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The Drillers' Blog - Bits 'N Pieces

Because there is a ton to say about exploration drilling.

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The Drillers Blog

Read on to discover a ton of in-depth articles on a wide varity of topics related to mineral exploration. Whether the topic is some advices on the selection of the right tool for the job, or insights of what it is to be a driller, we're sure you'll find a couple of nuggets in there. 

 

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Check out our most recent articles!

Core Barrels: Understanding Your Head Assembly

9 de julio de 2025

Sistemas de extracción de muestras 2018

In an earlier blog, we looked at the core barrel assembly, this being the equipment that is used to recover core, and plays a very important role in the diamond drilling operation. The success of an operation depends on retrieving core efficiently...

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DiscovOre: A Different Core Barrel System

9 de julio de 2025

2019 Sistemas de extracción de muestras

When I talk about new products in this blog, I hate to overpromise. I like to think I provide fair information about what a new product does and why it was developed. The DiscovOre is a new core barrel system that I think really is something different…...

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New RockStars Join our Product Line-up

1 de enero de 2022

Herramientas diamantadas 2022

We’re always excited when we get to announce new additions to our product lines.  We usually launch new products after months of research and development or when we get valuable feedback from our clients. When we launched our RockStar line...

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About being a driller

8 Tips for Increasing Productivity in Diamond Drilling

9 de julio de 2025

Epiroc - Pic-blog-8-tips

Diamond drilling is all about productivity. Drillers and the companies they work for are all interested in finding ways to increase productivity. Sometimes, one major issue will have a negative impact on drilling productivity, and fixing it is all it takes. Sometimes, productivity is improved by tweaking a bunch of little things. If you adjust several things, the results can make a big difference. So this blog looks at 8 tips for increasing your productivity.

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Great Additional Training All New Helpers Should Get

9 de julio de 2025

Epiroc - pic-blog-helper-to-driller

Finding reliable staff in the diamond drilling industry has always been a challenge. Many of the challenges we hear about from our customers involve problems with training. Some prominent drilling companies are investing in training of upwards of 100 employees per month and only end up with 10% of them moving the next phase of training.

Obtener más información.

About Core Drilling

How to Extend Drilling Equipment Life While Waiting for New Parts

9 de julio de 2025

Epiroc - matex-5

Waiting for new drilling equipment can take longer than usual these days. Supply chains everywhere are being negatively impacted by external events far more frequently than ever before. Disruptive events, like the recent pandemic, are causing potential disruption to business activity and the drilling and mining industries are not immune. Delays are now common for drilling equipment especially those made with steel, such as drill rods, inner and outer tubes, etc.

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DiscovOre Prime N: Fast Core Barrel, Fast Payback

9 de julio de 2025

Epiroc - DiscovOre Prime H6

When we launched the DiscovOre Prime, we took the DiscovOre core barrel system and streamlined its design to make it even faster. We kept the same safety features, and we even made it lighter so it would be easier to handle. This is a premium product for drilling companies who are focused on performance. The investment in the Prime will bring higher production so that the Prime will pay for itself very quickly. But how quickly?

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Core Barrels: Getting to Know Your Outer Tube

  • In few of our blogs, we’ve been looking at core barrels. A wire line core barrel typically consists of a double tube system that includes an inner tube and outer tube. We’ve looked at the parts that make up the inner tube assembly and the head assembly. In this blog, we will look at the parts of the outer tube and the role of each piece of equipment.
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Epiroc - DiscovOre Prime H6

DiscovOre Prime N: Fast Core Barrel, Fast Payback

  • When we launched the DiscovOre Prime, we took the DiscovOre core barrel system and streamlined its design to make it even faster. We kept the same safety features, and we even made it lighter so it would be easier to handle. This is a premium product for drilling companies who are focused on performance. The investment in the Prime will bring higher production so that the Prime will pay for itself very quickly. But how quickly?
Obtener más información.
Epiroc - Pic-blog-8-tips

8 Tips for Increasing Productivity in Diamond Drilling

  • Diamond drilling is all about productivity. Drillers and the companies they work for are all interested in finding ways to increase productivity. Sometimes, one major issue will have a negative impact on drilling productivity, and fixing it is all it takes. Sometimes, productivity is improved by tweaking a bunch of little things. If you adjust several things, the results can make a big difference. So this blog looks at 8 tips for increasing your productivity.
Obtener más información.
Epiroc - 20220929_144814 (1)

Drilling the Deepest Hole in Indonesia with the Epiroc RC45 Hammer

  • Deep hole drilling is always challenging, and equipment manufacturers are always developing new products to help drilling companies achieve deeper holes with more efficiency and ease. A great example is the new RC45 reverse circulation hammer from Epiroc. Recently, the hammer was tested by PT Indodrill in Indonesia with impressive results.
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Epiroc - rockstar-7-9F-pic

New RockStars Join our Product Line-up

  • We’re always excited when we get to announce new additions to our product lines. We usually launch new products after months of research and development or when we get valuable feedback from our clients.
Obtener más información.
Epiroc - diamond-tools-family

How abrasive or fractured is your rock

  • For optimal drilling performance, you need a drill bit that is designed to handle a variety of variables that are particular to your drilling project. Choosing the right core bit is one of the most important decisions you will make, and the type of ground is an important consideration.
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Epiroc - Prism-wedge

Saving Trips Down the Hole with the Prism Wedge

  • Directional drilling technology has certainly come a long way in the mineral exploration world, with Gyro-guided tooling and the ability to core while steering the borehole. There have never been so many options and methods of steering a hole.
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Epiroc - reaming-shell

How to Stabilize Your Core Barrel

  • When the geologist has given you a specific target to reach with your bore hole, many of them will make specific requests that a hole proceed in a very straight direction for a certain number of meters. A lot will be riding on your ability to get there without your bore hole deviating.
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Epiroc - matex-5

How to Extend Drilling Equipment Life While Waiting for New Parts

  • Waiting for new drilling equipment can take longer than usual these days. Supply chains everywhere are being negatively impacted by external events far more frequently than ever before. Disruptive events, like the recent pandemic, are causing potential disruption to business activity and the drilling and mining industries are not immune. Delays are now common for drilling equipment especially those made with steel, such as drill rods, inner and outer tubes, etc.
Obtener más información.
Epiroc - Video-drilling process

The Core Drilling Process: Learn About It in This Video

  • Newcomers to the mineral exploration world are often looking for information that can help them learn more quickly and be more efficient on the job. They may also have a lot of questions that they don’t know want to ask or don’t know where to look for answers.
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Epiroc - video-standard

International Standards for Diamond Drilling Equipment

  • Ever wonder about the different types of international standards that exist for drilling equipment? Are there more than just Imperial and metric? Why are they also referred to as DCDMA and CMS? If you want everything cleared up once and for all, then you should watch our video on international standards. It explains which dimensions are covered by the standards and which aren’t, why some diameters are referred to as a number and others as a letter, and how the size of the core sample will vary according to which system is used.
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Epiroc - video-core-drilling-components

Watch our Video on Core Drilling Components

  • The next in of our series of videos about the diamond drilling industry is all about the components of core drilling. These videos are ideal for newcomers to the industry, and for workers looking to advance in their careers. We know that when you have questions, information can be difficult to get. It is why we produce so many guides, blogs and videos.
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Epiroc - vido-exploration-processes

Core Drilling Basics: A Video on Exploration Processes

  • Ever hear the term greenfield exploration and wonder what it refers to? Or what the difference is between greenfield and brownfield? Newcomers to the mineral exploration world may not know and may not want to ask these questions so we will be publishing a series of blogs and videos that go back to some of the basic information that drillers and helpers, new and old, should know.
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Epiroc - ambiance-explorac-100

Drill Rigs Are Joining the Product Line in the USA

  • We love to pride ourselves on being able to supply our customers with everything they could possibly need for drilling in either mineral exploration or geotechnical drilling. We’ve got an amazing selection of core bits, drill rods, casing and in-the-hole equipment like core barrels and recovery tools. Our product line includes lubricants, thread compounds and additives and pumps.
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Epiroc - most-popular-guide-choosing-right-core-bit

Our Most Popular Guide Has Been Updated and It’s Free for Download

  • A lot of changes can happen to a company’s product line over the course of a few years. Products get launched, retired, rebranded…. It’s hard to believe but it has been over 5 years since we launched our Mineral Exploration: Guide to Choosing the Right Core Bit.
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Epiroc - pic-blog-helper-to-driller

Great Additional Training All New Helpers Should Get

  • Finding reliable staff in the diamond drilling industry has always been a challenge. Many of the challenges we hear about from our customers involve problems with training. Some prominent drilling companies are investing in training of upwards of 100 employees per month and only end up with 10% of them moving the next phase of training.
Obtener más información.
Epiroc - rotating-pump-through-stuffing-box2

3 Things You Need to Know about the Rotating Pump Through Stuffing Box

  • The equipment needed for underground drilling is different than what you need for surface drilling. The main and obvious difference is that with surface drilling, you’re drilling downwards while when you are underground your boreholes can go up or horizontal. That means that you are often drilling with gravity working against you
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Epiroc - casing-advancer-retouches

A Quick Look at Casing Advancers and Why You May Need One

  • Diamond drillers can fall into a routine of using the same equipment over and over. Why not? If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. This is especially true if you are used to drilling in the same region where ground conditions may not vary all that much. However, you may then find yourself drilling in another part of the country, or the world, with conditions that require a different type of equipment.
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Epiroc - Shallow-Deep-pics-retouches

When Picking Water Swivels, Are You Drilling Shallow or Deep?

  • Water swivels may not be the first piece of equipment that comes to mind when you think about diamond drilling. The rig, the rods and the core bit would likely pop in first. Yet the water swivel has an integral role to play in the drilling process. In surface drilling, the water swivels are responsible for delivering a sufficient amount of flushing fluid to the bit and for hoisting the drill rods in and out of the bore hole.
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Epiroc - cards

The 2000 Meter Club: A New Game Just for Drillers

  • Happy holidays to everyone. The holidays are almost over, and the New Year is around the corner. By now, a lot of you will have received our holiday gifts and one of those gifts is a card game called the 2,000 Meter Club. Maybe it was the quarantine, but we got inspired and came up with an idea to turn a famous game into a core drilling version. Diamond drilling is not the most well-known of industries so it’s pretty great that there is now a game that was created just for you.
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Epiroc - Helicopter

The Many Ways of Transporting Drilling Equipment

  • Drill sites can be found all over the world, often in some very remote areas. Getting equipment to these sites can be tough. It’s always interesting to learn about the various methods of transport equipment suppliers and drilling companies use. Some of these methods may surprise you.
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Epiroc - top 10 diamond drilling

Top 10 Diamond Driller Bad Habits

  • In this blog, we have provided a lot of information about how to choose equipment and how to take care of it properly. Every once in a while, it’s a good idea to look beyond the equipment part of the job and focus on how to do the job, or in the case of this blog, how not to do the job.
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Exploration

4 Reasons Why Diamond Drillers Should Choose a Safety Overshot

  • As we say often in the blog, choosing the right equipment is one of the most important parts of the drilling process. Whether it’s choosing the right core bit, a reaming shell or some other part, there are always many factors to consider before making a choice. When it comes to overshots, there are regular overshots and safety overshots. Let’s look at four good reasons to consider a safety overshot.
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Epiroc - hero-9-abrasive

A Guide to Help You Extend the Life of Your Core Bit

  • There is a lot of negative news circulating, so we thought it would be a good time to launch a new, free guide available now for download. Our newest publication is the Diamond Drillers’ Guide to Extending Core Bit Life.
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Epiroc - inner-outer-tube-ambiance

Blocked Core in Dry Hole Drilling

  • In our last blog, we looked at the expression “pushing a block”, what it meant and why drillers should never try to advance in a hole when the core is blocked. However, in many parts of the world, especially where dry hole drilling is common, or when the hole is very deep, different advice and procedures should be followed. We are going to look at these different situations and the recommended procedures.What is important to understand is that core can block whether you are in a shallow hole or a deep hole, whether you are drilling in Nevada or in South Africa, and whether you are drilling with water or without water. In the case of drilling without water, drillers who are accustomed to these conditions often do not use shut off valves.
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Epiroc - What you need to know best pump

How Foundex Fell in Love with the KF40

  • Our technical team spends a lot of time visiting drill sites where they answer questions, fix problems and suggest equipment. I love when I hear that a customer was happy with a recommendation and got good results. That’s what happened with Foundex, a Canadian, employee-owned company headquartered in Abbotsford, British Columbia.
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Exploration RC Rig and Rock drilling tools

RC Drilling: The Art of Saving a Drill String

  • We did a blog not long ago on reverse circulation drilling compared to diamond drilling, examining the ways in which they differ and are similar. One area where they are similar is the challenge that drillers face when equipment becomes stuck in a hole. Equipment that is stuck is always bad news as it stalls operations and lower productivity.
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Exploration products

DiscovOre: A Different Core Barrel System

  • When I talk about new products in this blog, I hate to overpromise. I like to think I provide fair information about what a new product does and why it was developed. The DiscovOre is a new core barrel system that I think really is something different… maybe even revolutionary. It addresses two big issues for drillers, safety and productivity.
Obtener más información.
Epiroc - exploded-view-discovore-N

Core Barrels: Understanding Your Head Assembly

  • In an earlier blog, we looked at the core barrel assembly, this being the equipment that is used to recover core, and plays a very important role in the diamond drilling operation. The success of an operation depends on retrieving core efficiently and effectively. We looked at the parts of the inner tube of which the head assembly is a part. It is a complex part so it is well worth looking at it in detail.
Obtener más información.
Epiroc - inner-tube

Core Barrels: Do You Know Your Inner Tube?

  • In order to be able to get good drilling performance, diamond drillers should have a thorough understanding of their drilling equipment. They should be familiar with the individual pieces, their function and how they work together as part of the drilling process. The core barrel plays an important role as this is what you use to recover core. Today, most diamond drillers use wireline core barrels.
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Epiroc - 5-reasons-need-thread-compounds-lubricants-1

5 Reasons You Need Thread Compounds and Lubricants for Your Drill Rods

  • Drill rods are a hugely important part of your drilling equipment and how you take care of your drill rods can have a major impact on your drilling performance. The regular use of drilling lubricants and thread compound is imperative for breaking in and maintaining a healthy drill string and helps avoid many problems. Here are a few reasons you need to use thread compounds and lubricants, and the purpose of each.
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