Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door. That’s the popular phrase attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson from the 19th century.
The idea is not lost to Drillco Mining and Exploration of North Bay, Ontario, where a 21st century modular drilling system has been developed to serve the needs of exploration drilling both underground and on surface.
The project has been in the works for roughly five years and now that demo rigs are out operating in the field, business development officer Dave Jones said he is more than excited about the future of Drillco’s modular drilling system.
He said the project has been largely “self-financed” but also had the help of government organizations such as the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) and FedNor.
“Every funding group that we’ve been able to approach, they’ve done their due diligence. They understand the value of what we’ve developed and they have contributed financially to help us to get to where we are,” said Jones.
“If we didn’t have the support from those groups we wouldn’t have been able to go from concept in 2013 to the demonstration units,” he added.
Jones said the next step into full commercial production will be happening soon. A tour of the company shop revealed several of the new units being prepared for assembly.
The modular approach means there is a single hydraulic system, which is the central feature of the drill. It sits on a unique steel platform made out of a special alloy material and is powered either by an electrical power pack for underground operations or a full-sized diesel engine module for surface operation.
The Drillco system can also be adapted as a lighter-weight heli-portable version that will enable the modules to be slung into remote drill sites, all within the accepted industry standards.
Another feature of the system, said Jones, is the ease-of-operation and ease of maintenance deliberately built into it.
He mentioned that the hydraulic system has a significant reduction in the number of components, hoses and fittings required to run the drill, when compared to older conventional rigs.
Jones said there are 75 per cent fewer fittings and hoses, which lowers the chance of a hydraulic leak and makes it a lot easier to clean up if one occurs.
The drill also features a “four-bolt” system to take apart or re-attach any of the major components for repairs or even set-up and tear-down. Jones said the four-bolt system is another of the planned ease-of-maintenance features for the Drillco system.
Jones credits company president Sylvain Brisson with coming up with the host of innovations that he said could only come from the mind of a the man who spent many years in the field running drilling operations and coping with, and overcoming, the challenges that would arise.
Drillco will be participating in the annual convention of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) in Toronto with a booth at the Northern Ontario pavilion.
