Water Rockdrills

• Novatek water drills typically drill at least 2x faster than S215 air drills.
• Face drilling can be done in half the time or using fewer drillers – reducing the overall risk exposure.
• Drill noise is below the legislated levels; and below 95 dBA with hearing protection.
• There is no fogging or grease or oil emission.

Novatek water rockdrills are the primary production tool within a hydropowered mining system. They are used to drill blastholes, roofbolt holes and holes for support and rigging. They can also be used to install and set roofbolts.

The drills can be used as jackdrills (ie hand-held, with a thrustleg) and as feed-mounted drills on one of our drilling rigs.

Novatek water drills have a high power-to-mass ratio, they are light but drill at least 2x faster than standard pneumatic and electric stoping drills. Their independent rotation mechanism also makes them much more effective when drilling in fractured ground.

The exhaust water from rockdrills can be recirculated back to the powerpacks to reduce the amount of water that is dumped to the footwall by 75%; only the flushing water portion flows into the working area. This flushing water volume is no more than that produced when drilling with either pneumatic or electric drills!

Novatek drills and drilling equipment are our own patented designs that we manufacture in-house. We provide full maintenance and backup support. The drills have been in commercial use since the late 1980s.

Some tips for drill and thrustleg selection

• Determine the operating pressure at the drill, based on the pump pressure and flow. A pressure drop of typically 2 MPa may be expected between the pressure source and the operating drill (actual drop will depend on actual system). This is due to fluid friction losses in supply hoses, valves and fittings.
• For gravity- fed hydropower. Select drill according to pressure range in working area. Normally HP or MP drills are used.
• For pumped hydropower. Normally, the MP drill is the optimum choice as it best suits pump operating pressures.
• For use on a drill feed, a drill with remote start valve is typically the optimum.
• For in-stope roofbolting, a shortened MP version is available; it uses a 22 mm hex drillsteel with a 108mm shank.
• Exhaust water recirculation is not standard. Specify on enquiry.
• Drillsteel to be used. The 25 mm AF x 159 mm shank with rubber collar is standard. 22 mm AF x 159 mm shank drillsteels may be used for drilling holes up to 1.5 m deep. Specify different drillsteel requirements (shank size and length, collar type) on enquiry.
• Thrustleg. The 750 mm stroke leg is normally used in stopes up to 1.5 m width. The 1000 mm stroke leg is normally used in larger stopes and development ends. Leg extensions are available. Shorter stroke thrustlegs can be made to order.
• Drill feed. Ensure the feed force is controllable in the specified range for efficient operation. The drill should be mounted using a spring with stiffness of 500 N/mm to 1000 N/mm