We’re pleased to announce the newest member of our team! This worker has sterling skills, having come fresh from the Netherlands. Meet Honey Badger – our new rig and an essential part of UXO surveys, as it enables us to use magnetometry to detect suspicious and potentially dangerous objects.

Magnetometry

From the outside, our new rig is a box-like container mounted on a crawler undercarriage. However, the real testing takes place underneath, as the rig uses hydraulic pressure to push a hardened metal cone into the soil. The cone penetrates up to 20 metres below ground level, where it makes use of a passive sensing technology, called magnetometry, in order to sense a rogue object.

A magnetometer measures a magnetic field, sensing disturbances in its strength and orientation. An intensive surveying rig measures any deviation from what we might expect from the Earth’s magnetic field, which is then modelled using specialist software. The software determines the orientation, possible size and generic shape of what could be ammunition or an unexploded bomb, identifying a very real danger to any potential project.

A Deeper Look At A Brimstone Rig

Honey Badger has joined our team for the specific purpose of surveying, using those expert magnetometry skills to detect anomalies that could be unexploded ordnance.

We deploy our rig for our intrusive surveys, clearing the site before large scale excavations or intrusive works take place. Our rig gathers all of the possible intel from magnetometry testing, penetrating greater depths and offering a complete survey solution. It can also traverse and survey land made completely unsuitable for other methods, such as landfills, reworked soil and disused or derelict sites, making it a very helpful tool in our arsenal.

Bomb casings often contain ferromagnetic materials, which create a detectable disturbance in the Earth’s field. In fact, such an anomaly produces a weak alternating magnetic field that a rig like our Honey Badger can pick up, amplify and feed back to the computer software, where it is then analysed for any anomalies with properties typical of unexploded ordnance. If we discover any potential UXO, we begin the discussion about next steps with the client, which could well involve bomb disposal services.

Brimstone’s Honey Badger

Honey Badger is the third rig in our fleet and carries a 10-tonne rated cone. She has been working to clear sites for over four months after her journey from the Netherlands workshop.

This new rig is christened ‘Honey Badger’ for a reason, but it’s not the reason you may expect! The name has nothing to do with a set of small but vicious animals. We named our rig as an homage to Captain Phil Nolan, an ex-Royal Engineer search advisor nicknamed ‘the Honey Badger’. Throughout his service, he looked for Improvised Explosive Devices in Afghanistan with the same voracity and fearlessness as our own Honey Badger rig! He’s now a champion fundraiser, climbing the ‘Seven Summits’ to fly the flag for The Soldiers’ Charity.

Find Out More

Head to our website to discover our risk mitigation services, from UXO surveys to bomb disposal. If you are unsure of how best we can help you, you can use our handy online tool to find the right service. Contact us via our website to enquire.

Keep up to date with Brimstone by following us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.