To avoid a long-distance mobilisation of one of its own fleet of drill rigs, Energold was in search of a UK-based compact rotary drill rig that was also set up for wireline drilling. This led the company to approached Skelair International for a fully-compliant drill rig with a specification suitable for its project.

As Skelair International is the UK distributor for the full EMCI range it recommended the EMCI 7.50, which is available for rent as standard with a wireline capacity of 150m.

Chris Jones, operations manager (EMEA) at Energold Drilling EMEA Ltd, commented: "It was important to us to find a compact rental drill rig that, like our own rigs, was fully health and safety compliant and we could rely on for performance. The rental of the EMCI 7.50 from Skelair was particularly attractive to us for exactly those reasons and it meant that we didn't have to mobilise one of our own rigs from Europe or indeed Africa."

Mounted on a rubber track crawler and remote-controlled, the EMCI 7.50 has a 56kW Deutz diesel engine and a 38L stainless steel tank. Although a smaller rig, the EMCI 7.50 is a very competent rotary rig fitted with a wireline winch to satisfy the needs of the industry for wireline drilling.

Steph Keane, sales director at Skelair International, noted: "The EMCI 7.50 available from Skelair is suitable for a variety of drilling methods and in particular wireline drilling up to 150m depth. The rig is also fitted with an automatic SPT hammer for geotechnical drilling applications. With a rotary head speed up to 500rpm and a maximum torque of 500daNm, the rig acted as the ideal solution for Energold's requirements of accessibility, power and adherence to UK health and safety regulations.

"The rig has performed competently for Energold and the additional accessories that are available with our rental rig have proven invaluable."

EMCI 7.50 has an onboard triplex type pump which was essential for Energold's core drilling technique for the shallow exploration programme. The rig has successfully supported the completion of 10 x 60m deep cored holes in HQ size well ahead of schedule.

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