Drilling a borehole is one of the most important investments for homes, farms, and businesses in Zimbabwe. It promises independence from unreliable municipal water supply and ensures access to clean water. However, one of the most frustrating challenges borehole owners face is unreliable water yield.
What is Borehole Yield?
Borehole yield refers to the amount of water that can be sustainably drawn from a borehole over time. A high-yield borehole provides enough water to meet household or agricultural needs, while a low-yield borehole struggles to keep up, forcing owners to ration water or seek alternatives.
Why Do Some Boreholes Have Low or Unreliable Yields?
Poor Geological Surveying – Without proper hydrogeological studies, drilling is often guesswork. Some drillers dig blindly, which increases the risk of striking a weak aquifer.
Seasonal Variations – Groundwater levels fluctuate, especially during droughts, reducing output in certain regions.
Over-pumping – Drawing water too quickly can reduce pressure in the aquifer, lowering yield.
Poor Drilling Practices – Inadequate casing, wrong depth, or poor finishing can affect water flow.
The Impact on Borehole Owners
For homeowners, a borehole with unreliable yield means:
Constant frustration with trickling taps.
High costs in pumping with little return.
Dependency on water deliveries during shortages.
Reduced property value, since water security is a key selling point.
How to Avoid This Problem
Work with professional drillers who conduct geological surveys before drilling.
Drill to the correct depth based on the area’s water table.
Invest in yield testing to confirm sustainable water flow.
Choose a reputable company with a proven track record, like Ragnarock Drilling, which ensures scientific surveys and reliable drilling practices.
Conclusion
While borehole drilling is a smart investment, ignoring geological assessments can lead to disappointment. Protect your investment by choosing experts who guarantee not just a borehole, but a reliable and sustainable water source.
Welcome to the newest addition to our fleet! One of the key features of our track-mounted drilling rig is its mobility. Equipped with tracks instead of wheels, this rig can traverse rugged terrains, including muddy, rocky, or uneven surfaces. The design allows it to easily access remote and challenging drilling sites. Being track-based provides a more stable platform, resulting in better hole alignment. Our track-mounted rig can reach depths of up to 250 meters in rugged terrain, while also reducing environmental impact due to its increased manoeuvrability, which leaves a smaller footprint.
Gold RC Drilling in Shamva
Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling ideally produces dry rock chips, as large air compressors dry out the rock ahead of the advancing drill. This method is one of the most popular for mineral exploration drilling.
Reverse Circulation drilling uses rods with inner and outer tubes, allowing drill cuttings to return to the surface inside the rods. The drilling mechanism employs a pneumatic reciprocating piston, known as a hammer, which drives a tungsten-steel drill bit. Reverse circulation is achieved by blowing air down the annulus, creating differential pressure that the cuttings up the inner tube within each rod. This material reaches the deflector box at the top of the drill string, then moves through a sample hose attached to the top of the cyclone.
Our cyclone is equipped with two sample boxes and a built-in splitter. The drill cuttings travel around the inside of the cyclone until they fall through an opening at the bottom, where they are collected in a sample bag. For each drill hole, there will be a large number of sample bags, each marked to record the location and drilling depth from which the sample was obtained at 1 meter intervals . These sample bags are later taken for analysis to determine the mineral composition of the drilled hole. The analysis results for each individual bag represent the mineral composition at a specific sample point in the drill hole. Geologists can then review the ground analysis and make informed decisions about the value of the overall mineral deposit. Reverse Circulation drilling is one of the more cost-effective options for surface drilling. Generally, RC drilling is slower and more expensive than other methods like RAB but it achieves better sample recovery and has little to no cross contamination. It is also cheaper than Dimond (core sampling ) Drilling.
At Ragnarock Drilling, we specialize in auger drilling, a highly effective technique for soil sampling, geotechnical investigations, and shallow borehole drilling. This guide explains how auger drilling works, its benefits, and its applications in construction and environmental projects.
Auger drilling is a rotary drilling method that uses a helical screw (auger) to bore into the ground and lift soil cuttings to the surface. It is best suited for:
