Underground Mines

Definition Drilling

Resource definition drilling is usually from 100 to 150 foot hole spacing.

Reserve definition drilling is twice the hole density, from 50 to 75 feet.

Why not utilize both drilling systems and use Reverse Circulation for partial infill drilling? A combination approach can expose up to 50% or more of drilling footage to the cost reductions gained from RC drilling.

Pre-Collars and Core Tails

Combine the two systems and drill quicker with lower cost RC through zones of less interest and utilize core drilling where most required.

Use combination drilling to advantage in unstable and bad ground conditions. Replace a portion of expensive core drilling with much cheaper RC precollar drilling and reduce overall drilling costs. When necessary, case the precollar portion and convert the system to core tail drilling.

Grade Control Drilling

Underground mine operations often require contractor-drilling support for grade control and ore to waste definition. A mobile underground RC drill can provide this service much faster and at less cost than a core drill.

Coarse Gold Deposits

Sampling reliability in coarse gold mineralization is always a concern. Split half core samples are often inaccurate and unreliable for modeling deposits containing coarse gold.

Split RC samples from larger 4-inch diameter drill holes are often more reliable and representative for modeling coarse gold deposits.

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