The new bits feature engineering upgrades to the existing Stage 3 waterways. There is now a full selection of 16mm crown Stage bits and a face discharge feature which is optional.

“Since its release in 2007, the Stage 3 diamond coring bit remains the world’s tallest, with a crown height of more than 25 millimetres,” the company said of the line, which can help mines achieve better penetration rates, longer active drilling and fewer changeouts of rods.

All of those lead to the longer-term benefits of increased shift capacity and greater meters drilled overall.

Boart Longyear coring products product manager Monika Portman said the new bits were a new benchmark for those seeking reliability, cost-efficiency and high productivity in all ground conditions.

“The new design features an expansion of our patented window to improve productivity, a revised window layout to increase strength and our new patent-pending RazorCut face design, which provides the driller with a ready-to-cut bit right out of the box,” Portman said.

The 16mm bit model also has enhanced Stage technology that can give operations a greater choice when working at shallower target depths.

Some of the Stage design upgrades include greater durability via windows with rounded corners, which increase damage resistance that debris in fractured ground conditions can cause.

The windows also have a new design, Twin-Taper, which increases wear resistance and increases the bit’s performance.

“The Stage windows taper inward to create more material on the window’s inner diameter, increasing material strength and product life,” Portman pointed out.

“In addition, the tapered windows cause high fluid velocity in the inner diameter resulting in better flushing of fluids, cuttings and debris.

“The Stage windows are now positioned to rotate in the opposite direction of rod rotation, creating more surface material which further increases the strength of the crown, maximizing performance in all ground conditions.”

Check out more about Boart Longyear in the May 2010 edition of Coal USA, out soon.