Under the sole control of Brisbane-based mining consultancy Xtega, an independent comparative trial was held at a hard rock metalliferous mine, selected for the highly abrasive mineral species abundant in the host rock (between 90 and 200MPa). The trial – in adjacent holes drilled under identical conditions – directly compared four well known, market-dominant brands of down-the-hole (DTH) hammers with the LaserBond unit. The main point of difference was the technology.
Four Atlas Copco D65 rigs, each running identical settings, were brought to site and worked the same bench, within metres of each other. To maintain objectivity, crews were rotated among the four rigs to experience and report on the operational characteristics and performance of the hammers in the trial.
As detailed in the Xtega report, a suite of industry-standard hammers drilled an average of 3514m before failure, whereas the hammers incorporating LaserBond technology drilled 10,726 metres.
Xtega concluded there was “an irrefutable decrease in the rate of abrasive wear, which results in an increase in the life of the LaserBond hammer”.
The LaserBond technology had “increased the average life by a factor of approximately 3.05 times”.
However, an increase in operational life is just one of the benefits delivered by the LaserBond DTH hammers.
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Others include improved mechanical availability, improved efficiency, higher impact and penetration rates, improved site and operator safety and less downtime for change-outs – along with the not insignificant cost savings these benefits deliver.
Regarding the likely impact on operating costs, Xtega reported “a reduction in the cost of the drilling function in the order of 7.5 per cent”. This is significant in today’s mining economics.
On average, high performance DTH hammers have about 20 internal components. The LaserBond DTH hammers have just 13.
A 35 per cent reduction in the number of internal components points to a substantial reduction in the chance of component failure, plus a substantial reduction in the possibility of a rig shutdown to change out a hammer.
LaserBond, operating from sites in Sydney and Adelaide, specialises in the manufacture and reclamation of components and assemblies for a broad range of capital-intensive industries, often for critical applications that require optimised surface properties. LaserBond has been surface engineering and laser cladding metal components for almost 25 years. Now it has brought these years of knowledge about the mechanics of wear to the DTH hammer – a vital drilling rig production component – to use innovative surface technology to reduce maintenance costs and extend machinery life.
The surface protection system for a DTH hammer is another notch in the belt for the firm, although a new (and patented) laser deposition process was a necessarily inventive step taken by the company to enable its development.
To complement the hammer, a new chuck was also developed – and treated with laser deposition – which features a tapered design to better manage the abrasive particle flow from the drill bit and its impact on the hammer casing. LaserBond’s DTH hammers were comparatively trialled under totally objective and bona fide conditions prior to the company releasing its range of proprietary products to the mining, construction, bulk handling, power generation, agricultural and many other industrial markets.
Source: LaserBond