Probe Drill Platform (Off-shore) – Namdeb

The Probe Drill Platform walked 335m into the sea and drilled 24 holes in 24 hours in the surf zone. This was a significant milestone in exploring the marine portions of our client’s mining licenses immediately adjacent to its land-based mining activities.

The Probe Drill Platform (PDP) is a walking jack-up platform. Its deck measures 12m x 12m and it weighs 165 tons. The 8 legs are 18m long and it has been designed to withstand 144km/h winds combined with 5m swell.

The PDP can operate in up to 7m water depth in calm seas and it can drill through more than 30m of sediment with its 5-inch diameter reverse circulation drill. It is connected to land with an Aerial Ropeway System (ARS).

The construction of the PDP and ARS was completed in 2010 and the commissioning continued throughout the first half of 2011 with walking and drilling operations on the beach.

In August 2011 the PDP commenced drilling in the sea.