Mining Industry

In mining and quarrying, drilling performance isn’t a “nice to have”. It drives productivity, influences safety, and determines your real cost per metre. Harlen Supplies manufactures and supplies high-performance Kenella DTH hammers and rods, as well as Kenella Top Hammer bits and rods, engineered to handle tough ground and sustained duty cycles.

This article outlines how Kenella drifter drill steel paired with R32 threaded bits is used to manage vibration, protect threads, and sustain consistent drilling performance in harsh African operating conditions.

In underground and surface drilling, tooling failure is rarely a “bad batch” problem. It’s usually a mismatch between ground conditions, impact energy, flushing, and how the drill string manages vibration and wear. When rock is fractured, abrasive, or wet, drill steel and bit selection directly affects penetration, hole quality, and the cost per metre.

Tungsten carbide sits at the hard end of the hardness scale — which is exactly why it’s used in high-wear drilling components where edge retention and abrasion resistance are non-negotiable. When tungsten input costs move, drilling tool pricing moves with it.

Earlier this year, Harlen Supplies completed a highly successful visit to Zambia, our first on-the-ground engagement outside of South Africa. You only really understand a site’s constraints when you’ve walked it: access, cycle times, safety controls, and the practical realities of keeping production moving.

Explore Harlen Supplies' mining industry solutions with our comprehensive range of drilling, rock-breaking, and consumables for the mining industry.

Kenella drilling and rock‑breaking solutions, proudly distributed by Harlen Supplies, set the benchmark for performance and reliability across quarrying, mining and construction applications.

NexPand non‑explosive rock breaking mortar —engineered for precise, vibration‑free fracturing. Safe, efficient, and cost‑effective rock splitting solution.

Harlen Supplies is a leading industrial equipment supplier in South Africa, specialising in rock-breaking and drilling solutions for the mining, quarrying and construction sectors.