Sonic drilling throughout the UK & Europe

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Sonic Technique

  • Our Sonic SDC550-18 drill rig (as pictured) is mounted on Caterpillar crawlers together with its Canadian patented Sonicor 50K drill head.
  • Sonic drilling provides a continuous, undisturbed core sample of unparalleled quality and accuracy through many types of formation.
  • By using high frequency vibrations, the sonic drill can produce accurate and almost totally undisturbed core samples from both solid and unconsolidated materials.
  • The sonic drill can quickly extract nearly perfect, highly representative, continuous core samples from surface to bedrock with a recovery rate in excess of 95%.
  • Core samples can be subjected to detailed inch by inch analysis to evaluate the potential mineralisation of the subsurface.
  • Cores can be obtained from a wide variety of mineral deposits with an absolutely minimal amount of disturbance and compaction.
  • The sonic drill performs extremely well in difficult soil conditions such as those containing boulders, gravel, clays, shale, permafrost and saturated sands.
  • Holes are drilled, cored and cased by rotating and vibrating the rod, core barrel and casing at resonant sonic frequencies.
  • The coring of unconsolidated material is carried out completely dry without the use of any drilling fluid.
  • Cased holes prevent the collapse of the borehole and ensure that cores are not contaminated by up-hole debris.
  • The sonic drill bores extremely straight holes as compared to a conventional rotary machine.
  • Cores are held in the core barrel by friction and by the use of suitable core catchers.

  • Retrieved cores are gently extruded by vibration into clear plastic sleeves which can be easily logged, sampled, photographed and archived for future examination.
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    For sonic drilling projects in Shropshire, the UK and Europe, call Hughes Exploration & Environmental Ltd today on