Gold Exploration Drilling Rig Case Study: CSD1300L in Fushun, China

Executive Summary

A 7-month gold exploration program in Fushun, Liaoning Province (northeast China) required reliable, high-quality core sampling of a deep gold ore body. The contractor, No. 6 Geological Brigade of Jilin Bureau of Geology and Mineral Exploration, deployed the CORTECH® CSD1300L crawler-mounted full hydraulic core drilling rig and completed 4,000 m of cumulative wireline core drilling with a deepest hole of 430 m at a 75 mm borehole diameter. The rig's crawler mobility, stable hydraulic drilling system and high-precision guiding devices delivered consistently good core recovery in complex wilderness terrain, providing the complete geological dataset needed for resource evaluation and mine development planning.

Project Background & Challenge

Fushun sits in a geologically complex region where the gold ore body's distribution, scale and grade characteristics had to be established before any development decision could be made. The exploration program faced three defining challenges:

• Remote, rough terrain: drill sites were spread across wilderness areas with limited road access, making conventional truck-mounted or skid-mounted rigs slow and expensive to reposition.
• Deep-hole coring quality: the deepest planned hole reached 430 m; at that depth, rod handling time, hole deviation and core recovery become the dominant cost and quality drivers.
• Long campaign, tight schedule: the full program — multiple holes, 4,000 m of cumulative footage — had to be completed within 7 months, leaving little room for rig downtime or mobilization delays.

Our Solution

The contractor selected the CORTECH® CSD1300L, a crawler-mounted full hydraulic surface core drilling rig engineered for high-precision mineral exploration in deep solid deposits. Key design choices behind the solution:

• Crawler chassis for fast relocation: the integrated heavy-duty track system (30° climbing capacity, 2 km/h tramming speed) allowed the rig to reposition itself between scattered drill sites without cranes or towing trucks, cutting mobilization time to hours.
• Wireline coring process: the high-speed wireline winch (120 m/min bare-drum line speed, 1,000 m steel rope capacity) minimized tripping time at depth, directly supporting the 430 m deep holes.
• Precise hydraulic control: 100% full hydraulic circuitry with stepless weight-on-bit (WOB) control and a 127 kN lifting force kept the drill string stable in fractured and weathered formations, protecting core quality.
• Compact, lightweight architecture: at 8.5 tons gross weight (5,100 × 2,350 × 2,600 mm transport envelope), the rig was mobilized over mountainous roads with standard trucks — a decisive advantage for a multi-site wilderness campaign.

Key Results

For the full technical specifications of the CORTECH® CSD1300L, see the CSD1300L product page.

Customer Value & ROI

• Lower mobilization cost: crawler tramming eliminated repeated crane and truck logistics between scattered sites — typically one of the largest hidden cost items in wilderness exploration.
• Higher core recovery, fewer redrills: precise WOB control and stable guidance reduced hole deviation and core loss, so the program avoided expensive re-drilling of lost intervals.
• Schedule confidence: the 4,000 m program was delivered inside the 7-month window, enabling the client's downstream resource evaluation and mine planning to proceed on time.
• Asset longevity: the air-cooled 26 MPa hydraulic system maintained consistent torque in high-ambient temperatures, supporting continuous production shifts.

FAQ

How deep can a gold exploration drilling rig drill?

With the CSD1300L, reference wireline coring depths reach 1,300 m using B-size rods, 1,000 m with N-size, 700 m with H-size and 400 m with P-size rods. The Fushun project drilled production holes to 430 m at 75 mm diameter.

What is wireline core drilling for gold exploration?

Wireline (rope) coring retrieves the inner core barrel through the drill string without pulling all rods from the hole. This reduces tripping time dramatically at depth and delivers continuous, high-quality core samples for assaying gold grade and ore body geometry.

Which crawler core drill suits remote wilderness gold exploration?

A crawler-mounted, lightweight, full hydraulic rig such as the CSD1300L (8.5 t, 30° climb) is ideal: it relocates independently between scattered sites, handles 45°–90° drilling angles, and maintains precise WOB control for high core recovery in fractured ground.

How much footage can a crawler core drill complete in 7 months?

In the Fushun program, the CSD1300L completed 4,000 m of cumulative wireline core drilling with a deepest hole of 430 m within 7 months, including multiple site relocations — an average that includes mobilization, casing, coring and rod handling across all holes.

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