WorldWide Drilling Resource

46 JULY 2015 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® No More Acidic Hot Water Problems by Tracy Keck Hose Solutions, Inc. There is a mine somewhere in the middle of Mexico that is working with a leach pad. They raise the ground every few months then deposit another layer of material. At this time, the submersible pump would need to be reset and the drop pipe extended in the well. This is a fairly standard process and has commonly been performed with rigid pipe. It is sometimes difficult and bulky to maneuver the 20-foot sticks of steel around some of these sites, but with many people believing this was the only way, they made it work. This particular mine site had a cou- ple other variables causing challenges from the norm. The water was very acidic and the aggressive nature ate away at the steel pipes. This was no good. Another option was PVC. The mine was hesitant with PVC in the first place due to its brittle characteristics when torqued, even in good conditions. There was yet another challenge. The water that needed pumping was oftentimes hot. With PVC, there is a derating factor starting at 73ºF (23ºC). Once this tem- perature is exceeded, the recommended working pressure decreases. If it got too hot, then flanged joints, unions, or roll- grooved couplings may be needed as well. This was no better than the steel option. There had to be a better way. The mine was familiar with large-diameter polyurethane hose used for transfer and dewatering. They placed a call and asked if there was anything for down hole, and flexible drop pipe was discovered. This hose is circular woven and ex- truded with polyurethane. The chemicals in the mine were compared with the poly- urethane and it was discovered the hose would be resistant over a prolonged peri- od of time. Corrosion was eliminated. This pipe was also rated to 140ºF (60ºC), so fluid temperature was no problem for this application. Well, they went ahead and put it in. There were about 4-5 wells all with a fairly shallow depth of around 100 feet, but would eventually be lowered down to around 300 feet. The 8-inch-diameter flexible drop pipe was used to hang the 125-horsepower motor with pump. A shroud was placed around the motor to help with thermal management. Flexible drop pipe proved to be an ideal solution for both the temperatures and acidity of the water in this Mexican leach pad. Tracy Tracy Keck may be contacted via e-mail at michele@ worldwidedrillingresource.com No Mas Problemas de Agua Caliente Acida por Tracy Keck Hose Solutions, Inc. Hay una mina en algún lugar en el medio de México que está funcionando con pilas de lixiviación. Levantan el suelo cada un par de meses y luego depositan otra capa de material. En este momento, la bomba sumergible necesitara ser reiniciada y la tubería bajada extendida en el pozo. Esto es un procedimiento estándar y se ha realizado comúnmente con tu- bería de perforadora. A veces es difícil y bromoso el manejar las varas de acero de 20 pies alrededor de estos sitios, pero con mucha gente creyendo que esta era la única solución, lo hicieron trabajar. Este sitio de mina en particular tenía otras variables causando retos sobre la norma. El agua estaba muy acida y lo agresivo de la naturaleza comió las tuberías de acero. Esto no era bueno. Otra opción era el PVC. La mina esta titubeante con el PVC en primer lugar por sus características quebradizas al momento de apretar, aun cuando están Hector Leos Translator Keck trans. cont’d on page 48.