Cubex Ltd

ITH vs. Top Hammer Drills

InTheHole(ITH)vs.Top
HammerDrillingin
UndergroundApplications
Presented by Peter Corcoran, Director of Sales and
Marketing for Cubex Ltd

ITH vs. Top Hammer Drills

Overview
1.

DrillandBlastDesignReview

2.

DrillingAccuracy,anditimportance

3.

TopHammerApplication

4.

InTheHole(ITH)HammerApplication

5.

TopHammeradvantages/disadvantages

6.

ITHdrillingadvantages/disadvantages

7.

CanadianCaseStudy ITHvs TopHammer

8.

Summary

Cubex Ltd

ITH vs. Top Hammer Drills

Cubex Ltd

ProductionDrilling ITHorTopHammer?
Keyfactorsforreviewduringdrillandblastdesign:
MiningMethod
Blastholedepth
Diameterofhole
Geology(drillability/rockhardness)
Orientationofdrillholes
Equipmentsize

Note:Sincedrillingandblastingarethefirststepsintheprocessingoperation,the
accuracyobtainedsignificantlyimpactsdownstreamcosts(i.e.secondarydrillingcost,
muckingcost,groundcontrolcost,hoistingrequirements,millingcosts,development
requirements,andmanningrequirements).

Cubex Ltd

ITH vs. Top Hammer Drills

DilutionisPrimarily
CausedbyDeviation
60% ofdeviationiscausedby
machinemisalignment

40% ofdeviationiscausedbyinhole
deviation
Accurateplacementofexplosives
energywillprotectweakground
conditions
AgnicoEagleDeviationofLonghole DrillingDavidGallant

Theultimatereasonforefficient,accuratedrillingismineprofitability.Hole
deviationadverselyeffectsprofitabilityintheformofpoorfragmentation,
loworerecoveryandoredilution.

ITH vs. Top Hammer Drills

PercentagesofITHvs
Tophammer
ITH: 71%ofCDNandUS
undergrounddrilling
applications

TopHammer: 27%ofCDN
andUSunderground
drillingapplications

Other (rangesnot
includedinthestudy):2%

Cubex Ltd

ITH vs. Top Hammer Drills

TopHammerApplication
Designedtodrill2 4.5inches(51mm113mm)indiameterholesinsoft,
mediumandhardrockformations
TopHammersaremountedonthemastofthedrill,applyingpercussiveforceon
thedrillrods/tubeswhichistransmittedtothedrillbit
Poweredbyhydraulics

MainApplications:
Developmentdrilling
Groundsupportdrilling
Productionlonghole
drilling,mainlyuphole

Cubex Ltd

ITH vs. Top Hammer Drills

ITHHammerApplication
ITHHammers: Rangefrom3 12 (76mm305mm)diameterholesin
soft,mediumandhardrockformations
HammersaremountedIntheHole,applyingpercussiveforce
directlytothedrillbit
Poweredbyhighpressureair:400psi(34.5bar) orwater(new
technology)
Cableboltholes,blastholes,dropraises,utilityanddrainholes,
reversecirculationsampling,dewateringwells,blindraises,slot
raises,rapidraises
ITHReverseCirculation
Hammers: Foreffectiveandcost
efficientsampling
Wassara WaterHammer

Cubex Ltd

ITH vs. Top Hammer Drills

AdvantagesofTopHammerDrills
Holediametersof15/8 4 (41mm102mm)
Whereholelengthsarebetween2025meters Tophammerdrillshaveafaster
initialpenetrationrate(upto~20meters/66ft)
Wheresmallupholesarerequired(withasmallenoughholediametertoholdin
overheadexplosives)
Isabletodrillasmallerholeforlessdamagetotheformation
Whenthemineisutilizingtophammersextensivelyforothertaskssuch
developmentdrillingwithfacedrillingrigs,andcablebolting.Usingatophammer
forproductiondrillingcouldresultinlowerinitialcapitalcost
Withtheinstallationofdrilltubesintothedrillingsystem,morefavorableresults
areexperiencedwithholeaccuracy

Cubex Ltd

ITH vs. Top Hammer Drills

DisadvantagesofTopHammerDrilling
Reducedpenetrationrateafter~20meters
46%oftheimpactenergyislostateachjoint(exactfiguredependsonthedesign,mass,
numberandtightnessofjoints)
Drillinginfracturedrockwithtophammersisdifficultsincestickingofthedrillstringiscommon
Tophammerdrillingispronetohavedeviationof5%10%ofthelengthofthehole.
Excessivedeviationafter~20m
Tophammerdrillsareunabletoefficientlyclearcuttingsatdepth oftenrequiringthedrillto
completeacertainamountofnonproductivedrillingperholetoensureachievingthefullrequired
depth
Rodsandcouplingsareoftenconsideredasmajorconsumableitems,duetopercussiveenergy
exertedontherodsandcouplingswitheachholedrilled
Drillmastissubjecttoheavyvibration,duetothehammermountedonthemast
Increasednoisefromtophammerreducestheoperatorsabilityto hearfordrillrodbindingor
insertbreakage
Noisecanbereducedforoperatorbyinstallingacab,butthisincreasesoverallunitsize

Cubex Ltd

ITH vs. Top Hammer Drills

AdvantagesofITHDrilling
Straighter,cleanerholes
Moreaccuratethantophammer,duetotheimpactbeinginthehole(normallydeviation maintainedwithin
+/ 1.0%)
Createslessdrawpointhangups,lesssecondarybreaking,fewerorepassandchutehangups
Nolossofenergythroughthedrillstringfromstarttofinishofthehole,aswithtophammer
Lowercostondrillrodconsumables
Largerholediameter
Allowsforlargerdrillingpatternwhichinturnreducesthepowderfactor(kgexplosives/metricton)
creatingtimeefficienciesandlowering mineexplosivescost
ITHisabletocompleteserviceholedrilling:Cableboltholes, blastholes,dropraises,utilityanddrainholes,
reversecirculationsampling,dewateringwells,blindraises,slotraises,rapidraises.
WithITHBigholeopenstoping,verticalsublevelscanbeextendedfrom40mwithsublevelopenstoping to60
m(basedonimproveddrillaccuracyprovidingimprovedblasting)
Reducedriskofgettingstuckinfracturedandfaultedrockconditions

Cubex Ltd

ITH vs. Top Hammer Drills

AdvantagesofITHDrilling Continued
Lowernoiselevelattheworksite duetothehammerworking
inthehole
Simplicityofoperation/serviceandmaintenance which
typicallytranslatestohighmachineavailability
TonspermeterdrilledishigherforITHdrillsvs TopHammer
drills
Widerangeofholessizesavailable
Drillstringisnotsubjectedtoheavypercussiveforceaswithtop
hammerdrilling,anddrillstringlifeisthereforegreatly
lengthened
PenetrationrateswithITHhammersarealmostdirectly
proportionaltoairpressure.Thereforedoublingtheairpressure
willresultinapproximatelydoublethepenetration

Cubex Ltd

ITH vs. Top Hammer Drills

Tophammer/driftersystemsdonotdrillwellinsoftconditions,but
drillbetterastherockhardnessincreasesandbecomesmore
competent
ITHsystemsarelessefficientatthelowerendofthescale,butwork
extremelywellataconsistentlevelinallotherconditions

Tophammer/driftersystemsworkwellinsolidconditionswithhigh
drillingratesonshallowholes
ITHsystemsareatthepeakofefficiencyinhardrock,beingless
affectedthanothersystemsintheseconditions

Tophammer/driftersystemstendtodeviateandjaminfractured
conditions
ITHsystemsconsistentlyproducegoodresultsandarelessaffected
evenatdepth

Cubex Ltd

Cubex Ltd

ITH vs. Top Hammer Drills

AdvantagesofITHDrilling LargeDiameterReaming
ITHdrillingisabletoreamholesupto30
Aninitialpilotholeisdrilled,andthenreamedouttothedesireddiameter

XstrataZincBrunswickMine

Cubex Ltd

ITH vs. Top Hammer Drills

AdvantagesofITHDrilling CostSavings
DuetoincreasedaccuracyofundergroundITHdrilling,theaveragedistancebetweensublevelscanbeincreased
Withtheaveragecostoflateraldevelopmentat~$4000CDN/meter,thecostsavingsobtainedbyincreasingthedistance
betweensublevelsissignificant
TypicallywithITHdrilling,minesareabletoincreasetheirsublevelsfrom20mto40m,whichwillsupplyasignificant
reductioninsubleveldevelopmentcosts
Whenamineisabletodouble
theintervals,theyrecloseto
halfofthedevelopmentcost
TedSmethurst,Canadian
RepresentativeforCubex

LongitudinalviewofT1ThompsonMine

Cubex Ltd

ITH vs. Top Hammer Drills

DisadvantagesofITHequipment
Minimumholesizeis35/8
Mineneedscompressedair
Reticulationtocarryairtoproductionheadings

UndergroundBooster

ITHDrillwithOnboardBooster

Cubex Ltd

ITH vs. Top Hammer Drills

CaseStudy:CanadianUndergroundOperation
ReviewofTopHammer/ITHDrillingprocessforbestproductionresults
Top Hammer

ITH

Excessive deviation after drilling 20 m gave poor results, when

drilling 33m stope intervals.

Due to ITH hammer, and larger diameter drill string, hole deviation
is minimal at 35 m range (maximum deviation at 35 meters was
recorded at 0.57 m)

Close spacing of boreholes (2.5 m with 89 mm boreholes)

Causing confusion for blasters due to many double dipped
holes

Wide spacing of boreholes (3.5 m spacing for 115 mm boreholes)

less confusion for blasters, and cost savings due to reduced
number of holes, and greatly reduced amount of explosives

Tons per drilled foot were low

Tons per drilled meter increased by 1.5 times over 89 mm top

hammer drilling

Machine limited to vertical only slot raises (to limit deviation) this
limited the location of the raise, since it needed to break
through to the lower level.

Able to drill down the dip of the ore body, maximizing drilling
efficiency and ore recovery.

Results: ITHdrillingallowedforlargerboreholediameterswithexpandedpatterns(115mmholesspacedat3.5m).
Thereisalso,improvedholeaccuracy,andnolossinpenetrationwiththelargerITHbits.Additionally,thetonsper
drilledmeterincreasedby1.5timeswithITHdrillingovertophammerdrilling.

Cubex Ltd

ITH vs. Top Hammer Drills

Summary Equipmentselectionforproperapplication
Drillingsystemandprocessneedstobereviewedtoensureoptimumdrillandblastpatternis
maintained

TopHammer

Isabletodrillasmallerholeforless
damagetotheformation

ITH

Accuratelydrilledholes
Widerangeofholessizesavailable(flexibility)

Fasterinitialpenetrationrate(upto~20
Serviceholedrillingcapabilities
meters/66ft)
Allowsforlargerdrillingpattern
Lowercapitalcost
Lowcostondrillingconsumables
Holediametersof15/8 4 (41mm
102mm)

Thereareprosandconsdepending
onthedrillingapplicationandthere
isalsosubstantialdevelopment
takingplacerelatedtoTopHammer
andITHdrillingtechnologies.

ThisiswheretheO.E.Mandthemine
operatorneedtocometogetherto
discussthemostproductiveand
profitablesolutionfortheparticular
application.

Cubex Ltd

ITH vs. Top Hammer Drills

Thank You