A rescue mission is taking place in Northern Chile in aid of the 33 miners who have been trapped in a chamber underground since August 5^th 2010. Trapped 700m below ground with minimal food, water and oxygen supply the miners were intersected by a percussion hammer that punched through into their chamber and upon which they swiftly attached a note indicating all 33 miners were alive.

Reflex Instruments played an integral role in the first phase of the miner rescue mission in Northern Chile. Phase one comprised of locating and intersecting the miners through the use of exploration rigs whereby Reflex Instruments were used.

Kelvin Brown, Reflex’s Global Product Manager and an expert in down hole surveying equipment, worked as part of a rescue team who made first contact with the miners on August 22^nd 2010. Kelvin was on site when the drilling broke through to the chamber where the miners were trapped.

Kelvin Brown’s directional drilling skills were utilised for the planning stages of the drill hole’s design that lead to the successful interception with the trapped miners. He acted as a consultant during this stage and applied his wealth of knowledge providing advice on how to effectively intercept the miners.

Reflex’s EZ-Trac was successfully utilised to survey the bore hole and orientate the HX Navimotors. Reflex EZ-Trac is a multifunctional magnetic instrument for Single Shot, Multi Shot and Orientation surveys. The EZ-Trac was successfully utilised and provided accurate survey data during the HQ coring as there was no magnetic disturbance in the formation. The EZ-Trac operated at a faster rate than other survey instruments that were available on site.

During the diamond and navidrilling stage 20 holes were drilled using Reflex Instrument’s HX Navimotor. The HX Navimotor is used for directional drilling purposes in conjunction with the EZ-Trac to accurately survey and orientate the drill to its desired target. The HX Navimotor is the first product of its kind used in South America.

The Reflex Maxibor II was also used for the surveying of drill holes prior to the arrival of the Australian team. The Reflex Maxibor is an advanced instrument for highly accurate surveys which can also be used in magnetically disturbed environments.

The second phase of the Chilean miner rescue mission is the recovery phase whereby a raise bore is being utilised for a large drilling diameter. The raise bore rig is the recovery hole for ventilation and will be used as a pilot hole first down to the target. AMC has tendered to supply the drilling fluids for this phase of the project whereby AMC’s Aus-gel is to be used in the raise bore operation.

The staff at Reflex Instruments are in full support and very thankful for all of those active in the rescue operation. As stated by Imdex’s Managing Director Bernie Ridgeway “Our sincere thanks goes to Kelvin Brown from Reflex Instruments in Perth and the rest of our team based in Santiago for their fantastic efforts which exceeded the normal call of duty”. Reflex Instruments will provide further product updates as the Chilean rescue mission develops.

Reflex is the leading supplier of down hole survey and core orientation instruments to the global minerals industry.  The Company’s instruments are renowned for their reliability, ease of use and ability to obtain superior data. www.reflexinstruments.com

Reflex is a subsidiary of Imdex Limited. Imdex is an ASX 300 listed company that provides quality drilling fluids and leading down hole instrumentation to the minerals and oil and gas industry world wide. www.imdexlimited.com

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information regarding Reflex’s range of instruments, please contact

Media Contact:
Group Marketing Manager Imdex Limited, Ben Vorster
+61 8 9445 4010 
Ben.vorster@imdexlimited.com