Major Drilling
A Nuqsana Partner
Our Corporate Purpose: Creating sustainable value by partnering with our customers and communities to discover minerals for building a better future.
Founded in 1980, Major Drilling operates worldwide in over 14 countries with 11 partnerships with Inuit and First Nations partners. Major Nuqsana, offers the following services in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut:
- Grade Control — We can conduct pit sampling using rotary or reverse circulation, surveying, or sampling of drill hole cuttings at 1.2-meter spacings.
- Service Holes — In mines worldwide, we (or Major Drilling itself) can complete steerable drilling and casing installation. We also can drill pilot holes that reach the target point or ream them to size specifications.
- Pressure Grouting & Grout Curtains — We can install pressure grouting for ground water control or to prevent water influx from groundwater. We also install smart cables to study and monitor rock mechanics. In addition, we can install other ground control monitoring instruments.
- Probe Holes (Cover Drilling) — We can help you know what's ahead. Let us be your experts at drilling in advance of production mining. We can perform ground investigations and drilling ahead of development to predict groundwater or poor ground conditions.
- Centerline Drilling — You want to ensure your project has ideal breakthrough with adjoining excavation. Major Drilling makes it happen with accurate drifts and raise development breakthrough.
- Reverse Circulation — R/C drilling can be a cost-effective way to prove or expand reserves in active mining projects. Our capabilities include deep-hole projects, large diameter casing advancement and angle drilling up to 45 degrees.
- Smart Cables — These cables are used to study and monitor rock mechanics. We can install and grout in this and other ground control monitoring instruments.
- Longitudinal Longhole — Used for narrow-veined ore deposits and can help reduce the cost of mining. Typically drilled with our Stinger drills due to their compact size (2 meter width). This allows faster ore body extraction and less infrastructure requirements.
- Transverse Longhole — Utilizes larger rotary drills like the Cubex to drill large diameter blast holes. It is a good drilling type for massive sulfide deposits, large disseminated deposits, or those locations that will be processing high tonnages.
- Vertical Crater Retreat — Utilizes larger rotary drills like the Cubex to drill large diameter blast holes. It is a good drilling type for massive sulfide deposits, large disseminated deposits or those locations that will be processing high tonnages.
- Sublevel Caving — Used for near surface large tonnage operations that require little development. Higher initial cost but much lower operational cost during production with multiple mucking points. Typically utilizes top hammer drilling such as the Stopemaster, Solo or small diameter Cubex drills.
- Block Caving — Similar to sublevel caving with high initial costs but much lower operational costs during production. Offers multiple mucking points for large tonnage operations. Utilizes top hammer or small diameter in the hole hammer drills.
- Dewatering — Through extensive research and development, Major Drilling has the proven resources, experience, and technical ability to safety and productively execute a variety of underground drainage systems in order to successfully dewater, and thereby reduce ground pore pressures.
- Shallow Oil & Gas — We offer exploration and development services for shallow oil & gas projects that can be drilled vertically or directionally. We can supply BOPs, solids control systems, casing services, and other well support equipment.
- Preset Surface & Intermediate Casing Strings — Save money and time by presetting your surface casing for deep oil & gas wells. Much more cost effective than having an oil rig starting from surface.
- Directional Drilling — We offer directional drilling services and can utilize a wide range of survey systems including single and multi-shot cameras, gyros, and MWD system.
- Geothermal — Our crews are experienced drilling temperature gradient, injection, slim hole, and production wells. Our training and experience means crews are prepared to properly handle H2S, excessive temperatures and BOP equipment.
- Flooded Reverse and Aerated Mud Drilling — This requires a combination of fluid and air, introducing lower air pressure into the drill string than conventional drilling, lightening the mud column and reducing damage to weak formations. This works well with coal-bed methane wells.
- Large Diameter Air Drilling — Drilled using large percussion hammers or rotary bits and may require several compressors and/or boosters for proper hole cleaning.
- Sonic — We offer a variety of sonic drilling equipment including truck or track mounted sonic drills. Sonic is primarily utilized for characterization of waste rock and tailings piles as well as the installation of piezometers, monitoring wells, and remediation wells.
- Surface Core Drilling — We have a variety of rigs with tracks, trucks, skids, helicopter, and man-portable options. We offer our customers a modern fleet with many rigs having rod handling capacity and all delivering great core recovery.
- Reverse Circulation — With the right conditions, reverse circulation drilling offers faster penetration and lower cost per meter when an oriented core sample is not required. Often a good solution for early stage exploration on a project.
- Geotechnical Drilling — Our geotechnical fleet can help investigate soil stability for suitability of structures and conduct ongoing investigation to detect any changes or signs of developing problems, which may cause an issue or delays in development.
- Drilling — We offer percussive down the hole hammer drilling in a variety of surface applications including drop raises and drill galleries in dams.
- Large Diameter Coring — Provides a large core sample (8 inch / 20 cm core) for selectively coring zones of interest. Safe, mechanized handling for the 3 meter core barrel including loading and pumping of the triple tube system to enhance core recovery.
- Multi-Purpose Drilling — These rigs give you the ability to quickly change between core, reverse circulation, and traditional rotary drilling.
- Diamond Coring — We offer coring from PQ to BQ including double and triple tube, wire-line, conventional and continuous coring. We can ensure accuracy of your core hole through core orientation, single/multi-shot, and gyro surveys.
- Geotechnical — We offer installation of instrumentation at all angles. We offer Piezometer/TDR/Seismic sampling as well as hydro fracturing.
- Hydrology — Services include dewatering, high pressure water control, gas control, high pressure grouting, and packer testing.
- Directional — We offer a directional drilling services including pilot holes, breakthrough holes, drainage, and service holes.