Continuous Emissions Monitor for Directed-Energy Borehole Drilling

Apparatus and methods for monitoring emissions from a borehole to determine the composition of earthen material removed from the borehole are described. Monitoring can be done in real time as the borehole is being deepened with a millimeter-wave drilling beam. The present technology can monitor in real-time the elemental composition of the earthen materials ( e.g., rock, minerals, crystals, metals, etc.) in a borehole created by a directed-energy beam that melts and vaporizes the earthen material materials in its path. Using a continuous emissions monitor (CEM) in combination with directed-energy excavation of a borehole enables rapid surveying of the subsurface for precious and commercial metals.