Drills have different mining functions, from providing geologists with different samples of soil for analysis to facilitating the extraction of precious minerals that would otherwise be difficult to reach.
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How many methods of drilling are there?
As the mining industry advances and more excavating opportunities present themselves, the number of drilling methods increases. Whether it is for exploration, production, land-clearing or geotechnical purposes, there are drilling methods that serve every mining purpose.
Auger Drilling
Auger drilling is the simplest form of drilling. It involves the manual rotation of a helical screw into the ground, usually by two people although auger drills can also be mounted to small vehicles. Once the auger drill is deep enough, the earth is lifted up by the blade of the screw. This kind of drill specializes as an initial geochemical reconnaissance technique, which means it is used in softer soil to find the optimal place to mount a larger drill.
Rotary Air Blasting
Rotary air blasting is the most common shallow drilling method, in which a piston-driven hammer-like object drives the drill bit into the rock, fragmenting the hard surface into chips that are then lifted to the surface via compressed air. This method is ideal for drilling multiple holes in a short period of time, and less ideal for producing geological samples because the airblasting process can compromise the quality of the rock.
Aircore
Aircore drilling involves a three-bladed drill bit with a hollow drill rod in order to penetrate loose soil and rock fragments. After the drilling is complete, compressed air is blasted through the drill rod in order to bring the cuttings to the surface. While this method is typically slower than rotary air blasting, it is more precise, meaning that the samples collected are less prone to contamination.
Reverse Circulation Drilling
Reverse circulation is a popular method for mining exploration that shares similarities with both rotary air blasting and aircore drilling. The same piston-driven hammer is used to drive the drill bit into the rock, however, the larger rigs and machinery associated with reverse circulation drilling allow for the drill bit to be driven even further into the earth. Compressed air is then used to drive the fragmented earth to the surface. This method is ideal for geological exploration, as it produces contaminant-free samples and requires less handling, resulting in cost reduction and faster turnaround times.
Diamond Core Drilling
Diamond core drilling is the most expensive drilling method, as it involves using a drill bit that has been fortified with industrial diamonds attached to hollow drill rods to extract a continuous cylinder of rock from several kilometers below the earth. However, this method also produces the most accurate rock samples as the entire core of a mineral can be brought to the surface as opposed to mere fragments, making it ideal for procuring records on their strength, composition, porosity, etc.
Blast Hole Drilling
Blast hole drilling is a method of drilling used to clear out large amounts of the earth and make the minerals below easier to access. It involves the drilling of holes into the earth. Explosive charges are then placed into each hole and detonated. After the explosion, the broken material is cleared and, if the drilling and blasting occurred underground, the tunnels created by the explosion are fortified to allow for safe human entry. Alternatively to explosives, gas pressure blasting pyrotechnics can also be used to displace the rock for excavation.
What types of drills are there?
As mining operations have become more sophisticated with the passage of time, new kinds of drill rigs have emerged to meet the demand of mining companies. Nowadays, various mining drills utilise different features to complete different kinds of mining tasks while being both manually operated and remotely automated. These rigs are available in various shapes and sizes, functioning in confined spaces as well as large quarries. As a result, there is a wide array of surface mining drill rigs available for many different kinds of operations.
Surface Top Hammer Drill Rigs
Top hammer drill rigs are equipped with powerful hydraulic drills as well as a hammer. The hammer strikes the drill rod, creating a percussive force that travels to the drill bit and displaces the rocks, leaving them susceptible to pressurized air or water. This kind of rig is renowned for its reliability in the toughest conditions, as well as its fuel economy and low operating costs. When partnered with the drill and blast method, this drill rig makes the excavation process efficient.
Surface Down-The-Hole Drill Rigs
The purpose of a down-the-hole drill rig is to drill large-diameter holes downwards, consisting of a jackhammer screwed to the bottom of a drill string. Like other drill rigs, the DTH breaks up the rock so it can be flushed out using air or water. This particular rig specializes in high-capacity rock drilling in quarries, opencast mines, and rock excavation projects.
Dimensional Stone Drill Rigs
The dimensional stone drill rig has a more esoteric function that its other drill rig counterparts, in that its purpose is to drill precise holes in the ground in order to excavate for natural rock such as granite, limestone, marble, or sandstone so that it can be extracted and fashioned into blocks for construction. This rig is designed to drill precise holes safely and efficiently.
Rotary Blasthole Drill Rigs
Rotary blasthole drill rigs drill into the earth in order to create holes that can then be filled with explosives that clear large sections of rock for subsequent mining operations. Rotary blasthole drill rigs are renowned for their precision and depth, boosting productivity by making the process of blast hole drilling easier and more cost-effective. In addition to the range of surface mining drill rigs, there is also a wide variety of underground drill rigs available that meet the stricter safety and logistical requirements that underground mining entails.
Development Drill Rigs
Development drill rigs are mining vehicles that drill holes into the surface of a coalbed that explosives can be inserted into and detonated. These vehicles are modular, meaning they can be disassembled, transported, and reassembled with ease. They can also be used for small-scale mine development and large-scale tunneling.
Tunneling Jumbos
Tunneling jumbos are versatile modular electro-hydraulic excavation machines that can be used for both fast face drilling and mechanized longhole drilling and bolting. Jumbos operate as stationary work stations that an operator safely conducts mining operations from, consisting of one, two or three drock drill carriages, ensuring high productivity and reliability. They are used specifically for underground drilling and blasting jobs, however, they can also be used in tunneling if the hardness of the surrounding rocks prevents the use of tunneling machines.
Top Hammer Longhole Drill Rigs
Top hammer longhole drill rigs are ideal for mining operations where the highest priority is ore recovery and minimizing the contamination of rock fragments. Like its surface mining counterpart, this drill contains a piston-powered hammer that impacts the drill in order to shatter the rock before using compressed air to disperse the debris.
Rock Support Drill Rigs
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Rock support drill rigs are engineered to install rock bolts that stabilize the rock face by transferring the load from an unstable mine exterior to the confined (and therefore stronger) interior of the rock mass. These rigs ensure the safety of underground drilling and blasting by securing the rock mass and stopping it from caving in.
In-The-Hole Longhole Drill Rigs
In-The-Hole longhole drill rigs are mounted on tracked or articulated carriers in order to be transported into a mine where it uses extension rods to drill holes and extract ore with the aid of an ITH hammer similar to that of the top hammer drill rig. Additionally, the ITH longhole drill rig also flushes out debris with pressurized water. These rigs are designed with mobility and accuracy in mind.
Low Profile Drill Rigs
Low profile drill rigs are mining drills that are built at a low elevation so they can enter more confined spaces that regular drills cannot due to their size. They are ideal for development, rock support, and production drilling in tabular ore bodies such as platinum and chrome mines. These drills come in single and double boom variants, meaning that their specialization for spaces with low heights does not sacrifice their ability to reach higher spaces if the need be.
Narrow Vein Drill Rigs
Narrow vein drill rigs are similar to low profile drill rigs, in that they are designed to venture into and extract ore from confined spaces. However narrow vein drill rigs are designed less to accommodate height challenges and more for the general navigation of geologically complex mine spaces with widths less than 3-6m. Narrow vein deposits contain large amounts of gold, tin, copper, lead, and zinc that narrow vein drill rigs allow us to access and utilize.
Secondary Breaking Drill Rigs
Secondary breaking drill rigs are compact support drills that increase drawpoint availability in narrow vein mines and back caving operations by breaking oversized boulders that are causing blockages. These drills eliminate the need for explosives, which in turn eliminates the need for time-consuming ventilation and evacuation measures while promoting a safer mining environment. These small drill rigs are available in the form of jumbos, longhole rigs, and drill-charge and drill-split breaking units.
Check out some more drill rigs here.
The SpeedStar 30K top drive drill from the George E. Failing Co. (GEFCO), Enid, Okla., has the following specifications: 1,000 cfm/350 psi; foot-pounds torque tophead, retractable; 30,000 pounds pullback; 32,000 pounds winch (two-part); 25,000 pounds pulldown; and a 29-foot stroke. The 30K has equipment options to handle several types of drilling methods in unconsolidated or hard rock formations. Customize the 30K with a variety of truck, power train, air compressor and production-boosting options, including casing hammer packages and selected mud pumps. The 30K also is available with helical gear, pressurized oil lubrication and oil-cooled power gear transfer, or with a deck-mounted diesel engine.
The T300M Rotadrill from Schramm Inc., West Chester, Pa., is a compact, maneuverable, top head drive, truck-mounted drill rig designed to drill up to 12-inch diameter holes using mud rotary methods with rig-mounted mud pumps and hollow stem augers, air rotary and DTH hammer techniques using remote located air compressors. The truck engine provides reliable power for all hydraulic, mud and air systems. Separate drill rig sub-frame design permits stable mounting on standard trucks, as well as on various other trucks and special purpose vehicles.
DeepRock Manufacturing Co., Opelika, Ala., presents the DR150 top head rotary drill on a Ford F550 (2 or 4WD). It has many features, including PTO powered with split drive shaft power transfer case that allows full truck engine horsepower to power rig hydraulics, 60,000 inch-pounds tophead torque, and optional 125/125 development air. It is now available with Rupe 250 gpm 400 psi piston and mud pump. It has a maximum 17,500 Gross Vehicle Weight rating. Many other options are available to fit your specific needs.
The Grundodrill 10X from TT Technologies, Aurora, Ill., is a combination hydraulic/percussive steerable drilling system designed to install pipe or conduit beneath rail, river, and major highway crossings in difficult soils. The 10X provides 27,600 pounds of thrust and 22,045 pounds of pullback. The Grundodrill 10X is designed to be able to steer in difficult soil conditions due to its percussive hammer action. The on-demand percussive action is variable, up to 1,000 strokes per minute, and can be set to match the soil conditions. The track-mounted Grundodrill 10X is one in full line of the company's percussion directional drills.
REICHdrill Inc., Philipsburg, Pa., announces the introduction of a new water well drill - T-600-WII. This water well drill is light and easily maneuvered. The Model T-600-WII weighs a little over 40,000 pounds and is designed to incorporate the latest technology in hydraulic rotary tophead drilling to help provide rapid and efficient water well drilling. This machine has rotary and hammer capability, as well as mud drilling options.
The Aqua Tech Series from Taylor Rigs Inc., Tulsa, Okla., is a completely new line of top drive and table drive drilling rigs. Each Aqua Tech rig is custom-designed to meet the customer's specific requirements. This new line of drill rigs takes advantage of the latest in drilling technology, while remaining simple to operate and maintain.
The DR-40 dual rotary drill from Foremost Industries Inc., Calgary, Alberta, is the company's largest DR model and is capable of handling casing up to 40 inches in diameter. The DR-40 is said to do well in large diameter construction and municipal water well drilling. Standard equipment includes a Cummins 600-hp deck engine and Sullair /350 compressor. This rig is capable of 21,884 foot-pounds or torque with rotation speed from 0-46 rpm. It has a 20 gpm capacity with pressure at 600 psi. A closed-loop hydrostatic system is used for the lower drive. Fixed displacement pumps are used for all other hydraulic systems. There are many PTO, deck engine, compressor, top drive and hoist system configurations available for each DR Series drill.
Gus Pech Manufacturing Co., Le Mars, Iowa, went all-hydraulic with the bucket drill in , and now, these versatile drill rigs are said to be ideal for putting down construction holes, pier and belled footing holes, caisson work, dewatering systems, environmental soil testing and recovery, mineral exploration, oil field ratholes, building elevator jackholes, water storage, methane gas recovery, as well as large diameter shallow water wells. The HDH-51 Super George bucket drill has a 51-inch diameter turntable with torque of 41,000 foot-pounds, 150-foot telescopic Kelly system with 4-inch square center bar, and many optional features.
Vermeer Manufacturing Co., Pella, Iowa, has introduced the new D80x120 NAVIGATOR horizontal directional drilling machine to its full line of trenchless systems. The D80x120 is the largest Vermeer NAVIGATOR HDD, and it marks the first entry of a rack and pinion drive system into the company's bigger rigs. The D80x120's rack and pinion design is said to provide smoother operation and help to maintain a narrow rack profile. The rack is sectionalized and bolts on for easy maintenance. The D80x120 is capable of delivering 12,000 foot-pounds of torque and 80,000 pounds of pullback. This combination is designed to allow for drilling in more adverse ground conditions and to provide sufficient pullback for longer, heavier product. The D80x120 HDD is engineered to provide high mudflow with a 200 on-board pump for increased backreaming efficiency and powering down hole mud motors.
Headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, N.J., Ingersoll-Rand presents the RD20 Deephole Drill, a self-contained, mobile rig that is used for large diameter deep well drilling. This rig is designed to help reduce the overall cost of a drilling operation by eliminating transportation time, requiring a smaller operating crew and reducing set-up/tear-down time. Shallow oil and gas contractors may benefit from the RD20 drill's patented derrick and feed system, which provides enough clearance to handle Range II casing.
SIMCO Drilling Equipment Inc., Osceola, Iowa, offers the HS (HT) Tophead Rotary Drill, designed to handle 10-foot drill rods for geothermal and shallow water wells. With 5,400 foot-pounds of tophead torque standard, auger drilling and soil sampling are routine. New options include the availability of the CME automatic hammer and a higher torque (7,400 foot-pounds), high-speed drillhead.
Foremost Mobile, Indianapolis, provides the industry with its Investigator series drilling rigs for augering, direct push/probing, air/mud drilling, coring, down-the-hole and reverse circulation in a one-man package. The rigs are said to cut mobilization and labor costs and provide environmental data, geotechnical information and accurate site assessment with one man and one machine. The rigs can be mounted on any carrier, truck or trailer.
The new DD-10 directional drill from American Augers Inc., West Salem, Ohio, has 95,000-pound thrust and pullback force and 15,000 foot-pounds of rotary torque. An on-board mud pump delivers 200-gpm at 1,200-psi to operate mud motors when drilling solid rock. The rotary carriage uses the rack and pinion system. The mechanical pipe loader basket hold 12 joints (180 feet) of pipe. Baskets can be loaded or unloaded using the onboard crane. All instruments and functions are controlled from inside the enclosed cab, which is available with heat and air conditioning. The DD-10 comes equipped with an exit side lockout system for exit side crew safety.
The Ditch Witch JT Mach 1 horizontal directional drilling system is available from The Charles Machine Works Inc., Perry, Okla. Powered by a 261 hp turbocharged diesel engine, the JT Mach 1 hydraulic system develops 70,000 pounds of pullback and 10,000 foot-pounds spindle torque. Maximum spindle speed is 210 rpm. Operation of a mud motor is facilitated by a new spindle brake feature, enhanced drilling fluid-flow facilitates and cruise control, which maintains preset thrust/pullback and rotation speed settings. Other new features include Mach 1 electronics, four-point anchoring, improved pipe-loading, heavy-duty drill pipe vise wrenches and improved automatic pipe lubrication.
The Beetle from Gill Rock Drill Co., Lebanon, Pa., is a drill that can produce hole sizes from 4 to 24 inches in diameter. It is designed to handle your quarry drilling needs, as well as utility, construction, and environmental and water well work. The Beetle can handle slopes up to 30 degrees, and the hydraulic rotary head provides adjustable rotation from 0 to 60 rpm with torque up to 6,000 foot-pounds. The standard breakout carousel holds six pieces of 10-foot 3.5- or 4-inch O.D/ drill pipe and is attached to the mast. A power wrench, hydraulically operated and installed at the foot of the mast, eases joint breaking. A standard water injection systems helps control dust, and two or three precision metering pumps attached to the lubricator inject small flows of oil into the hammer.
The B-31 pre-bed prospecting rigs from Foremost Mobile, Indianapolis, are intended for auger work. The compact, lightweight drill package has a heavy-duty tandem vane pump that provides 1,500 psi for pulldown and auxiliary functions, while delivering 2,000 psi to the rotation circuit. Independent circuits are designed to provide constant useable power, even in the hardest formations. The drill delivers 3,500 foot-pounds of spindle torque through its 5-speed right angle gearbox, and it develops 425 rpm in high gear to allow efficient rotary and soft formation coring applications. The hydraulic driven rotary lessens shock loading and vibration of downhole tooling.
DeepRock Manufacturing Co., Opelika, Ala., offers its DR 100 hydraulic drill rig, which can be either truck- or trailer-mounted, and is designed for geothermal or small diameter water wells. It is available with many features, including deck engine(s) and down-the-hole capabilities. The drill rig also includes one-man operation with patented automatic breakout.
StraightLine Manufacturing, Newton, Kan., has introduced its Model directional drill. Powered by a 155hp turbo diesel John Deere engine, the drill has 35,000 pounds of thrust and pullback and 5,500 foot-pounds of rotary torque. The has a 60 gpm at psi on-board mud pump. The operator's seat is ergonomically designed with dual joysticks and an umbrella for comfort. The PowerLoader rod loader holds 500-feet of drill stem, and the also features independently controlled stake down screws, Auto Drill, individual rear feet for stability and Berco undercarriage.
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