The Queensland branch of the AIG together with the Australian Drilling Industry Association (ADIA) teamed up to present the latest Queensland Friday Seminar titled Drilling for Geology, on 1 August in Brisbane.
The seminar comprised twelve excellent talks that were split into three seminar themes i.e. planning and design considerations, drilling and related activities, and post-drilling issues. AIG and ADIA were pleased to have Drillpower Qld as the seminar sponsor, who brought a truck mounted multipurpose drill rig to the seminar for inspection by delegates over the lunch break. In addition, AMC Drilling Fluids and Products, Reflex Instruments, and CSIRO/Deep Exploration Technologies CRC all brought equipment for display and interaction by attendees.
A drillpower rig on display at the Drilling for Geology seminar in Brisbane recently
In Session 1 (planning and design considerations), there were three talks. Wes Nichols presented on the role and responsibility of a Senior Site Executive (SSE) in the context of managing a drilling programme in Qld. Gerry Harth provided an overview of drillhole planning and design issues from a Qld government perspective, and Julius Marinelli talked about the development of leading practice drill pad designs.
In Sessions 2 and 3 (drilling and related activities), six presentations covered various aspects of the drilling process. Hannah Dwayne provided an overview of drilling methods used in the minerals industry. Bron Smolski talked about drilling for hydrogeology applications and Brent Delany focused on coal drilling. Stuart Addinell then presented the status of current research for developing a new water-powered percussion drilling method for deep drilling applications. Angus Forbes gave an educational talk on the types of drilling fluids and additives available, and this theme concluded with a presentation by Luke Hudson on down-hole survey systems and XRF analysis tools.
Session 4 dealt with post-drilling issues. Glenn Pears presented a talk on the use of down-hole rock properties in geological and geophysical interpretation. David Green gave an update on the CoalLog project being funded by the Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP) to improve the collection of coal borehole data. The final talk was given by Mark Berry looking at the importance of collecting accurate measurements of drill core recovery and percussion chip recovery and moisture for resource estimation purposes.
55 participants enjoyed an informative seminar
In all, fifty five participants comprising tertiary students, graduates and geologists with over 20 years experience attended the seminar and reported that it was a valuable professional development experience. All of the presentations have been uploaded to the AIG website for reference purposes.
This summary was prepared by the seminar organising committee of Melissa (Mell) Greenall from the ADIA, and Clem Hill and Mark Berry from Queensland AIG.
