Exploration diamond drilling

History and Development of Diamond Drilling

• Rodolphe Leschot invented the first core bit in 1863.
• Early diamond drilling opened up new areas for mineral mining.
• Portable diamond drills revolutionized mineral prospecting.
• General Electric pioneered the use of polycrystalline diamond compacts (PDCs) in drill bits.
• PDCs replaced natural diamonds in drill bits.

Diamond Drilling Process

• Exploration diamond drilling extracts a solid core for examination.
• The key technology is the diamond bit composed of industrial diamonds.
• Diamonds are scattered throughout a matrix that wears during drilling.
• The bit is mounted onto a core barrel attached to a drill string.
• Drilling mud is injected to wash out rock cuttings and reduce heat.

Core Extraction Techniques

• Wireline drilling methods retrieve the core inside the barrel.
• Elaborate wire-line devices are used for undisturbed core extraction.
• Fractured rock requires special techniques for core extraction.
• Triple-tube wire-line systems can extract core under challenging conditions.
• Fault zones like the San Andreas Fault require careful core extraction.

Tube Sizes in Diamond Drilling

• Five major wireline tube sizes are commonly used.
• Larger tubes produce larger diameter rock cores.
• Tube size choice depends on desired core diameter and drilling rig capabilities.
• Standard Q wireline bit sizes include various hole and core diameters.
• Tube size selection is a trade-off between core diameter and drilling depth.

References

• Scott, D. (n.d.). History and impact of synthetic diamond cutters in oil and gas drilling.
• de la Vergne, J. (2003). Hard Rock Miners Handbook.
• Diamond Core Drilling Reference: Dimensions, Weights, and Volumes.
• Wireline coring. Retrieved from archived source.
• External link: Exploration Drilling Methods.

Exploration diamond drilling Data Sources