Epiroc COPROD 89 drilling tools: cost-per-metre gains explained for mine engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on International Mining – News
30 Second Briefing
Epiroc has launched the COPROD 89 drilling system for surface mining and quarrying, claiming higher penetration rates and lower fuel burn through increased flushing capacity and optimised tool geometry. The 89 mm COPROD string is engineered for durability and precision drilling in hard rock, aiming to extend bit and rod life while maintaining straight holes over longer benches. For mine operators, the key promise is reduced cost per metre drilled and improved rig utilisation without major changes to existing surface drill fleets.
Technical Brief
- Increased flushing capacity is intended to improve cutings evacuation in deep, dry and fractured hole conditions.
Our Take
Epiroc features in a relatively small subset of the 371 Mining stories in our database, and those pieces are typically tied to productivity-focused products, signalling that the company is positioning its tooling as a lever for lowering unit drilling costs rather than chasing greenfield project exposure.
Among the 740 tag-matched ‘Projects’ and ‘Product’ items, most drilling-tool coverage is linked to either automation or energy efficiency, so a COPROD 89 launch framed around ‘achieve more with less’ is likely aimed at operators trying to stretch existing fleets on brownfield benches rather than investing in entirely new rigs.
Because this article is not anchored to a specific commodity or country, it aligns with other Epiroc tooling pieces in our coverage that are marketed as cross-commodity solutions, which can be attractive for contractors needing standardised consumables across mixed gold–base metal portfolios.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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