Boart Longyear™ UMX Diamond Bits Voted Winner Of 2012 Mining Magazine Exploration Award

Salt Lake City, UT /PRNewswire/ - Boart Longyear (www.BoartLongyear.com - ASX: BLY), the world's leading integrated drilling products and services provider, was voted the winner of the 2012 Mining Magazine Exploration Award for their Ultramatrix™ (UMX™) diamond coring bits.

The Mining Magazine awards are held annually to celebrate the top new technologies and innovative applications in the mining sector. The awards are voted on by the readers of Mining Magazine, and the UMX bits were chosen as the breakthrough product for the exploration sector this year.

"Having the UMX diamond coring bits selected for the exploration award is a real honor and a tribute to the bit's innovative design," said Kevin Tomaszewski, Global Director of Product Management for Boart Longyear. "We're confident drillers who use UMX bits will experience the significant productivity advantages that this award symbolizes."

UMX bits are engineered to drill faster, last longer and outperform existing bit technology in a wide range of drilling conditions and ground formations. The UMX uses advanced metallurgical formulas with larger impregnated diamonds to provide increased penetration capabilities, turning easily from one ground formation to another. The all-in-one quality of the UMX translates to less tripping and increased productivity.

By utilizing Boart Longyear's patented Stage™ waterway technology, UMX bits offer crown heights up to an unprecedented 25 mm. The geometry of these windows sustains the integrity of the bit through the entire 25 mm, providing maximum bit-life. The Twin-Taper design dramatically improves surface flushing, forcing debris through the windows while keeping the bit face clear and reinforcing the inner-diameter.

The unique Razorcut™ protrusions, or bumps, on the surface of the bit contain diamonds that enable the bit to begin cutting right out of the box. The arrangement of these protrusions also improves the tracking and balance in the hole when drilling begins.

To learn more about this product, visit www.boartlongyear.com/umx.

About Boart Longyear
Boart Longyear is a 120-year-old global mineral exploration company that provides mineral exploration services and drilling products for the global mining industry and also has a substantial drilling presence for water exploration, environmental sampling, energy, and oil sands exploration.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, with 2010 sales of US$1.5 billion and over 9,000 employees worldwide, the company conducts contract drilling services in 40 countries, and provides mining products to customers in over 100 countries. Regional offices and operations are located in Asia Pacific, EMEA, Latin America, and North America.

The company can be found on the Web at www.boartlongyear.com. To subscribe to receive Boart Longyear news, visit http://www.boartlongyear.com/rssfeed.

SOURCE Boart Longyear