RC or reverse circulation drilling produces rock cutting samples. The equipment used for it has a compressed air powered downhole hammer that not only hammers and drills but also helps bring up the drill cuttings to the surface. RC drilling companies now use heavy duty drilling equipment that can drill up to 500 meters. It is more cost effective compared to the RAB and air core drills for mineral exploration projects.
This drilling technique is used to obtain high quality underground mineral samples. It provides contamination free samples. Each sample bag is marked to indicate at what depth the sample was collected. The bags are sent to the lab where geologists analyze the samples. Their report informs if there are certain minerals at the project site. It also indicates the estimated quantity of each type of mineral. This information is used by the mineral exploration company to decide if the site is worth the investment for extracting those minerals.