Bits ‘n Pieces – The Driller’s Blog

In our last blog, we talked about the importance of having a continuous flow of water in diamond drilling, so that the borehole is lubricated, the core bit is cooled and the drill cuttings are flushed from the hole.

In diamond drilling, the continuous flow of water is essential so you can extend the life of the core bit, lubricate the bore hole and flush drill cuttings. Mining and drilling companies alike choose positive displacement pumps as the pressure pumps used on drill rigs. Positive displacement pumps will produce the same flow at a given speed regardless of discharge pressure, providing continuous flow or in other words, they just keep on pumping.

Yesterday, August 26 was National Dog Day – yes there really is a day dedicated to dogs. I realized that many diamond drillers, and people in general, own a dog or owned one in the past. With no disrespect to cats, dogs are considered our best friend. They have evolved from wolves to become domesticated companions, displaying an unwavering loyalty and unconditional love. WE have domesticated dogs and kept them as pets for over 12,000 years. So in honour of the day, let’s look at 15 facts about dogs that you may not have known.

Most diamond drillers understand the importance of lubricating all the moving parts of the drilling equipment they use – we’ve talked about it often in this blog. Lubrication will help preserve and extend the life of your drilling equipment, prevent rust and allow your equipment to descend down the bore hole faster.

Regulations regarding the environment have touched many industries, including mining and drilling. Companies have been struggling to find ecologically friendly ways to deal with residues and to reduce their water consumption. Eddy, our water treatment system has been able to help. One of our customers, a gold exploration and development company, needed to find a solution that would allow them to comply with local environmental regulations.

Surface set diamond core bits are often considered old-school tools in diamond drilling. They were the only choice for drillers years ago. Like many other things, new methods and technologies have caused diamond drilling to evolve, and diamond impregnated core bits are more common today. The surface set bit had only one layer of diamonds on the surface while with an impregnated core bit has several layers of diamonds all through the matrix.

INTRODUCTION:

Some people are simply mosquito magnets. In the summer months they are the ones who are endlessly bitten and around whom mosquitos seem to swarm. So if you are a diamond driller who is working on a remote job in the bush, the summer months can be a real pain if the mosquitos love you. While there are many mosquito repellents are available on the market, a lot of them contain chemical ingredients that some people and children may be sensitive to. If you are sensitive to ingredients like DEET and you attract mosquitos, you may think you have to suffer through the summer. Luckily, there are some effective natural ways to keep mosquitos away.

At PDAC last March, we displayed and introduced our customers to our tallest crown configuration yet: the Vulcan 40 mm. Our line of Vulcan configurations had included a 16 mm, 20 mm and 26 mm option so this newest addition really took the bar to a whole other level. Many customers were intrigued and had many questions about how to use such a crown. This blog will take a look at the Vulcan 40 mm and how and when is should be used.

As all good diamond drillers know, core recovery is what it is all about. Drillers and their supervisors are always looking for ways to get more core in the box quickly and at the lowest cost. The main goal of mineral exploration is to get a representative sample of mineral or ore deposits from the area being explored. Knowing all this, once you get the core, you need to handle it properly and make sure the geologists can get the information they need.

Geotechnical drilling is different from diamond drilling yet sometimes they can both benefit from the same piece of equipment. The Elepump KF-50M mud pump is a case in point. One of our geotechnical drilling customers recently used this great little pump and it resulted in a quick case study that provided three good reasons why geotechnical drilling companies should consider using a KF-50M pump and I’m going to share them with you here.