Award for driller at UK Potash mine 15 Nov 2018

The British Drilling Association (BDA) meets each year to present awards that celebrate exceptional individuals, industry excellence and project performance in the geotechnical field.

Lead Driller of the Year 2018 was awarded this year to Chris Jones of Fugro for his contribution to the industry, and especially his work on the Sirius Minerals’ polyhalite development in North Yorkshire.

Fugro site investigations for Sirius Minerals’ polyhalite project were highly commended at this year’s BDA Awards’

With more than 30 years’ geotechnical experience, including a decade at Fugro, Jones has wide-ranging expertise in all forms of drilling and borehole testing for site investigation. He was praised for his exemplary project management, team leadership and mentoring skills as senior lead driller on major Fugro contracts — from HS2 and Crossrail in the UK to energy projects in Africa, Canada and Azerbaijan.

Fugro was also given the ‘Highly Commended’ runner–up award for Industry Excellence. Judges were impressed by innovative and collaborative work with the client to investigate shaft and cavern locations and undertake tunnel route characterisation for a proposed 37km long mineral transport system (MTS).

The geotechnical programme involved the drilling of vertical and inclined boreholes to in excess of 550m long, and an intensive schedule of in situ testing to collect hydrogeological, ground condition and ground engineering data to model ground risk.

Fugro was also recognised for its outstanding safety performance at the Sirius site, reporting zero first aid cases or worse incidents despite continuous 24/7 working on open moorland, at times in wintry conditions.

The awards were presented in front of an audience of leading drilling companies, geotechnical practitioners and clients at the BDA’s annual celebratory dinner held in Sheffield in October.