Abstract: A method of forming a super hard polycrystalline construction comprises forming a liquid suspension of nano-sized super hard particles and particles of super hard material having an average particle or grain size of 1 or more microns, dispersing the particles in the liquid suspension to form a substantially homogeneous suspension which is then dried and sintered to form a body of polycrystalline super hard material comprising a first and second fractions of super hard grains, the nano-sized particles forming the second fraction.

Abstract: A pick assembly comprising a holder body, a strike body, a base body attachable to a drive mechanism, and an interference assembly comprising at least one interference member. The holder body comprises a head portion and a shaft depending from the head portion. The strike body comprises a super-hard strike tip. The head portion and the strike body are cooperatively configured such that the strike body can be attached to the head portion, the strike tip being exposed for striking a body to be degraded when in use. The base body comprises a base bore. The base bore, shaft and interference assembly are cooperatively configured such that the shaft can be secured within the base bore, the interference member disposed between the shaft and the bore. Frictional interference between the shaft, interference assembly and base bore is sufficient to prevent rotation of the shaft within the base bore in use.

Abstract: A method of making a super-hard article comprising a super-hard structure (14) bonded to a substrate (18), the super-hard structure comprising a sintered plurality of super-hard grains. The method includes providing raw material powder suitable for sintering the super-hard structure. The raw material powder is combined with organic binder material in a liquid medium to form paste. The content of the raw material powder is more than 60 and less than 85 mass per cent of the paste and the composition of the paste is such that it has a shear rate of at most 25 inverse second (s-1). A substrate assembly is provided, which comprises the substrate, having a formation surface area configured for forming a boundary of the super-hard structure, the substrate comprising a recess coterminous with the formation surface area. The paste is extruded into contact with the formation surface area to provide a paste assembly. The paste assembly is heat treated to remove the binder material and provide a pre-sinter assembly.