CHAPTER 3

BORING OR DRILLING

A study of the rocks exposed at the surface, their structures and the geology of the area gives
sufficient information of the conditions that may be available below ground. More detailed information is,
however, obtained by boring and interpretation of the data available from it. The term drilling is nowadays
coming into use for boring.
In mining and allied branches of engineering drill holes may be drilled for the following purposes.
1. To prove the existence of minerals, to get an idea of rock structures and to obtain knowledge of
the rocks and the mineral beds, such as depth, nature, thickness and gradient.
2. To get core of the rocks from which bearing pressure of the ground can be found out. This
information is necessary for heavy winding engine foundations required for deep shafts.
3. To know throw of the faults; this is conveniently done from underground workings.
4. To drain off gas or water from old workings.
5. To carry electric cables, signal wires, stowing pipes or water pipes to the underground from
surface.
6. To have tube wells for water supply to colonies.
7. To blast rock/mineral in a mechanised quarry where holes of 9 to 18 m depth and 125 to 300
mm in dia. may be drilled.
8. To render possible the injection of cement into the strata in a method of shaft sinking known as
"cementation method of shaft sinking".
9. For ventilation of underground mine workings.
An interesting application of bore holes drilled from the surface to seal off with incombustible
material underground fire and thereby to quench it was witnessed at Kurasia collicrv (MP.) in 1961.
Sizes of drill holes drilled in mining areas usually vary from 25 mm to 125 mm though larger
diameter holes may be required for carrying stowing pipes, water pipes, or for blasting in mechanised
quarries. For deep holes, the size is larger at the start and is gradually reduced with depth.

Methods employed for drilling

The methods used are;
1. Percussive drilling,
2. Rotary drilling
The percussive method is further sub-divided as:
(a) Drilling by rigid rods.
(b) Rope drilling, also known as cable drilling or churn drilling.
The rotary method may be used with a view to get a core of the rocks passed through, or simply to
drill a hole, and this decides the type of drilling tool used. The rotary method is subdivided as:
(a) Drilling by saw toothed, cutter.
(b) Drilling by tricone rock roller bit.
(c) Drilling by diamond drill bit.
(d) Drilling by chilled shots.

Percussive drilling
In this method which is the oldest one of drilling, the hole is drilled by striking a number of blows
at short in intervals on the rock by a chisel-type tool and between the blows the tool is rotated slightly.
The rock is chipped away with each blow and a circular hole is formed. During drilling the chisel is
suspended from the surface by rods or wire rope and the weight of the chisel, rods, etc. is utilised to give
the striking force.

Drilling with rods

The rods are Ni-Cr or carbon steel. Each rod has a male screw at one end and a female screw
(screwed socket) at the other. Steel rods are usually in lengths of 3 m with nearly 38 mm X 38 mm square
cross-section. For rotary drilling, described later, the rods are hollow, circular in cross section, have flush
joints, and the length varies from 0.5 to 3 m.
The drilling tool used varies greatly in shape and cutting edge according to the type of ground to
penetrate. A few common types are shown Fig. 3.1. For soft surface deposits which consist of alluvium,
clay auger and worm auger may be used. These are given a rotary rather than a percussive motion. The
straight chisel is commonly used for hard strata and the V chisel and T chisel, for very hard strata.
Every type of drilling requires a derrick which may consist of three or four legs and may be of
wood or tubular steel. It is used chiefly for lifting the rods from the hole with the aid of a winch. In the
mining localities some petty drilling contractors undertake percussive drilling of 50 mm to 75 mm holes
up to a maximum of 25 m depth with the help of rods without installing any derrick.

Manual drilling
The general arrangement for manual drilling is nearly like that shown in Fig. 3.3 except that water
is not supplied through hose pipes under pressure and the crank operated beam is replaced by a rocking
lever connected to the drill rods. "The drilling rods are given a percussive motion with the help of a
rocking lever to which they are attached through a stirrup and a brace-head. A brace-head is simply a pair
of crossed handles fixed to the end of a short top rod which is screwed to the column of the rods. Two or
three men press down the free end of the rocking lever, thereby lifting the rods while one man turns them
slightly by means of the brace-head. The men then let go the free end so that the rods fall and the drilling
tool gives a blow on the rock. Water is poured in the hole at intervals and the process is repeated. As the
hole gets deeper, the rods are lowered in the stirrup by a screw, and when this can no longer provide for
the increasing depth, a short rod is added to the column of rods and the screw run back to repeat the same
process of drilling. Instead of the stirrup, D-links may be used. Short rods are added till the depth drilled
by such small rods is slightly more than the length of a full-length rod and the short rods are then replaced
by a full-length rod. A device known as retaining key is used at the time of raising or lowering the rods of
square cross-section. The same purpose is served in the case of rods of circular cross section with flush
joints, by a device known as "bulldog safety clamp".
During drilling the bottom of the hole soon gets filled with cuttings and has to be cleaned out
frequently. This is done with the help of a sludger which consists of a long cylinder or pipe, open at the
top and with a flap valve at its lower end. The flap valve opens upwards. When attached to the end of the
rods and worked up and down the sludger gets filled with the sludge. It is then withdrawn to the surface
and the process repeated till the hole is
cleaned. The cuttings brought to the
surface in the sludger give an indication
of the rock being drilled. The bottom of
the drill hole is always kept full with
water during drilling.
Sometimes a rod or chisel breaks
in the drill hole during drilling. Devices
like the crow's-foot and the spiral worm
(Fig 3.2) may be used to catch the
broken rod under a Joint in the borehole.
Broken pieces of chisel are sometimes
raised with the help of powerful
magnets. In diamond drilling, described
later, the diamonds sometimes become
loose and fall in the hole. The operation
of tracing the broken and lost parts in the
hole and withdrawing them to the
surface is known as fishing the borehole.

TABLE I.
Uses and limitations of common methods of exploration drilling.

Type of drill Common Maximum Types of bits used Rock formations where used,
Sizes of drill economic
holes(mm) depth of
hole (m)
1, Percussive 50-75 250-300 Chisel shaped Sand and clay and sedimentary
with rods rocks of soft and medium hardness;
in fissured formations; Does not
give core.
2. Churn 75-500 300-600 Steel choppy bits of Placer deposits; evenly firm and
drilling or many styles. moderately soft formations.
cable drilling

Rotary drilling
3. Non- 100-300 500 Tri-cone rock- Any rock formations except very
coring rollers bits hard
drilling
4. Diamond 38-200 100-3000 Diamond bits of Any rock formation except fissured.
drilling various types Holes can be drilled from surface or
tungsten carbide underground working at any angle
bits; tricone bits arc to the horizontal; used mainly for
mostly noncoring. coring
5. Calyx or 75-1800 up to 450 Calyx; chilled steel All rocks except the hardest;
chilled shot shots; unsuitable for soft and fissured
drilling formations; can drill at angles up to
35° from the vertical.
 Lining a drill hole: During drilling a steel pipe is used for lining the drill hole from surface up to
the hard rock, and the drilling tool and rods pass through the pipe. Obviously, the length of the drill-hole
up to which the lining pipe has to be fitted should be of a larger diameter. The lining pipe is generally
withdrawn after the hole is completed though it may sometimes be necessary to leave it in its position to
prevent caving of sides, e.g. drill hole for stowing, water pipes, etc.
The fining is done by hammering first a special steel pipe with a cutting edge. Pipes of 6 m lengths
and having screwed joints are added to that pipe.

Power drilling with rods

Drilling with manual labour without the help of power is suitable for holes upto 150 mm in
diameter and upto a depth of 30m or so. Beyond that depth, it is impossible to drill without the use of
power from a diesel or petrol engine, the common source of power in isolated drilling sites. Vertical
boilers have sometimes been used to avail of steam power, specially where drilling had to be done in a
colliery area where coal is easily available.

Fig. 3.3 shows the general arrangement

where power is available for drilling with
hollow rods. A power operated winch is used to
raise and lower the rods. The walking beam is
operated by a crank through gearing from an
engine to give the drilling tool 25 to 30 blows
per minute and a stroke of nearly 225 mm. The
beam is mounted on steel springs which give
elasticity and cause sudden recoil of the frilling
bit thereby preventing jamming. The rods are
attached to the rope with a swivel attachment
and brace head. The rope of power-operated
beam is slackened from time to time to keep the
drilling tool in contact with the rock. Water is
forced down the hole of the hollow drill rods by
a pump to keep the cutting tool cool. Such water
returns to the surface from the outside of the
rods with the sludge. With this arrangement it is
possible to drill a depth equal to the length of one full rod at a time. Water flushing practically eliminates
the use of a sludger.

Rope drilling or cable drilling

Where the percussive method of drilling is employed cable drilling is commonly adopted for holes
deeper than 30 m. In this system the rigid rods are replaced by a steel wire rope to which the drilling tool
is attached. The surface arrangement is practically the same as for drilling with rods, but the end of the
walking beam is attached to a temper screw (Fig. 3.4). The rope from a winch is taken to the clamps of the
temper screw across the pulley of the derrick.
 Feed of up to 1.2 m is possible with the use of the temper screw. When no more feed is possible
the temper screw is run back and the rope re-clamped 1.2 m higher up.
During rope drilling no device is necessary to give a twist to the drilling tool between successive
blows as the lay of the stranded rope causes the tool to twist slightly. The steel rope may be 18 mm
diameter for a depth of 300 metres. The ropes have always a left hand lay, so that the spin of the rope
which tends to rotate the drilling tool also tends to tighten the joints between them.
Cable drilling is also known as churn drilling.

ROTARY DRILLING

For rotary drilling, hollow drill rods of steel or aluminium are used. These are thread-connected
and transmit torque and feed pressure to the drilling bit or drilling tool which is attached at the end of a
column of the drill rods. Rotation of the drill rods is through gearing driven by a prime mover at the
surface. As the rods rotate, the drilling tool abrades the rock and the cuttings are cleared by pumping water
under pressure or compressed air down the hole through the hollow drill rods. The water or air, along with
the cuttings, comes to the surface through the space between the drill rods and the sides of the drill hole.
In some drillings, specially those for oil exploration, mud which is not very viscous, is circulated instead
of water. The mud which keeps back any water, gas or oil pressure encountered during drilling is known
by various trade names such as bentqnite, aquagel, etc. and these muds serve different purposes depending
upon their constituents. In the shallow drillings in the mining areas it may be necessary to resort to mud
flushing when passing through a fractured or friable zone.
Aluminium rods weigh only half as much as steel rods, but owing to their bigger gauge they
possess 90% of the mechanical strength of the latter. The couplings, which are the parts most exposed to
wear, are made of chromium-nicked steel. Aluminium rods offer numerous advantages, such as increased
machine capacity, easier handling, more rapid and simple recovery of the drill string and faster rotation,
all of which contribute to simplifying drilling and reducing costs.
The various methods of rotary drilling are known by the type of drilling tool used but the diamond
drilling method is quite common.

Diamond drilling
This method is commonly adopted where cores of rocks passed through are desired for accurate
records of the strata or for testing the rocks for their strength, composition, porosity, etc. Fig. 3.5(a) shows
the common type of drill bit which consists of a cylindrical cast steel shell having in its lower face a
number of small sockets in which pieces of black diamonds are set. These diamonds are not useful as
jewellery but are used in the drill bits for their hardness and the bit is suitable for the hardest rocks. The
hole sizes in diamond drilling are designated as NX, BX, AX, and EX. The drill rods and the driii bits are
specified under two main groups, X series and W series, as per the standards laid down by DCDMA
(Diamond Core Drill Manufacturers' Association), an international Association. The drill hole diameters
and core sizes (in mm) available are given below.

diamonds
(a) Diamond drill bit Fig. 3.5 (b) Tri-cone rock roller bit

Standard Drill rod outside dia Hole dia. mm Core dia. mm.
X series in inches W series in mm.
NX ..... 2.3/8 NW - 67 75 54
BX ..... 1.29/32 BW - 54 60 40
AX ..... 1.5/8 AW - 44 47 28
EX.... 1.5/16 EW - 35 38 21

NW series rods are of, W series and conform to international standards for conventional drilling.
NQ series drill rods are manufactured by Long year for wire line drilling technique. There are Q series
standards for wire line drilling rods but some manufacturers have their own sizes.
The core sizes where wire line drilling technique is adopted are:
 NX holes - 44 mm; BX holes - 25 mm.
The surface arrangements for diamond drilling include, as shown in Fig 3.6,
1. a derrick,
2. an engine for supplying power,
3. a winch,
4. a pump for supplying water under pressure for flushing,
5. a settling tank,
6. .a platform for keeping the drilling rods lifted for removal of core or changing the bit,
7. core boxes for keeping the cores, and
8. a driving and feed mechanism for the drill rods.

Fig. 3.6. Surface Arrangement for Rotary Drilling

The diamond drill bit is rotated at a speed of nearly 300_rijiJT)-and the pressure on the diamonds
is between 1.5 and 2 kgf/cm2. The pressure acting upon the diamonds of the drill bit and the rate of
advance of the drill bit into the rock are controlled by an arrangement known as "feed mechanism". The
feed mechanism is hydraulic for deep holes, but may be replaced by screw feed for shallow holes. Beyond
a depth of nearly 60 m, the weight of the rods keeps the bit pressed against the rocks and the feed
mechanism may not be necessary. At greater depth the feed mechanism is operated in such a way that the
weight on the drill bit is not excessive.

Screw Feed.
On smaller machines, driven either by hand-power or mechanically, the feed is by a screw feed
arrangement comprising a series of differential gears.
In this arrangement the drill rods pass through a hollow screw shaft, threaded on the outside, and
provided with a long keyway. A bevel pinion, rotated by the bevel gear of the main driving shaft, has
feathers engaging the keyway on the screw shaft, to which it imparts rotation. It also drives gear wheel A,
engaging with gear wheel B on a. countershaft, Usually three different combinations of gear are provided
here, any of which can be utilised to vary the rate of advance to suit the type of rock. Gear B, through the
counter-shaft, drives C, which engages a fourth wheel D, threaded internally to fit the threads of the screw
shaft. If, for example, the number of teeth on" gears A, B, C and D are as shown in the diagram, viz. 38,
36, 24 and 25, one revolution of A= 38/36 revolution of B and C, = 38/36 x 24/ 25 revolutions of D.
Therefore 75 revolutions of A will cause D to rotate 75 x 38/36 x 24/25 = 76 times. Consequently for
every 75 revolutions of A, D revolves 76 times, and the screw shaft moves forward by a distance equal to
the pitch of its thread. If this is 6 mm, then the rods advance 24 mm for every 300 revolutions. The
movement of the screw shaft is imparted to the rods by the chuck.
 A pressure gauge attached to the roller friction collar records the varying pressure on the bit.
The setting of the feed decided upon is obtained by sliding a lever to the desired position for
locking the appropriate loose gear, giving the speed required for the ground being bored.
The feed ratio may be changed while the drill is operating; but if any necessary change is
neglected, so causing the drill rods to advance too rapidly (e.g. when a softer stratum is suddenly
encountered) the rate of advance is automatically checked by the slipping of a spring-loaded friction cone-
clutch on the bottom of the countershaft

Fig. 3.7. A screw feed head on a diamond core drill Engine

Hydraulic Feed Mechanism

Fig. 3.8 shows the general principle of a typical hydraulic feed mechanism (excluding the engine
and frame) for a deep boring, the main features, starting from the bottom, being the chuck, the bevel-
driving gears, the hydraulic cylinder and the ball-bearing suspension box. At the top is seen a lifting bail
and water-swivel whose functions are self-evident.
There are three hollow rods, one within the other, namely, the inner bore rod, the middle drive rod
and the outer piston rod. The hollow bore-rod is clamped to the drive-rod by the chuck. The drive rod is
secured to and supported by the collar-plate in the suspension box, the latter remaining supported by being
fixed to the hot tow piston rod which carries the piston in the hydraulic cylinder. This cylinder is firmly
fixed to the engine frame work.
The rate of feed of the bore-rods is governed by the rate at which the piston descends, for this
governs the descent of the suspension box and therefore, of the collor plate and drive-rod to which the
uppermost bore-rod is clamped. It will be seen that the drive rod is free to rotate within the suspension box
and within the hollow piston rod.
The drive-rod has on its outer surface ribs or splines which pass through slots or grooves in the box
of the horizontal bevel drive-wheel. It can thus be rotated by the gear wheels (whose position is fixed) but
it is free to descend through the horizontal wheel, carrying with it the bore-rods and boring tools at their
lower end.
The position in the hydraulic cylinder may be moved either up or down by admitting water under
pressure to the appropriate side of the piston through the inlet pipe and one of the controlling valves, V1 or
V2) and by simultaneously releasing an equal amount of water from the other side of the piston through
one of the valves V3 or V4 and the outlet. A single lever operates the four valves simultaneously to
produce any desired pressure, either downward or upward, on the piston. Thus the weight of the rods may
be partly taken off the boring tools by upward pressure; or the whole weight of the rods can rest on the
boring tools and additional downward pressure can be applied. In this way complete control may be
obtained over the pressure on the boring tool and over the rate of forward feed of the rods.
The cuttings are cleared from the drill hole by circulating water under pressure which is forced
down the drill rods by a pump through a flexible hose pipe and water swivel connection. The return water
from the hole goes to a settling tank and it is used over and over again.

Core recovery
To collect the core of the rock drilled, a device known as the core barrel is used. Its length varies
from 0.5 to 3m. There are two types of this:
1. The single tube core barrel, and
2. Double tube core barrel.
A single tube core barrel is suitable for homogeneous formations where the core is not eroded by
flushing water and a solid core can be taken without risk of blockage in the barrel.
The connections of the diamond crown, the single-tube core barrel and the mud bucket (also called
calyx) are shown in Fig. 3.10. The core lifter is placed within the bevel shell which has its inside conically
shaped to receive the former. The core lifter is corrugated on the inner face and is a split ring. It occupies
the wider portion of the bevel shell when drilling takes place so that it has little or no tendency to grip the
core. After certain progress in drilling when the rods are lifted to take out the core, the split ring descends
inside the bevel shell and grips the core. The latter may now be broken off by a twist and raised to the
surface. The core lifter is replaced after about 250 m of drilling.
The larger particles of drill cuttings which the circulating water fails to carry upto the surface settle
down in the mud bucket. Where supply of flushing water is plentiful, calyx is not necessary. The water
under circulation is nearly 900 litres per minute.
In soft and friable rocks, the core is partially washed away due to the circulating water flowing
past it. The rotation of the barrel greatly assists in grinding the core so that its recovery in a single tube
core barrel is poor. To avoid these difficulties a double tube core barrel is used, specially where good core
of soft rock is desired. In a double tube core barrel the inner tube which holds the core does not rotate
uring drilling as it is suspended on ball bearings mounted in the block at the top of the barrel permitting
the inner core barrel to remain stationary. Moreover, water does not flow past the core but in the annular
space between the inner tube and the outer barrel and through channels near the bottom of the hole. A
double tube core barrel improves drill bit economy and overall drilling performance. Core recovery is
good in hard uniform rocks, but poor in loose, soft, friable or weathered rocks. Vibrations of drill rods
result in poor recovery. In hard rocks, to achieve good core recovery the drill should be run at low speed
and heavy pressure; in soft rocks, reverse procedure should be adopted. The combination of pressure on
drill bit and its rotational speed should be such as to give vibration-free drill string during drilling.

Fig. 3.9. Double tube core barrel

Wire line drilling
Normally core barrels of 0.5 m to 3 m length are employed. For
removal of core during the conventional method of drilling, all the drill
rods have to be withdrawn to the surface, after drilling a length equal to
length of core barrel. The withdrawal of the rods and their re-introduction
into the borehole with the additional drill rod, after removal of core, takes a
considerable time, nearly 75 to 90% of the total time spent on drilling. A
wire line drilling technique is an improvement, to reduce this time. The
rods are not taken out to remove the core which is collected in the core
barrel tube during drilling. The tube is pulled to the surface through the
drill rods with the help of a catcher which is lowered through the rods by a
5 mm dia. wire rope. The catcher grips the tube containing the core. Core
size less than BX is not possible with wire line coring equipment which is
therefore used for drilling holes of NX and BX size only. The speed of
drilling with this equipment is nearly 18 m per shift (8 hours) in the types
of rocks met with in the coalfields. All the drill rods need to be withdrawn
to the surface only when the bit has to be changed.
Wire line drilling is possible upto a depth of 1000 m. As stated
earlier, the rods used for wire line drilling have specifications as laid down
in "Q" series decided by DCDMA. An ordinary drilling equipment can be
adopted to wire-line drilling and hoisting equipment with suitable
modifications.
Some of the recent drills in the market are equipped with
hydrostatic drive. In such drive an electric motor or a diesel engine drives a
water pump. Its pressure is used for rotation of drill rods through a
hydraulic motor and also for hydraulic feed. It’s main advantage is that
speed can be varied from zero to a certain limit without any fixed ratios
that are possible in a geared drive. Fig. 3.8. Hydraulic feed mechanism

Water loss during drilling

When drilling in fractured zone or strata with cavities the circulating water is lost in such zone and
fails to appear at the surface. This is known as wafer loss. To seal up the cavities or fractures around the
hole, saw dust, husk, etc. are mixed in circulating waiter. If this is ineffective, it may be necessary to ream
the bore hole and fix a casing pipe to cover the fractured zone. The casing pipe can be removed after
completion of drilling. At depth, instead of resorting to a casing pipe a special type of mud like bentonite
or kaolinite may be used to overcome the water loss. Drilling mud is a suspension mixture of certain types
of colloidal clay in water and/or oil and used as drilling mud. The mud most commonly used in diamond
drilling is slurry of clay and water. Properly controlled drilling mud slurries can prevent caving or collapse
of borehole sides by building thin, impermeable protective coatings of clay particles to the walls of the
hole. The mud is generally used as a final resort and the water circulation pump has to be replaced by a
suitable mud circulation pump for this purpose.
Diamond drilling method is suitable for drilling at any angle to obtain cores of friable strata as well
as the hardest rock. It has been adopted for drilling upto a depth of 3000 m and hole diameter up to
200mm. Drilling upto such large depths is not required in coal mining areas where the maximum drilling
depth is upto 1000m, as coal mines are rarely deeper than that.
Other methods of rotary drilling differ from the diamond drilling method essentially in the type of
drilling bit used. The drill bits used are as follows:
The saw-toothed crown. The drilling tool is a saw-toothed steel crown or
cutter. The teeth are set alternately inward and outward to give the necessary
clearance. The speed of rotation is only 5 to 10 r.p.m. and the drill bits are suitable
only for drilling through rocks of medium hardness; only holes of diameter not less
than 150 mm are possible.
Rock roller bits. These are suitable for hole diameter between 75 mm and
300 mm. In mining areas these are commonly used for drilling large diameter holes
(125 to 225 mm) to a depth of 6 to 18 m for blast holes in mechanised quarries.
Flushing of the hole with compressed air instead of by water under pressure is the common practice with
this type of bit. Rock roller bits can be used for deep hole drilling with speed and are suitable for mostly
vertical downward holes. (Fig. 3.5,b).
Chilled steel shots: These shots are prepared by heating very finely
divided steel particles to a very high temperature and then suddenly cooling them
in ice cold water. Chilled shots are used in conjunction with a plain steel shell or
cylinder with a diagonal slot near the bottom. They are fed through the hollow
drill rods and pass to the bottom of the hole where they get caught between the
bottom end of the cutting shell and the rock. As the shell and the drill rods rotate,
the chilled steel shots cut the rock by a milling action. The method is suitable for
vertical and large diameter holes of 100 mm to 750 mm. It is also called Calyx
drilling, but is not much favoured these days as diamond drill bits have gained wide popularity and are
available in large diameters upto 250 mm.
Calyx drilling proved to be a significant step during the development
of drilling techniques.
Except the rock roller bits, all the other drilling tools used for rotary
drilling provide pores of the strata passed through.

Underground drilling
To drill a hole from underground workings for purposes of
prospecting, stowing, tapping water or gas or any, other object, the drill
equipment has necessarily to be of smaller dimensions. This restricts the size
and weight of the machine and therefore puts limitations on the size of the
bore hole and its length (or depth). The power available underground may be
electricity at 440/550 volts, or compressed air (in most of the metalliferous
mines.) Flame proof diesel engines are rarely employed as power sources. At
some underground working places the water supply for drilling may be on a
very limited scale and not as plentiful as on the surface.
Underground drills for exploration have often to be shifted to blind
ends of roadways with narrow dimensions. They are, therefore, usually with
skid plates. Components of aluminium alloy are nowadays increasingly used
for such drills to reduce weight.
Wafer Development Society, Hyderabad, manufactures drills of the
following sizes. The drills are available with hydraulic, semi-hydraulic and
pneumatic operating systems with an option of diesel or electric prime-mover.
Underground drills can be provided with DTH and Drifter attachment. Single-tube core barrel

RANGE OF DRILLS

Model Hole dia. Depth, m Application mounting

WRC- 650 150- 170 mm . 30- 60 Open cast mines Crawler
WDC- 150 150-165 mm 30- 60 Open cast mines Crawler
WDC- 100 100- 115 mm 30- 60 Open cast mines Crawler
SUPERTRACK 15 100- 115 mm 30- 60 Open cast mines Crawler
WDM -400 150- 165mm 30- 60 Open cast/ underground Skid
WDM -100 100- 115mm 30- 60 Open cast/ underground Tyre
WDM-400 M [100-115mm] 30- 60
DTH& Driffer [ 50 -100 mm] 30- 45 Underground Skid
WDM- 100U 100- 115 mm 30- 60 Underground Trolley
WDM- 100UF 50- 102 mm 30- 45 Underground Skid
WDM- 110U 100- 115 mm 30- 60 Underground Skid
WDM- 100FM 100- 115mm 30- 60 Underground Skid

BORE HOLE DEVIATION, BOREHOLE SURVEY & DEFLECTION

The departure of a bore hole, whether vertical or

inclined, from its set course on its own is known as
deviation of the bore hole. Such deviation is often very
significant, usually 2° per 30 m length. The deviation is
both in azimuth and off the vertical i.e., the bore hole
tends to wander away from the proposed plane and also
changes its angle with the horizontal.
Measurement of the deviation of the borehole is
called borehole survey.
In the drillers' terminology deflection of a
borehole is the deliberate and intentional deviation of a
borehole brought about by the driller with a view to
correct the borehole's course or to force it into a curve
which is sharper than, or in another direction to, that
caused by deviation.

Fig. 3.11 Deviation of borehole and directional drilling. Borehole al

D, because of deviation, reports "No orebody". One parent hole at A covers
a wide area for prospecting with the help of deflected branch holes and
eliminates the need for a number of prospecting boreholes from the surface.
 Major factors affecting deviation, in general, are depth and angle of the borehole and the nature of
the strata drilled. Certain drilling techniques also influence the deviation and with judicious application of
the same, deviation can be controlled and kept at a minimum.
Experienced drillers have observed from long experience that borehole deviation follows certain
rules which apply generally but to which there are some exceptions. These rules may briefly be stated as
follows:
(1) Deviation may occur in holes of as small a depth as 100 m.
(2) Deviation increases with depth.
(3) Borehole tends to follow the bedding plane between a hard rock and a soft rock. Contact zones
of dykes, veins, lenses, especially hard and soft act as natural deflecting planes. In soft ground and shear
zones deviation is common.
(4) Some drilling techniques have a major primary influence on deviation, such as hole diameter,
bit pressure, core barrel and casing.
Diameter of hole: — Large diameter holes tend to deviate less than the small diameter holes. It has
been observed that in 'BX' size the deviation of borehole is 2° to 3° per 30 m and with other conditions
being similar it may become double of this in ‘AX’ size and triple in 'EX' size.
Bit pressure: High bit pressure accelerates deviation; thus, a sharp bit drilling at a moderate
penetration will require less bit pressure (and consequently deviate less) than a blunt bit or a bit that is fed
faster.
Core barrel: A diamond drill hole tends to stay straight. One of the factors against deviation is the
constraining of the barrel by the hole. This is affected by the stiffness of the barrel and its clearance in the
hole and such long, heavy walled core barrels close to hole side will reduce deviation. Worn core barrels
aggravate tendency to deviate; this is also the case if light bore rods are used.
Deveiation can be suitably controlled and reduced by
(a) paying attention to causes stated at (4) above.
(b) using full diameter drill rods for the entire length of the borehole and using proper
couplings etc., with good threads to avoid , angularity and lack of concentricity.
(c) correcting the hole's course by deflection methods, described shortly, where necessary.

Bore hole survey

Measurement of a drill hole deviation is called surveying a bore hole and all methods of bore hole
survey are aimed to locate any point along the hole-course with respect to three dimensional coordinates
attaining varying degrees of accuracy. Some methods are used to measure the deviation in angle only;
others measure both angle and bearing deviation but at a predecided point only and the most sophisticated
instruments can measure both angle and bearing, deviation in a continuous manner all along the bore hole
course.

Some of the common methods are given below:

Etch method using Hydro fluoric acid
This method can be adopted to measure the deviation in angle only (off the vertical). HF has the
property of corroding glass. The HF solution partly filling a glass test tube, corrodes the inner wall of the
test tube up to the column of 'h, liquid and thins its wall up to the plane of separation of air. The upper part
of the tube not in contact of liquid will remain unchanged. This plane of separation can thus be perceived,
later on, on the same empty test tube, by a line, known as 'etch line’. When the test tube stands vertical,
the etch line will be normal to the longer axis of the tube. In any other tilted position the etch line will
make corresponding angle. This angle, known as 'etch angle’ can be measured and tilt angle can be found.
This principle is applied in HF method of bore hole survey. To measure the inclination of diamond drill
holes a small quantity of dilute HF solution is poured in a glass tube, lowered into the drill hole in a proper
container and leaving it for sufficient time for the acid to etch a line on the inside of the tube and then
measuring the angle of etch. HF with concentration generally 5°/o, 8% and 10% are preferred.
Hydrofluoric acid is properly mixed by shaking the container well. By adding distilled water to HF
proportionately (by volume) the desired concentration can be obtained. About 50 ml of prepared acid is
poured into the test tube and thoroughly shaken. After inserting the stopper in the tube, it is put into a
container (suitable for 'AX' 'BX' or "NX' size depending on the size of the hole) made up of either brass or
mild steel. The container should have water tight joints even under heavy pressure. The container coupled
with the drill rods, is lower into the bore hole at desired depths. Inclination readings are normally taken at
every 50 to 60 m and four containers are lowered at a time at desired intervals. For shorter bore holes 10%
acid with about 40 to 45 minutes etch time is sufficient.
When the drill rods and container are withdrawn from the drill hole the etch tube should be
removed as quickly as possible, emptied immediately and washed to stop further etching.
The line of etch is marked on the tube with fine dots using Indian ink, care being taken to mark the
high and lower points carefully. The angle of etch or the apparent dip angle is measured on a protractor or
on a graph paper. The angle of this etched line with the long axis of the tube gives the inclination of the
drill hole at the depth tested.
 The acid tube etch method is commonly adopted and is considered reasonably reliable. It can be
done even for a cased borehole and can be carried out by the drilling crew. It is the oldest method of bore
hole surveying.
Some instruments used for measuring deviation of boreholes off the vertical as well as off its
intended bearing are the Carlson compass and Tropari instrument. A Borehole Camera developed by M/s
Eastman Kodak Co. of Germany gives continuous record of borehole deviation from top to bottom.
For use in mining areas where deep holes are not required such photographic instruments suffer
from the following disadvantages:
1. They are expensive.
2. They require facilities to process the film.
3. They are equipped with very small magnetic compass needles and are subject to disturbance by
strong fields around rods.
In Kolihan, Madhan Kudhan, Akwali and other sections of the Khetri copper belt, Rajasthan, drill
holes have been surveyed by HF (etch) method and the data obtained indicate that if this survey is
conducted accurately it can furnish reliable data regarding the inclination of bore holes. While variations
may be noted in some of the individual readings, the overall result is comparable with the inclination as
measured by using a more sophisticated instrument like 'Tropari' except that this method gives the reduced
level of any point along the hole course but its position in two dimensional coordinates is uncertain.
Directional Drilling
The term "Directional Drilling'' means controlling the course of a borehole so as to follow a pre-
determined path and complete the bore hole at the desired sub-surface location. The main objectives of
directional drilling are:
1) To control deviation in a drill hole requiring accuracy during its course.
2) To return crooked holes to their normal course.
3) To sidetrack obstructions like lost tools, broken bits, etc.,
4) To alter the course of the drill hole to enable a zone intersection at stipulated angle.
5) To provide multiple intersections by drilling branch holes from previously drilled parent hole,
and
6) For many such drilling problems.
However, the range of directional drilling is limited to a circle, having the drilling machine as its
centre, with a diameter equal to the depth of the borehole.

Deflection of boreholes.
The methods used for deflection of boreholes are:
1) Casing deflection
2) Use of wedges, e.g., the Hall-Rowe deflecting wedge.
3) Sonic orienting assembly
4) Arc cutting.
Deflection techniques give good results when the deflection is in the same direction as the natural
deviation. As a matter of fact, deflection can be very inconvenient and ineffective if it works against the
natural deviation. Deflection of boreholes resulting in a few branch holes off the parent hole eliminates the
need for a number of holes from the surface
during prospecting (See Fig. 3.11).

Deflection techniques are usually

adopted in deep oil well holes. They are very
rarely used in the mining industry in India so
far. In United Kingdom the deflecting
technique has been used in a project for
underground gasification of coal at a site near
Newark, Nottinghamshire. Mining Magazine,
May 1986, narated the following information
about the project:
Underground gasification requires at
least two boreholes drilled from the surface
and connected together in the coal seam. Air
or some other reactant is pumped down one
hole to create combustion and gas is removed
from the other.
Fig. 3.12. A deflected borehole and 3 vertical
boreholes for underground gasification of coal

The coal seam for gasification in question is 2 m thick. 600 m below surface. N.C.B.'s Engineers in
United Kingdon will drill four boreholes from the surface. Of these the first one, D, though commencing
as a vertical borehole, would be deflected and curved 'through 90° to enter the coal seam horizontally and
remain in the seam for a distance of more than 300 m (Fig. 3.12). Special instruments would have to be
used in order to keep the drill in the' coal seam. After completion of such deflected borehole, N.C.B.'s
Engineers will drill three vertical surface boreholes to join with the in-seam hole. Steam and oxygen
would be forced down one vertical hole to stimulate the production of gas to be extracted through one or
both of the other vertical holes. The gas would be cleaned before being burned on site unless some local
use could be found for it. It is envisaged that the full trial could take up to six years.

QUESTIONS
1. What are the various methods of drilling? Give their limitations.
2. A hole has to be drilled from the surface to prove a coal seam at a depth of nearly 300 m.
Describe the drilling process. Give a list of the equipment used.
3. Write short notes on: water loss, rock roller bits, core recovery, wire line drilling.
4. What are the methods for bore hole survey. Describe one method.
5. What is the difference between a deviated bore hole and a deflected bore hole. What are the
methods employed for deflecting a bore hole ?