Mining equipment company Sandvik has launched a new range of drill bits, the Diamond Enhanced (DE) Carbide range which Sandvik claims offers far superior wear and is much more abrasion resistant.
The new range is suited for mining exploration and production purposes as well as grade control applications.
According to Sandvik Global’s RC aftermarket Product Line Manager Richard Reed, Sandvik’s DE Carbide bits use a poly-crystalline diamond structure to achieve unprecedented levels of hardness and abrasion resistance which increases bit life by a factor of three to five times.
“For example, when using standard carbides, in a typical 400m deep hole for exploration drilling, depending on abrasiveness and ground conditions, up to 20 bit changes can be required,” he says.
“However, using Sandvik Carbide bits, the great majority of those bit changes are eliminated.”
Sandvik has trialled the new bit range in various ground conditions around Australia, including banded ironstone formation with layers of magnetite and quartz, where generic bit changes were sometimes required every 6m.
“We knew that if we could develop a bit and get it to work in these conditions, it would work anywhere,” Reed says.
He adds with the new DE Carbide range, drill time of a shift can be significantly increased without the need for constant bit changing.
The main benefits of the range, according to Reed, are:
- Eliminating the need to sharpen bits
- Increasing bit life by a factor of three to five times
- At least two –to-three times increase in productivity depending on ground conditions
- The potential to reduce hole costs by more than $10,000 per hole
- Reduced wear and tear on the drill rig
- Improved safety through no bit sharpening and fewer rod pulls required.
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