Diamond Drilling

Presentatin by:
Sudip sharma
 Diamond Drilling
• Diamond Drilling is a form of core drilling which uses a rotary
drill with a diamond drill bit attached in order to create
precisely measured holes.
• As diamond is the hardest naturally occurring material in the
world, it is ideal for creating openings in a range of materials
including concrete, metal and glass.
• A diamond drill is a precision instrument, creating clean,
accurate holes with diameters of between 8mm to more
than 1500mm
• Every diamond drill runs water through the driving shaft to
ensure that the workspace remains free of dust. They can be
operated in either a vertical or horizontal direction
depending on the requirements.
Photo: Drilling rig capable of both diamond and reverse circulation drilling.
 Photo: Diamond core drill bits

Fig:Illustration showing drill core

Photo: Rock core samples, the product of

a diamond rig
• Diamond Drilling widely used in Mining Industries and in civil
sites.
• used in the mining industry to probe the contents of
known ore deposits and potential sites. By withdrawing a
small diameter core of rock from the orebody, geologists can
Analyse the core by chemical assay and
conduct petrologic, structural and mineralogical studies of the
rock.
 History
 Rodolphe Leschot is often cited as being the inventor of the first
core bit in 1863.
 Early diamond drilling opened up many new areas for mineral
mining, and was related to a boom in mineral exploration in
remote locations.
 Before the invention of the portable diamond drill, most mineral
prospecting was limited to finding outcrops at the surface and
hand digging.
 In the late 1970s, General Electric pioneered the technology of
polycrystalline diamond compacts (PDCs) as a replacement for
natural diamonds in drill bits.
 Drill Structure
• The term diamond core drilling comes from the ‘diamond
bit’ drill used during this process.
• This drill bit is made up of a group of small, industrial grade
diamonds set into a metallic, soft matrix. As the ground is
drilled this matrix will wear away and expose more
diamonds.
• The diamond bit is then attached to a drill rod which
measures to about 10 feet in length.
• More sections of pipe can be attached to the top of the drill
rod, allowing greater depths to be drilled as needed.
Therefore, the number of rods attached to the top of the
drill rod will determine the depth that can be drilled.
 Types of Diamond Drilling
• There are two primary types of diamond drilling, which include
rotary drilling and wire line drilling.
• Rotary drilling is used primarily for bore hole drilling, whereas
wire line drilling is used for solid core sampling.
• There five standard tube sizes associated with wire line drilling:
AQ (Hole diameter: 48mm)
BQ (60mm)
NQ (75.5mm)
HQ (96mm)
PQ (122.6mm)
• The drill size used during wireline drilling depends on the
desired core diameter and the depth of drilling. For example, a
wider tube diameter will require more power to drive the
drilling.
Photo: Rotatort drilling rig Photo: Wireline truck rigged up to a
drilling rig in Canada
 Core Extraction
• To extract core, the drill rod rotates the diamond bit and spins it
into the ground.
• As the drill bit bores through the rock, solid rock is taken into the
circular opening at the end of the bit, into the core tube, and can
then be recovered at the surface as it piles up. Once the core is
recovered at the surface it is broken along natural fractures and
stored in core trays to await analysis. A standard core tray can
hold around 10 feet of core.
• To keep the drill moving through the rock smoothly, the drill must
be well lubricated with water in order to prevent overheating or
sticking.
• To ensure that drilling remains efficient, the rotation speed,
pressure and water circulation must be strictly monitored.
• Sometimes when drilling in highly fractured zones, overheating
can occur due to a stuck bit. This issue is usually counteracted by
the injection of mud or sawdust to plug fractures in the rock.
 Advantages
• By employing a diamond drill bit it is possible to drill thorough
just about any material, both quickly and efficiently.
• The use of diamond drill bits makes cutting more accurate. Not
only does this mean that the work is carried out to a higher
standard, but increased accuracy means a reduced risk of
inadvertently causing structural damage which can help save both
time and disposal costs.
• The process produces very little noise and no dust, so it’s
possible to conduct diamond drilling without disturbing other
workers.
• The equipment is lightweight and portable, and it is suitable for
use in difficult situations, such as confined spaces and even
underwater. The technology can even be operated by remote
control.
 Disadvantages
• Dust: with diamond drilling, not much dust will accumulate, but
some will and this tends to get within the components of the
machinery. Therefore, you will need to frequently open up your
machinery in order to clean the dust off.
• Kick back: some diamond core drilling machinery will have a
very strong kick back. You have to be ready for this and strong
enough to be able to take the physical punishment.
• Expensive: diamond drill bits can be very expensive, and this is
especially true if you need large drill bits.