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Drilling has started!

17.06.2008 Drilling has commenced at our first site drill site. Good progress has been made during the first few days of drilling in Archean volcanic rocks.

Photo:
Eugene Grosch

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On Mon the 17th of June drilling commenced at our first site drill site. Good progress has been made during the first few days of drilling in Archean volcanic rocks.

The drill rig stands about 14 m high and is capable of drilling down to hundreds of meters at between 30 and 90m a day, depending on subsurface hydraulic and rock conditions. The entire drill rig system is completely collapsible and folds up into about the size of a pick-up truck (6.5m by 2m). This makes the rig highly mobile with minimum space requirements enabling access into difficult geological terrains, with minimal negative environmental impact.

This photo shows the initial stages of the Barberton Scientific Drilling Project at the first drill site. A thin surface layer of loose soil and boulders required the insertion of a few meters of metal casing into the borehole before we hit the bedrock beneath. This stabilizes the hole and prevent infilling of the hole during drilling. A doughnut shaped diamond studded drill bit is used to cut into the rock below ground, the system is cooled by continuously pumping water into the ground and cylinders of rock up to 3 meters in length are brought back up to the surface.

See later posts for more information on drilling technology.

Photo (left) drill site 1 AEON-CGB Barberton Scientific Drilling Project; (right) core barrel at the top of hole 1. Photo Credit: Eugene Grosch