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Company takes receipt of groundbreaking equipment

22nd March 2013

By: Chantelle Kotze

  

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Geotechnical and exploration drilling company Geomechanics, part of Lanseria-based GeoGroup, has taken receipt of two new drill rigs this year – the DeltaBase 525 DB and Sonic SDC 450-24. The rigs have increased the company’s drill fleet to more than 60.

GeoGroup founding member and Geomechanics CEO Dave Rossiter tells Mining Weekly that while the exploration and geotechnical drilling industry has remained consistent in terms of technological advances in certain types of drilling technology, such as rotary core drilling and percussion drilling, the company aims to stay abreast of technological advances in the exploration drilling sector, particularly in the exploration of minerals, such as in mineral sands, which are difficult to explore.

“The exploration of mineral sands was previously undertaken using reverse circulation (RC) drilling, a destructive percussive drilling method that produces rock-chip samples. Currently, however, the sonic method of drilling, which uses vibratory energy and slow rotations to produce core samples, is better suited and has become the most apparent solution to provide core samples in sand,” says Rossiter.

The newly acquired Sonic SDC 450-24 drill rig will enable the company to expand its drilling capabilities of rotary-core drilling, symmetrix overburden drilling, RC drilling and conventional air-percussion drilling to include sonic drilling.

Sonic Drill Rig
Geomechanics purchased the R7-million Sonic SDC 450-24 drill rig through Canada-based Sonic Drill Corporation. The rig arrived at the company’s Lanseria facility on February 22.

This rig bores between three to five times faster than conventional drill rigs – depending on soil conditions – without using any drilling mud. It can also provide continu- ous core samples of up to eight inches in diameter at depths of up to 200 m. As a result, sonic drilling can be used in many applications including geotechnical and geothermal projects, environmental investigations and mineral exploration.

The Sonic SDC 450-24 weighs 11 t, has a mast length of 24 ft and runs on a rubber-track assembly.

It comes standard with mud pump, remote tramming and on-board rod rack assembly.

The rig has a Sonicor 50K drill head that sends high-frequency mechanical oscillations down the drill string to the bit. The operator controls frequencies to suit the specific conditions of soil or rock geology. High-frequency vibrations fluidise the soil particles at the bit face, enabling fast and easy penetration in most geological formations, including boulders and bedrock.

Further, with a sonic drill, there are fewer consumables required to produce core. Unlike in diamond drilling, sonic drilling does not require drilling mud to lubricate the rotating bit to cut the rock or spin the core barrel, as it fluidises the soil through vibrations. It does, however, require water to install the drill rig casings.

The life of the bit on a sonic drill rig depends entirely on the ground conditions. While sonic drilling is better suited to softer ground conditions, it can undertake hard-rock drilling if hard-rock conditions form part of the drilling operation.

Geomechanics will primarily use the Sonic SDC 450-24 to engage softer formations, such as mineral sands and minerals contained in weathered and friable materials, which are more difficult to core drill.

Multipurpose Drill Rig
The R1.7-million multipurpose conventional DeltaBase 525 DB rig, manufactured in Poland by integrated exploration drilling products and services provider Boart Longyear, was shipped to South Africa and delivered to Geomechanics in January.

Upon arrival, the rig was immediately tested at the Geo-Group facility, in Lanseria, whereafter it was dispatched to a site in Durban, where it is being used to conduct a large geotechnical survey.

The DeltaBase 525 DB rig performs the same functions as a conventional geotechnical drill rig, but at twice the speed, says Rossiter.

The rig can drill to depths of up to 310 m when using B-size drill rods and up to 175 m of H-size drill rods when used for rotary core drilling and is capable of augering using a 10 inch diameter bit. It can also undertake down-the-hole (DTH) drilling up to 290 m.

The rig features up to 5.5 t of pull-back while the rotary head has 6 540 Nm of torque and can handle drill rods of 6 m long.

The 6 t DeltaBase 525 DB has been manufactured specially with additional features to suit the needs of Geomechanics. It includes a faster rotation of up to 800 rpm, a larger mud pump and a more powerful 72 kW Deutz motor, instead of the conventional 53 kW motor.

Geomechanics continually upgrades its technology, replaces its old equipment with new equipment and operates a 4 000 m2 in-house facility for the maintenance and construction of new rigs.

Rossiter says maintenance is a crucial aspect to running a fleet of machinery. “It is all very well having many rigs, but unless you can maintain the rigs properly, they will not last long.”

Having worked in countries including Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Tanzania, as well as having conducted extensive work in Malawi and Mozambique in the past few years, Geomechanics has about eight exploration, grouting, piling and geotechnical projects under way in South Africa, most of which are ongoing contracts.

Edited by Megan van Wyngaardt
Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

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