May 13 2014
Boart Longyear, the world’s leading integrated exploration drilling services, equipment and performance tooling provider, has been awarded a contract for the exploration drilling services at Escondida copper mine in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile.
Minera Escondida is a mine site located 170 km southeast of Antofagasta, at an altitude of 3,100 m. It is owned by BHP Billiton (57.5%), Rio Tinto (30%), JECO Corporation (10%) and JECO 2 Ltd. (2.5%). It is operated by BHP Billiton.
During the life of the contract, Boart Longyear will deploy at least 16 rigs at these sites and provide a variety of drilling techniques, including diamond coring (semi-automated hands-free), reverse circulation and rotary rigs for mine dewatering.
“Being selected by Minera Escondida to do their exploration work is an honour for the local team of drillers, helpers, and support personnel to prove on a daily basis that we can deliver safe meters to one of the world’s top miners,” said Scott Whitt, general manager of drilling services in Latin America for Boart Longyear. “We are grateful that Minera Escondida has selected Boart Longyear and are excited to start drilling for them.”
To learn more about Boart Longyear Drilling Services, visit: http://www.boartlongyear.com/drilling-services.