By rosebell
With the aim of advancing tunnel development technology, Element Six (E6), part of the De Beers Group, and Master Drilling have announced a new global partnership.
While the expertise of E6 is in the design and development of polycrystalline diamond (PCD) and ultra-hard materials, Master Drilling provides drilling and mechanised rock excavation solutions.
In order to developing the mining, infrastructure, and energy sectors, this partnership combines Element Six’s patented polycrystalline diamond cutting technology with Master Drilling’s fully mechanised services and so together, both firms are going to introduce a synthetic diamond-enabled tunneling solution.
This technology reduces waste rock generation by over 17% compared to traditional tunneling methods, Element Six said.
Presenting better performance in both underground and surface conditions,this solution has been successfully tested in the UK and South Africa. The target group of this collaboration is the mining, infrastructure, and energy sectors.
According to Master Drilling executive director Koos Jordaan: “By combining our technologies and expertise, we can offer quality tunnel development with competitive productivity, lower costs and reduced waste, enabling safer, faster, and more economical tunnel construction.This innovation holds great potential for expanding underground operations in industries such as mining, energy, transportation, and infrastructure.”
The PCD and ultra-hard materials developer said underground tunnels support in accessing critical resources, creating efficient transportation routes, and housing essential utilities.
While the advantages of this collaboration in mining is providing access to minerals and supporting transportation and ventilation networks, in transportation, tunnels shorten routes through challenging terrain or urban areas, as well as in construction, they house utilities underground, and in energy, they support hydroelectric plants and pipelines.
Considering that the tunnel construction encounters technical and environmental challenges, such as geological unpredictability, water ingress, high costs, waste generation, and safety risks, the new partnership between Element Six and Master Drilling offers a diamond-enabled solution to address these issues. This technology speeds up tunnelling development, reduces costs, and minimises the environmental impact of tunnel construction.
“This strategic partnership with Master Drilling is another example of the role Element Six plays in De Beers Group’s Origins strategy. Synthetic diamond innovation holds immense potential to shape the future of industrial applications.By extracting a lower amount of rock during tunnel development, the solution we developed in partnership with Master Drilling will significantly reduce waste and environmental impact, ensuring a better tomorrow for generations to come,” said Element Six CEO Siobhán Duffy.
