Australia remains competitive in drill-hole survey technology

Australia is often regarded as the battleground for new technologies and is well recognised as an early adopter, says Australia-based supplier of drillhole navigation and measurement equipment Axis Mining Technology director Paul Wilkie.

“Following the post-boom gloom, we are now seeing encouraging levels of drilling activity that support the continued growth of our business.”

He notes that a strong global contingent of mining and drilling companies regard Axis’ high-end north-seeking Champ Gyro technology as essential for their drilling projects. He says the Champ Gyro and Champ Navigator contain unique IP, based upon new solid-state mems technology, which affords “unparalleled performance” and application flexibility.

“The Champ Gyro supersedes traditional mechanical north-seeking gyro systems with solid state mems technology. In the past, the use of mechanical north-seeking systems was generally restricted to specialist survey companies, given their complexity of use and high maintenance demands.”

He explains that the Champ Gyro offers rugged simplicity, which is used by the drillers, enabling them to confidently conduct accurate gyroscopic surveys, reducing costs and increasing drilling efficiency.

He says the Champ Gyro can also be run with an overshot assembly in wireline coring applications to take a gyroscopic survey while retrieving the inner tube and core.

“This capability removes the need for a separate and time-consuming magnetic single-shot survey run, thus greatly reducing or eliminating entirely rig standby charges, while increasing drilled metres each and every shift.”

Wilkie says even though the company is seeing penetration and impressive performance in key overseas markets, such as North America and Africa, Australia currently remains a strong territory, with a respectable share of the market in gyroscopic technologies.

“We have a loyal client base worldwide for this technology – primarily drilling companies and many major mining companies. “Our team has considerable international experience in the mining and oil and gas industries and we partner with the right people in each territory to deliver solid, good old-fashioned customer service,” he concludes.