Ministry Staff Trained On Drill Rig

17/09/2019

FELIX LESINAIVALU
 
A two-week training to improve and maintain the newly purchased MI3 Drill Rig was conducted in Narewa Village, Sigatoka Valley by the Ministry of Lands and Minerals Resources.

It was an opportunity for the drillers from the Mineral Resource Department to participate and be trained on the usage of the newly purchased MI3 Drill Rig for the Ministry.

Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources, Ashneel Sudhakar, thanked the 18 drillers who were present at the commissioning of the new drills and advised them to look after their equipment well. “Such training are not readily available and I hope the two weeks of capacity building in the areas of safe handling, operation, transportation and routine services of the equipment, will help you ensure the sustainability of the machines and it operation.”

“Mr. Jason Laing from Mazzenza Drilling and Mr. Yuichi Ikeda from Tone Corporation have trained you well to operate and also how to maintain this new MI3 Drill Rig and Top Tone 300 and I trust in all of you that you will use this training and the new Drill Rig to provide our services in a better and quicker way.”

Technical Officer for the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Sakuisa Cawaru said the training would help the team to have more knowledge on the different types of drilling for these new machines.

“With this we will be able to meet most of our targets and meet the demand by the people of Fiji.”

Mr Cawaru said these machines will be more efficient when it comes to drilling than the previous machines, with the old drills as it would take at least three days to make a well, whereas these new drills would only take a day.

Mr Laing spoke on the handling and maintenance of the new MI3 Drill Rig. The $300,000 worth MI3 Drill Rig is one of the latest versions. It was highlighted during the opening of the training that since the inception of the Groundwater Development, more than 800 boreholes have been drilled and with this new MI3 Drill Rig, it will boost the Ministry’s contribution in providing clean drinking and safe water to all Fijians.