Bits ‘n Pieces – The Driller’s Blog

The launch of a new product for diamond drilling can be an interesting time. Along with logistics and marketing efforts, the technical team is eager to have customers try a new product. We do a lot testing before a launch but as we all know, drilling conditions can vary enormously from one drill site to another. So we are really happy and a little bit relieved when we suggest a new product to a customer and they get great results.

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.

Wouldn’t it be great if no matter where your drilling project was located, you always had access to fresh water? Sadly, we all know that is not the case and oftentimes we find ourselves having to drill using mine water, salty water, or water with all kinds of minerals and deposits. The problem with this kind of water is that using any kinds of polymers becomes really difficult.

I’m often going on about how choosing the equipment for the type of ground you will be drilling in is the first step to success and good drilling performance. Choosing the right drilling fluid additive to match the ground you will be drilling in beforehand, will make a world of difference. This is certainly the case in ground with clay or shale. Swelling clay can have disastrous results on your drilling operation.

Many earlier blogs have been written on drilling fluid additives and how they can bring great benefits to a drilling operation. Benefits like longer life for your core bits, less torque, reduced rust, less wear and tear, better core recovery, improved drilling performance and more. But before you can reap all these benefits, you need to know how to mix them properly. There are four simple tools that you should have in your toolbox that will help ensure the best drilling mud.

Most drillers are well aware of how the use of drilling fluid additives can improve drilling performance in many ways. From improving core recovery to extending the life of drilling tools, drilling fluid additives have proven themselves.

Over the last year and a half, we’ve published a few blogs on the importance of polymers and drilling fluid additives and how they can improver drilling performance. We’ve even written a few guides on how to mix them properly, which mistakes to avoid and which to use in certain ground conditions. I hope a lot of drillers are familiar with the products and the benefits they can bring.

Different soil conditions present different challenges for diamond drilling. As we have said often, choosing the right core bit for the type of ground in which you are drilling is an important decision. Non-stable and abrasive ground such as sand, gravel, or ground with pebbles and cobbles can be found in mineral exploration as well as in geotechnical drilling operations.

Lubricating your drilling equipment is a quick and easy way to protect it from rust and premature wear and tear. Some simple maintenance tips can result in:

• longer life for your rods
• lower operational costs
• better core recovery

Different products exist for specific applications and types of equipment, these include:

It used to be that when drillers needed to condition the borehole, the only choice was bentonite. Bentonite did a pretty good job of creating a filter cake on the bore hole wall, however it can restrict the flow of the cuttings while doing so. We find that bentonite is abrasive and can cause excessive wear on down hole tooling and the core bit, shortening its life.

Download your guide to mixing drilling fluid additives here!