Interactive timeline on display at the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum in Leadville, Colorado. Edmund J Longyear and Mallmann Iron Mining Company entered into the Company’s first-ever drilling services contract on May 19, 1891. The contract included sinking diamond drill holes to a depth not exceeding 500 feet in the Mesabi Iron Range of Minnesota. That historic drill site is maintained to this day and is frequented by visitors to the Hoyt Lakes region.
The drilling company Boart Longyear is 125 years old today.
Boart Longyear is celebrating the anniversary with a historic collection at the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum in Leadville, Colorado, USA.
The company got its start in the late 1800s when Edmund J. Longyear, a mining engineer out of Michigan Mining School, formed a diamond drilling company to serve the iron ore industry in the US. The company tied up with Boart International in the mid-1900s, a South African firm that made the first mechanically-set diamond core bits.
Full news release about the company’s celebrations is below.
Boart Longyear Marks 125th Anniversary with Historic Display at The National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum
SALT LAKE CITY – June 3, 2015 – Boart Longyear (www.BoartLongyear.com), the world’s leading provider of integrated drilling services and drilling products, is proud to recognize its 125th anniversary today, marking the occasion by announcing a historic timeline and collection of Longyear and Boart Longyear artifacts dating back to the late 1800s will be featured at the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum in Leadville, Colorado, USA.
“We are very proud to celebrate Boart Longyear’s 125th anniversary this year,” said Kent Hoots, senior vice president of Boart Longyear. “The display and historic pieces are proof of the long and respected legacy of quality and innovation that Edmund J. Longyear started in 1890 and that we maintain today.”
“Our 125th anniversary is dedicated to the people who built – and continue to build – this fine company. That’s why we want to make sure our history is properly preserved and on display for people to enjoy.”
All but a few of the historic pieces on display have been permanently donated to the museum. Among those on loan for the summer is Longyear’s first-ever drilling services contract, dated May 19, 1891. The handwritten contract was with Mallmann Iron Mining Company and included sinking diamond drill holes in the Mesabi Iron Range of Minnesota.
Included in the permanent collection of donated pieces is an original San Francisco Chronicle newspaper story entitled “The World’s Greatest Span,” dated October 5, 1930. The article features a photo of a Longyear drilling crew working over the blustery waters of San Francisco Bay as they worked to determine the exact nature of rock formations that would bear the weight of the proposed Golden Gate Bridge.
Several personal items formerly belonging to company founder Edmund J. Longyear’s eldest son, Robert Longyear, who took over the family business in 1923, can also be seen on permanent display. They include Robert Longyear’s Hartwell Hickory handle Jewel brand prospecting rock hammer and his diary, dated 1942 to 1957, in which he kept important information about the 16 mines where Longyear either had drilling contracts or land lease interests at the time.
Several catalogs and marketing books used to showcase Longyear’s drilling products and services during the early 1900s are also featured in the collection. These pieces and more are on display at the museum. Past and present Boart Longyear employees are able to gain free entry to the exhibition this year.
“We are thrilled that Boart Longyear has donated this collection to the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum so that it can be enjoyed by the thousands of people that visit the museum each year, and in order to preserve these wonderful pieces of mining history,” said Sarah Saxe, curator of the museum.
To learn more about Boart Longyear’s history and 125th anniversary, visit http://www.boartlongyear.com/shareyourstory.
About Boart Longyear
Celebrating its 125th year anniversary in 2015, Boart Longyear is the world’s leading provider of drilling services and products for mining and drilling companies globally. It also has a substantial presence in aftermarket parts and service, energy, mine de-watering, oil sands exploration and production drilling.
The Global Drilling Services division operates in over 30 countries for a diverse mining customer base spanning a wide range of commodities, including copper, gold, nickel, zinc, uranium and other metals and minerals. The Global Products division designs, manufactures and sells drilling products and aftermarket parts and services to customers in over 100 countries.
Boart Longyear is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in Sydney, Australia. More information about Boart Longyear can be found at http://www.boartlongyear.com/. To get Boart Longyear news direct, visit http://www.boartlongyear.com/rssfeed.