Tag Archives: Devico

IMDEX addresses blasthole surveying issue with BOLT

IMDEX is looking to upend the standard drill and blast process with IMDEX BOLT™, a production hole survey tool for underground applications measuring blast hole deviation using a north seeking gyro.

IMDEX Commercial Manager – Underground Survey Applications, Mike Ayris, has been promoting the importance of surveying blast holes since he founded Downhole Surveys (DHS) in 1989.

DHS was majority owned by directional drilling specialists Devico and became part of the IMDEX group when IMDEX acquired Devico earlier this year.

For Ayris, the process is not drill and blast; it’s drill, measure, analyse and blast.

BOLT, meanwhile, is in the commercial prototype phase and has been installed at four sites with two trials underway.

Recent design changes have reduced the weight, making it easier to deploy overhead, thereby solving one of the key challenges of working in an underground environment, IMDEX says.

“BOLT addresses one of the biggest problems we have in blasthole surveying and that is the holes are drilled overhead,” Ayris said. “These can often be 5-m high. The only way of getting there and physically pushing a tool up the hole is from an elevated work platform from which the tool is pushed into the blast hole.

“IMDEX have created a method of deploying the tool from ground level.

“The original design of the BOLT had a depth limitation of about 20 m, but most of our clients are drilling between 25 m and 30 m and it is the longer holes that need to be surveyed because they deviate the most.

“A typical drive development from one level to the next is roughly 15 m but mining companies are investigating ways to double this length to 30 m as a way of increasing efficiencies and reducing costs.

“It now means the need to drill blast holes twice as long as previously. A lot of drill rigs are designed for 15 m not 30 m, so they are pushed beyond their capabilities which then causes deviation, among other factors.

“The consequence of blast holes deviating can be a stope hang up or bridging, where the rock is fired but doesn’t break or fall, forming a wedge. Once that happens there is no way of getting the rock out. Companies will try drilling beside the bridge and use explosives but it’s highly dangerous and very ineffective.

“Bridging is a major problem in underground mining, and blasthole deviation is one of the causes because if the blast holes deviate away from each other the explosive impact at the end of the hole is reduced.

“There are a lot of other factors, but surveying and measuring the deviation is one thing we can control by getting the information before blasting.”

Ayris said while engineers typically designed blast holes to have a maximum deviation of 3%, in his experience few holes fell within that specification, with some deviating by as much as 17%.

“If you look at the mining process, money is spent exploring from the surface, then getting the tenement lease, creating a decline to the orebody, doing the development drives, and drilling the blast hole,” he said.

“Drilling and firing is the last process, so you want to get it right.

“With BOLT we are trying to create a system that is on every underground mining operation so that blast holes are routinely measured. It’s not just drilling, filling the hole with explosives and hoping for the best. Now it’s drilling, surveying, reviewing and analysing the data, and making adjustments to the pattern based on that information before firing.

“It’s a very different way of thinking and we are challenging the traditionalists who just want to drill and blast. It is changing, it is definitely changing.”

IMDEX in deep dive study to show value of orebody knowledge

Leading global mining-tech company IMDEX is collaborating on what it says is a groundbreaking study backed by Canada’s preeminent sciences research body to determine the real value of orebody knowledge (OBK) in mineral exploration and mining.

IMDEX is partnering with the Mineral Deposit Research Unit (MDRU) and the Bradshaw Research Institute for Minerals and Mining (BRIMM) at the University of British Columbia, and Ideon Technologies, a leader in applying muon tomography for orebody imaging, in the million-dollar, two-year deep dive into the economics of OBK.

The MDRU is one of the largest integrated mineral deposit and exploration research groups in the world, dedicated to solving mineral exploration-related problems. The BRIMM creates multidisciplinary teams of leading researchers to work with industry to find solutions to the biggest challenges facing the mining industry and trains the next generation of multidisciplinary professionals.

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada – the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering research in Canada – will part-fund the study through the NSERC Alliance program.

IMDEX Chief Geoscientist, Dave Lawie, said the research findings would contribute to knowledge on the economic benefits of enhanced OBK, promote adoption of new technologies, and help define future research and development directions in the mining industry.

“The mining industry has been slow to adopt innovative orebody knowledge approaches and data collection, despite the increasing improvement and sophistication of the technology,” Lawie said.

“One of the reasons for this reluctance is that mining companies, researchers and technology providers find it difficult to articulate the financial value of OBK; to explain in dollar terms the financial gain of being able to make better decisions earlier and reduce risk from greenfields exploration through to mining production.

“Clearly articulating the dollar value of OBK also assists in the adoption of technology where the cost is born in one part of an operation or organisation, but the dollar benefit is accrued in a different department or during a separate phase of development. It helps address the question, ‘Who will pay for what does not happen?’ where operational risk reduction is the key driver.

“Without quality OBK, companies are taking unnecessary mine development risks.

“For the mining industry to adopt this technology, it must have clear evidence of the financial impacts and risks of poor or no OBK and a way of assessing the most efficient methods of collecting, analysing and optimising it.”

IMDEX says it is leading the development of innovative orebody knowledge technology including through its IMDEX BLAST DOG™, a semi-autonomously deployed borehole sensing and physical measurement technology that provides near real-time orebody knowledge and physical information of the blast hole.

The company also has extensive experience in directional core drilling capabilities through its acquisition of Devico and its leading technology, which has benefits particularly in the search for deep mineral deposits.

Ideon’s technology generates images of orebodies deep beneath the Earth’s surface, up to 1 km below ground level, and has proven effective in detecting deep orebodies, which are challenging to locate using traditional methods, according to IMDEX.

“As exploration increasingly targets greater depths, deep OBK and efficient, environmentally sound methods of drill testing will become more relevant for making accurate early estimates of mineral reserves at speed,” Lawie said.

Senior researchers at UBC will drive the study along with a range of postdoctoral experts. The study will analyse mine projects completed over the past 23 years, integrating information from the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Australian Securities Exchange with the respective countries’ mine project reporting codes, the NI 43-101 and the JORC code, to assess the link between OBK – or lack of it – and mine project performance.

Other elements of the study will:

  • Quantify the write-down value attributable to orebody complications;
  • Quantify the link between OBK and mine project performance;
  • Assess the cost of obtaining OBK against the potential value lost in the project; and
  • Develop a risk assessment tool to allow companies to design work programs to optimise OBK and reduce project risk.

Lawie said previous UBC research by John Steen, Michael Samis and Andrew Gillis covering the period 2003 to 2016 revealed that geoscientific challenges were associated with financial losses by mine projects in at least 30% of cases, presenting the Value of Information case that has now expanded into the economic benefits of enhanced orebody knowledge.

This research will provide a starting point for the study using advanced data collection and interpretation to better understand the geological risks associated with mine development projects.

“To our knowledge, this integrated research approach has not been previously attempted,” Lawie said.

IMDEX feels benefit of Devico acquisition in quarterly results

IMDEX has revealed record September-quarter revenue of A$126.1 million ($79.4 million) as the group continues to benefit from the recent acquisition of Devico.

Revenue was up 19% on the same time last year, with Devico contributing about A$18.2 million, or 17%, of the increase. Organically, excluding Devico, revenue was A$107.9 million, a 2% increase on the same time last year.

Devico has delivered A$38.8 million in revenue in the seven months since completion of the acquisition, against average revenue for seven months in calendar 2022 of A$35.9 million, IMDEX noted.

“We are extremely pleased with the performance of the business that has delivered growth in spite of the clear market pressures in key regional markets such as Canada and Australia,” Paul House, CEO of IMDEX, said. “We are successfully introducing DeviGyros into our IMDEX network, displacing competing tools in the process.

“We have achieved a 25% increase in DeviGyros deployments across our IMDEX network and doubled the number of Devico sensors on hire in the US. Our Devico directional core drilling business has demonstrated consistent growth post-completion.”

He added: “The combination of Devico and IMDEX is a highly strategic investment that positions our business very well for the long term. It represents a substantial enhancement in our capability, our reach and our technology. “It secures a market-leading position in Europe, delivers leadership in directional core drilling and strongly complements our leadership position in survey tools, as evidenced by the financial performance since completion.”

Across the regions, consolidated revenue was:

  • Up 38% in the Americas (IMDEX revenue alone was up 14%), with strong activity in parts of South America including Chile and Argentina and steady growth in Brazil;
  • Up 16% in Africa and Europe (IMDEX up 2%), with solid growth in central and eastern Africa and strong demand for fluids and directional core drilling in Europe; and
  • Down 6% (IMDEX down 13%) in Asia Pacific, with strong activity in Asia and the east coast of Australia being offset by lower rig use and project delays in Western Australia.

House said: “For Q1 (September quarter), excluding the Devico fleet, average sensors on hire were up 8% on the prior quarter, but they remained down 9% on the same time last year.

“The impact of the combined IMDEX and Devico businesses on our product mix now means the higher margin sensors and software solutions in our portfolio represented 63% of Q1 2024 (September quarter) revenue. This is up from 60% at the full year.

“Overall, we expect market demand to remain steady throughout FY24 as resource companies continue to respond to the high-cost environment, where the baked in increase in labour rates is likely to extend the recovery phase – particularly in regions such as Western Australia.

“Importantly, however, mid-tier and major resource companies remain well-funded and capital raisings have shown some signs of improvement for juniors.”

IMDEX aims for directional drilling growth following Devico takeover

Following the acquisition of Devico, IMDEX says it is looking to grow the market for Directional Core Drilling (DCD) technology.

The technology is billed as delivering sustainable mining operations through more focused and efficient exploration with decreased costs and lower environmental impact, including reduced water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions when compared with conventional drilling.

Devico was acquired by IMDEX earlier this year.

IMDEX Chief Operating Officer, Shaun Southwell, said the transition to directional core drilling was inevitable as exploration costs increased in the search for mineral deposits that are deeper and in more remote and unexplored regions.

“Resource companies need to take every advantage available to them so having the capacity to hit more targets with less exploration drilling delivers real quantifiable savings,” he said. “Directional core drilling is one of the fastest growing markets as companies seek precision in their drilling programs.”

Time and cost savings from 20-50% are typical compared with conventional drilling, according to IMDEX.

The technology is well-suited in the search for geologically complex critical minerals, particularly with the capacity to drill multiple secondary drill holes from an initial mother hole and/or overcome natural deviation to hit intended targets.

IMDEX General Manager, Europe, Erlend Olso, said that while directional core drilling added some short-term costs, resource companies were recognising the greater overall savings.

“Using directional core drilling provides precision and efficiency in exploration; you can hit more targets with a lot less metres drilled,” Olso said. “Resource companies save money in the exploration phase but also know that they can hit the targets and prove up the resource in a better, faster way. There are a lot of added benefits.

“A lot of drilling companies realise they can get ahead by working with us.

“The more widespread the technology is becoming, the more the resource companies are looking for drilling companies who can work with us in the most efficient way.”

Olso said resource companies in Canada had been early adopters of the directional core drilling technology followed by Nordic countries, with South America over the past five to 10 years and more recently Africa.

Devico and IMDEX are planning to expand the directional core drilling market in Australia.

Anglo American Principal Geology and Resource Estimator, Janne Siikaluoma, credited Devico’s directional core drilling technology with delivering results that would not otherwise have been possible at its Sakatti copper, nickel and PGE deposit in Finland, 150km from the Arctic Circle.

“AA Sakatti Mining Oy has used Devico’s services in the Sakatti Cu-Ni-PGE project since 2017,” Siikaluoma said. “Devico’s services and, especially directional core drilling, has been an important factor to be able to conduct accurate diamond drilling programs in deep and complex deposits located in environmentally sensitive areas like Sakatti.

“The Sakatti winter season 2022-2023 metallurgical drilling program with several multi-branch DCD-guided holes was completed on time with high technical quality.

“This enabled AA Sakatti Mining Oy to collect the metallurgical samples from the Sakatti Cu-Ni-PGE deposit by means of core drilling which was the priority one objective and very important for the future progress of the Sakatti project.

“Additionally, the successful drilling program enabled us to achieve a constant 25 m drilling pattern in certain key areas of the deposit with the required 5m target precision (up to 800 m depth) which would have not been possible by any other practical means.”

IMDEX posts record underlying earnings as technology deployments accelerate

As well as posting record underlying earnings for its financial year ending June 30, 2023, IMDEX made significant strides with deploying its newest technology, the company says.

This is the first set of financial results to include revenue from global directional drilling and sensor technology company, Devico, which IMEX acquired in February.

Revenue for the 2023 financial year was A$411.4 million (265.1 million), an increase of 20.3% on the previous year, which included four months of Devico revenue.

Underlying earnings, normalised for the Devico transaction costs as well as exceptional legal costs, was a record at A$122.6 million and delivered at a sustained margin of 30%, notable given the rising cost environment experienced more broadly in the mining industry, IMDEX noted.

IMDEX Chief Executive Officer, Paul House, said: “We are especially pleased at the record performance of the business and the sustained margins. This is a testament to the relentless effort by our teams around the world; the strength of our business model; and a reflection of our prior investment in our digital 1.0 platforms. This allowed us to ward off the rising cost environment while at the same time continue our investments in R&D and our IMDEX Mining Technology business unit.”

As well as the Devico acquisition, IMDEX took a 40% investment in drilling analytics software company Krux Analytics and increased its stake in geoscience image analysis company Datarock.

IMDEX continues to grow its suite of mining technologies including IMDEX BLAST DOG™ which remains in the commercial prototype phase with three units now on rent with trials in Western Australia, Queensland and South America.

Underground production hole survey technology IMDEX BOLT™ and blast hole stabiliser IMDEX BHS™, both commercial prototypes, have been installed in four sites with two trials underway and installed in 11 sites with five trials underway, respectively, it says.

During the financial year, the company achieved the commercial launch of its automated spectral mineralogy technology IMDEX aiSWYFT™, the advanced IMDEX OMNIX 38 & 42 GYRO™ and its core logging solution IMDEX LOGGERX™.

“IMDEX is well positioned to leverage the robust industry fundamentals and the unique competitive position its global presence, leading technologies and integrated solutions provide,” House said.

IMDEX delivers record H1 revenue amid ongoing M&A drive

IMDEX has announced record first-half revenue to end-2022 matched with targeted acquisition activity designed to, it says, further enhance its market-leading position.

The company reported strong growth in Africa, South America and the Asia Pacific, and increasing demand for critical minerals as it revealed record revenue of A$198.8 million ($137.7 million), an 18.4% increase on the same time last year.

During this period, the company announced plans to acquire Norway-based Devico AS in a A$334 million ($230 million) deal that, it said, would reinforce its market-leading position in mining technology and deliver increased market penetration. This deal, the company says, is expected to be completed by the end of February. The company also signed a binding heads of agreement to acquire a 40% in Krux analytics, which delivers drilling analytics software, and an increase in its Datarock holding to 40.9%, from 30 per cent, in the period.

Revenue from the Americas in the six-month period was up 14% on the same period last year to A$89.3 million; Africa and Europe up 22% (A$48.4 million); and Australia and Asia up 22% (A$61.1 million).

IMDEX Chief Executive Officer, Paul House, said the M&A activity was a highlight of the first half of the year and the results demonstrated the strength of the company’s core business.

“We are very pleased with the performance, particularly our ability to grow the business notwithstanding the current macro-related uncertainty in our operating environment and to deliver further margin expansion on a normalised basis,” he said. “The company is well positioned to leverage the robust industry fundamentals through the unique competitive position our global presence, leading technologies and integrated solutions provide.

“Combining the IMDEX and Devico businesses is expected to further strengthen this position.

“Directional drilling, a market where Devico is the leader, is one of the fastest growing segments of the mining-tech space, as companies continue to look for deposits at depth, explore complex ore bodies and respond to the growing needs of faster, cheaper more accurate drilling services.”

Normalised EBITDA for the first half of the year of A$62.8 million, which excludes the exceptional litigation costs not expected to recur during the remainder of the financial year, was up 22% on the same time last year, and up 11% on a constant currency basis.

House said revenue from sensors and software had increased as had activity linked to the search for critical minerals.

“The global commitment towards net-zero emissions and the resultant demand for critical metals or the continued extraction of reserves is outstripping their replacement,” he said.

“Critical minerals are growing at a faster rate and IMDEX is well place to benefit from the necessary supply demand rebalance.”

Industry growth was underpinned by strong demand from mid-to-major mining companies, which reported ongoing or expanded exploration budgets for 2023, and strong financing for junior and intermediate companies in December.

Other first-half highlights included:

  • Rock knowledge sensors on rent up 6% and IMDEX HUB-IQ™ connected revenue increased by 41%;
  • Released next generation IMDEX ioGAS™ V8 data analysis software;
  • Completed first generation IMDEX MINEPORTAL™ software to support BLAST DOG™ trials and contracts;
  • Commercial prototype IMDEX BLAST DOG™trials progressing as planned; and
  • Spectra analysed with aiSIRIS™ software up 4%.

Drilling innovation directs Alamos to golden goods at Island

John A McCluskey, President and CEO of Alamos Gold, tends to look forward, not back, when talking about strategic decisions the Toronto- and New York-listed miner has made during his 18 years heading up the company.

When discussing the acquisition of Richmont Mines, which included the flagship Island Gold Mine asset in Ontario, he allows himself a brief rumination on the market’s first impressions of the deal: “We acquired the asset for around $620 million in November of 2017. The consensus view in the market was we had overpaid for the asset.”

That consensus view considered 1.8 Moz of mineral reserves and resources and production around the 100,000 oz/y mark, among other factors.

“In less than three years, we had Island over the 4 Moz reserve and resource threshold – we’re now nearer to 5 Moz – and the consensus valuation for the asset from analysts covering us is around $1.4 billion.”

That new valuation factors in a production rise – the company is anticipating gold output of 130,000-145,000 oz this year – and long-term growth prospects for the asset. The latter is evidenced by an Island Phase Three Expansion study published last year that envisaged a 2,000 t/d operation (currently 1,200 t/d) able to produce 236,000 oz/y starting in 2025.

While McCluskey says the company was aware of these growth prospects back in November 2017, most market observers will be surprised they have been proven up so quickly after the Richmont Mines transaction.

They probably underestimated what the use of surface directional drilling could do at Island.

Originally leveraged by Richmont Mines’ Chief Geologist and now Island Gold Chief Geologist, Raynald Vincent, back in 2015, the exploration technique has allowed Alamos to successfully step out from and infill holes Richmont and predecessors previously drilled.

Scott R.G. Parsons, VP of Exploration for Alamos, says surface directional drilling, in combination with the exploration team’s understanding on the controls on gold mineralisation at Island and Alamos’ financial backing for exploration, has helped the company grow the asset rapidly.

“The significant resource and reserve growth at Island in the last three years – adding 3 Moz net of 500,000 of mining depletion – was largely driven by surface directional drilling,” he told IM. “We could not have moved the asset forward in such a significant way without it.”

The use of what Parsons says are “standard” surface drill rigs and Devico’s DeviDrill™ steerable wireline core barrels are allowing the company to hit mineralisation far below the mine’s existing underground infrastructure. The DeviDrill tool can make multiple branches from a pilot hole, dramatically reducing both the time spent and the cost of drilling when compared with standard core drilling methods. At the same time, no time is lost on moving the drill rig between branch holes, as the core barrel can be steered from surface to complete the optimal drill patterns.

The DeviDrill tool can make multiple branches from a pilot hole, dramatically reducing both the time spent and the cost of drilling when compared with standard core drilling methods (photo: Devico)

The company has drilled 240 surface directional drill holes at Island for about 200,000 m of drilling using only 27 drill sites, Parsons explained.

“Using conventional surface drilling, the 240 holes would have required significantly more drill sites,” he said.

This would have involved moving the rig more frequently, making the process that much slower and expensive.

Instead, thanks to this directional drilling technique, the company is sitting on an additional 3 Moz of gold resources and reserves garnered in the last three years. This has come with a discovery cost of just $11/oz.

Accuracy, as Devico indicated, is another benefit of this technology.

“Surface directional drilling is not only more effective than standard drilling practices, but we can hit our targets with 1% accuracy,” Parsons added. “So, if we’re drilling a 1,500 m hole, we can typically intersect our target within 15 m from plan, 1,500 m downhole. This predictable drilling spacing is critical for defining a mineral resource with the appropriate confidence level.

“You’d never be able to do that with standard surface drilling.”

This technique is not a silver exploration bullet, though. According to Parsons, it does not work everywhere.

“It really all hinges around the quality of the orebody and our understanding of the deposit and the controls and the mineralisation,” he said. “Knowing we require a certain drill spacing to be able to define inferred mineral resources, we strategically target the down-plunge extensions of the ore shoots.”

At Island, these ore shoots – which are the high-grade portions of the deposit – are laterally extensive in the lateral and vertical sense, Parsons explained.

“With the surface directional drilling, we are able to specifically target these down-plunge extensions,” he said. “With one or two pilot holes and branch patterns, we can evaluate a large area down-plunge and along strike of the existing mineral reserves and resources. In some cases, other gold deposits can have ore shoots that are less predictable, or are not as extensive, so it would be a challenge to apply surface directional drilling without having a strong understanding of the controls of these shoots for targeting.”

And, it should not be forgotten, it requires an investment in exploration that goes beyond simply reserve and resource replacement on an annual basis. Richmont, a much smaller company, was unable to bankroll such a strategy.

Alamos has made a commitment to do this, as evidenced in the 16-year mine life outlined in the Island Phase III study and the $25 million it intends to invest in exploration this year.

The use of surface directional drilling looks set to continue paying off beyond this study, with the company recently drilling its best-ever hole to date by leveraging the technique.

Drill hole MH25-08 – 71.21 g/t Au (39.24 g/t cut) over 21.33 m – in addition to MH25-04 (28.97 g/t Au (26.89 g/t cut) over 21.76 m) have true widths approximately four times greater than the average width of the large high-grade inferred resource block defined up-plunge of them (photo: Alamos Gold)

Drill hole MH25-08 – 71.21 g/t Au (39.24 g/t cut) over 21.33 m – is the hole in question. This hole, in addition to the previously reported MH25-04 (28.97 g/t Au (26.89 g/t cut) over 21.76 m), have true widths approximately four times greater than the average width of the large high-grade inferred resource block defined up-plunge of them. This, the company said, demonstrates the zone has widened in this area, providing even further potential beyond the company’s current growth plans.

“That one – MH25-08 – is the best drill hole ever drilled at Island,” Parsons said. “And that is after 1.3 million metres of drilling and over 7,000 drill holes dating back nearly 100-years.

“That speaks to the potential of this deposit to continue to grow through exploration, and also highlights the prospectivity of the Michipicoten Greenstone Belt.”

More to come

With 27,500 m of surface directional drilling scheduled for 2021 – and only 6,683 m carried out as of May 31 – more of these high-grade intercepts could soon come to the fore.

And Parsons says the company can continue to use surface directional drilling some 500 m below where it is currently drilling down to at Island.

On top of that, the company, having established the necessary underground exploration infrastructure, is equipping its underground drill rigs at Island for directional drilling, with 24,000 m of underground directional drilling planned this year (3,233 m completed as of the end of May).

“This is allowing us to reduce our cost per metre compared with surface directional drilling and allowing us to drill more targets in a shorter amount of time,” Parsons said. “We will continue applying directional drilling technology as long as the orebody is continuing at depth to drill off those ore shoots.”

At Young-Davidson, the company’s other core asset in Ontario, Canada, the company is also making plans to use underground directional drilling.

“One of our plans going into 2022 is to evaluate opportunities to utilise directional drilling from underground exploration drifts established in lower and mid mines at Young-Davidson to target mineralisation down-plunge at depth,” Parsons said.

More broadly, Parsons thinks the company’s exploration team can leverage their understanding of the technology at other assets.

“For us, it is a competitive advantage,” he said. “With a solid geological understanding of the deposit you are looking at and an understanding of the application and the benefits of directional drilling, we can recognise opportunities of what could be occurring at depth where others might not see potential until well into the future after underground infrastructure is established at depth.”

There are obvious cost, time and accuracy benefits to using directional drilling, yet there is another benefit that may get lost along the way.

Without the need to constantly move the surface drill rigs between drill pads, the footprint of these rigs is reduced.

McCluskey says the technology has brought another ESG advantage to Island too.

By being able to quickly drill off more targets and convert these into the resource base, Alamos has been able to think long term with its Island Gold Phase III Expansion and justify the expense of a shaft and paste backfill plant.

This comes with a 35% reduction in emissions compared with using the mine’s existing ramp and diesel-powered truck haulage, he said, explaining that much of the Ontario grid is powered by renewable hydroelectricity.

“This technology has given us the exploration success that has been converted into scale and allowed us to think longer term and afford the infrastructure to make it a ‘greener’ operation,” he said.

With such a long list of benefits, more companies will be looking at directional drilling to prolong the life of their assets and make long-term decisions that make economic and sustainable sense.

Devico improves drilling productivity with new DeviGyro surveying tool

Devico AS, a leader in directional drilling innovations and manufacturer of drill hole positioning instruments, has released what it says is the shortest overshot surveying system on the market.

The latest DeviGyro system, the Overshot Xpress (The OX for short), is powered by the DeviGyro, a high-speed miniature and continuous gyroscopic surveying instrument.

With the OX, surveys can be performed while retrieving the core tube and, as such, minimise the impact surveying typically has on drilling productivity.

An important aspect of the OX is its short length and light weight. This compact design makes handling safer and easier, particularly underground or in other environments where space is restricted, Devico says.

It is supplied with the DeviCounter for precise depth control and an Android device for operation and processing. The data may be directly uploaded to the DeviCloud for further processing and private sharing within the user group, the company says.

Geoff Muir, Managing Director of drilling contractor Australian Underground Drilling (AUD), said the OX technology is “fantastic”.

“[It provides] comprehensive surveying without interrupting the drilling process, driving overall production up and the cost per meter down for our clients,” he said.

The Overshot Xpress provides data on drill hole sizes NWL, HWL, PWL at speeds up to 100 m/min, according to Devico. It is 1.2 m long and can be used underground or on surface. Surveys can be carried out up-hole, down-hole, horizontal and vertical, Devico adds.