Resource World Magazine

56 www.resourceworld.com A P R I L / M A Y 2 0 2 0 MININGWORLD DRILLCO MINING AND EXPLORATION, based in North Bay, Ontario, won the Northern Ontario Business Innovation Award (NOBA) in 2019. In an interview with Resource World Sylvain Brisson, Drillco President and founder, and David Jones, Business Development for Drillco discussed their unique, award winning product - a scalable, clean tech, modular, diamond drilling system. Brisson got into the drilling business over 30 years ago, going from drill helper to drill operator, operations manager to business partner. He moved back to North Bay and started Drillco in 2013 to develop a modular drilling system. The first drill developed was an under - ground drill for which Drillco developed a power pack system using advance tech- nology for the hydraulics system. Those drills went to work in a gold mine just outside Timmins, Ontario. Prototypes were tested for over 12,000 hours with excellent results. With the validation of the hydrau- lic system, Drillco proceeded with the design of the modular frames and concept; they moved forward in the drill's develop- ment. In 2018, a Drillco universal drill base was developed with a hydraulic turntable and a modular mast system. "The drill we make can be used on sur - face, underground and can be configured to be helicopter portable," Brisson said. "A lot of people claim to have modular sys - tems, but they have limited applications, ranges, and are different sizes. Drillco designed one system that services all applications and ranges. Typically, the industry has small, medium and large pieces of equipment for different applica- tions. Drillco's system has one common hydraulic power pack and operator con- trol station, for surface, underground and fly drilling. Our drill has a modular motor group that uses diesel motors on surface and electric engines underground and a modular mast. Drillco's system can be adapted to all motors and power ranges from 75 to 350hp. Generally, drilling contractors require different drills for underground, surface and heli-transport. Fly-in drills need to be light weight so they can be air lifted to remote sites. This usually results in less robust components and reduced power resulting in limited depth capacity. Brisson explained that Drillco's helicopter configu - ration, although light weight, still has the power to drill over 2,000 metres which is peak industry capability. When going from above ground drilling to underground drilling, all that needs to be changed is the motor group. Switching the motor out is a two-man operation that takes less than two hours to complete. It simply requires the removing of some bolts. Jones said, "You literally slide one engine out and slide in another." This is where one hydraulic system for all applica - tions highlights its flexibility. Drillco has created the first modular system able to do all three types of drilling. Jones said, "When Sylvain and I are at a trade show and we bring our equipment, the most commonly asked question is, "This is the baby drill; what about the big one? We tell them, this is the only drill you need! Although it is small and compact in physi - cal size it has tremendous power to drill very deep holes. The biggest advantage of our drill is its high efficiency. The efficiency increases net power to the drill head." This drill has increased depth range able to operate at 5,000 psi in drilling mode. Jones said most other drills operate at 3,000 psi. The advanced magnetic filtra - tion system filters to less than 1 micron drastically increasing the life of major drill components. The drill was designed for drillers, mechanics and owners. Drillers want raw power for high performance; mechanics want a drill with a simple configuration that is easy to repair, and owners want a drill that is efficient with low maintenance that provides financial savings. "We use something called a four-bolt system. All of our components are strategically placed in an area that is easy to get to. It is very easy to remove the bolts, remove the defective part, replace it and have the drill back up and operational," said Jones. Drillco has recently added data logging and telematic communications capabili - ties to their drill. Owners can monitor the drill's performance remotely. Eventually, depending on the signal, they will be able to set the parameters right from the head office or anywhere for that mat- ter. The drill has built in upper and lower parameters for each drilling feature that are locked into the software of the control panel. They are controlled with a touch screen and are password protected. Jones said, "Even though the Drillco system utilizes advanced technology, the system is simple to learn, operate and repair." Brisson explained, "On the hydrau- lic side, with a system this powerful, the hydraulic system is too powerful for smaller types of work. In these cases, we use the drill's computer and software to reduce power and lock that section. Owners, supervisors and mechanics can go in and set the parameters so it will behave like a small drill. By changing the param - eters, you make the drill perform like the biggest drills available on the market." "We have made the most environ- mentally friendly drill available on the market," said Jones. The drilling indus- Innovator Drillco develops an award-winning, scalable, clean-tech modular drill by Kathrine Moore

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