Drilling Sulphide Mounds

The electric rock-core drill designed at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography has been developed over the last decade into a reliable drill for use in water depths to 3500 m. Once drilling targets have been identified, success depends on a number of factors ranging from the safety of getting the drill into the water as weather deteriorates to the difficulty of accurate positioning. Recent drilling on sulphide mounds demonstrates that polymetallic sulphide rock is readily drillable. However, the host young basalt and blanketing-sulphide sediments are difficult to core.