US 12,421,802 B2
Method and system for mining
Stephen Douglas Butt, St. John's (CA); Allan R. Cramm, Baie Verte (CA); Jeronimo De Moura Junior, St. John's (CA); and Mohammed Mokhtar Ebeid Said, Paradise (CA)
Assigned to Novamera Inc., Oakville (CA)
Filed by NOVAMERA INC., Oakville (CA)
Filed on Jun. 9, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/738,039.
Application 18/738,039 is a continuation of application No. 17/433,551, granted, now 12,031,382, previously published as PCT/CA2019/051720, filed on Nov. 29, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/810,818, filed on Feb. 26, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2024/0337161 A1, Oct. 10, 2024
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. E21B 10/32 (2006.01); E21B 7/28 (2006.01); E21B 21/06 (2006.01); E21B 43/29 (2006.01); E21B 47/002 (2012.01); E21C 27/22 (2006.01); E21C 41/26 (2006.01)
CPC E21B 10/32 (2013.01) [E21B 7/28 (2013.01); E21B 21/065 (2013.01); E21B 43/29 (2013.01); E21B 47/002 (2020.05); E21B 47/0025 (2020.05); E21C 27/22 (2013.01); E21C 41/26 (2013.01)] 8 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for mining a narrow vein deposit of ore, the narrow vein deposit having a hanging wall and a foot wall, the method comprising:
operating a pilot hole drill head to drill a pilot hole with a pilot hole diameter into rock containing the narrow vein deposit along a path to a depth within the vein;
surveying the narrow vein deposit from the pilot hole, wherein surveying includes removing a portion of the pilot hole drill head to create an opening in the pilot hole drill head, running the downhole survey tool through a pilot hole drilling assembly, moving at least a portion of a downhole survey tool out through the opening into an extended position and operating the downhole survey tool while in the extended position;
based on surveying, determining a trajectory and thickness of the narrow vein deposit;
drilling a borehole into the narrow vein deposit with a hole opening drilling assembly, the borehole having a diameter larger than the pilot hole diameter to fragment the ore in the narrow vein deposit into drill cuttings;
circulating the drill cuttings with a fluid flow up to a wellhead; and
collecting the drill cuttings for processing to recover the ore therefrom.