Specialist manufacturer and supplier of exploration and geotechnical drilling products HUD Mining Supplies states that its diamond drill bit manufacturing business has experienced significant growth despite the reigning recession.

As per report HUD started manufacturing underground and geotechnical bits and shells at its refurbished manufacturing facility at Denver in Johannesberg late last year.

HUD’s decision to enter the market coincided with a move by Boart Long year to rationalize its diamond-coring bit range. In July last year, the group announced that it would be transferring its South African and Australian bit manufacturing capacity to the US.

In addition, Atlas Copco also stopped, or is in the process of stopping its manufacturing of diamond coring bits in South Africa and will now only be manufacturing bits in Canada and China.

Mr Ian Omand director & GM of HUD told Mining Weekly that the company has aggressively been tendering in the central Asia area. In May this year, the company signed a distributorship agreement with LSH International to represent the company in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.

On the back of that, the company has just been awarded its first significant tender in Uzbekistan. Mr Omand said that it was a substantial tender divided into three parts.

(Sourced from Mining Weekly)