Page 6 - Diamond Products Catalog

HISTORY
Boart Products
Our diamond products were originally developed by Anglo American Corporation in the 1930’s
as a way to commercialize industrial-grade diamonds for the world’s leading diamond producer. Boart Products led the research and development program which enabled practical and reliable manufacturing of diamond coring bits.
Early Success in the Copper Belt
The first Boart bits off the line were put to use exploring for copper in Zambia and gold in the Orange Free State, South Africa. The early success of these bits paved the way for widespread adoption of the technology within the industry.
Longyear
In 1938, the Longyear contract drilling department started using Cast Set diamond bits. Almost immediately after Longyear had the bits in the field, the sales department started receiving inquiries from around the world regarding the availability of the diamond bit.
As our surface-set diamond bit technology developed, Longyear brand bits were put to use around the world. In the 1960’s, the LongyearTM QTM wireline took the industry by storm and opened the door for widespread adoption of Longyear drilling tools and consumables.
Revolutionary Engineering
1974 was an important year for Boart Longyear. Boart
International became the sole owner of Longyear. With the
new found technical talent and capital investment from Boart International, Longyear became the leading manufacturer of diamond bits.
BIT HISTORICAL TIMELINE
1930 1940 1950 1970
1930s: Diamond bit technology developed by Boart Products
1955: Longyear develops drilling system for NASA
1938: LongyearTM Cast Set diamond drill bits launched
1949: Key manufacturing partnership formed to produce LongyearTM bits
4 © Copyright 2014 Boart Longyear. All rights reserved.
1950s: Powder metallurgy first applied to surface-set diamond bits