing velocity to below
the settling velocity of the chips the bit actually gener-
ates. Recommended bailing velocities of 5,000 FPM are a
minimum recommendation!
Chip
Sandstone Granite Dolomite
Diameter
1/8” 2013 2166 2249
1/4” 2847 3064 3181
1/2” 4031 4339 4503
212 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Particle settling velocity
Bit Pressure Drop
Sufficient air pressure at the bit must be present to
insure that plenty of air is going through the bit bearings.
Bearing air is necessary to: 1) keep the bearings cool,
and 2) keep the bearings clean. Hot and/or dirty bearings
will cause early bit failure.
With air pressure systems whose minimum operating
pressure is greater than 35 psig, Atlas Copco Secoroc
generally recommends bit pressures of 40 psig to 45 psig
minimum. This range has been found to provide enough
pressure in the bearings to keep them clean and cool,
and still direct plenty of air through the nozzles for good
bottom hole cleaning.
The Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions blasthole drill air com-
pressor is normally capable of generating 110 psig at the
receiver tank. Because of the higher level of air pressure
available on these drills for tricone drilling, Secoroc sug-
gests that tricone bit pressures can be in the 60 - 65 psi
range without causing any problems. Full volume will
adjusted, and operating to their specified parameters.
Nozzle Selection
Bearing life can be increased by using smaller nozzles
in the bit. With smaller nozzles, proportionally more air
is forced through the bearing system, providing more
cleaning and cooling. Dulling characteristics of bits
should be determined. If shirttail erosion and expo-
sure or loss of outer bearings is common, increased air
through the bearings will probably help bearing life by
keeping the cone backface and shirttail lip cleaner.
If bit failure is not due to an erosive bearing failure (such
as described above), and the cutting structure is not
highly damaged or eroded, smaller nozzles could again
help by forcing more air through the bearings. In this
instance, however, it is the cooling of the bearings that is
being enhanced. As the bearings rotate under load, heat
is generated. Too much heat build up causes thermal
degradation of the bearing metal. The air in the bearings
still retains some of the heat gained during compres-
sion, and may not provide enough cooling capacity at
low pressures (and flow rates) for the bearings. At higher
pressures, the cooling capacity of the air is increased due
to the increased volume passing through the bearings,
so the bearings stay cooler, prolonging their life.
Bottom Hole Cleaning
Bottom hole cleaning is a function of the “force” or
“power” the air blast exerts on the bottom of the hole.
Two things must happen. First, there must be enough
power exerted on the cuttings to dislodge them from
their position on the hole bottom. Cuttings may be
 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Air practices Force exerted by air

laying loose on the bottom, or they might be partially
or completely trapped under a layer of crushed material.
Second, the cuttings must be transported out from under
the bit. The first situation, freeing the cuttings, requires
more “power” than transporting the cuttings. Once cut-
tings are loose, they are relatively easily transported.
In the “Force Exerted By Air Calculation” to the right, the
force of air leaving a bit nozzle is calculated. Pressures
and temperatures are actual parameters found on a drill
equipped with a two-stage compressor.
Air volume is converted to weight. Air velocity at nozzle
exit is calculated. Multiplying the air discharge in
“pounds per second” by the air velocity in “feet per sec-
ond” gives the quantity “pound feet/sec2”. This converts
to a measure of force, kg meter / sec2, the “Newton”.
The calculations are all at “Standard Conditions”.
In the “Force Exerted by Air Calculation”, it can be seen
that smaller nozzles will apply more force to the hole
bottom for cleaning. The added benefit is increased air
through the bearings, keeping them cleaner and cooler.
Force Exerted by Air Calculation
Given
1/2” 9/16” 5/8” Nozzle Diameter
79 psig 57 psig 42 psig Tool Air Pressure
117º F 117º F 117º F Tool Air Temperature
260 CFM 252 CFM 246 CFM dSCFM
the variations of the coefficient of flow for the orifices.
The above flows were calculated with a .80 coefficient
of flow. If the coefficient was .78 for 1/2” and .82 for
5/8”, the flows would be virtually identical. The actual
air test was done with 7/8”, 1”, and 1 1/8” orifices. With
a coefficient of .78, calculated dSCFM’s for the orifices
were 796.9, 796.5, and 797.2 SCFM respectively. No real
change from small to large.
Caution is advised. Although the volumes changed very
little, the amount of force increases with velocity. The
increased scouring action, if carried to an extreme, could
result in increased erosion of the bit. The increased blast
will carry cuttings at a higher velocity, possibly to the
detriment of the bit. This can be especially true if pen-
etration rates are high and cuttings are abrasive.
Keep in mind that 30% to 50% of the air in a bit goes
through the bearings, and is not used to clean the bot-
tom of the hole. Only with adequate pressure in the bit
can you move cuttings out before they can be reground.
Increased force on the bottom of the hole will give better
cleaning. Better cleaning equals higher ROP. Higher ROP
equals a lower Total Drilling Cost.

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” Nozzle Diameter
Air Weight
.3250 lb/sec .3157 lb/sec .3072 lb/sec
Delivered
3089.5 ft 2470.5 ft 1952.6 ft Air Velocity
Newton’s Force/
138 N 107 N 82 N
Nozzle

1 lb ft / sec2 = .1382 kg meter / sec2

1 kg meter / sec2 = 1 Newton

Something is seen in this calculation that runs contrary

to popular wisdom. As nozzle size increased, the volume
and weight of air delivered decreased. This can be attrib-
uted to inaccuracies in air temperature, air pressure, and

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 213

 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Air practices Suggested nozzle sizes

Suggested Nozzle ID Sizes for Secoroc Tricone Rotary Blasthole Bits

Nozzle ID Calculations use the following as constants:
• Suggested Bit Pressure of 65 psi for Atlas Copco Drills only (pressure at Cab Gauge will be higher).
• 110 °F delivered bit air temperature
• 70 °F air compressor intake temperature

Enter Altitude of Drill Site in Feet: 1000 Meters x 3.28 = Feet A/T Factor: 1.057

Air Compressor Intake Rating - CFM

Bit Diameter 750 900 1050 1200 1400 1900 2600 3800

inches mm’s inches mm’s inches mm’s inches mm’s inches mm’s inches mm’s inches mm’s inches mm’s inches mm’s

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

6 152 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 9 7/16 10 1/2 12 1/2 13 9/16 15 11/16 18 7/8 22 1 1/16 27

9 229 3/8 9 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 6 5/16 9 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 4 1/4 7 3/8 9 7/16 10 1/2 12 5/8 16 13/16 20 1 26

290 mm 290 X X 1/4 6 5/16 8 3/8 10 7/16 12 5/8 16 13/16 20 1 26

11 279 X X 1/4 6 5/16 8 3/8 10 7/16 12 5/8 16 13/16 20 1 26

12 1/4 311 X X 1/4 6 5/16 8 3/8 10 7/16 12 5/8 16 13/16 20 1 26

13 3/4 349 X X X X 3/16 6 5/16 8 3/8 10 9/16 15 3/4 19 1 25

15 381 X X X X 3/16 4 1/4 7 3/8 10 9/16 14 3/4 19 1 25

16 406 X X X X X X 3/16 5 5/16 8 1/2 13 11/16 18 15/16 24

17 1/2 445 X X X X X X X X 3/16 5 7/16 12 11/16 17 15/16 23

P CO
C O ly
L AS s On
AT ill
Dr

214 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Air practices (other brand drills) Suggested nozzle sizes

Suggested Nozzle ID Sizes for Secoroc Tricone Rotary Blasthole Bits

Nozzle ID Calculations use the following as constants:
• Suggested Bit Pressure of 45 psi for other brand drills only (pressure at Cab Gauge will be higher).
• 110 °F delivered bit air temperature
• 70 °F air compressor intake temperature

Enter Altitude of Drill Site in Feet: 1000 Meters x 3.28 = Feet A/T Factor: 1.019

Air Compressor Intake Rating - CFM

Bit Diameter 900 1200 1600 2000 2500 3000 3600 3800

inches mm’s inches mm’s inches mm’s inches mm’s inches mm’s inches mm’s inches mm’s inches mm’s inches mm’s

5 5/8 143 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

5 7/8 149 5/8 16 3/4 18 13/16 21 X X X X X X X X X X

6 152 5/8 16 3/4 18 13/16 21 X X X X X X X X X X

6 1/4 159 5/8 16 11/16 18 13/16 21 X X X X X X X X X X

6 3/4 171 5/8 15 11/16 18 13/16 21 X X X X X X X X X X

7 3/8 187 5/8 15 11/16 18 13/16 21 X X X X X X X X X X

7 7/8 200 9/16 15 11/16 18 13/16 21 X X X X X X X X X X

8 1/2 216 9/16 14 5/8 17 3/4 20 X X X X X X X X X X

9 229 9/16 14 5/8 17 3/4 20 7/8 23 1 26 X X X X X X

9 7/8 251 1/2 12 5/8 15 3/4 19 7/8 22 1 25 X X X X X X

10 5/8 270 7/16 11 9/16 14 11/16 18 13/16 21 15/16 24 X X X X X X

290 mm 290 7/16 10 9/16 14 11/16 18 13/16 21 15/16 24 X X X X X X

11 279 7/16 10 9/16 14 11/16 18 13/16 21 15/16 24 X X X X X X

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 1 31

13 3/4 349 5/16 9 1/2 13 11/16 17 13/16 20 15/16 23 1 1/16 26 1 3/16 30 1 31

15 381 5/16 8 1/2 12 5/8 16 3/4 20 15/16 23 1 26 1 1/4 29 1 30

16 406 1/4 6 7/16 11 5/8 16 3/4 19 7/8 23 1 26 1 1/4 29 15/16 30

17 1/2 445 1/4 6 3/8 9 9/16 14 11/16 18 7/8 22 1 25 1 28 15/16 29

a nd
br nly
h er s O
Ot rill
D

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 215

 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Air requirements and nozzle selection Tricone bits

In rotary blasthole drilling, there is always a concern Air Volume requirements for various hole diameter and drill pipe
with delivery of air in sufficient volume and at the proper combinations - for 5,000 ft. and 7,000 ft. per min. annular velocity
pressure to assure optimum bit performance when drill- D. hole diameter D. pipe O.D. (in) Q. - 5,000 CuFt/ Q. - 7,000 CuFt/
ing with recommended bit weight and RPM. (in) min free air min free air
2 7/8 327 458
Sufficient air volume should be provided to produce an 4 1/2 3 1/2 218 305
annular return velocity of 5,000-7,000 ft./min. for light, 4 116 162
dry materials; and 7,000-9,000 ft./min. for materials that 2 7/8 390 546
are wet and/or heavy, and when drilling at penetration 4 3/4 3 1/2 282 395
rates of 35 m per hour or higher. 4 178 249
2 7/8 491 687
To determine volumetric requirements, the simple Flow 5 1/8 3 1/2 382 535
equation Q = AV may be used. Since friction losses in the 4 280 392
annulus of relatively shallow holes of blasthole drilling 2 7/8 637 892
are negligible, this becomes: 5 5/8 3 /12 530 742
4 426 596
Q= V (D2 - d2) 3 1/2 732 1,025
183.35
6 1/4 4 1/2 513 718
5 382 535
The table on this page shows volumetric requirements
3 1/2 908 1,271
in cubic feet of free air per minute necessary to provide
both 5,000 and 7,000 ft. per min. annular velocity for vari- 4 805 1,127
6 3/4
ous possible combinations of hole size and drill pipe size. 4 1/2 690 966
5 560 784
The equation used is the simple flow equation: Q = AV. 3 1/2 1358 1,900
7 3/8 4 1/2 932 1,305
With all constants combined and area expressed as 5 1/2 658 921
difference between hole and pipe areas, this equation 3 1/2 1358 1,900
becomes: Q = 27.27 (D2- d2). 4 1/2 1138 1,503
5 1/2 867 1,214
7 7/8
• Q = cubic feet per minute free air necessary to obtain 6 1/2 625 875
5,000 feet per minutes annular velocity 6 5/8 493 690
7 355 497
• d = drill pipe outside diameter, inches 4 1/2 1665 2,331
5 1/2 1383 1,936
• D = hole diameter, inches 9 6 5/8 1063 1,488
7 873 1,222
Should Q be desired for some annular return velocity 7 3/4 570 798
“V” other than 5,000 feet per minute, the result obtained
7 1323 1,852
above or from the table should be multiplied by the fac-
7 3/4 1022 1,431
tor: V/5000. 9 7/8
8 5/8 627 878
9 450 630
Example: A 9 7/8” hole being drilled with 7 3/4” drill pipe
7 1964 2,749
at a desired annular velocity of 5,000 ft. per minute.
7 3/4 1662 2,323
11
8 5/8 1272 1,779
Solution: Q = 27.27 [(9 7/8)2 - (7 3/4)2]
9 1090 1,526
= 27.27 [97.52 - 60.06]
8 5/8 2063 2,888
= 1022 cu. ft. per min. (shown in table)
9 1882 2,635
12 1/4
10 1365 1,911
Had 7,000 ft. per min. velocity been desired:
10 3/4 941 1,317

V7000 10 2429 3,400

Q = (1022) = 1431 cu. ft. per min. 13 3/4
5000 10 3/4 2004 2,806
10 3409 4,772

The above equation may also be rewritten to solve for 10 3/4 2985 4,179
15
annular velocity “V” when available compressor capac- 12 2209 3,093
ity, hole size and pipe size are known. 13 1527 2,138
10 3743 5,240
17 1/2 14 3007 4,210
183.35Q
V (ft./min.) = 16 1370 1,918
(D2 - d2)

216 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Air requirements and nozzle selection Tricone bits

Nozzle size selection How to remove and install air blast

Nozzles should be selected so that the pressure inside nozzles
the bit is 40-45 psi. The cab operating pressure will be
somewhat higher, depending on the type of drill and Nozzle removal
CFM of air circulated. Typically, on compressors rated
at 65 psi, pressure inside the bit will be 8-15 psi lower 1. Use a screwdriver to pry up the head of the nail
than what the cab gauge shows. On drills with 80-100 psi locking the nozzle into place.
rated compressors, bit pressures can be 25-50 psi lower
than the cab gauge reading. 2. When the nail head is pried up, grab the nail with
pliers and pull the nail completely out of the bit.
The proper procedure for determining the correct nozzle
size is as follows: 3. Remove the nozzle

1. Remove the bit and perform an air test. Record all

pressure readings. Be sure to use at least one orifice
plate in the air test that will give 40-45 psi at the tool. Nozzle installation

2. Determine what the cab pressure is when the tool 4. Put the nozzle into the nozzle boss, with the
pressure is 40-45 psi. beveled edge to the inside, the flat end to the out-
side. Place a nozzle nail into the nozzle hole.
3. Re-install the bit with the original nozzles. Run the air
compressor and record the cab air pressure. 5. With a hammer, pound this nozzle nail down until
the nail head contacts the bit.
4. If you do not get the cab air pressure that you saw
with 40-45 psi tool air pressure during the air test, 6. DO NOT flatten the head of the nozzle nail against
continue to install and check different sets of nozzles the bit.
in the bit until you do get the cab pressure that cor-
responds to 40-45 psi in the tool.

5. Once you get the same cab air pressure with nozzles
that you got during the air test with 40-45 psi tool
pressure, you have found the correct size nozzles to
use in the bit.

The table on the previous page shows approximate bit

air pressure that can be expected with the listed nozzles
and CFM. This can be used as a starting point for deter-
mining correct nozzle size.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 217

 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Air requirements and nozzle selection

Procedure for using pressure drop tables
Air
API Pin course                   
1. Establish maximum operating pressure and air Bit size range
size size 3
volume delivered for the air compressor being used. each 200 300 400 500 600
Consideration should be given to altitude, volumetric
efficiency, ambient temperature and mechanical con- 10 22 47 62 77
dition of the compressor when establishing these val- 5/16” 16 35 47 59
ues if actual volume in not known. NOTE: An air test 2 7/8” 3/8”
5” to 6” 10 25 35 45
is the best way to determine actual delivery of air 3 1/2” 1/2”
volume and pressure. 9/16” 18 26 34
11 18 24
2. From the table, choose the “air volume delivered” 5/16” 42 52 62
column nearest the actual volume established
under item 1. 3/8” 33 43 51
6 1/4” to 7
3/8”
3 1/2” 7/16” 27 34 41
3. Proceed down the proper “air volume delivered” 1/2” 23 29 33
column to the “bit size range” for the bit being
9/16” 18 23 29
used.
4. Read the air pressure required for forcing air through 3/8” 27 36 45
the bit. The pressure required depends on the size of 7/16” 21 28 35
the air blast nozzles.
1/2” 21 27

5. Select the smallest nozzle diameter available within 7 7/8” to 9” 4 1/2” 9/16” 20
the given bit size range that can be used without 5/8”
exceeding the maximum operating pressure of the 11/16”
compressor. Note that 10-50 psi should be reserved
3/4”
for a safety buffer and other pressure losses in the
system depending on drill type and manufacturer. 3/8” 26 36 46
7/16” 19 27 35
Example 1 1/2” 21 27
a. Bit size: 7 7/8”
b. Air volume delivered: 900 cfm 9/16” 20
c. Maximum operating pressure rig: 65 psi 9 7/8” to 11” 6 5/8” 5/8”
From the table, select 7/16” nozzle (49 psi), this allows 11/16”
16 psi for safety buffer and system losses.
3/4”
Example 2 7/8”
a. Bit size: 9” 1”
b. Air volume delivered: 1200 cfm
7/16” 19
c. Maximum operating pressure rig: 50 psi
From the table, select 11/16” nozzle (39 psi) 1/2”
9/16”
Actual air volumes delivered to the bit is a key factor in 5/8”
preventing early bearing failure and providing proper 6 5/8” 11/16”
cleaning of the tool. Pressure drops listed above are ap- 12 1/4” to 15” to 7
proximate for use as guidelines only. Actual pressures 5/8” 3/4”
will depend on bit condition, bearing type, and air piping 7/8”
conditions.
1”

Please contact your Atlas Copco Secoroc representative 1 1/8”

for assistance in determining the best nozzle size for 1 1/4”
individual bits and mine site condition.

218 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Rotary drilling TOOLS

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 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 2100 2200 2300 2400 2600 2800 3000

71
55 65 75
42 50 58 66 74
31 38 44 58 58 64 71
72 81
61 69 78
48 57 65 73 79
41 48 54 61 67 73 79
34 41 47 51 56 62 67 73 79
55 66 75 83
42 49 55 63 69 75 81
33 39 45 51 59 67 76 84
26 32 37 43 49 55 61 67 73 80
21 26 31 36 41 47 52 57 62 69 73 79
20 25 29 34 39 44 50 55 60 65 71 77
21 25 29 34 37 41 47 51 55 60 65 70 75 79
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
25 30 35 41 46 53 58 63 69 75
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.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 219

 Rotary drilling TOOLS
Rock formation & drillability
General rock characteristics
From the stone age until the present time, man has
worked to improve his ability to drill holes in “rock”. The
term “rock” generally refers to all the material that forms
the essential part of the earth’s solid crust, and includes
loose, incoherent masses as well as the very firm, hard
and solid masses. Most rocks are aggregates of one or
more minerals and are most readily classed according
to their method of origin, as igneous, sedimentary or
metamorphic.
Igneous rocks
Extrusive igneous types: rhyolite, andesite, basalt, dacite,
latite, tuff, agglomerate
Intrusive igneous types: granite, monzonite, granodio-
rite, diorite, gabbro, peridotite, syenite
Igneous rocks form by solidification from a very hot,
molten mass called magma, either on the earth’s 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 pos-
sess 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.
Igneous rocks and their drillabilities
Igneous rocks are usually difficult to drill especially
where they are fresh and unaltered by weathering or
alteration. Low drill bit life and low penetration rates are
the general rule (as compared to most common sedi-
mentary rocks). In general, igneous rocks high in quartz
contents, i.e., the granite-diorite group, are very hard,
brittle and abrasive. Those that contain less quartz and
more ferr-magnesium minerals, i.e., gabbro, basalt or
220 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Tricone bits
periodotitie, are less abrasive, but because of the inter-
locking 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 ex-
trusive and instrusive types can be very difficult to drill. It
is very common for extrusive igneous rocks (volcanics to
be silicified.
Sedimentary rocks
Types: conglomerate, sandstone, siltsone, claystone,
mudstone, shale, graywacke, limestone, dolomite, coal,
phosphate rock, iron formation
Sedimentary rocks are formed by an accumulation of
sediments in water or air. These sediments may consist
of rock fragments or particles of various size, shape and
chemical composition to form conglomerate, graywacke,
sandstone, siltstone, shale, claystone and mudstone in
order of decreasing grain size and roughly in order of
decreasing rock hardness.
Coal and lignite are formed by the compaction and
decomposition of plants which accumulated in tropical
swamps. Certain limestones and dolomites are formed
from the underwater accumulation of animal remains
such as coral and shellfish.
Sedimentary rocks also form as the product of chemi-
cal action or evaporation. Rocks of this origin include
limestone, dolomite, phosphate rock and a variety of
salts. Chemically deposited limestone and dolomite can
be very “tough” rocks to drill.
Iron formation is a “catch-all” term for hard, layered,
tough, brittle, very fine grained iron bearing rocks that
include taconite, banded iron formation and cherty iron
formation. It is of sedimentary origin, occurring through-
out the world, and is the source rock for most of the
word’s iron ore. Iron formations and their altered or en-
riched equivalents constitute some of the most difficult
of all rocks to drill.
 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Rock formation & drillability 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 composi-
tion 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. Quartz-
ite can be formed from sandstone, graywacke or ar-
kose. 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 struc-
ture. Hornfels is a term applied to fine-grained rocks
formed by intense contact metamorphosis (heat, pres-
sure, introduced chemicals) at the borders of igneous
rock masses. Hornfels are massive rocks unlike schist or
such as those which usually are associated with porphy-
gneiss described below.
ry copper ore bodies.
Schist is a low grade “regional” metamorphic rock which
Rock joints occur in virtually every known rock type.
has foliated structure and can be split into thin plates.
Essentially, it is a plane of weakness along which rock
Some of the original structure of the rock may still be
tends to break. It can be seen in most quarries and
present. There can be mineral segregation, where some
mines. Rock can also be fractured in locations adjacent
minerals may occur in bands, where they did not occur
to blasted areas in mines and quarries.
in bands and in the original rock.
Whatever the agency that causes them, fractures in rock
Gneiss is a high grade to very high grade “regional”
are detrimental to blast hole drilling. They can “rob” re-
metamorphic rock that is generally coarse-grained and
turn air from the drill hole, thereby reducing ability of the
banded, in which the bands alternate between “mafic”
return air supply to remove cuttings from the drill hole;
(iron rich) minerals and “felsic” (non iron) minerals.
secondly, fractured rock may need to be drilled with less
than optimum down pressure and/or rotation speed in
Similar to various igneous rocks in that they are crystal-
order to prevent tooth or insert breakage.
line and have some of the same mineral constituents,
metamorphic rocks are usually difficult to drill. This is
Rock drillability can be considerably affected by the
caused not only by the hardness and character of the
angle at which a drill bit intersects bedding or schistosity
various metamorphic minerals, but by the general inter-
planes. Drilling in directions parallel to bedding/schistos-
locking character of mineral crystals which produces a
ity planes will usually produce a higher drilling rate and
tough rock, difficult to spall.
less bit wear than drilling at an angle to bedding/schis-
tosity.

Rock drilling characteristics - Alteration of rock by surface weathering can be seen in

General
Each of the many types of igneous, sedimentary and
metamorphic rocks has its own particular drilling charac-
teristics produced by its mineral composition and grain
size. Other factors greatly affecting rock drillability are:
rock joints or fractures, bedding or other types of folia-
tion and alteration, which may be simple surface weath-
ering or very complicated chemical alteration processes
most mines and quarries. This process can change a very
hard rock such as a granite into a crumbly sandstone. It
is caused largely by the action of oxygen, carried by sur-
face water or ground water, on the component minerals
of rocks and can extend to depths of 100 m plus.
Alteration associated with metallic ore bodies can also
affect rock drillabilities by changing the mineral composi-
tion of the rock. In general, chemical alteration produces
a rock which is softer than the original rock.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 221

 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Rock mechanics data Tricone bits

Coompressive Poisson’s Engineering classification
Modulus of rigidity Young’s modulus of elasticity
Specific strength, UCS ration of intact rock
Rock
gravity stress vs. Based on UCS Based Young’s
Psi Mpa strain Psi Mpa Psi GPA
strength compressibility

Amphibolite 3.07 61,335 423 6,641,000 45,800 15,080,000 104.0 A, very high 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 0.14 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

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 0.22 - - 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

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

Sandstone 2.34 477 3 0.1 - - 57,855 0.4 E, very low 3 - high

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

Sandstone, Navaho, cemented 2.15 12,601 87 -0.09 890,300 6,140 1,508,000 10.4 C, medium 3 - high

Sandstone, Navaho, cemented 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 0 949,750 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

Tactite, epidote 2.87 38,570 266 0.11 4,016,500 27,700 8,903,000 61.4 A, very high 2 - medium

222 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Guides for best bit performance Tricone bits

I. Exercise care in making-up and breaking-out the B. Hole cleaning is based on feet/minute of up
drill bit to avoid damaging the bit threads and drill hole annular velocity.
steel. • Air volume should produce a minimum
A. After the connection is broken, avoid down of 5,000 linear feet per minute annular
pressure on the bit breaker when unscrewing. return velocity for removal of light cuttings
Hoist the drill steel high enough for the bit and 7,000 feet per minute for heavy material.
to drop from the box connection into the bit
breaker. • Low up-hole velocity causes cuttings to fall
B. Make sure the deck is clean and the bit breaker back to bottom until they are reground small
is properly mounted in its holder. enough to be carried out of the hole.

C. Clean the threads on the new bit and on the • An increase in torque, torque fluctuations,
drill steel, make sure the mating shoulders are either hydraulic pressure or amp’s, or an
clean and a quality “anti-galling” lubricant has increase in air pressure, are all indications
been applied. that the hole is not being cleaned.

D. Stab carefully - avoid excessive pressure on C. Some indications that the hole is not being
high angle thread flank. Re-level the machine properly cleaned are:
if the drill stem box doesn’t align with bit pin.
E. Always use low torque and slow RPM when • Increase in torque indication through higher
making up connection. Mating shoulders hydraulic pressure or higher amp meter
should smoothly make up to 1/8” with low reading.
torque.
• Increase in air pressure.
II. When a new bit is installed, drill at reduced weight
for a short break-in period. Use the 1/3 - 2/3 rules: • Excess of cuttings in the bottom of the hole
• 1/3 of normal weight and RPM for 1/3 (more than one foot - after completion of
of the first hole hole and after making a cleaning pass).

• 2/3 normal weight and RPM for the next 1/3rd • Heavy wear and/or damage indications on
of the hole. shirttails.

• Normal drilling parameters to finish the hole. D. Some reasons for an increase in air pressure
while drilling:
A. After the break-in period, bit cones should
be checked to be sure that all are about the • Fast penetration, not cleaning the holes.
same temperature. One hot cone generally
indicates that the air passage to that particular • Foreign material in the bit, coming from
bearing has become obstruction. If one cone inside the air system, or cuttings coming in
is hot the bit should be inspected before any through the air nozzles or shirttails.
damage occurs.
• Air passages to the bearings becoming
B. Make sure that all assembly grease is blown plugged with cuttings.
out of all three cutters. When the air is turned
on, air should blow out of the back of each IV. Turn the air on before lowering the bit to collar the
cone. hole. Keep the air on until the bit is finished
drilling and is out of the hole. Always rotate the
III. Provide adequate air to the bit to insure trouble bit when moving in or out of the hole.
free bearing performance and reduced abrasion
wear on cones and shirttails. A. Make sure the cab gage pressure is at its normal
reading and air is circulating through the
A. The compressed air serves two functions: bit before starting to drill. Inadequate air to
• Air to the bearings, to cool and clean the the bearings is a principal cause of overheating
assembly. and early bearing failure.
B. Always rotate when coming out of the hole to:
• Hole cleaning to remove cuttings from the • Help clean cuttings from the hole.
blasthole.
• To insure maximum bearing life, a 40 psi mini- • Keep cuttings from entering the bearings
mum pressure drop across the bit is desirable. around the back face of the cone.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 223

 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Guides for best bit performance Tricone bits

• Eliminate the possibility of clogging and A. If the bit sits idle for any length of time, in
jamming of the roller stabilizer rollers. freezing conditions, and where water
(If used.) injection is used, water can freeze inside the
bearings and air passages. The air temperature
C. Always rotate when going in the hole to: from compressor will normally melt the ice if
enough time is allowed before starting to drill.
• Decrease the possibility of damaging the bit
or stabilizer on a ledge or other protrusion in B. The drill steel and bit should be warm before
the hole. the water injection is used. This will prevent
the water from freezing to the cold surfaces.
D. Never use the hydraulic down pressure on the C. A partially dull bit should never be left down
bit to aid in levelling the machine. the hole when repairs require lowering the
head assembly to the deck. This bit should be
V. Maintain as high a pressure drop across the bit substituted by a dull bit to protect the drill
as possible when in wet holes, or when water steel threads.
injection is used.
D. Procedures for cleaning a bit that has been
A. The extra pressure drop helps to keep water taken off the drill and will be reused:
and cuttings from entering the bearings.
• Flush the bearings with water making sure
B. When adding extra drill steel in wet holes, the water is going though each bearing.
always make three or four cleaning passes to
get the bottom of the hole as clean as possible. • Force air through each bearing.

C. Never remove any device that the • Oil bearings and submerge in non-detergent oil.
manufacturer has installed from inside the bit.
IX. Occasionally check the air pressure with the
VI. Regularly inspect the bit and feel the cones bit off to insure that there are no obstructions
to be sure that all are about the same in the hole swivel or steel.
temperature. One hot cone generally indicates
that the passages to that particular bearing have A. A pressure reading with the bit off can be
become obstructed. taken at each bit change and recorded on
the drill report. A change from the prior
A. When making this inspection rotate the cones reading will help determine if a new
and make sure the bearings are clean and not obstruction or new leak has developed.
locked with cuttings.
B. At each bit change any foreign material in the
B. If the cones do not rotate freely, start the dull but should be noted or investigated.
air compressor and blow the cuttings from the
bearings, then repeat the inspection. X. Properly maintain the drill steel and its threaded
connections. A bent steel will often cause early
C. Any time the cones cannot be freed, the bit failure.
should be taken off for inspection and cleaned.
A. A bent drill steel will cause excess loading on
VII. Never allow the bit to drop while on the end one of two cones with resulting bearing
of the drill steel, even for distance of a few failure on those cones.
inches - dropping the bit can cause cracking of
the welds, and/or indentations in the bearing B. Wear patterns on one side of the drill steel and
races. Results will be premature bearing failure. stabilizer are also indications of the problem.

VIII. When a partially dull bit sits idle for a shift or XI. Blasthole bits drill most economically when
longer, rotate the cones by hand to insure that sufficient weight is applied to cause spalling of
they turn freely before drilling. the formation.

224 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 Rotary drilling TOOLS

Guides for best bit performance Tricone bits

A. When spalling occurs the cuttings are large XII. Selecting correct rotary speed is usually a matter
and the penetration rate is improved. of trial and error, depending upon the formation
being drilled.
B. If a sufficient amount of weight is not applied,
the cutting structure will tend to skid along A. Slower RPM’s will reduce the penetration rates
the bottom causing early wear, thus reducing and generally increase bit life.
penetration rate and shortening bit life.
B. Faster RPM’s increase the penetration rates
C. If too much weight is used for the formation, and if excessive RPM’s are used, it tends to
the cutting structure can be buried to full shorten bit life.
depth, trapping cuttings beneath the bit. This
will cause erosion of the cone metal, prevent C. Increased penetration rate is usually the result
the formation from chipping, and reduce the of better spalling of large cuttings.
penetration rate. If cuttings are forced into the
cone, bearings can lock up. Heavy weights will
also reduce hours of bearing life.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 225

 DTH HAMMER SPECIFICATIONS

Industry overview
The quarry and mining operations typically have high equip-
ment utilization, drilling 60%, even up to 80%, of the work-
ing day. Companies drilling small to medium blast holes
between 85 to 152 mm (3 3⁄8" 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-The-Hole) 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 ½" - 5 ½") and can be made before
the drilling of the production holes.
Underground mining applications have high cost-per-hour
operational overheads and can generally benefit from
service contracts offering onsite service and support.
Health/Safety/Education issues are also very important.
These operations generally choose premium DTH hammers,
resulting faster drill rates and higher reliability and possibil-
ity to rebuild the Gold hammer with sustained performance
and longer service life.
The Secoroc solution
All mining operations should consider productive ham-
mers that offer good performance and high reliability. The
Secoroc COP Gold DTH hammers incorporate the latest
technology and are the most fuel efficient, reliable and high-
est performance DTH hammers in the market today. If you
typically run hammers until they wear out, but still want the
ability to rebuild the hammer for longer service life, then
choose Secoroc COP Gold.
For holes larger than 203 mm (8"), the hammer of choice is
Secoroc TD. Like the COP Gold series, TD hammers provide
the highest possible performance in combination with relia-
bility. The TD hammers are also possible to rebuilt with
an economy kit.

Technical specifications
Model COP 44 Gold COP 54 Gold COP 54 Gold QM COP 64 Gold COP 64 Gold QM QLX 35
Bit shank style 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
Product number 89001469 89001243 89001255 89000959 89000960 89001572
General specifications English Metric English Metric English Metric English Metric English Metric English Metric
Connection thread API 2 3/8" Reg Pin API 3 1/2" Reg Pin API 3 1/2" Reg Pin API 3 1/2" Reg Pin API 3 1/2" Reg Pin API 2 3/8" Reg Pin
Outside diameter 3.9" 100 4.7" 120 4.9" 126 5.6" 142 5.8" 146 3.1" 79
Length w/o bit shoulder to shoulder (in/mm) 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
Weight w/o bit (lb/kg) 89.3 40.5 145.0 65.7 167.0 75.6 211.0 96.0 240.0 109.0 65.0 29.5
Backhead across flats 2.6" 65 3.7" 95 3.7" 95 4" 102 4" 102 2.5" 63.5
Min bit size (in/mm) 4.3" 110 5.3" 134 5.5" 140 6.1" 156 6.5" 7 3.5" 90
Max bit size (in/mm) 5.1" 130 6" 152 6" 152 7" 178 7" 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
Piston weight (lb/kg) 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 4" 101.6
Max pressure differential (psi/bar) 508 35 435 30 435 30 435 30 435 30 435 30
Make-up torque (ft-lbf/Nm) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 3 000 4,067
Air consumption / Bpm
*Estimated values 400-508 psi (27.6-35 bar)
150 psi / 10.3 bar (scfm / l/s) 215 101 311 147 311 147 334 158 334 158 219 103
150 psi (bpm) 1 540 1 540 1 389 1 389 1 389 1 389 1 303 1 303 1 303 1 303 1 509 1 509
200 psi / 13.8 bar (scfm / l/s) 321 151 425 201 425 201 509 240 509 240 288 136
200 psi (bpm) 1 677 1 677 1 497 1 497 1 497 1 497 1 447 1 447 1 447 1 447 1 699 1 699
250 psi / 17.2 bar (scfm / l/s) 427 201 557 263 557 263 688 325 688 325 348 164
250 psi (bpm) 1 842 1 842 1 614 1 614 1 614 1 614 1 548 1 548 1 548 1 548 1 858 1 858
300 psi / 20.7 bar (scfm / l/s) 533 251 719 339 719 339 862 407 862 407 400 189
300 psi (bpm) 1 973 1 973 1 750 1 750 1 750 1 750 1 691 1 691 1 691 1 691 1 987 1 987
350 psi / 24.1 bar (scfm / l/s) 639 302 891 421 891 421 1 072 506 1 072 506 444 210
350 psi (bpm) 2 095 2 095 1 886 1 886 1 886 1 886 1 817 1 817 1 817 1 817 2 087 2 087
400 psi / 27.6 bar (scfm / l/s)* 745 352 1 009 476 1 009 476 1 326 626 1 326 626 645 275
400 psi (bpm) 2 218 2 218 2 022 2 022 2 022 2 022 1 962 1 962 1 962 1 962 2 293 2 293
435 psi / 30 bar (scfm / l/s)* 819 387 1 081 510 1 081 510 1 504 710 1 504 710 847 340
435 psi (bpm)* 2 303 2 303 2 118 2 118 2 118 2 118 2 063 2 063 2 063 2 063 2 500 2 500
508 psi / 35 bar (scfm / l/s)* 957 452
508 psi (bpm)* 2 462 2 462
Operational specifications
Feed Force (lb / kN) 1 100-3 300 5-15 1 300-4 120 6-19 1 300-4 120 6-19 1 600-4 400 7-20 1 600-4 400 7-20 1 500-2 000 9-7
Rotation (rpm) 25-100 20-70 20-70 15-60 15-60 70-100

226 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 DTH HAMMER SPECIFICATIONS

Some nice picture of

Quantum leap ham-
mers to put here

Technical specifications
Model QLX 50 QLX 55 QLX 60 QLX 65 TD 80 TD 85
Bit shank style QL 50 QL 50 QL 60 QL 60 QL 80 QL 80
Product code 9705-05-68-00 9705-05-68-14 9706-05-68-00 9706-05-68-14 9708-08-60-00 9708-08-62-00
Product number 89010092 89010093 52352465 52352473 52328127 52329430
General specifications English Metric English Metric English Metric English Metric English Metric English Metric
Connection thread API 3 1/2" Reg Pin API 3 1/2" Reg Pin API 3 1/2" Reg Pin API 3 1/2" Reg Pin API 4 1/2" Reg Pin API 4 1/2" Reg Pin
Outside diameter 4.8" 121.9 5.08" 129.0 5.6" 142.2 5.88" 149.4 7.13" 181.1 7.75" 196.8
Length w/o bit shoulder to shoulder (in/mm) 41.76" 1 060.7 41.76" 1 060.7 41.67" 1 090.7 41.67" 190.7 57.7" 1 465.6 55.5" 1 409.7
Weight w/o bit (lb/kg) 153.0 69.5 178.0 80.9 205.0 93.2 235.0 106.8 475.0 215.5 525.0 238.1
Backhead across flats 3.7"/4" 95/102 3.7"/4" 95/102 4" 101.6 4" 102.6 5.88" 149.2 5.88" 149.2
Min bit size (in/mm) 5.25" 133 5.5" 140 6.13" 155.5 6.5" 165.1 7.88" 200 8.75" 222
Max bit size (in/mm) 6" 152 6" 152 8.5" 215.9 8.5" 215.9 12" 305 12" 305
Bore (in/mm) 3.95" 100.25 3.95" 100.25 4.75" 120.65 4.75" 120.7 5.87" 149.2 6.31" 160.32
Piston weight (lb/kg) 33.0 15.0 33.0 15.0 47.0 21.4 47.0 21.4 109.0 49.5 119.0 54.0
Stroke (in/mm) 3.75" 95.3 3.75" 95.3 3.75" 95.3 3.75" 95.3 3.75" 95.3 4" 101.6
Max pressure differential (psi/bar) 500 34.5 500 34.5 500 34.5 500 34.5 350 24 350 24
Make-up torque (ft-lbf/Nm) 5 000 6 770 5 000 6 770 6 000 8 100 6 000 8 100 8 000 10 800 8 000 10 800
Air consumption / Bpm
*Estimated values 400-508 psi (27.6-35 bar)
150 psi / 10.3 bar (scfm / l/s) 257 121 257 121 360 170 360 170 571 269 528 249
150 psi (bpm) 1 426 1 426 1 426 1 426 1 500 1 500 1 500 1 500 947 947 1 001 1 001
200 psi / 13.8 bar (scfm / l/s) 374 177 374 177 502 237 502 237 808 381 852 402
200 psi (bpm) 1 547 1 547 1 547 1 547 1 616 1 616 1 616 1 616 1 063 1 063 1 099 1 099
250 psi / 17.2 bar (scfm / l/s) 508 240 508 240 655 309 655 309 1 067 504 1 177 555
250 psi (bpm) 1 668 1 668 1 668 1 668 1 732 1 732 1 732 1 732 1 180 1 180 1 198 1 198
300 psi / 20.7 bar (scfm / l/s) 657 310 657 310 818 386 818 386 1 350 637 1 501 708
300 psi (bpm) 1 788 1 788 1 788 1 788 1 847 1 847 1 847 1 847 1 297 1 297 1 297 1 297
350 psi / 24.1 bar (scfm / l/s) 822 388 822 388 993 469 993 469 1 656 782 1 826 862
350 psi (bpm) 1 909 1 909 1 909 1 909 1 963 1 963 1 963 1 963 1 414 1 414 1 396 1 396
400 psi / 27.6 bar (scfm / l/s)*
400 psi (bpm)
435 psi / 30 bar (scfm / l/s)*
435 psi (bpm)*
508 psi / 35 bar (scfm / l/s)*
508 psi (bpm)*
Operational specifications
Feed Force (lb / kN) 1 500-2 000 9-7 1 500-2 000 9-7 2 000-3 000 9-13.3 2 000-3 000 9-13.3 2 000-3 000 9-13.3 2 000-3 000 9-13.3
Rotation (rpm) 50-80 50-80 30-60 30-60 30-50 30-50

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 227

 secoroc grinding

The right tools to get you back on the cutting edge

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 needn’t worry.
Your bits will soon be as good as new.

A machine for every occasion

Button DTH/COPROD Reaming

Grinding machine Integrals
bits bits bits
Secoroc BQ3  
Secoroc Jazz   
Secoroc Manual B  
Secoroc HG   
Secoroc BQ3-DTH 
Secoroc Manual B-DTH* 
Secoroc Swing 
Secoroc Senior 
 Recommended Can be used * Can be used for ODEX pilot bits and reaming bits. A useful tip: use a Secoroc grinding
template, and you’ll see when it’s
time for a regrind.

228 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining


Grinding
Secoroc BQ3
Semi-automatic grinding machine for
button bits.
Electrical specifications Prod No.
400 V 3-phase 50 Hz 87004800
230 V 3-phase 50 Hz 87004801
400 V 3-phase 60 Hz 87004803
230 V 3-phase 60 Hz 87004805
440 V 3-phase 50 Hz 87004806
Grinding capacity
Maximum height of drill bit 200 mm (7 7⁄8")
Maximum diameter of drill bit 127 mm (5")
Maximum bit skirt diameter 120 mm (4.75")
Minimum distance
between buttons 3.5 mm (9⁄64")
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
Operator’s 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.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 229
Secoroc BQ3-DTH
Semi-automatic grinding machine for
DTH- and COPROD bits.
Electrical specifications Prod. No.
400 V 3-phase 50 Hz 87004900
230 V 3-phase 50 Hz 87004901
400 V 3-phase 60 Hz 87004903
230 V 3-phase 60 Hz 87004905
440 V 3-phase 50 Hz 87004906
Grinding capacity
Maximum height of drill bit 650 mm (2'1 5⁄8")
Maximum diameter of drill bit 178 mm (7")
Minimum distance between buttons 3.5 mm (9⁄64")
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
Operator’s instructions and spare parts list
Optional accessories Prod. No.
- Auxiliary set for grinding
threaded bits (excl.
bitholder and templates) 87003939
NOTE:
Secoroc BQ3-DTH must be completed with
grinding wheels, centring cups and bitholders
(indicate button size, bit diameter and type of
hammer).
secoroc grinding
Secoroc Jazz
Rig-mounted, semi-automatic grinding
machine for tapered, threaded, DTH- and
COPROD bits.
Secoroc Jazz, standard Prod. No.
incl. main bit holder for threaded bits 87004100
Secoroc Jazz, DTH Prod. No.
incl. main bit holder for DTH/COPROD bits 87004300
Grinding capacity
Maximum distance between bit holder
and grinding wheel 250 mm (9 7⁄8")
Maximum diameter of drill bit 254 mm (10")
Minimum diameter of drill bit 35 mm (1 3⁄8")
Minimum distance between buttons 3.5 mm (9⁄64")
Technical data
Air pressure, max. 7 bar (101.5 psi)
Air pressure, min. 6 bar (87 psi)
Air consumption 25 l/s
Coolant container 3l
Output, spindle motor 1.00 kW
Speed, spindle 15 000 r/min
Voltage 24 V
Weight, excluding packaging 90 kg (198 lb)
Transport dimension L 800 x W 500 x H 700 mm
(2'7 ½" x 1'7 5⁄8" x 2'3 ½")
Accessories included in delivery
Box wrench, 11 mm
Box wrench, 16 mm
Grinding gauge
Protective goggles
Operator's instructions and spare parts list
Optional accessories Prod. No.
- Anti-freeze kit 87004315
- Main bit holder for DTH/ COPROD bits 87004268
- Main bit holder for threaded bits 87004214
- Mounting bracket for Atlas Copco drill rig
- with cabin 87004628
- without cabin 87004456
- 3-leg stand 87004450
- Centring tool 87004465
NOTE:
Secoroc Jazz must be completed with grinding
wheels, centring cups, bitholders and indexing
templates.
 secoroc grinding
Grinding
Secoroc Manual B
Hand-held portable grinding machine
for button bits.
Secoroc Manual B Prod. No.
87001890
Grinding capacity
Maximum diameter of bit skirt 90 mm (3 9⁄16")
Threaded bits, maximum diameter 127 mm (5")
Retrac, maximum diameter *127 mm (5")
Tube drilling, maximum diameter *152 mm (6")
* Large clamping device necessary
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 2⁄10" x 2'7 5⁄10" x 2'9 5⁄10")
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
Operator’s instructions and spare parts list
Optional accessories Prod. No.
- Vibration absorbing sleeve to fit the
hand-held grinder 87001931
- Set of 5 centring fingers 87001935
NOTE:
Secoroc Manual B must be completed with
grinding wheels and bitholders.
230 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Secoroc Manual B-DTH Secoroc HG
Hand-held portable grinding machine for Hand-held grinding machine for button
DTH- and COPROD bits. bits.
Secoroc Manual B-DTH Prod. No. Secoroc HG Prod. No.
87002300 87002435
Grinding capacity Grinding capacity
Maximum height of drill bit 506 mm (1'7 7⁄8") Button size 7-20 mm
Maximum diameter of drill bit 203 mm (8") (9⁄32"- 25⁄32")
Maximum diameter of bit shank 170 mm (6 ¾")
Technical data
Technical data Air pressure, max. 7 bar (101.5 psi)
Air pressure, max. 7 bar (101.5 psi) Air consumption, unloaded 50 l/s
Air consumption 15 l/s Air consumption, loaded (at 6 bar, 86 psi) 42 l/s
Coolant container 10 l Hose dimension, air 12.5 mm (½")
Idling speed of hand-held grinder 30 000 r/min Hose dimension, water 6.3 mm (¼")
Speed of bit rotation 0-45 r/min Idling speed 17 000 r/min
Weight, excluding packaging 110 kg (253 lb) Water flushing pressure, max. 4.5 bar (65.3 psi)
Weight, including packaging 148 kg (326 lb) Weight, excluding hoses 2.8 kg (6.2 Ib)
Transport dimension L 1 200 x W 800 x H 940 mm
(3'11 2⁄10"x 2'7 5⁄10" x 3'1 0⁄10") Accessories included in delivery
Adjustable angle connector
Accessories included in delivery Allen key, 2 mm
Allen key, 5 mm Allen key, 3 mm
Allen key, 6 mm Allen key, 5 mm
Centring fingers (4 pcs) Claw coupling (6.3 mm)
Grinding templates, spherical and ballistic Grease gun
Hand-held grinder (spherical, 30 000 r/min) Grinding templates, spherical and ballistic
Open end spanner, 14 mm (2 pcs) Hose (PVC 03)
Protective goggles Hose (PVC 6; L = 0.1 m)
Operator’s instructions and spare parts list Hose clamp (7–8.5 mm)
Hose clamp (11–13 mm)
Optional accessories Prod. No. Hose clamp (26–38 mm)
- Centring fingers (set of 5 pcs), 30 000 r/min 87001935 Nipple
- Clamping device for threaded bits 87002401 Pipe (L = 0.3 m)
Seal kit
NOTE: Seat
Secoroc Manual B-DTH must be completed with Support ring
grinding wheels and bitholders. Operator’s instructions and spare parts list
Optional accessories Prod. No.
- Lubricator 87002750
- Reconditioning tool for grinding cups 87002810

Grinding
Secoroc Swing
Grinding machine for integrals.
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 5⁄32")
Gauge grinding arrangement included
Hose connections:
- Air 12.5 mm (½")
- Water 6.3 mm (¼")
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 1¼")
- 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
Operator’s instructions and spare parts list
Optional accessories Prod. No.
- Grinding wheel, hard 87002589
- Grinding wheel, soft 87002811
- Chuck bushing wear gauge
H19 (0,75") 90002667
H22 (0,85") 90002668
H25 (1") 90002669
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 231
secoroc grinding
Secoroc Senior
Grinding machine for integrals.
Electrical specifications Prod. No.
220 V 3-phase 50 Hz 87002485
220 V 3-phase 60 Hz 87002493
380 V 3-phase 50 Hz 87135402
380 V 3-phase 60 Hz 87002494
415 V 3-phase 50 HZ 87002488
415 V 3-phase 60 Hz 87002495
440 V 3-phase 60 Hz 87002496
Technical data Secoroc Swing.
Air pressure, max. 7 bar (101.5 psi)
Cutting-edge angle, adjustable 90  -130°
Grinding wheel
-DxTxH 200 x 102 x 32 mm (7 7⁄8" x 4" x 1 ¼)
- DI x TI 150 x 80 mm (5 7⁄8" x 3 5⁄32")
- Cutting-edge radius, adjustable 80-130 mm (3  5⁄32"- 5 1⁄8")
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 ½" x 1'11 5⁄8" x 2'1 5⁄8")
Accessories included in delivery
Grease gun
Grinding template
Grinding wheel, hard
Protective goggles
Socket wrench
Wrench
Operator’s instructions and spare parts list
Optional accessories Prod. No.
- Grinding wheel, hard 87002591
- Grinding wheel, soft 87002813
- Spacer plate for H19 integral 87000519
- Chuck bushing wear guage
H19 (0.75") 90002667
H22 (0.85") 90002668 Secoroc integral equipment.
H25 (1") 90002669
 secoroc grinding

Profiled diamond grinding wheels for button bits

Secoroc BQ3/BQ3-DTH
Secoroc Jazz/Jazz-DTH
Secoroc Manual B/Manual B-DTH

Grinding wheel for Grinding wheel for Grinding wheel for

spherical buttons ballistic buttons full-ballistic buttons

Dimension, Dimension, Dimension,

Product No. Product code Product No. Product code Product No. Product code
mm mm mm
Spherical 19 87003966 9500-3966 18 87003965 9500-3965
7 87001028 9500-1028 Ballistic 19 87003967 9500-3967
8 87001026 9500-1026 7 87003407 9500-3407 Full-ballistic
9 87001389 9500-1389 8 87003408 9500-3408 7 87004720 9500-4720
10 87001023 9500-1023 9 87003409 9500-3409 8 87004721 9500-4721
11 87003406 9500-3406 10 87003410 9500-3410 9 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

Grinding wheels Centering cups*

for steel grinding

Product Product Button Product Button Product

Dimension Product No. Product No.
No. code size code size code
10–14 mm 87001530 9500-1530 7,0 mm 87001040 9500-1040 13,0 mm 87001385 9500-1385
Spacer for 10 mm button 87001631 9500-1631 8,0 mm 87000842 9500-0842 14,0 mm 87001043 9500-1043
Spacer for 11 mm button 87001632 9500-1632 9,0 mm 87001047 9500-1047 14,5 mm 87001443 9500-1443
Spacer for 12 mm button 87001633 9500-1633 10,0 mm 87001041 9500-1041 15,0 mm 87001386 9500-1386
Spacer for 13 mm button 87001634 9500-1634 11,0 mm 87000840 9500-0840 16,0 mm 87001387 9500-1387
Spacer for 14 mm button 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

* NOT needed for Manual B/Manual B-DTH

232 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 secoroc grinding

Bitholders for button bits

Secoroc BQ3/Jazz
Secoroc BQ3-DTH/Jazz-DTH
Secoroc Manual B-DTH Secoroc Manual B/Manual B-DTH

Product Product
Type Product No. Type Product No.
code code
Secoroc BQ3/Jazz – Threaded bits* Secoroc Manual B – Threaded bits
R25 87003475 9500-3475 R25 87000792 9500-0792
R28 87003476 9500-3476
R28 87000793 9500-0793
SR28 87003960 9500-3960
SR28 87003961 9500-3961
R32 87003477 9500-3477
SR32 87003962 9500-3962 R32 87000794 9500-0794
SR35 87003956 9500-3956 R32 87001848 9500-1848
TC35 87005007 9500-4685 SR32 87003963 9500-3963
R38 87005005 9500-4686 R35 87003360 9500-3360
T38 87005006 9500-4687
SR35 87003957 9500-3957
SR38 87003978 9500-3978
R38/T38 87000795 9500-0795
SR38 retrac, guide 87004081 9500-4081
SR38 87003979 9500-3979
C
TC42 87004641 9500-4641
T45 87003479 9500-3479 T45 87000796 9500-0796

A TC45
T51 and retrac
87004569
87003521
9500-4569
9500-3521
T51 87000802 9500-0802
Secoroc Manual B – Tapered bits
T60 87004562 9500-4562
7° taper 87001044 9500-1044
Secoroc BQ3/Jazz – Tube bits*
12° taper 87001045 9500-1045
ST58 87003522 9500-3522
ST68 87003523 9500-3523 Secoroc Manual B – Tube bits
Secoroc BQ3/Jazz – Tapered bits* ST58 87001726 9500-1726
7° taper 87003524 9500-3524 ST68 87001573 9500-1573
12° taper 87003525 9500-3525
Secoroc Manual B – Reaming bits
Secoroc BQ3/Jazz – Reaming bits*
64, 76, 89 mm 87000798 9500-0798
64, 76 and 89 mm 87003526 9500-3526
89,102 and 127 mm 87003527 9500-3527 89, 102, 127 mm 87000799 9500-0799
Secoroc BQ3/Jazz – Guide bits*
R32 87003992 9500-3992
SR35 87004056 9500-4056
Secoroc BQ3-DTH/Jazz-DTH/Manual B-DTH
– DTH and Coprod bits
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
Bitholder type A Bitholder type C
QL 40, TD 50 87004515 9500-4515
B 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
* To be able to grind tophammer bits on Secoroc BQ3-DTH, the clamping Bitholder type B
device with Product No. 87003939 / Product code 9500-3939 must be used.

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 233

 secoroc grinding

Diamond grinding cups

Secoroc HG

Dimension, mm Product No. Product code

7,0 87002566 9500-2566
For sperical buttons
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
For ballistic buttons 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
For steel removal around buttons 7–8 87002700 9500-2700
9–10 87002701 9500-2701
11–12 87002702 9500-2702
13–14 87002703 9500-2703
15–16 87002704 9500-2704
17–18 87002840 9500-2840
19–20 87002841 9500-2841

234 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 secoroc grinding

Ceramic grinding wheelss

Cross-type bits, X-type bits and chisel bits

Bit size, Bit Wheel Dimension Dimension Product

Grinding machine Product No.
mm angle angle (D×T×H), mm (DI×TI), mm code
35 90° 132° 300 x 23 x 32 – 87002594 9555
38–41 90° 132° 300 x 26 x 32 – 87002595 9556
Grind Matic X 45 90° 132° 300 x 29 x 32 – 87002597 9558
Sandvik RG 300 48–51 90° 132° 300 x 32 x 32 – 87002616 9577
Sandvik RG 320 76 90° 132° 300 x 52 x 32 – 87002603 9564
Sandvik RG 340
Sandvik RG 360 76 75° 126° 300 x 42 x 32 – 87002608 9569

76 105° 139° 300 x 58 x 32 – 87002609 9570

– – 125 x 63 x 32 80 x 50, hard 87002589 9550

– – 125 x 63 x 32 80 x 50, soft 87002811 9500-2811
Secoroc Swing 80 x 50,
Sandvik RG 100 – – 125 x 63 x 32 87004700 9500-4700
hard endurance
80 x 50,
– – 125 x 63 x 32 87004701 9500-4701
soft endurance
– – 200 x 102 x 32 150 x 80, hard 87002591 9552
Secoroc Senior
– – 200 x 102 x 32 150 x 80, soft 87002813 9500-2813
– – 150 x 83 x 32 100 x 64, hard 87002590 9551
Grind Matic Junior
– – 150 x 83 x 32 100 x 64, soft 87002512 9500-2812

Grinding templates

Integral rods and bits

10
r= 80 mm 3,5/32" 10 Skivvinkel
,95 D/3 Wheel
9
110°

D
110°
1/8"

3/32"
12,7
3 mm

2,4 mm
8

40 30 20 10 0
1 1/2" 1" 3/4" 1/2" 1/4"
Regrind when flat
is 173 of button dia.
5 1/4" 14 5
10
,5 1/4"
10
1/2"
7

1/2"
15 15
3/4" 3/4"
0,5
Min.

For integral rods For button bits For cross-type bits

Grinding template Dimension, mm Product No. Product code

Integral rods – 90002610 9101

Button bits, spherical 7 - 14,5 90002944 9104

Button bits, ballistic 7 - 14,5 90503414 9105
Button bits, spherical 10,95 - 19,1 90510753 9129
Button bits, ballistic 10,95 - 19,1 90510758 9130

Cross-type bits – 90002611 9102

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 235

 DrillCare

Parts and Services

Wherever you are in the world, as an Atlas Copco customer your service experience will always be the same. It’s all
about our commitment, our service promise, our capability and our quality. Furthermore, we aim to increase your
productivity. This is the difference that is Atlas Copco Parts and Services. It’s not just about our promises, it’s
about delivery.

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

Preventive and corrective maintenance kits

Atlas Copco genuine parts are manufactured to the same exacting quality standards as your drill rig.

Features Benefits
• Guaranteed performance • Warranted between scheduled services
• Quality inspected and tested • Ensured reliability and highest availability
• Available through our state-of-the-art distribution system • Quick, accurate order fulfillment

Atlas Copco Fluids

Atlas Copco Fluids are produced to the exacting specifications required to meet the demands of your
drilling application.
Features Benefits
• Designed for the toughest environment • Protect your investment
• Performance tested • Optimize service life
• Ensure extended warranty • Save money, minimize breakdowns

236 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

 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

Hydraulic hose first aid kit

Each kit provides an immediate replacement for every hydraulic hose on your drill rig.

Features Benefits
• Drill rig specific hoses and adaptors • Fastest possible fix
• Complete instructions and accessories • First time fix at the jobsite
• Environmenatally friendly • Spillage control
• Wheel or truck mountable • Highly mobile

Diesel fuel filter cart

A portable fuel cleaning system designed to protect your investment.

Features Benefits
• Controls particulate ingression • Maximize usable life of engine components
• Prevents water contamination • Minimize downtime
• Easy spin-on replacement elements • Lower maintenance cost

Hydraulic filter cart

A superior contamination control device designed with maximum protection in mind.

Features Benefits
• Multi-stage filtration • Prevents secondary failures
• Highest quality components • Safety and reliability
• Flexible configurations • Matched to your specific needs
• Easy spin-on replacement elements • Save time, save money

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 237

 DrillCare

Drill simulator training

Training drill rig operators with the aid of simulators is gaining in popularity, rapidly becoming the method of choice
for mines around the world. Atlas Copco is a forerunner in driving this trend and now offers simulators for most of
its surface and underground equipment, the latest of which is a new simulator for training operators of Pit Viper
blasthole drills.

These modules provide extremely realistic and effective Specification

training for operating such large rigs as the new Pit Viper
Measures
235 in a safe and controlled environment.
Length 5m 197"

“The simulator will be used as part of our Master Driller Width 4m 157.5"
program,” says Peter Lawrence, Technical Services Man- Height 2.97 m 117"
ager Parts and Services.“ Weight 2,500 kg 5,500 lbs

The opportunity to learn in a realistic environment will Electrical motion platform

allow operators to thoroughly familiarize themselves
3x3VAC-10% - 3x480VAC+10%, 50 Hz, Fuse 20AT
with these rigs before taking the controls in the real
thing. “This means new operators can contribute more 3x3VAC-10% - 3x480VAC+10%, 50 Hz, Fuse 20AT
rapidly to a company’s operations.”

Computer rack cabin

Simulator training has proven to have a positive im-
pact on performance and reliability as operators learn 110VAC – 230VAC, 50-60HZ, Fuse 10AT
to avoid causing unnecessary wear and stress on key
components. In addition, it enables training to take place Humidity in operation
away from the site so that working rigs can continue to
Rel. humidity 85%, no condensation
focus on production.

238 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining


Glossary of terms
A Bit, Roller – Also called a tricone bit. It usually
Actuator – A motor or cylinder that is being
put into motion by the flow of a hydraulic
pump.
Adapter-Adaptor – (both spellings are
accepted) A device used to connect two
different sizes or types of threads. It is used
to connect rotary head spindles to drill pipe,
drill pipe to stabilizers and stabilizers to drill
bits.
ANFO – Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil mixture:
explosive most commonly used in blast-
holes.
Angle Drill – Drilling a hole at a 0 to 30
degree angle from vertical (in five degree
increments).
Annulus – The space between the drill pipe
and the outer diameter of the hole made by
the bit.
Annunciator – An electrical signaling device
on a switchboard.
API – American Petroleum Institute.
ASME – American Society of Mechanical
Engineers.
ASTM – American Society of Testing Materials.
Auto Lube System – A pump that provides
grease to various components of the drill
through hoses. It can be manual or com-
puter controlled.
B to a hydraulic cylinder, used to turn the
Bank – Vertical surface of an elevation; also
called the face.
Beco Thread – A coarse type of thread used
on drill pipe.
Bench – Work area on the top edge of an
elevation. The work area for blasthole drills.
Bit, Auger – A type of bit used to drill soft
formations. It usually has a series of flutes
on the outside.
Bit, Claw – A wing-type bit that has multiple
flukes. Sometimes called a drag bit.
Bit Breaker – A device installed in the
centralizer table to hold a bit stationary
while the drill pipe is being removed from
the bit by reversing the rotation. Also called
bit basket.
Bit, DHD – A solid, one piece bit with shaped
tungsten carbide inserts in the face. Used in
percussion drilling.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 239
has three conical rollers fitted with steel
or tungsten carbide teeth that rip the rock
loose using down pressure.
Bits – Tools that pulverize formations so that
material can be removed from the hole, gene-
rally three-blade, three-cone or percussion.
Blasthole – A drilled hole used for purposes
of excavation rather than exploration, geo-
logical information or water wells. Holes are
used to load explosives for open pit mining,
and are usually limited to 200 feet.
Blasting – The act of igniting explosives in
a borehole to produce broken rock.
Blowdown – Term used when releasing
compressed air from the receiver tank on
a compressor when the drill is stopped.
Blowdown Valve – The valve that opens
when the drill is stopped and releases all
the air pressure in the receiver tank.
Bore – To make a hole in the ground with a
drill.
Borehole – The hole made by a bit.
Box End – Fitting on the female end of a drill
pipe. See Pin End.
Breakout – Refers to the act of loosening
threaded pipe joints, and of unscrewing one
section of pipe from another, while coming
out of the hole.
Breakout Wrench – A wrench, connected
upper piece of pipe while the lower pipe
is being held by the fork chuck or sliding
wrench.
Bridge – An obstruction in the hole. Usually
caused by a caving formation or something
falling in the hole.
Burden – Distance from the blasthole to the
nearest face. Distance measured from the
face to a row of holes. The material to be
displaced.
Buttons – Short, rounded teeth of sintered
tungsten carbide inserts which serve as
teeth in drill bits used for drilling very hard
rock.
Butterfly Valve – The adjustable inlet valve
of the air compressor.
C Coring – The act of procuring a sample of
Cable – A strong, heavy steel, wire rope.
Also known as wire rope. Used for pulldown
glossary
and pullback in the tower. Also used in hoi-
sting. May be rotating or rotation resistant.
Cable Reel – A device that holds the electri-
cal 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
drill’s controls. Also called the operator’s panel.
Conveyor – Equipment used to carry mate-
rial 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.
the formation being drilled for geological
information purposes.
 Glossary
Coupling – A connector for drill rods, pipe
or casing with identical threads, male or
female, at each end.
Cribbing – A set of wooden ties or metal
plates used to add surface area to the jack
pads to prevent the pad from sinking into the
ground. Also called blocking.
Crown Sheaves – The upper sheaves in a
tower that supports the cable that connects
to the rotary head.
Crosshead – The outer metal can sur-
rounding the leveling jack cylinders. The
crosshead slide is the lower portion that
connects to the bottom of the cylinders and
the crosshead cap is the flanged piece on
top of the crosshead.
Crusher – Device used to reduce broken
rock to a smaller fragment size.
Cut (verb) – Process of excavating material
to lower the level of part of an elevation.
Cut (noun)
Part of an excavation of a specified depth
and width.
Cuttings – Particles of formation obtained
from the hole during drilling operations.
D in the drill table to allow the DHD to start
Decking – Process of alternating explosives
with inert material in a blasthole to properly
distribute explosives or reduce vibrations.
Also refers to the metal catwalks around the
outside of the drill.
Delay Interval – Elapsed time between deto-
nation of individual blastholes in a multiple
hole blast.
Derrick – A tall framework over a drilled
hole used to support drilling equipment.
The part of the drill that contains the feed
system and the rotary head. See Tower
and Mast.
DHD – Down Hole Drill. An air driven, piston
powered device for drilling hard rock. It is also
called a hammer.
DHD Bushings – The split bushings used to
maintain alignment of the DHD while passing
through the drill table. See Split Bushings.
Differential Pressure – The difference in
pressure between the inlet and outlet of a
component, i.e., a cooler.
Dip – The angle between a horizontal plane
and the plane of the ore vein, measured at
right angles to the strike.
Diverter Valve – A two position, three-way,
valve that allows one hydraulic pump to
perform two separate functions.
240 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Dressing a Bit – Sharpening DHD drill bits
with a grinder to shape the carbides.
Drifter – An out-of-the-hole drill that rotates
the drill rod and provides a percussive force,
by means of a striking bar, through the rod
to the bit.
Drill – A machine for drilling rock or
unconsolidated formations. Also called
a rotary drill. The act of boring a hole
in the ground.
Drill Collar – A heavy, thick-walled section
of pipe used to add drilling weight to the bit
and stabilize the drill string.
Drill Rod – See Drill Pipe. Hollow, flush-joint-
ed, coupled rods used on small percussion
type rock drills.
Drill Pipe – Hollow tubing, specially welded
to tool joints.
Drill/Propel Valve – A switch that shifts
the diverter valves to allow pump flow
to go from drill functions to propel
motors.
Drill String – The string of pipe, including
subs, stabilizers, collars and bit, extending
from the bit to the rotary head, that carries
the air or mud down to the bit and provides
rotation to the bit.
Driller (Operator) – The employee directly in
charge of a drill. Operation of the drill is their
main duty.
Drill Table – The area at the bottom of the
tower that contains the centralizer bushing
or master bushing that the drill pipe travels
through.
Dust Collector – A vacuum device with a
hose attached to the dust hood that pulls
cuttings away from the hole and deposits
them to the side of the drill.
F Hoist – Device used to pick up drill
Face – Vertical surface on an elevation. Also
called bank.
Feed Cable – Cables, anchored on the
top and the bottom of the tower, that pass
through the traveling sheave block and
connect to the top and bottom of the rotary
head. They are adjusted by tightening the
threaded rods on each end.
Feed Chain – Heavy duty chain links con-
nected to the rotary head through upper
and lower sprockets and the traveling
sheave block. They are adjusted similar
to a cable.
Fill – Process of moving material into a
depression to raise its level; often follows
the cut process.
Fish – An object accidentally lost in the hole.
Fishing – Operations on the drill for the
purpose of retrieving the fish from the
hole.
Fishing Magnet – Magnet run in the hole
on non-metallic line, to pick up any small
pieces of metal.
Fishing Tools – Tools of various kinds run in
the hole to assist in retrieving a fish from the
hole. Overshots fit over the pipe while taps
fit inside the pipe.
Flats – Machined areas on the side of drill
pipe or other components where wrenches
can be installed to hold or break the joints.
Some pipe have two flats, others have four
flats.
Floor – Level area at the base of a bank or face.
Fork Chuck – The handheld or “flop-down”
wrench used to hold the top of the pipe
on the drill table while adding or removing
other pipe.
H
Hammer – A different name for a Down
Hole Drill.
Hammer Bushing – Split bushings installed
the hole in a straight line. It is removed once
the DHD is below the table. Also called DHD
bushings.
Haul Distance – Distance material has to be
moved, such as from a cut to a fill.
Hauling Equipment – Trucks and other con-
veyances for moving material. Also called
haul trucks.
Hazard – Any condition of the drilling equip-
ment or the environment that might tend to
cause accidents or fire.
pipe and other heavy objects.
See Winch.
Hoist Plug – A lifting device installed in
the box end of a tool. Opposite of lifting
bail.
Hole – A bore made by rotating a bit into
the ground.
Hose, Drilling – Connects rotary head to top
of hard piping to allow movement of rotary
head. Also called standpipe hose.
Hydraulic Cylinders – Double acting
cylinders that are extended and retracted
to perform various functions on a drill.
They are powered by hydraulic fluid
from a pump.

Hydraulic Motors – Piston or vane type mo-
tors, 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.
I millimeter. About 4/100,000 of an inch.
Inclinometer – An instrument for measuring
the angle to the horizontal or vertical of a
drill hole or vein.
I.W.R.C. – Abbreviation for Independent
Wire Rope Center. This refers to the type
of construction of wire rope. This wire rope
center is in effect a separate wire rope in
itself that provides a core for the line and
prevents it from crushing or breaking.
Interstage Pressure – The air pressure
present between stages of a two-stage
compressor while the compressor is
making air.
J each track of a blasthole track drill with the
J Wrench – Specially shaped wrench to fit
the backhead of a DHD. Used to hold a DHD
on the table or to remove the backhead from
the wear sleeve.
K drilling operation with the drill. See Driller.
Kelly Bar – A fluted or square drill pipe that
is turned by a rotary table using a set of pins.
L weather, etc.
Leveling Jacks – Hydraulic cylinders
mounted in a crosshead that raise and lower
the drill. Also referred to as outriggers or
stabilizers.
Lifting Bail – A threaded cap for picking up
pipe, bits, DHDs and stabilizers. It screws on
the pin end. Some bails have a swivel hook
while others have solid tops. Opposite of
hoist plug.
Loaders – Large, front end bucket equip-
ment used to pick up material for loading in
various types of hauling equipment.
M Pulldown – Force exerted on the drill bit by
Main Frame – The welded component of a
track mounted drill. The truck frame on a
wheeled drill.
Main Shaft (axle) – The tube connecting the
tracks of a blasthole drill to the main frame.
Makeup – The act of tightening threaded
joints. Making a connection.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 241
Making Hole – The act of drilling.
Making Up a Joint – The act of screwing a
joint of pipe into another joint or section of
pipe.
Manifold – A pipe or chamber that has
several openings for hose connections.
Mast – A vertical structure. See Derrick.
Micron -:- Mu – A unit of length equal to one
millionth of a meter, or one thousandth of a
Mid-Inlet Swivel – Device for removing
cuttings from the hole while drilling with
reverse circulation equipment.
Mine Plan – Plan for making cuts and
creating elevations, benches for efficient
removal of material. The mine plan con-
siders a variety of factors, including the
type and location of material, the size and
number of shovels, loaders, and hauling
equipment, haul distances, blasthole
patterns, etc.
O of base, engine, compressor, and hydraulic
Oscillation Yoke – The beam connecting
main frame that allows the tracks to move
independently up and down.
Open Hole – Any uncased portion of a hole.
Operator – The person who performs the
Overburden – Any unconsolidated material
lying on top of the bedrock or the coal seam.
P
Parasitic Load – The load imposed on the
engine by the direct connection of the
compressor and main pump drive during
starting.
Pattern – Layout and distances between
blastholes, specifically including burden
and spacing.
Penetration Rate – Speed at which a bit
advances while drilling, usually measured
in feet per hour. Instantaneous or drilling
penetration rate is the rate only while drill-
ing. Overall penetration rate is the same as
the production rate (see production rate).
Percussion Drill – Drill that chips and pen-
etrates rock with repeated blows.
Pin End – Fitting on male end of drill pipe.
See Box End.
Pioneer Work – Drilling in rough, broken or
inclined areas. Removing the original layers
of dirt and rock.
glossary
Pipe Dope – Special lubricant used to protect
the threads on pipe joints. See Thread Lube.
Pipe Support – A device that holds the lower
section of pipe in place while connecting
to the next joint with the rotary head when
angle drilling. Also called rod support.
Pit – An excavation in the ground for the
removal of mineral deposits.
PLC – Programmable Logic Controller. A de-
vice that monitors many aspects of a drill’s
operation.
Potable Water – Water that is safe to drink.
Powder Factor/Specific Charge – Relation-
ship between the weight of explosives in
a blasthole and the volume of materials to
be displaced. It is measured in pounds per
cubic yard or kilograms per cubic meter.
Power Pack Base – The welded channel
frame that contains the prime mover, the
compressor and the hydraulic pumps and
gearbox.
Power Pack – The complete sub-assembly
drive.
Presplitting – Process of drilling a line of
small diameter holes spaced relatively close
together, generally before drilling a produc-
tion blast, and loaded with light explosive
charges to create a clean, unbroken rock
face.
Production Rate – Penetration during a
given reporting period. This rate includes
all lost time including maintenance,
breakdowns, long moves, inclement
Propel – To cause to move forward or
onward. To drive or tram.
Protectors, Thread – Steel or plastic covers
to cover the box and pin ends of drill pipe
when they are not being used.
Pump, Water Injection – Pump used to
pump water into the drill air stream to
keep the dust settled and to assist in
flushing the hole.
Pullback – The force available to remove
the drill string from the hole.
the thrust of the drill rig and from the weight
of the drill string.
Q
Quick Fill – A centralized service station
that connects to various systems on the
drill to allow remote filling of engine oil,
compressor oil and hydraulic oil.
 Glossary
R Sliding Fork – A wrench that slides around
Raise – A mine opening, like a shaft, driven
upward from the back of a level to a level
above, or to the surface.
Reamer – Bit-like tool, generally run directly
above the bit to enlarge and maintain a
straight hole.
Reservoir –The tank used for storing the
hydraulic oil used in the hydraulic system.
Reverse Circulation Drilling – Using a
double wall pipe to force air/water down the
hole and removing the cuttings between the
two pipes. See Mid-Inlet Swivel.
Rod Changer – A device that holds extra drill
rod (pipe). See Carousel.
Rotary Drilling – The method of drilling
that depends on the rotation of a column
of pipe to the bottom of which is attached
a bit. Air or fluid is circulated to remove
the cuttings.
Rotary Head – A movable gearbox used to
provide rotation to the drill string. It is con-
nected to the feed chains or cables on each
end and to the drill string through the spindle.
S the drill pipe rotation head in the drill tower.
Safety Hook – Attached to the end of a hoist
line to secure the hoist plug or lifting bail.
Has a safety latch to prevent the load
from slipping off the hook.
Scales – Equipment used to determine the
weight and value of material being trans-
ported from a quarry.
Screens – Devices used to separate broken
material into groups of similar size.
Shock Sub – A device used to isolate the
shock of drilling from the rotary head. It is
made of hard rubber layers mounted inside
of steel outer rings.
Single Pass Drill – Drill rig with a long tower
that permits drilling a blasthole without stop-
ping to add drill pipe (rod). Uses a Kelly in
place of regular pipe. Uses a rotary table to
turn the Kelly instead of a rotary head.
Stemming – Material of a specified depth
added on top of a powder column to confine
the blasthole and make the explosion more
efficient.
Strip Mine – A large section of land used to
remove coal deposits.
Shot – A charge of high explosives depos-
ited in a series of holes to shatter the rock.
Shutdown – A term that can mean the end
of the shift or workday or an unplanned
stopping of the drill due to a system failure.
242 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining
Swivel – A coupling on top of the rotary
the flats of the drill pipe to hold the section head to allow the spindle to rotate while the
lower. Controlled by hydraulic cylinder(s). main hose remains stationary.
Used in place of a fork chuck.
Slips – Used in the rotary table to hold and
T
Table Drive – Drill design that locates the
break out drill pipe. Also used to hold casing
drill pipe rotation mechanism on the drill
in the table.
deck in a stationary position instead of using
the rotary head.
Spacing – Distance between blastholes
measured parallel with the face.
Threaded and Coupled Casing (T&C)
– Steel casing using a coupling between
Spear – Tools of various design that are
each section of pipe. Thread style is right
screwed or wedged inside of bits, pipe, etc.,
hand, fine thread.
that are lodged in the hole. See Fishing
Tools.
Thread Lube – A special compound used to
lubricate the threads of drill pipe. See Pipe
Spindle – The short section of pipe that
Dope.
rotates within the rotary head, and
protrudes out.
Tongs – A type of wrench used to make
up and break out drill pipe using external
Speed Switch – An electronic device that
forces, such as hydraulic cylinders or
changes states when the engine reaches
cables.
a certain speed. Used to control dual oil
pressure switches.
Tool Joint – A drill pipe coupler consisting
of a pin and box of various designs and
Split Bushings – The removable bushings
sizes. Deephole drills normally use API style
that allow the DHD or Stabilizer to pass
threads, while blasthole drills normally use
through the drill table while drilling
Beco style threads.
a straight hole. See DHD Bushings.
Top Head Drill – Drill design that locates
Stabilizer, Drill Pipe – Heavy -walled pipe
having special spiral or fluted ribs extend-
It moves up and down with the drill string.
ing around the diameter, within 1/8 “to 1/4”
See Rotary Head.
of hole size. Most stabilizers are fitted just
above the bit, while in-line stabilizers keep
Torque – A turning or twisting force.
the hole straight.
A moment caused by force acting on an arm.
A one pound force acting on a one-foot
Standpipe – Part of the circulating system.
arm would produce one lb-ft of torque.
The hard and flexible piping from the main
valve to the flexible hosing leading to the
Tower – A tall, slender structure used for
rotary head. Water injection, DHD oil and
observation, signaling or pumping. Term
foam are injected into this line.
used to indicate the derrick on a blasthole
drill. See Derrick and Mast.
Static Water Level – The distance from the
top of ground down to the standing water
Turning To The Right – Slang term for
level.
making a hole.
Strike –The bearing of the outcrop of an
Tram – A cable car or a four-wheeled open
inclined bed or structure on a level surface.
box in a coal mine. See Propel.
See Dip.
Stuck In The Hole – Refers to drill pipe inad- Trammed – To move in a tram.
vertently becoming fastened in the hole.
Tramming – Process of moving a drill.
Subdrilling – Bottom portion of a blasthole See Propelling.
drilled below the floor level to permit
upward displacement of material and Traveling Sheave Block – A series of
thereby prevent a toe at the bottom of sheaves, connected to the feed chains or
a face. cables, that are moved up and down the
derrick by the feed cylinders.
Sub – A coupling with different type or diam-
eter of threads at either end. The term pin Twist Off – To twist a joint of pipe in two by
denotes a male thread, and box, a female excessive torque applied by the rotary head
thread. To connect two components with or rotary table.
different threads. See Adapter.
U
Supercharge Pressure – Inlet oil pressure to UL88 – The pneumatic valve that controls
the main pump(s) that has been pressurized pressure and volume on a high-pressure
to prevent cavitation. compressor system.

Undercarriage – The means of moving a
track type vehicle. It contains the track
frame, rollers, grousers, rock guards, drive
sprocket, propel motors and planetary drive.
Uphole Velocity – The speed (in feet per
minute) that the cuttings travel out of the
hole. This is dependent on the bit size, the
compressor size and the pipe size.
W wiping drill pipe clean of cuttings when it is
Washpipe – Hard surfaced steel tubes
inserted in swivels to allow rotation of drill
string and prolong life of packing. They are
replaceable in most swivels.
Water injection – A method of rotary drilling
where water is dispersed in the air while
drilling.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining 243
glossary
Weight On Bit – In rotary drilling, a specified
weight is required on the bit for maximum
performance. A gauge on the console is
calibrated to correspond to the drill string
weight.
Winch – A stationary hoisting machine
having a drum around which a rope is
wound.
Wiper, Pipe – An annular rubber disk for
being withdrawn from the hole.
Wire Rope – Rope made of twisted strands
of steel wire. Also called cable.
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Zambia Chingola +260 (0)2-311281
Zimbabwe Harare +263 (0)4-621761

For more information visit www.atlascopco.com

and select country, or contact:
Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions LLC, Garland, Texas, USA
Telephone: +1 (972) 496 7400

244 Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

A safe approach to your future
At Atlas Copco, we strive to make your future more productive. By focusing not
only on today, our goal is to offer reliable, lasting results for years to come.
We put an emphasis on safety to give you a secure working environment.
It's not just a business practice; it's an Atlas Copco state of mind—Safety F!rst.
Advantage — Pit Viper
Your purchase is just the start
The Pit Viper blasthole drills have earned a reputation for productivity and smart design. To enhance that,
Atlas Copco offers training for drill rig operators on simulators—giving an extremely realistic experience in
a controlled environment. Ergonomics have always been a part of the Pit Viper design, but this training keeps
operators safe while enabling them to learn without wear and stress on rig components in the field.
Atlas Copco is much more than a rig sales company. We also offer complete service packages, and this
training opportunity to keep the advantage on your productivity.
If you need more reasons to invest in a Pit Viper, find out more at www.atlascopco.com/blastholedrills.
 Atlas Copco
Blasthole Drilling
Advantage – Pit Viper in Open Pit Mining

Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

Interested in increasing your productivity?

The Pit Viper blasthole drills have earned a well-   deserved reputation for dependability and productivity.
Operator safety and ergonomics also contribute to their high long-term value. Whether you are
searching for simple and rugged, or advanced and automated, the Pit Viper will be a strong contender.
With the Atlas Copco Rig Control System (RCS) option you can start with a simple basic concept and
still have the flexibility to add advanced functions later. Atlas Copco also offers complete drill string
and service packages tailored to your specific requirements.

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.
Printed matter no. 58 388 351

Second edition 2011

2011

www.atlascopco.com/blastholedrills