Core Drilling for Mineral Exploration

We are the premier core drilling company in the Midwest. Our customer list includes some of the most prominent exploration and mining companies in the U.S. We currently serve customer projects in Minnesota, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Wisconsin and other Southeastern and Western states.

Our key differentiation is our strong culture of customer service excellence, which is founded on our drilling productivity, the quality of our work, and our commitment to safety, environmental stewardship and innovation. We are willing to take on the most difficult and unusual projects for our customers. Our brand is built on our consistent ability to meet and exceed the expectations of our customers. Our success is because of our talented employees, who provide the expertise, experience and the intense commitment to customer service necessary to consistently deliver on our promises to our customers.

Drill Rig Fleet and Support

A successful core drilling company must have a well rounded fleet of the best drilling equipment available, and the support necessary to enhance their functionality and to keep them running at peak performance. We continuously upgrade our fleet to provide the most current drilling technology available and to ensure safe, environmentally sound, and efficient operations. Idea Drilling has a fleet of 18 core drilling rigs capable of drilling from 200 to 7,000 feet. We have added 4 new Atlas Copco drill rigs to our fleet in 2011, including two CT20s, a CT14, and a CS14C Crawler. The CT14 is mounted on a Marooka track carrier for projects that are difficult to access, have wet conditions not suitable for truck-mounted drill rigs, or that require a minimal environmental footprint. The fleet also includes other rigs mounted on rubber crawlers for low impact work.

Our drill rigs, trucks and other equipment are supported by a team of experienced mechanics, whose expertise and innovation help us maintain our fleet for efficient performance and design and implement new and better ways of meeting the changing needs of our customers.

We have a large, first class maintenance facility in Virginia, Minnesota that houses our fabrication, repair and parts inventory activities. In 2011, we built a new 7,200 square foot storage facility that gives us more warehouse space and allows us to move critical inventories and equipment out of the sometimes challenging weather conditions in our area.

Innovation: Large Diameter Core Drilling

Customers want their drilling partners help them with their complex and unusual needs. The management and employees of Idea Drilling have a long history of innovation to help our customers. We have demonstrated significant expertise and innovation in drilling large diameter holes (PQ), including a project on a barge on a large lake. Our experts created the first PQ wedges to be highly effective in holes with depths to 4000 feet. We have set multiple wedges in a single hole for bulk samples. We are continuously working to improve our technology and capabilities to help our clients.

Drill Hole Surveying Services

Customer geologists need precision in assessing the holes that are drilled for them. Idea Drilling has a team of trained drill hole surveyors to help geologists to site holes and provide azimuths using our Trimble GPS system. We have both magnetic and non-magnetic tools. We can survey while the hole is being drilled or survey after the hole is completed. We can survey each wedge in a hole with multiple wedges or in reverse circulation drill holes inside the drill pipe.