Core Drilling Is an Essential Component of Construction and Mining
The days of staking out a plot of land and immediately beginning construction are long gone. There are many issues with this approach, which is why it has been mostly abandoned in recent decades. Modern best practices dictate that a construction or mining company should conduct thorough testing and surveys on the land to determine the viability of a project. Core drilling is an essential component of these tests, as it can tell us a lot about a particular site and can save construction managers and building owners from many future headaches.
Core drilling is, therefore, not simply a process that is undertaken to add an extra level of bureaucracy to the project or to enrich the pockets of the company that does the drilling. The article below will explain what kind of data this process collects and what we do with that data.
The Information We Get from Core Samples (And How We Use It)
Core drilling is mostly used to obtain samples from rock and densely packed soil. The special drill bit used in this procedure extracts solid or semi-solid cylindrical chunks from the ground, which is then used to determine specific properties of the surrounding area. The cores that are extracted are usually rather lengthy, as they need to go deep enough to produce an accurate set of data from which inferences can be made. “Short” samples are all but useless, as they cannot produce enough data.
As mentioned above, the core samples obtained from this kind of drilling process can tell us a lot about an area. The most relevant information we usually learn from studying cores include the mineral composition and structural stability of rock formations in an area. This is important in mining and construction, as buildings and other large-scale projects need a solid foundation before they can commence. Certain rock types (like dolomite) can be porous, soluble, and unstable, which can lead to a variety of problems, such as sinkholes and drainage inconsistencies (especially problematic during heavy rainfall).
Having access to accurate data about the geological composition of an area will allow construction site managers, engineers, and architects to adjust their plans pre-emptively to avoid costly adjustments in the future. It can be as simple as making the foundation of the building deeper and building additional drainage systems, or it can be as complex as scrapping the project entirely and relocating to a more suitable site. It is thus much better to conduct an analysis before construction begins, as it can save a lot of money.
It Is Important to Choose the Right Company for The Job
While core drilling is an important component of construction and pre-construction planning, it is not the only method used to determine a project’s viability. There are many other surveys that need to be conducted at building sites, such as geographical surveys, soil sampling, environmental impact studies, and water quality testing. Neglecting any of these surveys amounts to going in blind and keeping your fingers crossed that nothing would go wrong.
Make sure you don’t only choose the right company for the job but ensure that the company you do choose can conduct all the testing you need to expedite your projects.
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