An introduction to how Reverse Circulation drill rigs work and why we use them. The first in a series of practical skills videos for graduate geologists in the mineral exploration industry.
Its like you know what i am thinking about.. the other day i was thinking of study, saw your video pop up, last two days been thinking about going out there as survey assistant, and i found this.. amazing.. Thanks
very thanks for sharing this video, in my whole college period non of my teachers even mentioned what really a geologist do in the filed and what kind of job they get and now that I'm gradated I'm facing difficulty to gain this knowledge but your videos helps a lot to gain it, thanks again for your afford to making this videos and kindness to sharing them.
Graduated in geography a couple of years ago, but now developed an a sudden yet strong attraction towards geology and it’s mining related work (due to comprehending not just the economic good of the work, but as a moral good). So stubbing upon your videos will no doubt help in pursing field work related jobs and / or postgraduate study. Your explanations are good for the layman. So thanks for your continued work and I hope I’ll be able to come work in Australia in the near future.
@@tvmpl1889 yes, looking back I was young and fit, some of the best days of my life. Hard work, it taught me a bit about bush mechanics, and I got my truck license out of it (which I don't have anymore BTW), and I saved heaps of money and I came home opened a business and gone from strength to strength. Yes it's worth it only if you dont get caught up in the shannanigans and waste your time and money, knuckle down and remember why your there. 👍🇦🇺
Awesome video, I love the RC rig. It was all a mystery to me how it actually worked all I know is those rods are heavy as buggery if you are manual handling them because the support truck cant move close enough to the rod handler. That being said after I watched your video I was shocked by the max depth you mentioned and asked some driller I'd worked with last night what the max depth was and how deep he had gone. He replied 800m and I said how do you get any return and he said "more air". Their drill rig with offboard booster can drill over twice your max depth according to him but we'd had a few.
It is possible to drill deeper, but it's a game of diminishing returns because you drill slower, it costs more and the risk of getting stuck goes up. Beyond about 400m, diamond core is equal or better.
i worked as an offsider in my 20s, we used to run rods maunally , that is swing them in to position using the weight of the rod. .hard to explain to people who dont know what im talking about. Man what a rush..sure looks tame today. Pajingo, charter towers, kajabi, tarcoola , mundi mundi plains. all for exploration , so camping with the rig...miss those days and the friends i made
Interesting video, right now I'm having an issue with rc drilling, I'm working in a limestone formation with clay, and the hammer doesn't work well with soft formations and with high moisture. Now we have changed the bit to a tricone bit adapted to rc drilling to deal with high moisture and soft formations.
Limestone is a challenge for all types of drilling because it tends to form large cavities that can divert huge amounts of drilling fluid or air. They can be difficult or impossible to seal with regular cementing methods.
Hi, I would like your advice, what is the size for the bags, for the 2 kilogram samples (calico Bag) and for the larger sample ? Many thanks for your help!!
Open hole or "positive" circulation drill rods are a single hollow tube. Air is pumped down inside the tube and returns up the hole outside the rods. Reverse circulation drill rods have an inner and outer tube. Air is pumped down between the outer and inner tube then returns up inside the inner tube. The animation in the video shows the different air paths with moving arrows.
Ive done offsiding for these drills underground except our rig was on tracks ive had to do 100 metre rod pulls multiple times with bits sometimes 2ft or bigger in diameter. Ive been in waist high water changing rods and under there we also drilled upwards so everything is falling on you while theyre drilling. The rods because theyre wet and oily are even harder to handle then they would be when dry sometimes its just easier doing it with no gloves. Ive had to jump over holes that are 100 metres deep 2ft wide in diameter doing that 80 times on separate occasions in 1 shift while holding the rods. The rods we used were aroind 1.8metres tall but looked much heavier then the ones theyre using in this video Let me tell you right now they do not pay enough youd get maybe 450 a shift which is around the same amount a guy sitting on his ass in a truck gets, people new to the industry dont know that because no one tells them. Trust me 350 to 450 a shift is not enough to do that shit Unless ofcorse you have a rod handler which is a mechanical arm that does all the hard work
@GeologyUpSkill it's definitely not and in my opinion its not enough. Yeah fair enough you get bloke's that don't cut it I mean I've had body builders that couldn't keep up but everyone that does that job deserves 500 a shift at least
Looking at using an RC rig here in the states for uranium, but am unsure if it will work. We will be drilling 800-900 feet in shale, swelling clay, and sandstone and will have artesian flow at surface. We typically use regular mud rotary rigs and weight up with barite to supress the artesian flow, but there is a huge rig shortage where I am and am desperate to get any rig at this point. Will an RC rig be able to handle the sticky clay/shale and the artesian flow? Thank you for the great videos!
That artesian flow will be a problem. You can keep it out with lots of air while you are drilling, but it will fill up the hole each time you stop to put on another rod.
That depends on many things (volume and pressure of the air supply are the biggest factors), but holes beyond 400m get pretty slow and difficult so RC has much less advantage over diamond at that depth.
@@GeologyUpSkill was actually wondering if the rc drill rig could be used to find lithium deposit in Nevada.. Trying to figure out if hoycroft mine is looking for lithium as well as gold and silver..
@@stevenorosz1518 Depends on the deposit. If you're looking for most of the clay-hosted deposits it can be a problem with recovery. You're blasting through the subsurface with that drill.
In truly exceptional conditions that is possible, but the rate of progress goes down and the likelihood of a hole failure goes up with every metre beyond 400. As a result, the real world costs approach those of diamond core and the speed advantage is lost.
that dust mask won’t cut it. That is a nasty work environment for your lungs. Provide appropriate half face masks with proper filters or shut it down. No amount of money is worth your health.
If you want people to accept your advice, it's a good idea to make a video that explains the benefits of that adice. Renaming your youtube channel to something other than "Shuddup Yakunt" would probably help.
Love that rod handler. One of the better designs i have seen. Keep em safe and keep on hunting. Enjoy your videos.
Thanks. It beats the hell out of swinging them by hand!
Its like you know what i am thinking about.. the other day i was thinking of study, saw your video pop up, last two days been thinking about going out there as survey assistant, and i found this.. amazing.. Thanks
The RUclips algorithm knows what you are thinking!
very thanks for sharing this video, in my whole college period non of my teachers even mentioned what really a geologist do in the filed and what kind of job they get and now that I'm gradated I'm facing difficulty to gain this knowledge but your videos helps a lot to gain it, thanks again for your afford to making this videos and kindness to sharing them.
Thanks ver much Milad. I have posted another video that describes the job of a geologist on an RC drill rig.
Great video - thank you.
Graduated in geography a couple of years ago, but now developed an a sudden yet strong attraction towards geology and it’s mining related work (due to comprehending not just the economic good of the work, but as a moral good). So stubbing upon your videos will no doubt help in pursing field work related jobs and / or postgraduate study. Your explanations are good for the layman. So thanks for your continued work and I hope I’ll be able to come work in Australia in the near future.
It's certainly a good time to enter the industry and get established.
Do you do cartography?
Good job❤❤👍👍🏼🙏
Thanks!
Good - enjoyed that
Associated exploration drillers (AED) represent 😹 worked for these guys, really great company
Lol they are the worst
Excellent explanation! Best Wishes.
Thanks very much. Season's greetings to you also.
Brings back memories of long days and nights on this, and diamond rigs. Hard work.
yep, if it was easy everyone would be doing it!
Yes
Was it worth it ?
@@tvmpl1889 yes, looking back I was young and fit, some of the best days of my life. Hard work, it taught me a bit about bush mechanics, and I got my truck license out of it (which I don't have anymore BTW), and I saved heaps of money and I came home opened a business and gone from strength to strength. Yes it's worth it only if you dont get caught up in the shannanigans and waste your time and money, knuckle down and remember why your there. 👍🇦🇺
Good times
Awesome video, I love the RC rig. It was all a mystery to me how it actually worked all I know is those rods are heavy as buggery if you are manual handling them because the support truck cant move close enough to the rod handler. That being said after I watched your video I was shocked by the max depth you mentioned and asked some driller I'd worked with last night what the max depth was and how deep he had gone. He replied 800m and I said how do you get any return and he said "more air". Their drill rig with offboard booster can drill over twice your max depth according to him but we'd had a few.
It is possible to drill deeper, but it's a game of diminishing returns because you drill slower, it costs more and the risk of getting stuck goes up. Beyond about 400m, diamond core is equal or better.
i worked as an offsider in my 20s, we used to run rods maunally , that is swing them in to position using the weight of the rod. .hard to explain to people who dont know what im talking about. Man what a rush..sure looks tame today. Pajingo, charter towers, kajabi, tarcoola , mundi mundi plains. all for exploration , so camping with the rig...miss those days and the friends i made
Yep. Our tolerance for risk has taken a hit in almost every part of life.
Were you a major drilling og?
Nice job I lov drilling
Wonderful drilling job!!
FK yes gonna use this knowledge in my new mining job cheers m8t
Great presentation
Thanks Glad you found it useful!
thanks for the video, i liked it
Glad you enjoyed it. Hope it helps in your future work.
@@GeologyUpSkill In fact, I have been an offsider for a short time.
thank you
Interesting video, right now I'm having an issue with rc drilling, I'm working in a limestone formation with clay, and the hammer doesn't work well with soft formations and with high moisture.
Now we have changed the bit to a tricone bit adapted to rc drilling to deal with high moisture and soft formations.
Limestone is a challenge for all types of drilling because it tends to form large cavities that can divert huge amounts of drilling fluid or air. They can be difficult or impossible to seal with regular cementing methods.
Hi, I would like your advice, what is the size for the bags, for the 2 kilogram samples (calico Bag) and for the larger sample ? Many thanks for your help!!
If I recall correctly, the big plastic bags are 600x900mm and the calico bags are 300x450mm
Really nice video. But what's the different between Positive circulation drilling and RC drilling?
Open hole or "positive" circulation drill rods are a single hollow tube. Air is pumped down inside the tube and returns up the hole outside the rods. Reverse circulation drill rods have an inner and outer tube. Air is pumped down between the outer and inner tube then returns up inside the inner tube. The animation in the video shows the different air paths with moving arrows.
Ive done offsiding for these drills underground except our rig was on tracks ive had to do 100 metre rod pulls multiple times with bits sometimes 2ft or bigger in diameter. Ive been in waist high water changing rods and under there we also drilled upwards so everything is falling on you while theyre drilling. The rods because theyre wet and oily are even harder to handle then they would be when dry sometimes its just easier doing it with no gloves. Ive had to jump over holes that are 100 metres deep 2ft wide in diameter doing that 80 times on separate occasions in 1 shift while holding the rods.
The rods we used were aroind 1.8metres tall but looked much heavier then the ones theyre using in this video
Let me tell you right now they do not pay enough youd get maybe 450 a shift which is around the same amount a guy sitting on his ass in a truck gets, people new to the industry dont know that because no one tells them. Trust me 350 to 450 a shift is not enough to do that shit
Unless ofcorse you have a rod handler which is a mechanical arm that does all the hard work
It certainly isn't "easy" money!
@GeologyUpSkill it's definitely not and in my opinion its not enough. Yeah fair enough you get bloke's that don't cut it I mean I've had body builders that couldn't keep up but everyone that does that job deserves 500 a shift at least
Looking at using an RC rig here in the states for uranium, but am unsure if it will work. We will be drilling 800-900 feet in shale, swelling clay, and sandstone and will have artesian flow at surface. We typically use regular mud rotary rigs and weight up with barite to supress the artesian flow, but there is a huge rig shortage where I am and am desperate to get any rig at this point. Will an RC rig be able to handle the sticky clay/shale and the artesian flow?
Thank you for the great videos!
That artesian flow will be a problem. You can keep it out with lots of air while you are drilling, but it will fill up the hole each time you stop to put on another rod.
If you find good drillers that understand a good mud program. ( pumped and sealed down the casing ) You'll be fine.
an advanced silicosis applicator!
Dust masks are a must!
The money good in this job? Even if your a beginner..
It certainly is now!
great
Thanks Leon.
It’s also a good idea as a geologist not to tell the driller how to do his job.
And vice versa!
In oil and gas the Geo's are just sample monkeys. That's why I only work hard rock for a month, most rock lickers can't even do basic drill tasks
How deep can an rc drill rig dig
That depends on many things (volume and pressure of the air supply are the biggest factors), but holes beyond 400m get pretty slow and difficult so RC has much less advantage over diamond at that depth.
@@GeologyUpSkill was actually wondering if the rc drill rig could be used to find lithium deposit in Nevada.. Trying to figure out if hoycroft mine is looking for lithium as well as gold and silver..
@@GeologyUpSkill thanks
@@stevenorosz1518 Depends on the deposit. If you're looking for most of the clay-hosted deposits it can be a problem with recovery. You're blasting through the subsurface with that drill.
Hello 👋
Thanks!
good video, but rc holes go up to 800 Mts ....
In truly exceptional conditions that is possible, but the rate of progress goes down and the likelihood of a hole failure goes up with every metre beyond 400. As a result, the real world costs approach those of diamond core and the speed advantage is lost.
that dust mask won’t cut it. That is a nasty work environment for your lungs. Provide appropriate half face masks with proper filters or shut it down. No amount of money is worth your health.
If you want people to accept your advice, it's a good idea to make a video that explains the benefits of that adice. Renaming your youtube channel to something other than "Shuddup Yakunt" would probably help.