Boart Longyear has been recognised as the 2009 recipient of the prestigious Olympic Dam Vendor of the Year award for 2009. In commenting on the award, a BHP spokesperson indicated, “Boart Longyear has been operating at Olympic Dam for approximately 10 years and in the 2009 financial year displayed admirable performance in key evaluation criteria including safety, community, customer responsiveness and operational performance with their underground drilling services.”

Diane Bettess, Asia Pacific Drilling Services General Manager of Boart Longyear, said, “We are pleased to have received this prestigious award from BHP Billiton in recognition of our industry-leading safety programs and superior client service. This award is the result of the hard work and dedication of all our employees at Olympic Dam and our continued focus on meeting the needs of the major mining companies. We look forward to continuing to perform critical drilling services for BHP Billiton at Olympic Dam in South Australia as well as other locations throughout the world.”

Boart Longyear is a leading provider of drilling services and drilling products for the global mining industry, and also has a substantial presence in drilling for other purposes, including water exploration, environmental and oil sands exploration. With 2008 sales of $1.8 billion and nearly 7,000 employees worldwide, the company conducts contract drilling services in more than 40 countries, and provides mining products to customers in over 100 countries.