What is air-core drilling?
Air core drilling is a special type of drilling process in which a three-blade steel drill is used to drill bits into unconsolidated ground. It is popular because it is the safest way of drilling that gives clean sample materials. Additionally, it is so far an inexpensive way of exploration drilling compared to Percussion rotary air blasting drilling. Unlike the diamond drilling that only allows for the removal of a small diameter core of the drilled ground from the orebody, air core drilling not only draws a wide diameter but is also fast and less costly. The drilling method is dependent on compressed air to flush samples without causing any serious damage to the surrounding site—the outcome of the whole process is an accurate and effective analysis of the samples drawn.
Where is Air Core Drilling Used?
Air core drilling has become extremely essential among large, middle, and small organizations that are clamoring for a safe way of drilling that guarantees reduced risks of contaminating samples. It is popularly used in first-pass exploration drill projects, particularly on unconsolidated grounds, often to a depth of up to 300 meters. Clearly, this is an extremely robust and versatile drilling option, especially if you are looking to get samples as deep as 300 meters from the surface of the earth.
Advantages of Air Core Drilling
Air core drilling comes with many advantages over the other methods of drilling. Here are some of the pros of this option:
It does not require you to cast holes. It allows the explorer to have a representative sample of the materials being researched or explored since the process gives materials that are not only free from contamination but which are easy to analyze.
It is the safest method of drilling and removing samples from underneath the ground. Because the method uses compressed air to inject the sample, little or no damage to the samples is registered when compared to other options.
Reduces the cost of drilling and analysis since it enables faster drilling, collection, and analysis of samples, resulting in reduced costs. In addition, the drill rigs are lightweight compared to the ones used in other methods. Therefore, they are easy and cheap to move from to and from the exploration site.
Disadvantages of Air Core Drilling
While it is not in doubt that air core drilling has many advantages, it also features some downsides at least when measured against other drilling methods.
-Air core drilling can be slower even though it is considered efficient.
-Depending on the effectiveness of the compressor, air core drilling can only be effective up to a depth of 120 meters
-It has limited chances of drilling a fresh rock.
Having considered the merits and demerits of air-core drilling, it is clear that it is a fairly effective and efficient way of drawing samples that can give a fair view of the materials from which the samples are drawn.
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