DRILLING

SUSANA DAZ M
LEARNING 2

Objectives: September
11th
To Introduce

the concept of drilling.

To identify vocabulary related to
drilling.

Keywords

To drill,
to blast
to load
Sample
compressed air
Clay
rotatory bit
mud
pipe
core
layer

Drilling

Drill, blast, load, truck, crush, and process;

these operations are at the heart of mining.

Drilling is used to obtain information about

rock types, mineral content and other
operations like the disposal of the explosives.

Drilling is only used in areas that have been

selected as "targets" from geological,
geophysical and/or geochemical methods.

Types of Drilling
Three

drilling methods are widely used,

each depending on the type of
information required and/or the rock
types being drilled.

Air-rotary drilling

It is a quick and economical method of

producing a sample.

Compressed air is forced down the drill pipe

and, as it returns to the surface, it carries
with it rock chips made by the rotating bit.

This method is used in soft rock materials to

about 25m deep.

Air-rotary drilling

Mud-rotary drilling

This method is used for drilling through soft rocks,

sand especially in the search for coal, oil or gas.

A special mix of clay and water is forced down the

drill hole turning a rotary bit, with rock chips
returning in the "mud" slurry. (mix)

This method is used for holes up to 3km deep and

can be done from ships or offshore platforms
especially in the search for oil and/or gas.

Mud-rotary drilling

Diamond core drilling

This

method involves a pipe encrusted

in industrial diamonds being used to drill
through rock layers, with a "core" of
rock being left in the centre of the pipe.

This core is recovered and gives

information not only about the rock
types, but also about the relationships
between the rock layers in detail.

Diamond core drilling

Extraction of a core

Diamond core drilling

Drill cores
samples

Diamond drill bit

What is core drilling?

Vocabulary
Drill:

Tool used to remove material so as

to create a hole.
To drill: To make a hole in a hard
material with a drill
To blast: Blow up or break apart
something solid with explosives.
To load: Put a load or large amount of
something on or in a vehicle, ship,
container, etc.

Vocabulary
Sample: A small part or quantity intended to
show what the whole is like.
Compressed Air: It is air kept under a pressure
that is greater than atmospheric pressure.
Clay: Sediment with small particles.
Rotatory bit: Are cutting tools used to create
cylindrical holes
Mud: Soft, sticky matter resulting from the
mixing of earth and water

Vocabulary
Pipe:

Tube of metal, plastic, or other

material
Core: The central or most important part
of something
Layer: A sheet, quantity, or thickness of
material, typically one of several,
covering a surface or body.

Drilling Machine

Rock Blasting

To load
Taking a Sample
Compressed air

Rotatory Bits

Mud

Pipe

Layers

Core Samples