Drilling Management

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Drilling management

Exploration and mine drilling are used to identify mineralisation. Drilling is the best way to properly understand the subsurface geology. MINROM has extensive experience in planning, managing and executing drilling programmes, including percussion drilling, reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling (core).

Drilling management

Drilling projects require a high degree of planning to be successfully implemented. Drilling programmes are costly and therefore, good planning can go a long way in saving money. Further, due to the expense involved in drilling, there is little room for error. Proper drill planning can thus make all the difference between a successful project and an expensive failure.

MINROM has the expertise and experience to scope, design, implement and manage any drilling programme according to your requirements.

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DRILLING SERVICES OFFERED BY MINROM

Drilling-related services offered by MINROM include, but are not limited to:

Drilling programme scoping
Drill hole planning
Drill hole siting
Geological and drilling consumables lists
Drilling support services
Core yard establishment

Logging & sampling of core/RC chips/percussion chips, etc.
Developing logging & sampling protocols
Surveying drill hole collars
Topographical surveys
Drill programme reporting, budget control and reconciliation

DRILL HOLE PLANNING

CONVENTIONAL DRILL HOLE PLANNING

This method of drill hole planning is the most common method, by which drill holes are typically placed on a predefined grid with a set orientation, inclination and distance apart. The holes are then drilled and after logging and sampling, the drill data is digitised and computed. Although there is nothing wrong with this method (it is sometimes the most practical), it does not maximise the geological data obtained or minimise the cost. Therefore, MINROM favours a dynamic-drilling approach.

DYNAMIC DRILL HOLE PLANNING

This method of drill hole planning comprise the careful planning of each drill hole to maximise the geological data and minimise the meters required. The process involves dynamically adjusting the drilling programme using the results of the drilling as it progresses. Therefore, each drill hole and the results obtained dictate where the next drill hole will be placed and orientated. This is a highly effective method which requires distinctly skilled personnel to be successfully implemented. MINROM is proud to have implemented dynamic drilling programmes on diverse projects with great success.

TYPES OF DRILLING

The aim of drilling is to obtain material from known intersections and depths below the surface so that interpretations of the geology can be made and samples of the mineralisation be collected. The type of drilling performed plays a big role in what data can be collected, the method of collection and the planning of drill holes in order to maximise the amount of data obtained.

The following drilling methods are commonly used:

Diamond drilling/Core drilling
Reverse circulation drilling (RC drilling)
Percussion drilling

Auger drilling
Sonic (vibratory) drilling
Percussion rotary air blast drilling (RAB) widely used in Australia but not in Africa

There are a few other types of drilling available; however, these are not commonly used. MINROM has experience with, and expertise in, all these drilling methods and can advise on which is more appropriate for your deposit or requirements.

DOWNHOLE LOGGING & SAMPLING

After a hole has been drilled, the main aim is to examine the material obtained from down the hole and use it to interpret the geology and mineralisation across the deposit. Downhole logging refers to the process of recording important geological data about this material, such as:

Depth from & to
Contact type & angle
Colour
Texture
Fabric

Mineralogy
Rock type
Formation/Stratigraphy
Other important geological comments/observations

Once the core/rock chips have been logged, they can be sampled. Core needs to be split (either halved or quartered) in order to be sampled. This requires a keen eye to determine at which orientation to split the core. Generally, a geologist will mark the line along which the core should be cut so that it produces two halves as close to symmetrical as possible. For reverse circulation (RC) and percussion drilling, drill chips are split using a sample splitter so that a representative sample can be collected.

All downhole samples are extracted according to a predefined sampling protocol. This is an essential part of the sampling process as each deposit, style of mineralisation, commodity and the overall objective of the drilling, will impact the requirements and procedures detailed in the sampling protocol.

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