Discovery of fully intact, 80 million year old fossil
1 of 1"The Sonic Drilling Ltd. Sonic 450 drill on site at the Peace River Coal mine near Tumbler Ridge where a fully intact 80 million year old fern leaf fossil was recently discovered. — Photo courtesy of Randy Lamb."
An intact fossilized fern leaf discovered last month in a core sample taken on a Sonic Drilling Ltd. project in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., can in part be credited to the company’s patented technology.
Drillers from the Vancouver-based company discovered the leaf while drilling. They were contracted to drill to 160 feet, provide core samples and assist with soil penetration, testing every five feet. The leaf was found at 160 feet below the surface embedded in coal, and the engineer on site estimated the leaf to be approximately 80 million years old.
The quality of the fossilized fern leaf can be in part credited to the company’s patented sonic drilling technology. Cores of from three to eight inches in diameter can be obtained from a variety of mixed materials including boulders, clays, silt, sand and gravel 300 feet deep and beyond. Coring in overburden material is performed as a completely dry process.
Core samples are extruded into clear plastic sleeves that allow field screening devices to provide immediate soil chemistry information. They’re also neatly laid out, minimizing the loss of volatile organic compounds and reducing the risk of exposure to in-ground contaminants. Core samples can then be subjected to a detailed visual examination and analysis, followed by sampling, photographing and archiving for a permanent record of the existing conditions. Any information remains where it was found in the sample, and the cased holes provided by the sonic drilling technique prevent the collapse of the borehole and ensure that cores are not contaminated by up-hole debris.
Sonic drilling technology is currently being used on six continents in various applications, particularly in mineral exploration, geotechnical construction and cast-in-place concrete pile installation.
For more information visit www.sonicdrilling.com.
