posted by the Epiroc Exploration & OreBody Solutions team
December 11, 2019
The launch of a new product for diamond drilling can be an interesting time. Along with logistics and marketing efforts, the technical team is eager to have customers try a new product. We do a lot testing before a launch but as we all know, drilling conditions can vary enormously from one drill site to another. So we are really happy and a little bit relieved when we suggest a new product to a customer and they get great results.
That was the case with our new drilling additive Core Wrap and Matrix Diamond Drilling, a company in Western Canada. Core Wrap is a powdered polymer that prevents the core sample from crumbling and breaking. The product does this by wrapping the core sample in a protective film and that same film also adheres to the walls of the bore hole making the hole more stable. The technical team knew that Matrix had recently been awarded a significant contract and were planning to visit them once they were set up. The team had just finished testing Core Wrap and kept a few buckets of Core Wrap for them. You can read all about it here.
The conditions at the drill site included competent rock that was soft to medium on Mohs hardness scale. However, the Matrix crew was dealing with short bit life and elevated torque. While there was no official mud program in place, there were a lot of drilling fluid additives onsite, most of them leftover from previous jobs. Our team counted at least seven different products with divided loyalties among the crew. Some liked a bit of this and others liked a bit of that.
Since elevated torque was already a problem the first order of business was to add Torqueless to the mixing tank. Torqueless is a great product that helps lower torque, lubricate, reduce wear and rusting of equipment and cool the core bit.
Within minutes of adding the Torqueless, the torque on the gauge went down by 200 psi. With that done, the next step was to add Core Wrap. Our technical team suggested pre-mixing the Core Wrap with Torqueless to ensure proper mixing with less clumping and less product waste.
The technical team checked in after 24 hours and learned that things were going smoothly. They checked in again after six weeks and were told that not only had core bit life improved but core recovery was better as well. The Matrix crew all agreed that they preferred using the Core Wrap product. Mixing the mud was easier and produced better viscosity and even installing the casing was easier. The issue with elevated torque was also a thing of the past.
Our technical team’s goal is making drilling easier for customers so these results were music to their ears. If you want to learn a bit more about this story, you can read more here. If you have any questions about Core Wrap or any other drilling fluid additives, you can contact our technical team who will be happy to provide guidance and advice.
