Bits ‘n Pieces – The Driller’s Blog

Subscribers who have been reading this blog for a while know that I am a big fan of drilling additives.  When you are drilling in difficult conditions, drilling fluid additives can really help improve drilling performance. There are additives that are great for most conditions and other that were developed for specific ground conditions like sand or clay.

We did a blog not long ago comparing reverse circulation drilling compared to diamond drilling, examining the ways in which they differ and are similar. One area where they are similar is the challenge that drillers face when equipment becomes stuck in a hole.  Equipment that is stuck is always bad news as it stalls operations and lower productivity. We’ve done a few blogs on stuck equipment in diamond drilling, so let’s look at the world of RC drilling.

When I talk about new products in this blog, I hate to overpromise. I like to think I provide fair information about what a new product does and why it was developed. The DiscovOre is a new core barrel system that I think really is something different… maybe even revolutionary. It addresses two big issues for drillers, safety and productivity.

One of the most challenging ground formations for diamond drilling is fractured ground. When drilling in highly fractured or broken ground, you run the risk of hitting a void or large fracture and having your drill water escape through that fault. Similarly, in an underground drilling environment, groundwater is often unexpectedly encountered in the drill hole. Extremely high flow rates and pressures are not uncommon.

We’ve written many blogs on drilling fluid additives and how they can make a dramatic improvement in drilling performance. In diamond drilling applications, additives can lubricate your equipment, reduce rust and wear and tear on parts, all of which can result in longer life.

While many diamond drillers enjoy fishing in their spare time, no one wants to go fishing on the job. Fishing is the process of removing down-hole equipment that has become stuck, lost, or broken off in the hole. It means that operations have ground to a stop and your productivity is being affected.

Some of the things that have made Fordia successful are our customer service and our willingness to listen to customers. Our goal is make driller’s’ lives easier and that applies to every part of their work life. Our new web site was recently revamped and one of the goals was to make it a better resource for our drilling community. How did we do that, you may ask?

Many of our blog topics come from real-life situations, either from reports on onsite visits or directly from our customers. They represent the types of issues that many of our customers are facing so we use these opportunities to explore possible solutions or explanations. This blog is about industry standards within the diamond drilling world.

Most of our blogs focus on diamond drilling, but occasionally we will delve into topics related to geotechnical or other types of drilling. In this blog, we are going to look at reverse circulation drilling, known as RC drilling.

Bore hole deviation is one of those things that occur despite all the preventative measures and precautions that diamond drillers may take. Deviations may occur due to equipment that is lost and stuck in the bore hole or it may be intentional because the geologist has requested a new trajectory. A deflection wedge is one of the oldest and simplest ways to steer the bore hole. There are other choices for directional drilling and you can read about them in this blog.