Boart Longyear samples for the proposed Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. In spite of the financial crisis, the 1930s saw improvements in diamond drilling technology, including the use of industrial-quality diamonds mined in Africa that were called “boarts.” In 1936, South Africa’s Anglo American Corporation formed Boart Products South Africa (Pty) Limited, which was later named Boart International. The new company developed the first mechanically-set diamond core bits, which were less expensive than the hand-set core bits that used more expensive Brazilian diamonds (carbonados). Longyear’s business gradually improved in the 1940s in response to expanding worldwide mineral exploration. In 1949, the
High-level radioactive waste management In order to store the high level radioactive waste in long-term geological depositories, specific waste forms need to be used which will allow the radioactivity to decay away while the materials retain their integrity for thousands of years. The materials being used can be broken down into a few classes: glass waste forms, ceramic waste forms, and nanostructured materials. The glass forms include borosilicate glasses and phosphate glasses. Borosilicate nuclear waste glasses are used on an industrial scale to immobilize high level radioactive waste in many countries which are producers of nuclear energy or have nuclear weaponry. The glass waste