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By H. Lazreg

This paper presents an evaluation of surface resistivity techniques as a tool for delineating salt-water intrusion in Shippegan, N.B. The study consisted of resistivity profiling, resistivity soundings and a limited number of induced polarization soundings in selected areas in the Province of New Brunwick. The results from resistivity profiling indicate that when seawater intrusion occurs in a sandstone formation the resistivity contrast is sufficiently large to allow a precise delineation of the intrusion. A formula is then derived to convert resistivity values to chloride concentration in the "cone of intrusion". The results from resistivity soundings showed that shaly formations may have resistivities as low as seawater-contaminated sandstone. An indeterminacy has resulted from this resistivity overlap. A limited number of IP soundings were performed in an effort to resolve it. The results showed that IP can be of appreciable help in resistivity interpretation.

Jan 1, 1972

By William DeWit

When rivers are contaminated from industrial operations, as often occurs near repositories of spent mine tailings, decision-support tools can be critically important in evaluating the effectiveness of various engineering impact-management measures. Even where data describing river flows and quality are sparse, simple mixing-zone models can be constructed that can contribute greatly to understanding how impact-management measures can differentially affect existing river-chemistry regimes. There can be circumstances where accumulated surface waters near contaminated land can bear contaminant loadings that could be acceptable to river regimes if there were methods available to evaluate optional discharge rates and to predict post-mixing consequences on river chemistry. Nomographs can be constructed to evaluate discharge regimes that appear capable of releasing contaminated accumulated pond water without compromising water quality in a nearby river. River-mixing zone models also contribute to predicting rates of acceptable discharge and release to the receiving environment.

May 1, 2011

By Robert B. Parsons

"It is generally acknowledged that Canadian and foreign-based mining companies are spending relatively fewer dollars in Canada and more dollars abroad than was the case not many years ago. It is common to see the Canadian tax system being fingered as one of the causes in this shift in direction. However, if one takes the time to peel away the surface of our tax system, and to probe a little deeper into its substance, it will be found that the Canadian taxation of mining is generally quite competitive. IntroductionCross-border shopping in the mining industry? - Absolutely! Economics 100 teaches that dollars are votes in the capitalist system, and mining companies are going to cast their limited number of votes where they can achieve the highest return at the least risk. The Canadian consumer knows that taxes are a major factor in cross-border shopping, and mining company executives know that the same tenet holds true in their industry. Unfortunately, mining operations are subject to such a bewildering array of tax rules that making an intelligent decision is not always an easy matter.Statutory Tax RatesConsider, for example, the ""statutory"" tax rates shown in Table 1. (Statutory tax rate in this table refers to the simple sum of federal and provincial tax rates on profits as specified in the tax legislation.) Looking only at the total statutory tax rates (such as 66070 for Manitoba) , one might quickly observe that the Canadian mining industry is subject to a truly onerous tax regime, especially as compared to the United States where statutory tax rates can be in the 34% range."

Jan 1, 1992

By Guoxiang Chi

This paper consists of two parts: the first part describes the principles and functionality of the BsnMod program, and the second part presents preliminary application of this program to paleo-fluid flow modeling in the Anticosti Basin. The BsnMod program simulates fluid flow and heat transfer during the evolution of sedimentary basins through numerical solution (finite difference method) of three partial differential equations, which describe sediment compaction, fluid continuity, and heat conservation. It can be used to estimate the evolution of fluid overpressure, flow rate, and temperature during the basin history. The program was written in C++, works under Windows environments, and has a user interface allowing inputs in dialogues and outputs in both tabular and graphic forms. The program was applied to the Lower Paleozoic Anticosti Basin in eastern Canada. The basin history consists of a passive margin stage and a foreland basin stage. Preliminary simulation results indicate that no significant fluid overpressures were developed in the passive margin stage and during the early period of the foreland basin stage, but strong overpressures were developed within the foreland basin succession during the middle and late periods of the foreland basin stage. Fluid flow rates were generally slow, and thermal profiles were not significantly disturbed by fluid movement throughout the basin history. Potential source rocks of hydrocarbons were found in the foreland basin succession. The strong overpressures in the foreland basin succession could have been a major driving force for hydrocarbon migration from the source rocks to the underlying potential reservoir rocks.

May 1, 2001

By J. P. Grieco, F. W. Grieco

"Manufacturing of Jaw CrushersOriginIn 1858 Eli Whitney Blake invented the first successful mechanical rock breaker-the Blake-type jaw crusher. Blake adapted a mechanical principal, the powerful toggle linkage system used to transform rotating motion and energy into oscillating mot ion and tremendous compressive forces. Today these same principals apply and the basic Blake-type jaw crusher is one of the leading machines of its class for heavy duty primary crushing service.In 1881 Philetus W. Gates patented a design for a crusher, the forerunner of the modern gyratory crusher which dominated the field from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. In 1910 the largest gyratory crushers built had 48-inch openings. However, about this time the jaw crusher came to life when the Power and Mining Machinery Co. built an even larger sized opening crusher-a giant 84-inch by 60-inch jaw crusher for a trap rock quarry in Pennsylvania. A 24-inch gyratory crusher became the ideal sized secondary machine for this size jaw. From that time on jaw crushers were looked on favourably as primary breakers and lines were brought up to date to parallel the already developed gyratory lines.FunctionMost heavy duty Blake-type jaw crushers work basically the same way. They are ruggedly designed and capable of crushing material in some cases in excess of 80, 000 p.s.i. compressive strength. They are very simple machines with few moving part s and, with the exception of replacement of renewable parts, are relatively maintenance free. It is quite common to have these machines in product ion for 20 to 30 years. The following will de scribe how these machines work. Large-diameter high-inertia flywheels which are connected to the main eccentric shaft, rotate inside a connecting rod type mechanism called a Pitman. It transforms rotating motion into vertical oscillating motion. This vertical motion is in turn transformed into reciprocating mot ion by means of a system of 2 toggles, each connected to the Pitman. The rear toggle is connected to the fixed rear head, and the front toggle is connected to the swing jaw which is hinged at the top of the crusher. With each rotation of the eccentric shaft the swing jaw opens and closes on rock which is fed into the crusher chamber, crushing the rock in a series of bites. These bites, or strokes as the y are called, usually vary between 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inch at speeds of 120 to 200 strokes per minute. The reduction ratio of feed input to discharge is usually about 8 to I. Output capacities can vary from 100 tons/hour to 1200 tons/hour depending on the size of machine and its discharge opening. Horsepower requirements can vary from 75 hp to 400 hp.The entire crusher chamber is lined with replaceable 14070 manganese steel liner plates. This material is ideally suited for the job since it hardens as it wears during crusher operation. Manganese is also used in the high wear areas at each end of the toggle plates."

Jan 1, 1985

By D. C. Martin, P. M. Hawley, C. P. Acott

"In bedded deposits such as coal or sedimentary iron, economic limits of mineable reserves are clearly defined by the footwall of the seams or ore-bearing units. Where open pits are developed in dipping strata, a long, high footwall slope may result. In many cases, unbenched slopes excavated along the base of the lowest mineable seam are operationally simple, economically desirable and geotechnicalty practical, although a variety of failure mechanisms may develop. This paper examines the engineering geology and rock mechanics parameters of importance in the design of footwall slopes. Possible failure mechanisms and stability analysis methods are described. Design considerations for benched and unbenched slopes are discussed with prime consideration given to development of long high stopes without benches or with a minimum number of benches. IntroductionIn bedded deposits, the ultimate depth and economic viability of an open pit in dipping strata may be controlled by the design of the footwall slope. The stability and, hence, design of footwall slopes is strongly influenced by the engineering geology and rock mechanics parameters of the slope forming materials. A clear understanding of the structural geology, engineering geology and tectonic history of the deposit is essential to assess the behaviour of the slope. This is particularly important for long high, unbenched footwall slopes such as shown in Photo I.A rational footwall slope design requires identification and assessment of all possible slope failure mechanisms with respect to the proposed slope geometry. Stability analyses of each potential failure mechanism are used to identify the main controls on slope stability and to develop appropriate slope design criteria. The optimum slope design is based on the most economic and geotechnically practical slope geometry with due consideration of operational constraints and of the possible advantages of specific remedial measures."

Jan 1, 1986

By P. Morissette

Passive monitoring of support performance during rockbursts was conducted at three deep underground mines. A comprehensive database was constructed of 172 seismic events and the associated damage to support systems at 266 mine locations from January 2000 to September 2012. The majority of pertinent information was obtained through seismic system records and on-site field assessments. This work assesses the quality of collected information and evaluates the dynamic-load demand on support systems in seismically active mines.

Aug 1, 2013

By W. R. Tyson

Pipelines for the transport of gas and oil are being designed to operate at increasing pressures in increasingly harsh environments. The steel used to construct these pipelines must have adequate toughness to tolerate weld imperfections (i.e. withstand bending strains) and to arrest running cracks (i.e. to prevent propagation of axial fractures). The problems posed in specifying suitable toughness parameters and the approaches currently being used to measure them are discussed.

Jan 1, 2005

By V. A. Chanturiya, T. N. Matveeva, N. K. Gromova, T. A. Ivanova

"The research is aimed at solving the problem of increasing the extraction of gold from refractory ores, which are the main source of growth in gold production in the next decades. The purpose of the research is the development and scientific substantiation of the reagent modes for flotation extracting of gold from refractory ores using eco-friendly low-cost herbal modifiers (HM), providing increase in gold recovery and quality of gold concentrates. In the course of research laboratory techniques for the preparation of experimental samples of HM were developed, which included the sequence of operations of grinding Heraclium leaves and stems grinding, 2-stages extraction at a temperature of 50-60 °C, short-term ultrasonic treatment, filtration and subsequent unification of extracts. According to the developed method, the experimental samples of HM and conducted research were tested to analyze their sorption and flotation activity related to the extraction of gold from refractory gold ores.New data on adsorption and flotation properties of Heraclium stems and leaves extracts (HSE) in selective flotation of Au-sulfide minerals were obtained using UV-spectroscopy, scanning electronic and laser microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The dimensions and shapes of adsorbed hydrophilic films of herbal reagents were identified and mechanism of formation of stable insoluble compounds on the surface of minerals in flotation was explained.Research flotation tests carried out on samples of refractory gold ore of one of Russia deposits showed the possibility of effective use of herbal modifiers to improve qualitative and quantitative indicators of enrichment compared with the standard reagent regime. New reagent modes, using herbal modifiers in an amount of 5 to 10 ml of the extract (300 - 600 g / t, respectively) improves the quality of the concentrate: gold content attains 14.7 g / t, 1.34 times higher than in the baseline experiment and provides a gain of 3.13% extraction.The developed reagent regime with herbal modifiers is the author's original design, patented (patent of the Russian Federation) and have no analogues in the world of mineral processing. (Application number 2015116125 from 04.28.2015, ""The method of flotation separation of sulfide minerals using herbal modifier"", Russia). Actual application of new plant extracts as modifiers in flotation of sulfide minerals is the possibility of replacing of highly toxic chemical compounds by environmentally safe substances of plant origin. Implementation of the developed methods of extracting gold from refractory minerals with herbal modifiers will help to improve gold recovery at 3-5% and the quality concentrate of not less than 1.2 times, leading to higher productivity and a reduction of the negative man-made effects on the environment ."

Jan 1, 2016

By L. Jiang

This report investigated the dynamic recrystallization (DRX) phenomenon in magnesium alloy AZ31 billets to understand the deformation mechanisms and microstructure evolution during extrusion and other metal forming processes, Compression tests of coarse-grained as-cast magnesium alloy billets containing lamellar Mg17Al12 eutectic phase and (Al, Mn) particles suggest that temperatures higher than 300°C, strains greater than 0,25 and strain rates above 0,l/s lead to the formation of fine DRX grains in the deformed samples. Microstructural observations also indicate particle-stimulated DRX nucleation (PSN) during hot deformation of the AZ31 alloy, facilitated by the presence of Mg17Al12 and (Al, Mn) particles, While the Mg17Al12 is dissolved into the matrix at about 350°C, (Al, Mn) particles may remain effective for PSN at temperatures up to at least 400°C, This study suggests that alloy design with a proper distribution of second-phase particles can provide the desired microstructure for improved properties and formability in wrought magnesium alloys.

Jan 1, 2004

By F. Hampshire

"IntroductionThis paper is intended to cover questions raised by operating staff at various installations and is not intended to give comprehensive coverage of power plant and power system design. The paper is concerned mainly with the electrics , although a brief section gives the reasons for selection of diesels rather than other prime movers.The material is not new but brings out points which seem to be raised regularly during the design , commissioning and operation o f a new plant. Diesels versus other Prime MoversDiesel-electric plant for the mining industry falls into two major categories -emergency power and prim e power.1) Emergency power (for use only when the regular utility supply has failed) requires reliable starting and operation and reasonable first cost. Fuel economy and maintenance are of little importance as the machine(s) generate few kilowatt hours only. The diesel's competition in this field is the gas turbine, however diesels are more widely used than gas turbines in this application.2) Prime power is a different situation as the bottom line of total cost is highly affected by fuel costs.In general , mines which are within reasonable transmission distance of an existing utility find the lowest net cost result s from hooking up to the utility. If a min e is remote from an electric utility then the possible alternatives are:a) Hydro- electric power if there is a site capable of development at reasonable cost including the cost of transmission facilities. Such sites are not common, but brief and inexpensive considerationof this possibility is warranted .b) Diesel power with consideration of different grades of fuel.c) Thermal (steam) power generation from coal or oil.d) Gas turbines.In addition to the above there is the possibility of wind power (as a supplementary source) and a number of technologies which may become feasible in the future (e.g. small nuclear plants, fuel cells). For obvious reasons, small isolated generating systems required for remote mines, tend to lean to conservative technology.Among the fossil fuel plants, the diesel enjoys advantage on over-all costs as summarized in Table 1."

Jan 1, 1986

By J. P. Grieco, F. W. Grieco

"Manufacturing of Jaw CrushersOriginIn 1858 Eli Whitney Blake invented the first successful mechanical rock breaker-the Blake-type jaw crusher. Blake adapted a mechanical principal, the powerful toggle linkage system used to transform rotating motion and energy into oscillating mot ion and tremendous compressive forces. Today these same principals apply and the basic Blake-type jaw crusher is one of the leading machines of its class for heavy duty primary crushing service.In 1881 Philetus W. Gates patented a design for a crusher, the forerunner of the modern gyratory crusher which dominated the field from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. In 1910 the largest gyratory crushers built had 48-inch openings. However, about this time the jaw crusher came to life when the Power and Mining Machinery Co. built an even larger sized opening crusher-a giant 84-inch by 60-inch jaw crusher for a trap rock quarry in Pennsylvania. A 24-inch gyratory crusher became the ideal sized secondary machine for this size jaw. From that time on jaw crushers were looked on favourably as primary breakers and lines were brought up to date to parallel the already developed gyratory lines.FunctionMost heavy duty Blake-type jaw crushers work basically the same way. They are ruggedly designed and capable of crushing material in some cases in excess of 80, 000 p.s.i. compressive strength. They are very simple machines with few moving part s and, with the exception of replacement of renewable parts, are relatively maintenance free. It is quite common to have these machines in product ion for 20 to 30 years. The following will de scribe how these machines work. Large-diameter high-inertia flywheels which are connected to the main eccentric shaft, rotate inside a connecting rod type mechanism called a Pitman. It transforms rotating motion into vertical oscillating motion. This vertical motion is in turn transformed into reciprocating mot ion by means of a system of 2 toggles, each connected to the Pitman. The rear toggle is connected to the fixed rear head, and the front toggle is connected to the swing jaw which is hinged at the top of the crusher. With each rotation of the eccentric shaft the swing jaw opens and closes on rock which is fed into the crusher chamber, crushing the rock in a series of bites. These bites, or strokes as the y are called, usually vary between 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inch at speeds of 120 to 200 strokes per minute. The reduction ratio of feed input to discharge is usually about 8 to I. Output capacities can vary from 100 tons/hour to 1200 tons/hour depending on the size of machine and its discharge opening. Horsepower requirements can vary from 75 hp to 400 hp.The entire crusher chamber is lined with replaceable 14070 manganese steel liner plates. This material is ideally suited for the job since it hardens as it wears during crusher operation. Manganese is also used in the high wear areas at each end of the toggle plates."

Jan 1, 1985

By S. Balideh

A good understanding of the behavior of rock helps us to make more informed decisions regarding geo-structures. Engineers need accurate equations to calculate the strength and deformation of rock before and after failure. Previous studies explain the failure of rock to ultimate strength, and laboratory tests adequately determine the ultimate strength and deformation modulus of rock. However, there are few comprehensive equations to determine the post-failure strength and deformation of rock. Previous work shows that the post-failure behavior of rock depends on the behavior of the broken rock particles after failure. The following question is then posed: How can the post-failure behavior of rock be determined by the behavior of broken rock particles? In order to answer the question, this study pursues three objectives: (i) to explain the behavior of broken rock at low confining pressure; (ii) to estimate the behavior of broken rock via the extrapolation of scaled laboratory testing; and to suggest a procedure (iii) to outline the post-failure behavior of a rock mass at low confining pressure commensurate with the behavior of broken rock in a rock mass.

Aug 1, 2013

By Denis Raymond, Yvon Trudeau

"Abstract-The Orion gold mine, located 7 km northeast of the town of Malartic, Quebec, was discovered in mid-1985. Underground exploration was undertaken in 1986Ieading to commercial production in 1988. The upper part of the orebody was exploited above the 125 m level and a total of 131 090 t at an average grade of 5.31 g/t gold were extracted.This paper describes the authors' current knowledge and interpretation of the geology, gold distribution, and structure of the Orion No. 8 ore zone deposit. The deposit is an epigenetic lode gold occurrence somewhat unique in that both quartz-vein type and pyritic type of gold ore occur side-by-side. It is located within the Marban-Norlartic Deformation Corridor (MNDC) formed during a first deformation stage (D1). The MNDC is a well-defined regional structural feature in the Val d'Or- Malartic mining camp. Primary gold mineralization is associated with the D1 event and is represented by pyritized , silicified and brecciated basaltic lavas enclosed by ultramafic flow units. The ore zone is concordant with the MNDC. Felsic intrusions are spatially related with the ore zone, but their role in the genesis of the ore has yet to be defined.A second deformation event (D2) resulted in local folding, a second schistosity (S2) and reverse faulting. Gold remobilization, the formation of the gold-bearing quartz breccia and the emplacement of the main quartz vein at the No . 8 zone deposit were associated with this event."

Jan 1, 1992

By Yutaro Fukase

Various types of service robots have recently been developed for guarding facilities, caring for the elderly, carrying objects, and cleaning buildings. As barrier-free facilities improve and their use expands, these robots have more space within which to move inside buildings. Yet robots that move autonomously rely on position-detection systems. Though improving rapidly, these systems are far from perfect in determining positions in certain situations, especially when robots navigate large areas or cross various locations. Our group is working to solve this problem by developing a position-detection system using random-dot patterns on a floor. First, we construct a floor with a random-dot pattern and register the positions of all of the dots into a database. As the robot moves across the floor, a camera on the robot captures an image of the floor beneath it and crops the dot pattern in the image. The cropped dot pattern is matched to the dot patterns in the database to determine the position of the robot and the direction in which the robot is facing or moving. In this paper we propose a self-localization system and matching algorithms derived from a space technology and present the results of several experiments.

Aug 1, 2013

By L. Hutton, S. W. Colley

"The release of soluble salts of base metals from acid mine pits and in the waste water from metal refiners is an avoidable source local pollution and contamination. Tightening of the regulations controlling natural resource extraction and industrial wastewater discharge is mandating the removal and recovery of metals from waste streams, and the remediation of contaminated sites. There is an economic incentive in recovering the valuable copper and nickel, as the value of the recovered metal can offset remediation costs and for high flow waste streams can be a source of income. Extraction of metals from waste streams by conventional Ion Exchange and chelation resins is widely practised, but has limitations on applicability in complex and dilute feeds due to the structure and properties of polymeric resin beads. Composite Advanced Ion Exchange (AIX) materials have been developed for the recovery and purification of base metals from base metal mining and metal processing industries. A silica-composite based resin has been developed for the selective extraction of copper from high iron containing feeds. This resin can be eluted with sulfuric acid yielding a copper stream suitable for return to solvent extraction or to electrowinning. We describe the development and application of the resin and process to two acid mine drain feeds of varying copper and iron concentrations, and show that the copper concentration can be considerably upgraded even at small scale with a final metal content of >95% copper.INTRODUCTIONWaste water with high sulphate concentrations, low pH and containing complex and variable mixtures of metals is an inevitable product in the mining, extraction and metal refining industries. One problematical water source is Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) which in addition to the metals of interest also contains a wide range of contaminating elements. Purge streams from metal refining are less complex in composition but contain significant quantities of the value metals. The typical treatment of such waste streams is treatment with lime to increase the pH of the water, precipitating the dissolved metals and sulphate as a sludge of mixed metal oxides/hydroxides and sulphates. The process is effective in producing a water stream that can be safely discharged but if there are significant concentrations of value metals such as copper, nickel, zinc then there can be a considerable loss of metal value."

Jan 1, 2016

By M. M. O?Brien

THE SULLIVAN MINE The Sullivan mine of the Consolidated Mining and ? Smelting Company of Canada, Limited, is situated at Kimberley, B.C., nineteen miles from Cranbrook, a divisional point on the Crowsnest Pass branch of the Canadian Pacific railway. Production started on a small scale in 1900, and in 1914 the mine became the largest lead producer in Canada. In 1925 it was the largest single producer of lead and zinc in the world. Since operations commenced, 4,800,000 tons of ore have been produced from stopes and 170,000 tons from development. At the present time, ore is being mined at the rate of 1,100,000 tons per year, with a yield of about 200,000 lb. lead, 110,000 lb. zinc, and 4,000,000 oz. silver. The town of Kimberley is easily accessible by road as well as by rail. The altitude at Mark creek, a tributary of the St. Mary's river, is 3,700 feet. To th'e north of the creek, Sullivan hill rises to a height of 6,100 feet, and it is on the southern slope of this hill that the mine is located. Sullivan hill is in the Purcell range, which rises between the Rocky Mountain trench on the east and Kootenay lake on the west. It thus lies within what is commonly referred to as the East Kootenay district.

Jan 1, 1926

By H. J. Hartjens

"With the trend towards bringing into production ore bodies of lower and lower copper content every possible avenue of approach to achieve maximum copper metal recovery and keep milling costs to a minimum are of increasing importance.Equipment manufacturers have contributed a great deal by designing larger mills, flotation machines, pumps, etc. in lowering capital and operating costs; instrumentation and automation usually as a joint effort of operating staffs and equipment manufacturers have resulted in lower operating costs and improved metallurgy. Likewise manufacturers of chemicals used in mineral beneficiation have directed their research and development at new flotation reagents and treatment schemes to complement the needs for more efficient products, permitting coarser grinds without detriment to recovery, higher flotation rates, higher degrees of selectivity, as well as chemicals to improve settling, clarification and filtration. The various treatment schemes in use and suggested for consideration are:1) The choice of the flotation treatment scheme is largely dictated by the desire to operate a simple circuit, originally consisting of rougher and scavenger flotation, with scavenger concentrate either returning to the head of the rougher circuit or joining the rougher concentrate for cleaning by reflotation, with and without prior regrinding. The cleaner tailing was also recycled to the head of the rougher circuit. In the case of porphyry copper ores, this was originally the standard circuit. Lime is the preferred alkalinity regulator to adjust pH, usually in the range 10-12.To avoid the undesirable effects of circulating loads and gain the advantage of simplified control of the rougher circuit, open circuit cleaning is practiced more and more. In this scheme, cleaner tailing is scavenged to produce a discardable tailing and the scavenger concentrate returned either to the cleaner or the regrind circuit."

Jan 1, 1970

By J. A. Vezina

The effects of particle size distribution on metal extraction have been determined from pressure leaching Renzy Mines Limited concentrate with oxygen. Using a pulp density of 30 per cent solids, an oxygen pressure of 80 psig, a temperature of 230°F, a grind of 2.5 hours and a retention of 8 hours resulted in the almost complete dissolution of the nickel and the cobalt and the decomposition of over 96 per cent of the chalcopyrite finer than 20 microns. Only 11 per cent of the chalcopyrite coarser than 20 microns was reduced to smaller than 20 microns.

Jan 1, 1973

Drilling is a common process in mining and petroleum engineering applications which have different objectives. For example, drilling deep boreholes in tight gas formations and gas shales is becoming more popular in the oil and gas industry. By contrast, drilling deep small sized holes for mineral exploration in hard rocks is performed to obtain samples for grade analysis purposes. In both applications optimising the drilling process includes using the most effective operating parameters such as rotation speed and weight-on-bit in order to maximise the rate of penetration. Obtaining the optimum drilling parameters requires sensitivity analysis over a range of data, which would be costly and time consuming during real field operations. Therefore, conducting several experimental simulations in the lab would be very beneficial before field operations begin. A drilling rig was designed and developed to simulate various drilling scenarios. The rig works in conjunction with an existing true triaxial stress cell (TTSC) which is in use for different petroleum related applications. The rig allows drilling into a cubic rock sample of up to 300 mm size. Three independent stresses can be applied to the sample to simulate real in-situ field stress conditions while the sample may be saturated with fluid. A significant feature of the rig is its ultra-high speed rotation which can rotate up to 8000 rpm: this is to simulate hard rock drilling for mineral exploration applications where large weight-onbit could damage the bit cutters. With the proposed design, a drilling fluid of any type can be circulated in the simulated borehole similar to the real situation, to study its effect on drilling performance. The TTSC drilling lid is equipped with torque and drag measurement systems which are two important drilling parameters to be recorded during drilling operation. It is believed that this new drilling rig will open opportunities for performing major new applied research in the area of more efficient drilling in both oil and gas bearing formations and mineral exploration applications.

Aug 1, 2013