rotary blasthole drilling

[′rōd·ə·rē ′blast‚hōl ‚dril·iŋ]

(mining engineering)

A term applied to two types of drilling: in quarrying and open pit mining it implies rotary drilling with roller-type bits, using compressed air for cuttings removal, either conventional rotary table drive or hydraulic motor to produce rotation, with hydraulic or wire-line mechanisms to add part of the weight of the drill to the weight of the tools to increase bit pressure; and in underground mining and sometimes aboveground, it implies the drilling of small-diameter blastholes with a diamond drill, using either coring or noncoring diamond bits.

References in periodicals archive ?

Further reflecting the company's development of a complete line of drills for surface mining applications, Komatsu's 77 drill model, introduced at MINExpo 2016 and later renamed 77XR, was designed to accommodate the largest spectrum of rotary blasthole drilling from coal to hard rock applications.

Komatsu Develops Articulating Boom Track Drills

The new Atlas Copco DM30 II Mid-Range Rotary Blasthole Drilling Rig is proving itself just as successful in the United States as it has overseas, according to the company.

Atlas Copco releases Mid-Range Rotary Blasthole Drilling Rig

The 1175E is an electric-powered, self-propelled, crawler-mounted rig designed for low-pressure rotary blasthole drilling. It can be safely operated by one person and is equipped for drilling 229-279-mm (9-11-in.) diameter holes to depths up to 53 m (175 ft).

Sandvik's new electric rotary rig sparks productivity at Chinese mine

It can also be downloaded from the rotary blasthole drilling section on www.atlascopco.com/blastholedrills.