Innovation

Geotechnical company Keller has invested in five new rigs, manufactured and designed by the Italian drill rig manufacturer Soilmec, having already taken delivery of one, a Soilmec SR125, so far.

The €3.7M (£3.2M) Universal Mooring, Anchor & Connectivity Kit (Umack) project is to begin sea trials for its new mooring and anchoring solution, created to reduce the capital, installation and operational costs associated with traditional “gravity-based” anchor solutions.

Socotec's ground investigation team has adopted a new data storage method which allows information on its drill rigs to be stored in a digital format, using QR codes.

Deme's deep sea mining subsidiary, Global Sea Mineral Resources (GSR), has completed its first successful seabed polymetallic nodule collection on the Pacific Ocean floor, as part of a scientific and environmental trial.

Ireland-based rock drilling solutions provider Mincon has released a new 4in (102mm) down the hole (DTH) hammer, promising improvements in speed and fuel consumption.

Ground investigation contractor Causeway Geotech has acquired its first dual-purpose roto-sonic drilling rig.

Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions has launched a new development drill rig, the Sandvik DT923i jumbo, designed for face drilling in tunnel and cavern excavations.

British drill rig manufacturer Dando Drilling International has released its new Infinity range of machines for the mineral exploration, water well and geotechnical drilling sectors.

Marine engineering specialist Marine-I and geotechnical survey firm Feritech Global are working together to create the world’s first autonomous subsea vehicle specially designed for geotechnical survey work.

German manufacturer Klemm Bohrtechnik, part of Bauer Group, has released its smallest and lightest machine to date, the KR 606-3 universal drilling rig for underpinning, jet grouting, micro-piling, soil nailing and anchoring applications.