Bits ‘n Pieces – The Driller’s Blog

Ever wonder about the different types of international standards that exist for drilling equipment? Are there more than just Imperial and metric? Why are they also referred to as DCDMA and CMS?

The next in of our series of videos about the diamond drilling industry is all about the components of core drilling. These videos are ideal for newcomers to the industry, and for workers looking to advance in their careers. We know that when you have questions, information can be difficult to get. It is why we produce so many guides, blogs and videos.

Since our integration with Epiroc, we have been working hard at integrating our product lines and updating our guides and documentation.  We started by updating our most popular guide, Mineral Exploration: Guide to Choosing the Right Core Bit, a few months ago and followed up with the Fundamental Guide to Core Bit Configurations. Now, we are happy to report the new, updated version of our free Guide to Protecting and Handling your Drill Rods is available.

Ever hear the term greenfield exploration and wonder what it refers to? Or what the difference is between greenfield and brownfield? Newcomers to the mineral exploration world may not know and may not want to ask these questions so we will be publishing a series of blogs and videos that go back to some of the basic information that drillers and helpers, new and old, should know.

We are happy to announce that as of August 2, 2021, all Canadian Fordia offices will be making drill rigs available to their customers. In an earlier blog this year, we announced that drill rigs would be available for sale in the USA and that proved to be successful, so Canada will now join the USA in adding drill rigs to their portfolio of drilling equipment for the mineral exploration industry.

The mineral exploration industry has seen a lot of change in the last few years. One of the most common challenges is finding employees. Between the cyclic nature of the industry and the recent pandemic, many experienced drillers have left and replacing them has been difficult for many companies.

Directional drilling technology has certainly come a long way in the mineral exploration world, with Gyro-guided tooling and the ability to core while steering the borehole.  There have never been so many options and methods of steering a hole. One of the oldest methods of directing a borehole - wedging - remains an important tool in the drillers box!  Wedges are commonly used to kick the hole trajectory back on line or to scoot past lost tooling in the hole. For one of our customers, the Prism directional wedge was the perfect tool for their needs.

We love to pride ourselves on being able to supply our customers with everything they could possibly need for drilling in either mineral exploration or geotechnical drilling. We’ve got an amazing selection of core bits, drill rods, casing and in-the-hole equipment like core barrels and recovery tools. Our product line includes lubricants, thread compounds and additives, pumps, and even a drilling water treatment system. From the smallest core lifter to burlap bags and core boxes. What you might have noticed missing from this list is drill rigs.

One of the benefits of joining forces with Epiroc is that we get to share and combine our knowledge, expertise, products and processes. In doing so, we bring our customers the best products. Recently, this happened in our Montreal drill rod plant, in Dollard des Ormeaux (DDO). The engineering team is happy to report that a new phosphate treatment system is up and running. While this phosphate system is new to the Fordia plant in Montreal, it is not new to Epiroc. The process has been in place at Epiroc for quite some time, so it was important to implement the process at the Montreal facility.

Drill sites can be found all over the world, often in some very remote areas. Getting equipment to these sites can be tough.  It’s always interesting to learn about the various methods of transport equipment suppliers and drilling companies use. Some of these methods may surprise you.