posted by the Epiroc Exploration & OreBody Solutions team
December 10, 2018
In order to accomplish our goal of improving drilling performance and accelerating the transformation of our indsutry, our engineering team develops new core bits that address particular drilling challenges. Rock abrasiveness is a common challenge faced by many diamond drillers. Abrasiveness can wear down bits prematurely, regardless of the hardness of the ground.
We launched the Hero Abrasive line to combat abrasiveness and the most recent addition to the line is the Hero 5 Abrasive. This new bit is ideal for abrasive ground that is soft to medium hard, or from 4 to 6 on Mohs scale. To test the bit prior to launching, we went to a region with some of the toughest abrasive grounds: Nevada.
Ground in Nevada is incredibly variable and transitions from clay to hard rock, often with heavy mineralization. As you try to push the core bit through this kind of ground, the bit will not cut and stay in the hole. We tested the new bit focusing only on bit life and not penetration. The ground was too bad to get other reliable data as we had to pull out so often.
We had some great opportunities to test the new Hero 5 Abrasive against our competition. In one case, we had holes 100 feet apart in ground ranging from 1 to 6 on Mohs scale. Most of the competitors’ bits only provided from 35 to 79 feet per bit, while the new Hero 5 Abrasive provided from 107 to 112 feet – quite an improvement.
We tested in different areas in Nevada and in each case the number of feet per bit was substantially greater than the completion’s. At one mine, the competition was averaging 40 to 50 feet while the Hero 5 Abrasive got 100 feet. The customer was very pleased. In areas with ground conditions that were not as harsh, drillers recorded from 220 to 430 feet per bit with the Hero 5 Abrasive.
We got a lot of feedback from drillers and the comments we heard most often was that the Hero 5 Abrasive stayed in the hole when it needed to be pushed through variable grounds. It cut more consistently than the competition.
To sum up, the new Hero 5 Abrasive is ideally suited for abrasive ground that is 4 to 6 on Mosh scale and can provide significantly greater bit life. It penetrates better in varying grounds and stays in the hole. You can contact our technical support team for more information.
