Tag Archives: COREVIBE

IMDEX to showcase COREVIBE, XTRACTA and SURVEY-IQ at PDAC

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IMDEX says it intends to showcase innovative new technologies at this year’s Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention in Toronto, Canada, this week.

IMDEX will feature its patent-protected drilling technologies IMDEX COREVIBETM and IMDEX XTRACTATM ay the event, which attracted over 25,000 attendees last year, and will launch the IMDEX SURVEY-IQTM app where users can monitor all IMDEX survey tools from one interface.

IMDEX COREVIBE uses high frequency, energy pulse-assisted drilling for wireline coring, providing a significant improvement in drilling productivity.

Test results validated by international inspection and verification company SGS show the IMDEX COREVIBE has delivered up to 30% improvement in core drilling productivity, according to IMDEX.

IMDEX XTRACTA enables drill bits to be inspected or changed without retrieving the rods, and has undergone extensive testing, with verified results showing safety and productivity gains, IMDEX says.

IMDEX SURVEY-IQ, meanwhile, can boost productivity by up to four times compared with conventional apps, according to the ASX-listed company.

IMDEX Chief Executive, Bernie Ridgeway, said: “The annual four-day convention, held this year from March 1 to 4, has grown in size, stature and influence since it began in 1932. It welcomes mining professionals from all over the world.”

IMDEX personnel including General Manager of Product Development, Dr Michelle Carey, Chief Geoscientist, Dave Lawie, Global Business Development Director, Derek Loughlin, and Principal Geoscientist, Gervais Perron, will be presenting at IMDEX’s seminar series.

With more than 20 years’ experience in the global mining industry working across multiple organisations including BHP and WMC, Dr Carey is an expert in developing products for the mining sector, IMDEX said.

Lawie will discuss the latest in leading exploratory data analysis software application, ioGASTM 7.2, explaining its speed and other benefits over traditional interpretation methods.

Loughlin has more than 30 years’ experience within the mining and drilling industry and will deliver a presentation on A New Wave of Drilling Optimisation, IMDEX said.

He will explain how IMDEX COREVIBE and IMDEX XTRACTA are creating a paradigm shift in drilling optimisation, the company added.

Dr Carey and Perron will discuss Real-time Decision Making in Exploration and explain how new technologies can assist in making better decisions in the field or in the office using survey instruments through to geochemical and petrophysical sensors.

The free workshops will be held on March 3.

IMDEX continues to connect with clients as new tech trials gain momentum

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A record half-yearly revenue and progress with new technologies such as COREVIBE™, XTRACTA™ and MAGHAMMER™ has IMDEX riding a positive wave.

The company recorded revenue of A$127.9 million ($86 million) in the six months ending December 31, 2019, up from A$125 million a year ago.

IMDEX said it was present on around 70% of drilling programs globally, providing an opportunity to market a wider range of products to clients. Some 35% of its revenue in the six-month period was generated in Asia Pacific, 45% in the Americas and the balance in Africa and Europe, it explained.

And the company also singled out its cloud connectivity platform IMDEXHUB-IQ™ – which provides secure access to validated data, seamlessly transmitted from a range of sub-surface instrumentation, analytical instruments and mobile form data inputs – during the results. At the end of December 2019, IMDEX said 58 of its top 100 clients were “HUB-enabled”, up from 49 clients as at June 30, 2019.

The company completed its acquisition of Flexidrill in January and it provided an update on the status of the patent-protected drilling productivity technologies that came with this addition, COREVIBE and MAGHAMMER, in its results.

It said successful client trials with COREVIBE were undertaken throughout its financial year first half. “These trials continue to validate the significant benefits of this unique technology, including substantial increases in productivity,” it said. For the balance of its 2020 financial year, IMDEX said it has a full pipeline of client trials and was confident of converting trials into active rentals.

XTRACTA, which complements COREVIBE and MAGHAMMER by allowing drillers to change the bit when core is retrieved, has been extensively trialled at IMDEX’s test site in New Zealand for the past 12 months and client trials are scheduled to commence late in the March quarter, it said.

Development of the MAGHAMMER at its test site is also progressing well, IMDEX said, and the company intends to commence client trials in the June quarter.

IMDEX symposium sets the exploration scene for AME Roundup

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IMDEX recently held its fifth annual Xploration Technology Symposium in Vancouver, Canada, in which virtual reality, machine learning and new exploration technologies all received significant airtime.

The event, held on January 17, came ahead of AME’s annual Mineral Exploration Roundup, also held in Vancouver, on January 20-23. It saw 16 speakers and 160 attendees turn up.

IMDEX, which has a suite of drilling optimisation products to improve the process of identifying and extracting mineral resources globally, said the event covered multi-element data, artificial intelligence for mineral exploration and exploration instrumentation, along with a series of case studies. The focus was on improving and driving innovation in the mining industry and providing a platform to share big ideas, new technologies and new processes in exploration.

International consulting practice, SRK, had Principal Structural Geologist, Wayne Barnett, present on virtual-mixed reality, where he discussed augmented visual powers to automatically measure surface orientations and how this technology is changing best practices in data collection and analysis, IMDEX said.

Professor Bern Klein, of the University of British Columbia, meanwhile, discussed industry research to optimise value and ensure worker safety in deep underground mass mining operations.

The use of machine learning for mineral exploration in greenfield areas was discussed by GoldSpot Discoveries Corp Chief Operating Officer, Vincent Dube-Bourgeois, during the session on artificial intelligence.

Among the exploration case studies was one from Chris Gallagher, Rogue Geoscience President, a company that has been instrumental in developing several exploration technologies and geological data management systems used in the industry today, according to IMDEX.

And, Nick Payne, Global Product Manager Structural Geology at IMDEX, in his presentation ‘A New Wave of Drilling Optimisation’, discussed new technologies IMDEX COREVIBE and IMDEX XTRACTA – which, he says, offer substantial improvements in safety and productivity.

IMDEX exercises Flexidrill option, adds COREVIBE and MAGHAMMER to offering

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IMDEX has exercised its option to acquire Flexidrill and its patent-protected drilling productivity technologies, COREVIBE™ and MAGHAMMER™, it said.

The transaction is expected to be completed in January 2020 by the payment of NZ$3 million ($1.95 million) cash, which will be followed by further payments of cash and IMDEX shares.

Earlier this year, the company entered into a secondary option period to acquire the company from March 2019 – December 2019 to acquire the companies as it conducted further product development and testing, while establishing its supply chain and manufacturing requirements.

IMDEX Managing Director, Bernie Ridgeway, said: “The investment proposition is compelling. COREVIBE (pictured) has consistently delivered substantial drilling productivity benefits in hard ground conditions at our test site in New Zealand and in client trials. We are confident this new technology will be a step-change for the minerals drilling industry globally and deliver significant earnings for IMDEX.”

He said the company’s focus for COREVIBE during the rest of its 2020 financial year was to further introduce the technology to clients.

Ridgeway continued: “Further development of MAGHAMMER at our test site is also progressing well and we are on-track to commence client trials in Q3 2020 (September quarter of 2020).”

“We will provide further updates regarding these technologies with our H1 2020 results announcement in February 2020, however, we anticipate these technologies will provide recurring rental revenue from FY 2021,” he added.

COREVIBE uses high frequency energy pulse assisted drilling for wireline coring and provides a significant advancement in core drilling productivity. This unique technology can deliver significant benefits to clients including: higher penetration rates – up to 90%; reduced hole deviation; fewer inner tube blockages and associated tripping; and longer drill bit life, according to IMDEX.

IMDEX undertook successful trials at the company’s test site in New Zealand, which concluded the COREVIBE generated a productivity gain of 33% over conventional coring. These results were also validated by SGS, a leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, and client trials in diverse locations and conditions, it said.

MAGHAMMER uses a new hybrid drilling technique, which combines rotary diamond drilling with fluid driven percussive drilling to achieve higher penetration rates compared to conventional coring.

The technology enables an entire drill hole to be completed with a coring rig where RC and diamond drilling is required, according to IMDEX.

Benefits for clients include: the ability to drill deeper faster and with lower cost – MAGHAMMER is not affected by water intrusion and is only limited in depth by the pullback capacity of the rig; rapid drill case setting; lower rig mobilisation and demobilisation costs; and a safer operating environment with substantially less dust than compressed air RC drilling, IMDEX says.

The first iteration of MAGHAMMER will be targeting high speed pre-collar drilling through barren rock to the coring zone. This eliminates the need for multiple drill rigs at site and, accordingly, the MAGHAMMER will significantly reduce the cost of drilling these targets, according to IMDEX. Additional development of the MAGHAMMER will provide geological samples.

IMDEX’s drill and blast technology gains traction

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IMDEX, known for its technical sensing capabilities in exploration, is looking to lock in non-cyclical global revenue streams through the development of technology for drill and blast applications.

The company, in an update last week, said its BLAST DOG™ technology remains on track to increase mine to mill efficiency for clients globally and it was conducting trials in multiple commodities with global resource companies.

To date, successful trials have been undertaken in Nevada, USA, and in Queensland, Australia; with additional trials planned in Chile and Australia in the first half of 2020, IMDEX said.

“The company continues to have strong support from industry partners including: Orica; Anglo American; Teck Resources; and METS Ignited and expects to generate revenue from the drill and blast technologies in the 2020 financial year,” it said.

In addition to updating the market on its BLAST DOG technology, the company also revealed details about drilling productivity technologies COREVIBE™ and MAGHAMMER™.

Back in January 2018, IMDEX revealed it had an exclusive option agreement to acquire Flexidrill and its patent protected drilling productivity technologies, the COREVIBE and MAGHAMMER.

“The company has been progressing the development of these technologies based on strong demand from drilling contractors and resource companies,” IMDEX said, adding that it undertook successful trials at the company’s test site in New Zealand, which concluded that COREVIBE generated a productivity gain of 33% over conventional coring. These results were also validated by SGS, a leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, according to IMDEX.

More recently, IMDEX conducted client trials with the COREVIBE in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. “These trials were successful and supported the results achieved at IMDEX’s test site,” the company said.

Further trials with another large drilling contractor in Arizona, USA, are scheduled for late July 2019 and IMDEX expects to have COREVIBE units on rent in the current September quarter, it said.

Development of the MAGHAMMER at IMDEX’s test site in New Zealand is also progressing and the company intends to commence client trials in the second half of 2020, it said.

“The first iteration of the MAGHAMMER will be targeting high speed pre-collar drilling through barren rock to the coring zone,” IMDEX said. “This eliminates the need for multiple drill rigs at site and accordingly, the MAGHAMMER will significantly reduce the cost of drilling these targets. Additional development of the MAGHAMMER will provide geological samples.”

On the basis of continued positive development of the drilling productivity technologies and ongoing successful client trials with COREVIBE, IMDEX said it anticipated exercising its option to acquire Flexidrill in December 2019.

IMDEX Managing Director, Bernie Ridgeway, said: “We have an exciting pipeline of new technologies and connected devices to support our growth strategy. The new technologies have the potential to grow our core business by enhancing technical leadership; and extending our capabilities into the larger adjacent mining market, to create an additional non-cyclical revenue stream.

“Our new technologies – including the COREVIBE, MAGHAMMER and BLAST DOG – have the ability to deliver important advancements in drilling methods and mining workflows. New deposits are likely to be deeper and under cover; and resource companies are embracing innovation to achieve greater productivity. These new technologies position our company to benefit from changing industry dynamics.”

 

IMDEX sticks with Flexidrill acquisition plan as drill tech trials continue

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IMDEX has entered into a secondary option period from March 2019 – December 2019 to acquire New Zealand-based companies Flexidrill Ltd and Flexidrill Construction Ltd, and the patent-protected technologies COREVIBE™ and MAGHAMMER™.

IMDEX’s decision to progress the COREVIBE and MAGHAMMER towards commercialisation is based on strong demand from drilling contractors and resource companies, together with successful trials at IMDEX’s test site in New Zealand, it said. COREVIBE trials – validated by SGS, a world leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company – concluded a productivity gain of 33% over conventional coring.

The secondary option period will allow IMDEX to conduct further product development and testing, while establishing its supply chain and manufacturing requirements, Imdex said.

In relation to COREVIBE, IMDEX expects to trial commercial prototypes with clients by the end of its 2019 financial year. MAGHAMMER commercial prototype trials will follow in the first half of 2020.

 

 

 

 

 

“The consideration to enter the secondary option period was varied from NZ$5 million ($3.4 million, 50% cash/50% IMDEX shares) to NZ$3 million in IMDEX shares to allow for NZ$2 million cash being applied to additional investment in product development,” Imdex said. There are no other variations to the original option agreement or extended option agreement, as announced in January 2018 and September 2018, respectively, the company said.

“Should IMDEX choose to exercise its option to acquire Flexidrill in December 2019, the COREVIBE and MAGHAMMER are expected to provide additional global revenue and earnings during financial year 2020 and be earnings accretive within 12 months of the exercise date,” the company said.

IMDEX’s Managing Director, Bernie Ridgeway, said: “We are pleased to further progress the COREVIBE and MAGHAMMER technologies towards commercialisation. These unique technologies have the potential to deliver substantial economic and productivity benefits to our clients globally, which is becoming increasingly important as new discoveries are likely to be under ground cover, deeper and require more drilling.

“It is widely recognised within the industry that drilling costs represent approximately half of global mineral exploration expenditure. Reducing these costs has been a major challenge, which is likely to intensify given increasing safety standards, environmental restrictions and greater average hole depths.”

Flexidrill Construction said its MAGHAMMER technology followed successful deep hole field tests it carried out in the oil and gas industry. “It is a unique, magnetic down the hole hammer, compatible with any rotary rig and designed to drill open holes in virtually any formation, hard or soft,” the company said.

It can operate with any drilling fluid (including viscous bentonite solutions) so is ideal for overburden, often without the need for casings. This system is not affected by ground water, so flooded formations are also not a problem, according to Flexidrill Construction.

COREVIBE, meanwhile, offers productivity improvements through high penetration rates, extended bit life and reduced tripping of inner tube for blockages, IMDEX has previously said.