RC drilling

The past weeks, I've mostly spent on a RC drill rig. RC drilling?! RC stands for reverse circulation, technical details can be found on wikipedia under point 6.5 Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling. RC drilling usually only goes a couple 100 meters deep and no core is recovered. Reverse circulation works with big air pressure to fracture the rock and therefore the product is chips (small pieces of rock).

Anyway, first drill programs had to be planned and approved. Thereafter the drilling started. A usual day might look like that: Get up around 6am. Grab a sandwich-breakfast. Drive out to the drill rig, which usually is about a 30 minute drive. Working on the rig all day until 6pm. Drive back to camp. Dinner. After dinner, data entry has to be done and a daily report written.

So, all in all this means long days. Although, sometimes the rig is not working due to mechanical issues. But still, everybody has to be out there and ready to continue drilling.

At some stage, I figured riding my bike home in the evening might be a good idea. What a superb thing to do! It is about a 12km bike ride on dirt roads, passing one village. Amazingly relaxing 45minutes at dusk in the African savannah!

early morning start at the drill rig as the sun rises 

RC drill rig in action

moving RC drill rig onto a new drill collar

PPE at rest

building a 'hangar' - part I

building a 'hangar' - part II
winter is over
40°C is normal and just the start of summer

tea time at the drill rig

drill crew, half the sampling crew and geo (me)

cycling back to camp in the evening

cycling back to camp in the evening
escarpement at the horizon

cycling back to camp in the evening
village