A new face drilling rig for narrow tunnels and ... - Advanced Mining
A new face drilling rig for narrow tunnels and ... - Advanced Mining
A new face drilling rig for narrow tunnels and ... - Advanced Mining
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Issue 04 | 2010<br />
Zielitz potash mine:<br />
location map, transport<br />
connections <strong>and</strong> production<br />
areas.<br />
Extensive measures are put in place to protect the<br />
<strong>drilling</strong> team <strong>and</strong> mine infrastructure from sudden<br />
blowouts of gas <strong>and</strong> fluid during exploration <strong>drilling</strong> work.<br />
The basic technique is to install a st<strong>and</strong>pipe of at least<br />
5 m in length, which <strong>for</strong>ms the connection between the<br />
strata <strong>and</strong> the safety fitting, i.e. the blowout preventer.<br />
The safety system comprises the safety valve, the tee<br />
connection, the ram reventer <strong>and</strong> the sealing device. The<br />
annular preventer is not part of the safety system.<br />
These various elements per<strong>for</strong>m the following<br />
functions: the safety valve is used to seal the hole in<br />
order to prevent the ejection of fluids <strong>and</strong>/or gases, this<br />
TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY<br />
TARGETED ExPLORATION<br />
OF POTASH DEPOSITS MEETS THE<br />
HIGHEST SAFETY STANDARDS<br />
T<br />
he Shaftsinking <strong>and</strong> Drilling division had an opportunity to demonstrate its<br />
expertise at the K+S KALI GmbH owned Zielitz <strong>and</strong> Sigmundshall potash mines,<br />
where both horizontal <strong>and</strong> vertical <strong>drilling</strong> operations were carried out as part of<br />
a preventerassisted exploration <strong>drilling</strong> project. After the recent boom in the raw<br />
materials sector, <strong>and</strong> especially in the potash production industry, the client lost no<br />
time in using the breathing space to explore <strong>new</strong> areas of deposits <strong>and</strong> so to be<br />
prepared <strong>for</strong> the next upturn in business.<br />
Safety aspects in exploration <strong>drilling</strong><br />
first requiring the drillrod to be withdrawn from the hole.<br />
The downstream tee connection operates in conjunction<br />
with the safety valve to feed the required amount of drill<br />
mud into the annulus, while in an emergency it is used<br />
to add a suitable densifier, monitor the pressure level<br />
<strong>and</strong> allow fluids to be drained off in controlled doses. In<br />
the event of an emergency arising the ram preventer is<br />
able to close off the annulus with the drillstring still in the<br />
hole. If the drillstring is outside the preventer the open<br />
hole can be closed over by means of the sealing device.<br />
The annular preventer seals the annulus between<br />
the drillstring <strong>and</strong> the open sealing device while the<br />
<strong>drilling</strong> system is in operation. After the installation of the<br />
st<strong>and</strong>pipe <strong>and</strong> the fitting of the safety devices the system<br />
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