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China's "Fully Impregnated Diamond" Sets World Record in South Africa: "Broken Neck" Crisis of Thousand-meter Deep Wells Cleverly Resolved
30 May 2025
Recently, in an ultra-deep well operation of more than 1,000 meters in a mining area in Johannesburg, South Africa, a customer encountered a sudden "broken neck" accident when drilling a large-scale down-the-hole alloy drill bit. The key part of the drill bit broke and stuck at the bottom of the well.
Ultra-deep well drilling often encounters broken necks. Today, this drill bit independently developed by China has come out to fill the gap in the industry and prevent problems before they happen.
It is amazing that the Chinese technical team independently developed the "fully impregnated diamond drill bit" through the original "grinding-air blowing" process,
grinding the metal debris in the well into micron-sized particles and removing them with air pressure, successfully saving the drill hole that was on the verge of being scrapped. At the same time, the tool system with this drill bit as the core has refreshed the world record for deep well drilling in the area.
Diamond powder drill bit: "nano scalpel" for hard rock formations.
The "fully impregnated diamond" used this time adopts China's independently developed impregnation process. The surface of the drill bit is densely covered with diamond micropowder particles, and its hardness reaches the top level of Mohs 10.
In the complex strata rich in quartzite in South Africa, the drill bit uses the "micro-cutting" principle to achieve a breakthrough of 15 meters of average daily footage, which is 300% more efficient than traditional roller drill bits.
"Broken neck" accident occurred, and the Chinese solution saved the day. When the drill neck broke accidentally, the downhole temperature had reached 180℃, and conventional salvage tools could not operate due to the excessive well depth. The Chinese team quickly activated the emergency plan:
1. Nano-level grinding: Using a special alloy grinding rod with diamond grinding fluid, the residual metal structure is peeled off layer by layer at a speed of 2000 rpm, and it takes 72 hours to convert it into metal powder with a particle size of less than 50 microns;
2. Gas lift slag removal: 6MPa compressed air is injected through the bottom hole booster system to form a high-speed airflow to carry out debris, and a total of 4.3 kg of metal residues are removed.
"This is equivalent to completing a minimally invasive surgery a thousand meters underground," said Mr. Xie, the project chief engineer. "Even if our drill bit is 'sacrificed', we can avoid millions of dollars in wellbore losses through subsequent treatment."
1. Nano-level grinding: Using a special alloy grinding rod with diamond grinding fluid, the residual metal structure is peeled off layer by layer at a speed of 2000 rpm, and it takes 72 hours to convert it into metal powder with a particle size of less than 50 microns;
2. Gas lift slag removal: 6MPa compressed air is injected through the bottom hole booster system to form a high-speed airflow to carry out debris, and a total of 4.3 kg of metal residues are removed.
"This is equivalent to completing a minimally invasive surgery a thousand meters underground," said Mr. Xie, the project chief engineer. "Even if our drill bit is 'sacrificed', we can avoid millions of dollars in wellbore losses through subsequent treatment."
Double technological breakthrough: double victory of material science and emergency technology,
This event highlights two major innovations:
- Material breakthrough: The drill bit adopts "diamond-tungsten steel composite impregnation" technology, and the single particle compressive strength exceeds 25GPa, ensuring continuous operation under extreme geological conditions;
- Process innovation: The world's first in-situ gas lift removal of metal debris in a thousand-meter deep well has been achieved, setting a new standard for deep well operations.
- The fully impregnated drill bit fills the gap in the domestic industry and has been successfully patented.
At present, the drilling system has completed 12 ultra-deep well operations in South Africa, with the largest well depth reaching 1,524 meters, breaking the depth record of similar drilling on the African continent.
The South African Mining Association has included this technology in the "Deep Mineral Exploration Recommendation Program", and Chinese smart manufacturing has once again won international recognition.
In the new era, Chinese drillers have lofty ambitions in their hearts, and they will work hard without waiting for the whip. If you always maintain the spirit of "breaking through", the momentum of "creation", and the style of "doing", you will definitely be able to ride the wind and waves and move forward.
