OREANDA-NEWS. January 19, 2011. A new inclinometer unit has been commissioned at KMAruda Works' Gubkin mine. It will allow specialists to overcome the challenge of determining the actual location of drilled wells. When drilling deep wells, some deviation from the planned trajectory often occurs.

The discrepancy between the actual trajectory and the surveyors' calculations leads to a situation in which, following a blast, off-guage, over-sized pieces of quartzite result, which significantly complicate the finely-tuned production process. This leads to excessive use of explosives and requires additional time to conduct blasting, which cuts back on production volume. In 2009, inclinometers from various manufacturers began to be used at the mine. The most accurate results were acheived using a device made by Electromechanika (Saint Petersburg).

In December 2009, a contract was signed with this company to develop and manufactore a unique MIS-42.80 inclinometrical station tailored specifically to conditions at the Gubkin mine. The unit is equipped with a laser device for well ties that enables it to measure the distance between the ties and the steering angle on the horizontal plane, which also boosts drilling accuracy. In addition, all data from the unit are fed into a computer with a specialized program for performing calculations and producing charts.