posted by the Epiroc Exploration & OreBody Solutions team
February 12, 2018
When your drilling project takes you to a super remote location that is miles away from the a stock room, and roads are barely passable, you want to make sure you have everything you need before you leave your shop.
On a drill site, time is money and every minute that you are not drilling is time that you are not getting core. So it really sucks to arrive at a drill site after you have packed up all the drilling equipment you thought you needed only to realize that you are missing some small inexpensive piece like a pump part, or an adaptor. The problem is that without that tiny missing part, your guys can’t drill and you will now have to trek back to your camp to get that lousy little piece and that could take hours, leaving behind a crew and half a million dollars of equipment sitting idle.
My obvious point is that you need to make sure you have everything you need before you leave. Some of you may think that you will be able to remember everything…until the day that you forget something. Over the course of my career, I have developed an extensive collection of lists that include everything you could possibly need. I’ve found one list is never enough so I break it down. Examples of my lists include:
Diamond products list: items here would include equipment such as core bits, reaming shells, casing shoes, specialty diamond products and more.
Fluids list: would include products such as drilling fluid additives, drill rod grease, thread compounds, lube, environmental products if required and more.
Accessories list: include items such as drill rods, inner tubes, outer tubes, head assemblies, running gear, overshots, water swivels and more.
Draw works list: this list refers to hoisting winches and wireline winches, wireline parts, spare hydraulic motors, hydraulic couplings, oval sleeves, crimpers, cable clamps, clevis, snatch blocks and more.
Engine list: include motor spare parts as well as consumable items such as filters and oil and fuel tanks.
Tooling list: this list would include pipe wrenches, parmalee wrenches (known as tube wrenches or full grip wrenches), hand tools, power tools etc.
Pump list: include items such as supply pump, pressure pump, hoses, Chicago couplings, punch lock tools, water heaters, suction baskets, pump repair kits, pop valves, flow meter etc.
Consumables list: this list includes all items that are consumed during the drilling process such as core boxes, fiber tape, wicking, wooden core blocks, degreaser and more.
Of course, the lists above are not exhaustive. There are a ton of other items you could add. They are simply a good starting point and you can add items as you go and create your own versions. Keep them on paper or keep them on your phones – whatever works best for you but make sure you refer to them before you go drill on a remote site.
