For the lazy - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kola_Superdeep_Borehole" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kola_Superdeep_Borehole</a><p>Edit: from the Russian version of the page -<p>A single drill bit lasted about 4 hours, which was enough to drill between 7 and 10 meters. In comparison, raising and lowering the drilling column took up to 18 hours.<p>It also mentions that due to the core samples being saturated with hydrogen, they turned to a fine dust unless they were raised very slowly to allow the gas to dissipate.