Reverse circulation is achieved by blowing air down the annulus of the rod, the differential pressure creating air lift of the water and cuttings up the inner tube which is inside each rod. It reaches the deflector box at the top of the drill string then moves through a sample hose which is attached to the top of the cyclone.

The drill cuttings travel around the inside of the cyclone until they fall through an opening at the bottom and are collected in a sample bag. For any drill hole there will be a large number of sample bags, each one marked to record the location and drilling depth that the sample was obtained.

The collected series of sample bag cuttings are later taken for analysis to determine the mineral composition of the drill hole. The analysis results of each individual bag represents the mineral composition at a particular sample point in the drill hole. Geologists can then survey the drilled ground analysis and make decisions about the value of the overall mineral deposit.