USA, Battle Mountain, Nevada

Unforgiving ground

Biting through the hard and abrasive quartzite in the Nevada desert, the single pass Pit Viper 271 gives the Phoenix Mine a clean, 45-ft hole.

Improvement and
teamwork are the
keys to success
at Phoenix Mine
The formation in Newmonts Phoenix Mine near Battle Mountain,
NV, contains high levels of abrasive quartzite but also contains
precious gold, copper, and silver.
Newmont started mining operations at Phoenix (formerly Battle
Mountain Gold) three years ago
and the planners knew they were
working with a challenging geological formation. But as it turned
out, it was more challenging than
anticipated.

Hammer drilling
with PV-271
Mine manager Mark Evatz said, Anything that touches Phoenix rock wears
fast. The rock fights back here. The Pit
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

Viper is big and bad and can take it.

Evatz is talking about Atlas Copcos Pit
Viper 271 (PV-271) blasthole drill.
Because of the hardness of the rock,
drilling at Phoenix requires hammer
drilling and the mine uses tough Atlas
Copco TD65 hammers with 6-inch
bits. The mines PV-271s are outfitted
with a single 1450 cfm, 350 psi oilflooded air compressor.
Phoenix has six Atlas Copco PV-271
drill rigs plus an Atlas Copco DML and a
DM45 midrange blasthole rig. The mines
goal is to keep four million tons of muck
in inventory to stay ahead of the shovels
and support needed operational flexibility (ore control related).
Drilling efficiency has been a continuous point of improvement since operations began at the mine. The singlepass depth capability of 55 ft (16.5 m)
on the PV-271 helped with that. Originally, the plans called for 20-ft bench
heights, supported by 23-ft drill depths,
but time spent moving from hole to hole
was eating up productivity. Drilling on

that plan resulted in drilling an average of 47 ft an hour. When depths were

changed to 44-ft drill depths, supporting blasting of 40-ft benches, they were
able to utilize the single pass capacity
of the PV-271, and performance increased to over 60 feet an hour. Although
the drill depth change largely supported the improvement, other aspects of
continuous improvement associated
with increased knowledge of the Pit
Viper drills helped as well.
We are below our budgeted drill
costs, said Evatz. This is partially because the best cost- per- foot comes from
hammer drilling when in hard rock.
Pat McAmis, maintenance planning
general foreman, concurred with this.
You can try to put more drills on the
bench, but space and costs dont make
that practical.
The mine focuses on maximizing
blast-induced fragmentation while
maintaining the integrity of the ore
zones (minimal dilution). Although the
crusher can handle 30-inch boulders,
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Unforgiving ground

Single pass drill of 40-ft benches with PV-271 rigs.

McAmis said, The goal is to maximize what youre digging keeping a

methodical approach.
At the Phoenix mine, drills are top
priority machines and we mine to feed
the mill, said McAmis. He is pleased
with the performance of the PV-271 and
has no major concerns, complimenting
the support from Atlas Copco and his
distributor, Cate Equipment. Were all
in it to make money and you have to
be fair, but I would say we work well
together.

Day to day contact

Drill operator Clinton Riddle started in
mining in 1976 and has seen a lot of technology advancements over the years.
For me, things really started to change
the last couple of years. He cited that
these advancements include the speed
of drilling with air, computerized controls, and automation on the rigs.
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Depending on the formation and area

of the mine, Riddle said a 45-ft hole can
take 5 to 45 minutes. As he drills, he
watches his computer monitor, which
tells him the hardness of the rock, the
drilling rate, and performance statistics such as time per hole, torque and
rotation. The color-coded block on the
right of the screen shows red for harder
rock formation and yellow or green for
softer formation. This helps him anticipate what changes may be required in
the hole. He said the color bar is nice to
have, but its still just a guide.
Riddle said the average shift completes about 18 45-ft holes, but there
are some eight- to 12-hole days and hes
seen as many as 50 a day. Atlas Copcos
Western Region manager, Jon Torpy,
has been in mines all around the world.
About the rock at Newmont, Torpy said,
We, as Atlas Copco, have only seen a
handful of locations that have the difficult drilling conditions found at Phoenix,

and the PV-271, coupled with the TD65

hammers, are the best tools for the
job.
Maintenance superintendent Walt
Holland is responsible for the entire
mines equipment maintenance at Newmonts Phoenix Mine. He said that he
looks at mining equipment like a three
leg stool drills, shovels, trucks and
all have to be working to keep things
moving. Because of the hardness of the
rock, drill maintenance is very important at Phoenix, said Holland. Other
Newmont properties may drill 120 to
130 ft an hour, but at Phoenix, they are
now up to 60 ft per hour. The rock hardness at Phoenix is unique to the world,
he pointed out. What I like about the
Pit Viper rig is its quality. I am getting
92.5 percent availability and that is
really good. The operators were given
additional training required for the
single pass rig and they feel very comfortable operating them now. We have
a great history with Atlas Copco and
have worked right through any issues
that have come up, Holland said.
In recent months, productivity at
Phoenix has increased and Holland
credits this in part to good communication between operations, maintenance,
and engineering. Phoenix is successful because we dont get conflicting
missions. We work well together and
challenge each other. The ground is
unforgiving at Phoenix and it takes a
team approach to be successful. When
mechanics and operators are talking,
you know youre winning, he said with
conviction.
Mark Evatz echoed this sentiment.
There had to be a steep learning curve
at Phoenix, he said. Since operations
began, the most recent quarter was
the best at Phoenix from an operation
standpoint. More revenue at a reduced
cost has had a lot to do with technology and the application of the Pit Viper
rigs, said Evatz.
For Evatz, continuous improvement
is a large part of the success at Phoenix.
We had 96 of 100 points right when
we started up Phoenix, he said. A lot
of the original planning decisions came
from the best practices used at other
Newmont Nevada mines, such as the
Lone Tree Mine. We looked at the hardest rock at Lone Tree as a comparison
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

Unforgiving ground

when beginning operations. Basing equipment estimates and mining practices on Lone Trees numbers, our drill
production was half of Lone Trees,
Evatz said. For another equipment
example, Evatz said dozer grousers require replacement three to four times
faster at Phoenix than Lone Tree.
Although the overall mining rates
were comparable at ~150k tons per day,
the rock hardness/abrasion at Phoenix
is substantially greater.
Major consumption items such as
down-the-hole hammers and bits are a
large ticket item when hammer drilling,
but necessary in very hard rock. The
mine uses about a dozen TD65 hammers a month and hundreds of 6-inch
bits. To maximize performance, Atlas
Copco has placed a full-time Product
Support Sales Representative (PSSR)
in the mine to support and develop the
use of consumables. His responsibilities include everything from evaluating bit and hammer performance,
maintaining hammers, and sharpening
bits to flipping a casing in order to maximize hammer life. Jim Wheeler, Atlas
Copco senior area manager for consumables in the Intermountain Region, said,
Having someone on-site is all about
continuous improvement. An example
of this was a recent insert change on
the 6-inch hammer bits gauge row,
which has increased bit performance.
Having someone there watching the
performance of all consumables ensures
that all pieces are working together,
reducing drilling costs and improving
productivity.

Maximum productivity
The TD 65 is a robust, high-powered
down-the-hole hammer designed for
maximum productivity in combination
with large drill rigs. At Phoenix Mine it
is equipped with 165 mm (6 in) button
bits but will also take bits up to 216 mm
(8 in). The TD 65 also ranks as the
most powerful hammer on the market,
delivering 2,160 blows per minute at
the maximum air pressure of 30 bar
(435 psi). Jim Wheeler, Atlas Copcos
senior area manager, said it was chosen
for its high penetration rate and that
it has been living up to expectations
since delivery. The hammer has been
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining

A PV-271 coupled with TD65 hammers have proven to be the best tools for the job.

in daily operation since the Pit Viper

arrived at the site and everything is
going well. We are getting a penetration rate of 60 to 180 feet (20-50 m) per
hour.
About 150 bits are used per month,
and in these extraordinarily abrasive
conditions, regrinding is not considered
an option. However, in order to reduce
bit consumption as much as possible,
Secoroc has changed the carbide in the
buttons to a tougher grade. Wheeler
said, Back in 2007, Newmont Phoenix
was testing several hammer and bit
manufacturers. They chose us because
our equipment drills faster and lasts
longer. They also agreed to use only
Secoroc consumables on the understanding that we would take the responsibility for the on-site service and
maintenance. The mine is very positive
to this arrangement and definitely sees
the benefit of this kind of service.

At the site, Tony Silva, who is responsible for stocking the spares and
rebuilds the hammer when required,
uses the Secoroc rebuild kit to replace
the back head, ham mer case and
chuck.
Other hammers previously used at
the site did not stand up as well to the
abrasive conditions, particularly the
outer parts which are usually the first
to wear down. However, on the TD 65,
the backhead, hammer case and chuck
are all designed using a thicker material. Replacement parts are required.
In addition, the TD 65 has a reversible hammer case so when the lower
end becomes worn (most of the wear
occurs from the bottom up), it can
simply be disassembled, flipped over
and drilling can continue.
Atlas Copco estimates that the hammer can normally be rebuilt two to three
times before the outer parts need to be
93

Unforgiving ground

Cutting backheads cemented tungsten carbide inserts protect the hammer and case against wear.
They also help to prevent the hammer getting stuck in the hole.

Robust and high-powered: These TD 65 hammer components prevent exceptional wear in abrasive rock.

replaced. Other features designed to

give increased productivity include a
special hardbody chuck, a patented
Quantum Leap air cycle which powers
the piston to more than 80 percent of
the stroke, and a patented Air Select
regulation system which enables the air
consumption of the hammer to be more
precisely matched to the air output of
the compressor.

The hammer that won the

battle of Phoenix rock
When the Atlas Copco Pit Viper 271 was
put to work at the Phoenix Mine, the
down-the-hole hammer was a crucial
part of the overall solution. Drilling conditions in the region known as the high
desert in northern Nevada are among
the most challenging in the world. The
94

quartzite encountered here is notorious

for its hardness, and nowhere is it more
abrasive than at the Phoenix Mine, located just south of Battle Mountain.
Anything that touches Phoenix rock
wears out fast. Here the rock fights back,
stressed Mark Evatz, mine manager.
Evatz added that incorporating someone from Atlas Copco onto his team
has allowed them to share the successes
and failures, and has helped fix issues
as they come up the first time. There
is no finger pointing, just solutions for
Evatz.
Despite the tough geological conditions at Phoenix Mine, Atlas Copco was
confident that the Pit Viper 271 and, in
particular, Secorocs Total Depth TD 65
down-the-hole hammer were up to the
task. When Newmont began operations
at Phoenix, it was estimated that $205

Helping Pheonix to maximize performance: Jim

Wheeler, Atlas Copcos Senior Area Manager,
says: The TD65 has been in daily operation
since the Pit Viper arrived and we are getting
a penetration rate of 60-180 feet per hour.

million would be necessary to build

and start up the mine. After two years,
those numbers were closer to $230 million due to escalated construction labor
and material prices. Although mining
took time to reach the desired production levels, it has been achieved.
Evatz concluded, We looked at an
aggressive ramp-up with Phoenix. We
can accelerate problem solving by working together with Atlas Copco and Cate
Equipment, which makes us all more
successful.

Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Atlas
Copco Mining & Construction magazine No 2 2008. Story and pictures
by Scott Ellenbecker, Ellenbecker
Communications.
Blasthole Drilling in Open Pit Mining