Boart Longyear, the integrated exploration drilling services, equipment and performance tooling provider, has been awarded a contract for the exploration drilling services at the Escondida copper mine in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Minera Escondida is located 170 km southeast of Antofagasta, at an altitude of 3,100 m and is owned by BHP Billiton (57.5%), Rio Tinto (30%), JECO Corporation (10%) and JECO 2 Ltd. (2.5%) but operated by BHP Billiton as the majority owner. During the life of the contract, Boart Longyear will deploy at least 16 rigs at the site 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.”

The Boart Longyear Global Drilling Services division operates in over 40 countries for a diverse mining customer base spanning a wide range of commodities, including copper, gold, nickel, zinc, uranium, and other metals and minerals. The Global Products division designs, manufactures and sells drilling equipment, performance tooling, and aftermarket parts and services to customers in over 100 countries.