Resource World Magazine

76 www.resourceworld.com D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 8 MININGWORLD A ustralia's' Deep Exploration Technologies Cooperative Research Centre (DET CRC) has suc- cessfully trialed their revolutionary Coiled Tubing (CT) Drill Rig, the RoXplorer ® CT Rig. DET CRC developed the RoXplorer ® in order to develop technology that provides effective, economic and safe drilling methods of exploring for and analyzing deep mineral deposits. DET CRC is one of ~30 Cooperative Research Centres across the continent undertak- ing Australia-wide, long-term, collaborative research. The DET CRC is funded by the government of Australia as well as industry suppliers, mining companies and geologi- cal surveys. Among the participants who join the DET CRC for an annual fee of $450,000 are Barrick, BHP Billiton, Boart Longyear, Anglo American and Vale. The DET CRC's core purpose is, "To develop transfor- mational technologies for successful mineral exploration through deep, barren cover rocks to be utilised and com- mercialised by the mineral exploration industry in order to replace the world's declining mineral resource invento- ries and thereby enable continuing improvement in global standards-of-living." To accomplish this goal, the mining industry must meet global demand for mineral products by discovering new mineral deposits, and extending known deposits, under deep cover rocks. The RoXplorer ® is a strange looking drill to those famil- iar with conventional drill rigs. The drill has what appears to be a large spool of cable attached to it. DET describes the RoXplorer ® Rig as a hybrid rig. Though the drill is designed for coiled tubing, it is capable of drilling with a top drive and conventional drill rods. The rig weighs 15 tonnes (including coiled tubing drill string). The prototype coiled tubing (CT) drill rig underwent trials in Feb-March and May-June of 2017. The field tri- als were conducted in the consolidated cover rocks of the Gawler Craton (near Port Augusta, South Australia) and in the unconsolidated cover rocks of the Murray Basin (near Horsham, Victoria). DET CRC has received the assay results of the coiled tubing drilling cuttings from the Port Augusta trial. "Their match to assays of diamond drill core Deep Exploration Technologies' revolutionary Coiled Tubing Drill Rig – The RoXplorer ® by Kathrine Moore The RoXplorer® coiled tubing drill rig. Photo courtesy of Deep Exploration Technologies Cooperative Research Centre.

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