Boart Longyear

Boart Longyear’s Drilling Services division has established a leading position in the key geographic segments of the Minerals drilling services industry of Australia, Canada and the United States, of which Management estimate US$1.0 billion was spent on drilling services in FY2006. The Company is also the market leader of the US$2.5 billion global Minerals drilling services industry, with an estimated 17% share. The Company’s Products division is the global leader in the surface and underground mineral exploration drilling products segment.

The Company also has a substantial presence in the global Environmental & Infrastructure Industry with a leadership position in the United States environmental drilling services segment. Boart Longyear has a growing position in oil sands, oil shales, gas well casing and coal bed methane segments within the Energy drilling services industry in the United States and Canada. The Company is also investigating opportunities in relation to its products offering to the Energy Industry.

Boart Longyear’s integrated model of Drilling Services and Products divisions fosters a mutually beneficial relationship. Management estimates that approximately 15% of the Products division’s manufacturing output is used to supply drilling products to the Company’s Drilling Services division. Additionally, the integrated model provides the following competitive advantages:

• access to equipment in a
  supply-constrained market;
• continuous product development and
  innovation cycle driven by productivity
  requirements from Drilling Services;
• a "speed to market" advantage for new
  product development; and
• unrivalled market knowledge.

Drilling Services and Products Division       

Business summary

• Conducts drilling for clients on a contract basis, primarily for the extraction of rock, soil or water samples for technical analysis
• Produces a wide range of equipment and consumables for use in drilling
• Produces mining capital equipment, primarily for mine production
• Produces hardrock tools for blast hole drilling

• Produces stone cutting consumables 

   

Drilling services are provided to the following Industries:

• Minerals (exploration, development, production and mine closure drilling)
• Environmental & Infrastructure (environmental, water, construction and geotechnical drilling)
• Energy (oil sands, oil shale and coal bed methane drilling and gas well casing)

Drilling consumables products include:

• Diamond core bits
• Drilling rods
• Core barrels
• Percussive drilling consumables

• Diamond cutting wire

   

Drilling equipment products include:

• Minerals core drilling rigs
• Environmental/geotechnical rigs
• Percussive drilling rigs
• Rockdrills
• Mining capital equipment