Drilling

CSIRO has introduced the National Virtual Core Library (NVCL), a digitised collection of 10 million metres of drill core estimated to be archived in warehouses around Australia.

Perenti Global, formally known as Ausdrill, has delivered a “transformative year” as it lays the foundations for further growth in the 2020 financial year.

The Western Australian Department of Mines, Industry, Regulation and Safety has called for applications for round 20 of the exploration incentive scheme’s (EIS) co-funded exploration drilling program.

AJ Lucas’ drilling division has signed a contract to provide a full suite of degasification and exploration drilling services at the Kestrel Coal site in the Bowen Basin, Queensland. 

Meteoric Resources’ first drill hole at the Juruena gold project in central Brazil has intersected visible gold with a 16 metre alteration zone at the Dona Maria prospect.

Santos has received approval for the first environmental management plan (EMP) that has been awarded for onshore shale gas exploration in the Northern Territory since a fracking ban was lifted last year.

Gold miner Regis Resources says it expects a roughly 10 per cent increase to its current production levels by the 2022 financial year after announcing record annual production on Tuesday. 

Fenix Resources is due to commence a combined infill and geotechnical diamond drill program at its iron ridge project in midwest Western Australia.

Epiroc has introduced the fifth generation of the Rig Control System (RCS) for Pit Viper blasthole drilling rigs, a development it considers to be the “next evolutionary step” towards fully autonomous mining.

Drilling services provider DDH1 has acquired Perth-based Ranger Drilling, adding specialised reverse circulation iron ore drilling services to the group’s capability.

Sandvik has introduced an operator training simulator to provide a compact and flexible solution to safely train teams on the DD422i, DD422iE and DT922i drill rigs.

Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology has upgraded its automation package for the DD422i and DD422iE underground drilling jumbos, enabling 24/7 drilling and boosting a mine’s overall operational productivity.

BHP’s introduction of autonomous equipment at the $4.5 billion South Flank iron ore project in the Pilbara is under way.

Mineral exploration is trending up, with a 3.6 per cent quarterly growth to $561.4 million in the September quarter according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Due to having a team of engineers located throughout the world working closely with in-house drilling teams, Boart Longyear is able to develop products and put them through rigorous testing in both the lab and the field.

Kalamazoo Resources is selling its Snake Well gold project in the Murchison region of Western Australia to Adaman Resources for $7 million.

Caterpillar has released tricone drill bits that are suitable for severe rotary blasthole applications, with lowered cost of drilling proven in copper, iron ore and coal mines.

Caterpillar has introduced the MD6200 Rotary Blasthole Drill. It is the smallest drill of its type that the company has produced.

SRG Global has secured a $20 million contract with Downer for drilling works at BHP Mitsubishi Alliance’s (BMA) Blackwater coal mine in Queensland.

The Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO), a joint venture between South32 and Anglo American, has awarded a three-year drilling contract at the Groote Eylandt manganese mine to Boart Longyear.