This presentation is about the innovative changes I have witnessed over the last 30 or so years. When I started doing this presentation I thought I

Transcription

1 Presentation 2014

2 This presentation is about the innovative changes I have witnessed over the last 30 or so years. When I started doing this presentation I thought I would struggle for topics but the more I looked the more I found. This is only a glimpse of what I found.

3 Years ago the biggest cost on any job was the drill bits, or to be more specific surface set bits. 50% of running a diamond drill was diamond bit costs, nowadays it can be as low as 5% cent of the cost. Now a days its wages that are the biggest cost sitting at around depending on the job 45% to 55% of the cost.

4 Years ago drills never had towers, one simply used drill rods to construct tripods or in some cases timber was used but timber was a bit hard to position to heavy.

5 Drill rig design was pretty basic you either pulled it around with a dozer or winched in around with the drills winch. The Drill pictured is a Mindrill manufactured circa 1940s

6 Drills came with manual chucks and yes it was reasonably common for people to get injured, we treated them with greatest respect. Later they became hydraulic operated.

7 Nowadays of course we cant get near these nasty's as they have been engineered out, the drill in this picture has been silenced, the rotation area has been completely isolated by interlocking gates.

8 Note the Guarding.

9 Ladders for safe climbing, Patented winch rope tensioner.

10 Kim mentioned yesterday that hole 60R was drilled on Mount Black and had been drilled conventionally, the illustration below shows a conventional systems where the drill rods had to be retrieved each time you needed to retrieve the core versus wireline where you retrieved the core with a wireline winch. You don t need to be a rocket scientist to recognise the production benefit's.

11 Of course we had to survey the holes and pictured below is a Tropari camera, its operated by winding up a timer that locks the device up down the hole at a predetermined time holding the compass in place etc We also used to use acid in a test tube to get the dip and for core orientations..

12 Then came the Eastman Camera that operated by taking a picture of a compass onto a film disk which we developed on the drill.

13 Pictured is a Deviflex that operates by measuring light reflected off rings in the tool, you lower the tool down the centre of the drill rods, the tool is a smug fit in the rods and as the tool is pulled from the hole it flexes and that flex is measured to determine the Dip and Azi of the hole. Tool is perfect for magnetic ground as its not affected.

14 To line up the drill the geo used a compass or if available the surveyors would put in a front and back site. Note the soft hands.

15 Then came the AZI Aligner which is a North seeking Gyro, you simply clamp the Gyro to the head rod and rotate drill till you have the desired AZI and Bearing.

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17 Then of course there are Core Orientations, picture is a spear.

18 There was/is the finger type orientator with lead disk and ball bearing.

19 And now of course there are the electronic orientators which don t require good ground or good hard breaks to operate. They become part of your inner tube and very little drilling time is lost.

20 I remember packing my suitcase to go to a job in Big Bell WA in the early Eighies, I packed a six pack of new undies. three pairs of Stubbie shorts, three press stud western shirts with the arms cut out, a pair or red wing boots which I wore to site (wasn t steel toe) and a pair of thongs. Which was thrown away at the end of each 3 month stint. Try that nowadays

21 Rod Spinners are replacing stihsons

22 Pictured here is a hydraulic rod handler for percussion drills, we have been operating one on our R/C drill for the last 7 years to date we have had no injury's handling R/C rods. I cant speak highly enough about them

23 I would have to give these glove clips a gong for innovation, they have cut our glove consumption by two thirds and goodness knows how many hand injury's have been prevented by gloves being at the ready on the belt.

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25 Underground Jumbo drill concept by Peter Sharp, constructed by Maxfield Drilling first driller was Chris Aylett at Renison U/G in August First two holes completed in 4 hours. Both were plus 90 to 10 metres the backs were at 7 metres.

26 What's next Drilling is still a high risk business and needs to be treated and a managed as such. The next steps in my opinion need to be Rods free i.e. no one handles a rod. No surface drill to have a rod winch. We all need to encourage innovation as in the long run as you have seen we are all winners.

27 Thank you