WorldWide Drilling Resource

27 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® MARCH 2018 Accurate Alignment! Adapted from Information by Minnovare A tunnel project in Hong Kong, China, required the assistance of Minnovare - a company with a desire to improve the overall productivity of exploration drilling within the mining industry. The project utilized Tube a Manchette (TAM) grouting, which offers an efficient, cost-effective means of grouting for foun- dations, tunnels, and mines. The system involves drilling holes, and filling them with a length of pipe, which is then filled with cement grout. The accuracy of the drilled holes is critical to ensuring the effectiveness of the grouting, and by extension, the reliability and safety of the project. Prior to contacting Minnovare, the client had planned to employ traditional land surveying techniques which would result in extended rig setup times with up to two hours of downtime per shift. Faced with a tight schedule, the costs of not getting the project done on time were high, as well as additional costs of employing a team of land surveyors and technicians. To make things even more challenging, the drill rig had to be raised up and down on a mobile platform, which in itself was a major safety concern for drill operators. Minnovare’s Azimuth Aligner (AA) is an accurate drill alignment technology. The level of accuracy it can provide eliminates the costly and timely process of redrilling. Drill rig setup times are also significantly reduced, meaning the entire process can be completed within five minutes. Setup includes preprograming the AA, attaching the unit directly to the drill rod, then drilling. During the first shift of using the AA on the tunnel project, drill hole deviation and subsequent redrilling due to inaccurate rig setup was eliminated, resulting in a 30% increase in drilled feet per shift. Drill rig setup times were reduced by 90%, which kept the project on schedule, and significantly reduced reliance on surveyors and techni- cians. This removed costly overheads and increased safety by having less hands-on involvement required at the drilling platform. Open the Doorway to all the Event Photos during Utah Ground Water Association 2018. To see all the photos from this event, go to www.worldwidedrillingresource.com or clic k here. Feel free to download at will and print the photo(s) of your choice. Compliments of WorldWide Drilling Resource ® . Photos are copyrighted and released for personal use only - no commercial use permitted.