Optimine
Service · Underground Drilling

Underground
Drilling

Specialised underground exploration drilling — navigating tight stopes and deep workings with precision and safety.

§ Service · Underground Drilling

In depth.
In the field.

  • Compact underground rigs
  • Stope-friendly footprints
  • Fan + radial drilling
  • Active-mine integration

Underground programmes demand crews who think before they collar. Optimine pairs compact rigs with experienced drillers to extend ore bodies, infill resources, and de-risk extraction in active workings.

Stope-friendly footprints, fan and radial drilling patterns, and direct integration with mine ventilation, traffic and blasting plans mean the rig is a partner on the level — never a bottleneck.

Underground work is high-trust. Every Optimine crew lead carries the same standing-order discipline that the mine's own production crews work under.

Programme flow

How a underground drilling
programme runs.

  1. Step 01

    Level access plan

    Drilling plan agreed with mine geologist and production planner. Access route, water + power supply, and emergency egress confirmed.

  2. Step 02

    Ventilation & traffic clearance

    Daily clearance with shift boss. Drilling location coordinated against blasting schedule and traffic windows.

  3. Step 03

    Setup on bolted face

    Rig anchored, water and air connected, safety walk before first hole. Sign-off with shift boss.

  4. Step 04

    Fan / radial drilling

    Programmed fan or radial pattern executed. Inclinations and azimuths checked every hole.

  5. Step 05

    Core recovery & logging

    Core retrieved at end of each run; core boxes labelled and depth-stamped immediately.

  6. Step 06

    Handover & demob

    Boxes delivered to surface; site cleaned, anchors removed, rig demobbed per mine standing orders.

What you receive

Deliverables,
documented.

  • Directional / borehole survey data
  • Core boxes with full chain-of-custody to surface
  • Geotech logs supporting stope design and ground support
  • Shift hand-over notes for production team
  • Programme close-out report
Compliance

Audit-ready by
design.

  • Operates under mine standing orders and Mine Health & Safety legislation
  • Blasting interlock and traffic clearance enforced every shift
  • Gas monitoring per site requirements
  • Daily safety briefing aligned with mine HSE schedule
Deployable fleet

Rigs we run on
underground drilling.

Kempe-class compact rig
Rig · Kempe-class compact

Stope-friendly footprint for active workings. Fan and radial drilling capable.

Common questions

Asked by
our clients.

Can you work in narrow-vein operations?
Yes — Kempe-class rigs are sized for narrow-vein and stope-development drilling.
How do you handle blasting downtime?
Drilling schedule is built around the mine's blasting cycle. The rig stands clear during firing windows and resumes after re-entry clearance.
Do you integrate with mine surveyors?
Yes. Collar pickups and downhole surveys are reconciled with the mine surveyor at the end of each campaign.
Engage on Underground Drilling

Brief us on your
underground drilling programme.

Send a one-page brief — tenement, stage, target metres, and timing — and we'll come back with a scope, rig plan, and QAQC pack tagged to Underground Drilling.

Submit underground drilling brief
§ 07 / Engagement Brief

Let's drill
your project.

Tell us about your tenement, your stage, and your timeline. We'll come back with a scope, a rig plan, and a QAQC pack your geologist can sign.

Contact logOpen
Tel+264 81 226 4432Mailinfo@optimine.co
Submit brief
Company Profile
Ref · OPM-RFQ / 2026