Boart Longyear’s drilling crews have drilled the deepest hole ever drilled in Ghana, according to the Salt Lake City-headquartered company.

They drilled a hole 2,083.4 m (6,835 ft) deep, having installing a wedge and navi to drill the hole on track at 600 m and keeping it on track to the end of the hole. The directional drilling project for one of Golden Star Resources’ gold projects was completed safely and ahead of schedule, the company said.

Division Manager, West Africa, Jonathan Madigan, said: “Our drilling crew in Ghana on this project worked safely and diligently in directionally drilling the hole to the target depth. I couldn’t be more proud of the team that completed the project.

“Boart Longyear’s consistent hazard and risk-focused safety culture is embraced by the crews here in Ghana and they appreciate that the field level risk assessments, pre-shift meetings and other safety programs are designed to get them home safe to their families.”

Boart said: “The company has received client recognition for their safe, on-target, and ahead of schedule completion of the deep coring exploration drilling project. Boart Longyear acknowledges the participation, collaboration, and contributions from every employee within Ghana and especially the drilling crew that worked directly on this record-depth hole.”