Highly Accurate Drilling

Deep drill holes are the culmination of time consuming and costly work required to define and ensure spatially accurate intersections of planned drill targets. At DDH1 we recognise that deep hole drilling is a costly business and those costs have been preceded by significant investment to identify drilling targets. Missing targets is not just about the cost of the hole but includes project opportunity costs when a critical decision is based on a drill hole result.

Multiple Intersection Directional Drilling

Accurate directional drilling techniques with up to 35 daughter holes are invaluable for drilling multiple intersection core holes from surface as an alternative to underground drilling. In many mines, underground development may not provide an ideal drilling platform for targets that are significantly ahead of mine workings and drilling operations may overload mine services of ventilation, power, water, and decline traffic limiting mine production.

Mine Service Holes

DDH1’s directional drilling expertise is in high demand for drilling mine service holes to accurately intersect mine workings. Uses include cable drop holes to run high voltage electrical cables direct from surface and paste fill holes drilled directly from a paste plant to intersect current workings. Potential accuracy is around one metre over a kilometre and the directionally drilled core holes are then enlarged to accept pressure rated oilfield casing and grouted back to surface. DDH1’s deepest single pass mine service hole is 1450m with multiple successful projects completed to in excess of 1000m.