ADVANCES IN DRILLING

TECHNOLOGY
ANIL SAVANUR
CM(DRILLING)
 What is Drilling Technology
• Drilling is a technology used for making drilling holes in the
earth’s crust and is a most effective means of prospecting for and
exploration of mineral deposits of all types.
• There are a variety of drilling techniques which can be used to
sink a borehole into the ground.
• Each has its advantages and disadvantages, in terms of the depth
to which it can drill, the type of sample returned, the costs
involved and penetration rates achieved.
• The total cost of drilling is a vital factor to be taken into account.
For example, a drilling method which allows fast penetration
with lower capital and labour cost in a particular geological
environment but involves a risk of jamming the bit and
subsequently losing the drill string may not be the most prudent
or economical method.
• The most economical method is that which produces a balance
between productivity and risk, and which best meets the desired
objective.
 IMPORTANCE OF DRILLING

• Drilling is the culmination of the mineral exploration process

where the third dimension of a prospect, the subsurface
geometry, is defined.
• Drilling provides most of the information for the final
evaluation of a prospect.
• Geochemical analyses of the drill samples provide the basis
for determining the average grade of the ore deposit.
• Careful logging of the drill samples provides important
structural details.
 Types of Bore holes
• Exploratory holes:Holes drilled for the purpose of
exploration of mineral deposits or for investigating of
geological features of a certain region

• Exploitation holes (producing or development wells ):Drill

holes intended for extracting liquid( water oil) and gaseous
( natural gas) minerals. For e.g., water wells and oil & gas
wells

• Technical holes: Blast holes, Dewatering etc

 Types of drilling

• 1. Cable Tool Drilling

• 2. Auger drilling
• 3. DTH Drilling
• 4. Rotary Drilling
• 5. Reverse circulation (RC) drilling
• 6. Diamond core drilling
• 7. Combination Drilling
 Cable tool drilling
• These rigs raise and drop a drill string with a heavy carbide tipped
drilling bit that chisels through the rock by finely pulverizing the
subsurface materials.
• During the drilling process, the drill string is periodically removed
from the borehole and a bailer is lowered to collect the drill
cuttings (rock fragments, soil, etc.).
• The bailer is a bucket-like tool with a trapdoor in the base. If the
borehole is dry, water is added so that the drill cuttings will flow
into the bailer. When lifted, the bailer closes and the cuttings are
then raised and removed.
• Since the drill string must be raised and lowered to advance the
boring, casing (larger diameter outer piping) is typically used to
hold back upper soil materials and stabilize the borehole.
Cable tool rigs are simpler and cheaper than similarly sized rotary
rigs, although loud and very slow to operate.
 Augur drilling
• Auger drilling is done with a helical screw which is driven into
the ground with rotation;
• The cuttings are lifted up from the borehole by the blade of the
screw.
• Hollow stem Auger drilling is used for environmental drilling,
geotechnical drilling, soil engineering and geochemistry
reconnaissance work in exploration for mineral deposits.
• Solid flight augers/bucket augers are used in construction
drilling.
• In some cases, mine shafts are dug with auger drills.
• Small augers can be mounted on the back of a utility truck,
with large augers used for sinking piles for bridge foundations.
• Auger drilling is restricted to generally soft unconsolidated
material or weak weathered rock. It is cheap and fast.
 DOWN THE HOLE DRILLING
• A Down-The-Hole Drill Called DTH in most drilling terms.
• The fast hammer action breaks hard rock into small flakes and dust
and is blown clear by the air exhaust from DTH hammer.
• In DTH drilling, the percussion mechanism – commonly called the
hammer – is located directly behind the drill bit.
• The drill pipes transmit the necessary feed force and rotation to
hammer and bit plus compressed air or fluids for the hammer and
flushing of cuttings.
• The piston strikes the impact surface of the bit directly, while the
hammer casing gives straight and stable guidance of the drill bit.
• Under a normal pressure of 350 psi the percussion causes the it to
hammer the formation about 1800 blows/min. in addition to normal
rotary action.
• DTH drilling is used in the construction industry to produce piles into
rock, also water wells, and drilling bores for geothermal ground
source heat pumps.
DTH DRILLIING RIG
 ROTARY DRILLING
• A hole is drilled by a rotating bit in which a downward force is
applied.
• Generally the bit is turned by rotating the entire drill string using
rotary table at surface, and the downward force is applied to the
bit by drill collars in the drill string above the bit.
• Cuttings are lifted to the surface by circulating the fluid down
the drill string through the bit , and up the annulus between drill
string and the hole. Cuttings are separated from the drilling fluid
at the surface.
• T.R.R. bits or diamond-impregnated drill bits are generally used
for drilling . This is preferred because there is no need to return
intact samples to surface as the objective is to reach a formation
containing oil or natural gas.
• Heavy machinery is used, enabling depths of several kilometres
to be penetrated.
Rotary Drilling Rig
 REVERSE CIRCULATION DRILLING
• RVC drilling is fundamentally different from diamond core
drilling, both in terms of equipment and sampling.
• One major difference is that RVC drilling creates small rock
chips instead of solid core.
• Other major differences are in the rate of penetration and cost
per foot.
• RVC drilling is much faster than diamond core drilling, and
also much less expensive
Reverse Circulation Rigs
 Diamond CORE DRILLING
• Diamond drilling is based on the extreme hardness of the
diamond enabling it to cut or abrade all rocks, minerals, or
other materials found in the earth’s crust.
• Mechanically, the diamond drill consists of a power unit
rotating a tubular steel bit in the face of which are set
diamonds that may be of several types and sizes,
depending on the job.
• This bit and attached core barrel are rotated at speed
under controlled pressure, by means of hollow steel flush
jointed rods through which water is pumped to cool the bit
and remove the rock cuttings.
• .
Diamond Drilling Rig
 Types of Diamond core Drilling
• These are mainly two types of diamond core drilling:-
• 1.Conventional system- almost out dated now.
• 2.Wireline system- most widely used system worldwide ,
whereby the core can be withdrawn from the string of drill
rods without removing them from the drill hole. This saves
a great deal of time and hence, extremely economical.
• Wire line Core Drilling
• This system of core drilling is being used in all the drills of
CMPDI.
• The wire line drilling in mineral exploratory drilling was
developed by M/s E.J. Longyear Co. in 1954. In India it
was first introduced by M/s. Larsen & Toubro Ltd.,
representatives of Longyear.
• The series used in wire line system is called “ Q” series.
• The sizes available in ascending order are
AQ,BQ,NQ,HQ,& PQ
Types of Diamond Core Drilling
By RECOVERY OF COAL
 Core Drilling
 Non-Coring Drilling
 Combination Drilling
By Circulation Fluids
 Air
 Water
 Mud
 Aerated Fluids
By Circulation Systems
 Direct Circulation System
 Reverse Circulation System
 Drilling operation procedure
• Core drilling uses a TC Bit/diamond bit/Imp. Bit/PCD Bit , which
rotates at the end of drill rod.
• The drill string consists of bit, reamer shell, core barrel, drill rods
and water swivel. The opening at the end of the bit allows a solid
column of rock to move up into the inner tube of the core barrel.
Most drill rods are 10 feet long.
• After the first 10 feet is drilled, the inner tube is retrieved by
overshot assembly and core is recovered from the inner tube. Again
the inner tube is lowered in the string and another drill rod is added
at the top end so the combination of drill rods can be driven another
10 feet into the ground. The bit is rotated with optimum pressure
while being lubricated with water to prevent overheating.
• The driller adjust the rotation speed, pressure and water circulation
for different rock types and drilling conditions so as to avoid
problems, such as getting the bit stuck or overheated.
• The drill core is stored in specially designed core boxes containing
compartments to hold sections of the core. Standard core boxes are
2.5 feet long and contain four compartments, so ten feet of core can
be stored in each box.
 Drilling accessories
• Drill rods
• Core Barrel
• Bit and Reamer Shell
• Casings
• Water Swivel
• Hoisting plug
• Casing head and Adopters
• Pipe wrenches
• Wire ropes
• Suction and Delivery hoses
Double Tube Core Barrel
 Double Tube Core Barrel
• Double tube wireline core barrels are the predominant
core barrel configurations used in mineral exploration.
• As a general rule, double tube core barrels are used in
all but the most broken and friable ground conditions,
and are designed for ease of use with drilling additives
and loss control materials when required.
Over Shot Assembly
Hoisting Plug
Drill rod Adopter
Drill Rod
Locking Coupling
Adopter Coupling
Landing Ring
Reamer Shell
Bit
Core Lifter & Case
Fishing Tapes
Pipe Wrenches
Wire Rope Lays
Types of Wire Ropes
Advances in Diamond Core Drilling
• New technologies adopted by CMPDI in recent past
• Hydrostatic Drills
• PCD Coring and non-coring bits
• Hydro-cyclone system: To separate cuttings from return water/mud
effectively.
• 4.5 mtr Double tube core barrel: Reduce idle time for recovery of core.
• W series casing: to minimize fishing operations
• 6 mm steel wire rope: reduce the chances of breaking.
• New mud chemicals like sulphonated asphalt, polymers etc.,
• Induction hardening rods: which give better strength and prevent joint
failures than chrome plating drill rods.
• Possibility of non coring drilling coupled with geophysical logging backed
by coring drilling. The presently used Rig & pump can be used for non-
coring drilling.
 Hydrostatic Drills
• A hydraulic rig has the following main components: feed system,
rotation unit, rod holder; Hoisting drum, wireline winch, control
panel, power unit; and water pump.
• 1. A hydraulic cylinder in the feed frame transfers the feed and
pulls force to the rotation unit. The most modern rigs use a
telescopic cylinder that gives the optimal penetration parameters,
resulting in straight holes and low risk of core blockage.
• 2. Most rigs have the options of an 3000 mm stroke length of the
feed frame. The longer stroke length, the higher the productivity
because of reduced regripping. Every re-grip loses time-, and the
rotation unit has to be stopped and restarted, which can result in
vibrations in the rod string causing core blockage.
• 3. A hydraulic driven rig offers optimal control of the drilling
parameters. The rotation speed and the feed and pull force can be
adjusted exactly. The control panel has the manometers and valves
needed to control the drilling, and penetration rate and rotation
speed can be varied according to the ground formation.
Mechanical Drill & Hydrostatic Drill
Kores Hydrostatic Drill
 Core Bit selection
• Core bit selection is based on the size and depth of hole and the
hardness of the rock, taking into account the rig capacity and
condition, the flushing medium, and the skills of the driller.
• Core bits range from a Series 1 bit for the softest application to Series
10 bit for the hardest application. The numbers correspond to the
different rock groups by hardness, and as a general rule, the harder the
formation, the higher the series number required.
• However, other factors bear on the choice of bit, most important of
which are the characteristics of the rock formation, its hardness, grain
size, abrasiveness, competence, and whether the strata is fractured or
changing.
• The lift and feed force of the drilling rig, together with its rotation
speed and chuck and rod holding capacity are other factors.
• Some rigs have better controls than others, and this must be taken
into account.
• Smooth control of feed force, and accurate control of water flushing
and rotation are key factors, along with the driller’s technique.
 Types of Bits
• A variety of core bit types is available based on the diamond cutting
elements used in their construction.
• The impregnated high performance diamond core bits
• Surface set diamond bits.
• Tungsten carbide.
• Polycrystalline diamond (PCD) coring and non-coring bits.
• The impregnated high performance bits, which require higher speeds
for faster penetration rates are mainly used in Hydrostatic drills.
• PCD bits are an alternative to TC bits and surface set diamond bits,
when drilling in non-consolidated and medium hard rock formations.
• The main advantage of both PCD and high performance bits are they
give better penetration rates along with longer bit life i.e above 500
mtr per bit thus save time for replacement of bit.
High Performance Impregnated
Diamond Bit
PolyCrystalline Diamond Core Bit
PCD Non-coring Bit