Apex was set up in 1992 to provide specialist drilling services to the South Wales coal industry and since then has rapidly grown and diversified to become one of the major drilling contractors in the UK. The management team and drill crews have a wealth of experience in all aspects of drilling and pride themselves in providing a professional, high quality and cost effective service. Unsurprisingly, the company still specialises in mineral exploration drilling and provides drilling advice and services to all of the major public and private coal prospecting and mining companies across the UK. Through careful strategic acquisitions, Apex now has one of the largest modern fleets of drilling rigs in the UK and has expanded to provide drilling services to site investigation, water well and geothermal (ground source) projects.

Hughes Drilling was established over 30 years ago and remains one of the UK’s leading mineral exploration & environmental drilling companies servicing the UK’s largest quarrying and aggregate firms. With a diverse range of specialized drilling rigs and equipment for low-ground pressure services including sonic and exploration drilling/inclined and directional/core/wireline and conventional/RC drilling, CFA, HSA utilizing triple tube systems. We also specialize in the drilling and installations for geothermal GSHP systems and water boreholes from the small domestic client through to the larger commercial projects. Health and Safety on every project is key, we are proud accredited members of 'Avetta', (formerly PICS), with membership to the Well Drillers Association.

In 2023, the best businesses in their respective fields were brought together as Igne to deliver integrated site investigation, UXO, testing, sustainable drilling, geo-environmental, geothermal and water supply services. The combing companies, which have a shared experience of over 350 years, were: Allied Exploration & Geotechnics, DTS Raeburn, Raeburn Drilling & Geotechnical, SafeLane Global (UK UXO), Terra Tek and WB & AD Morgan. Igne’s team includes experienced engineers and skilled scientists who utilise specialist plant and equipment; our size and reach mean we have the capacity to deliver solutions nationwide; and Igne’s integrated offering ensures we can support the entire lifecycle of your project or simply supply a standalone service.