worldwide exploration

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EXPLORATION

WorldwideexplorationMuch needs to be done; the global project pipeline is not full by any means.John Chadwick considers where companies are looking, new technologies andequipment being used, and the impressive role of juniors in world exploration

16 International Mining JANUARY 2006

This March a special PDAC edition ofMetals Economic Group's (MEG)World Exploration Trends found

exploration budgets topped $5.1 billionworldwide in 2005, just short of the 1997peak. However, Jason Goulden, Director,Corporate Exploration Strategies for MEGforecast that hardrock mining will only see amodest gain in 2006 worldwide explorationspendingbut it would establish 2006 asthe new peak in the exploration cycle.

MEG expects that a continued increase inexploration spending by the junior sector,coupled with modest gains by a handful ofintermediate and major producers, will likelyresult in an increase in worldwide explorationspending in the range of 10-15% in 2006.

In the revised study, MEG analyzed theexploration budgets of 1,431 companies,using a cutoff of $100,000. Junior explorersnow account for almost half of worldwideexploration as budgets rose almost 57% to$2.3 billion in 2005, accounting for morethan 63% of the overall $1.3-billion increasein exploration allocations.

The effects of industry consolidation onexploration spending over the past few years[are] that large portions of the acquiredcompanies budgets effectively disappearedin the years following the acquisition, as thesurviving companies budgets either remainedthe same as before the acquisition or werereduced further despite incorporating anexpanded exploration portfolio, the surveystated.

We expect that a continued increase inexploration spending by the junior sector,

coupled with expanded programs by ahandful of intermediate and major producers,will likely outweigh the expected negativeeffects of 2005s high level of acquisitions,according to Goulden.

Latin America remained the most popularregion for exploration, with Canada second.Africa retained its third place explorationranking. However, the survey noted, socialupheaval in Latin America and SoutheastAsia could affect the regional picture of theindustry's exploration efforts. Also the ten-dency of some governments in these regionsto shift social responsibility to miningcompanies and thereby increase potentialdevelopment costs is exacerbating industrycaution toward investing in these countries.In contrast, certain mining companies, notablyPhelps Dodge have noted the attraction ofcountries like the DRC where risks may behigher. Of course, threats of nationalizationare a current worry in some countries

Gold attracts the lions share ofexploration expenditures, but the $2.3billion spent on gold exploration in 2005 isstill 20% less than in 1997. Not surprisingly,base metals exploration spending has risensignificantly. Copper exploration spendingcomprised 57% of the base metals total in2005. Nickel exploration rose 65% in 2005while zinc spending nearly doubled.

Above-average increases in late-stageexploration budgets has far outpaced the


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increases in grassroots budget,which normally attract thehighest percentage of world-wide exploration spending.The survey found that totallate-stage budgets exceededtotal grassroots explorationbudgets by $3 million for thefirst time in 2005. MEGforecast that companies wouldcontinue to focus on late-stageexploration throughout thisyear. Late-stage explorationhas become increasinglyimportant in the currentexploration cycle, as higher

metals prices and other global factors areencouraging companies at all levels of theindustry to focus on their later-stage projects the junior explorers, to prove up reservesand to attract the majors; aspiring and smallproducers, to secure development financingwhile the market is strong; and majors tofast-track projects in their existing pipelines.Thus, the content of the pipeline thins outeven more. The eventual discovery of thenext generation of large-scale projects isessential for the long-term health of theindustry, declared Goulden.

Dorothy Kosich of Mineweb reported theworries of Phelps Dodge Executive VicePresident and CFO Ramiro Peru, who grewup surrounded by copper mines. He fearsthat the era of mega projects, such asGrasberg and Escondida, may now be history.In a presentation to the Merrill Lynch GlobalMetals, Mining & Steel Conference in May,Peru commented that, even now, modestshortfalls and brief disruptions hurt theinternational copper sector's ability to meetworld demand. Without new mega-mines,he said copper mining companies are relyingon smaller mines with shorter mine lives.

In January, Aaron Regent, President ofFalconbridge said he thought new metalsupply would be constrained by lowergrades, the scarcity of new discoveries,reduced exploration expenditures, and thescarcity of mining professionals in traditionalmining nations. In a speech to the MineralExploration Roundup in Vancouver, Regentalso forecast continued consolidation in NorthAmerica, and a new generation of mid tier

mining companies will be created aided byincreased investor interest in the industry.

Regent suggested that new metal supplywould be constrained due to the lack ofnew discoveries and long lead times. For

example, the rate of copper discoveriesneeds to increase by two thirds, but in fact,has only increased 25%. Currently, due tofalling grades, we are needing to processmore tonnes of ore, produce more tonnes oflower grade concentrate and treat morelower grade concentrate to produce thesame amount of metal, he said. Even if aviable orebody is found, it still facesconstraints. He noted that of 25 significantcopper discoveries found during 1992 to2003, only 8% have made it into productionwhile another 12% are under construction.

He explained that the time to go from ascoping study to a pre-feasibility study to abankable feasibility study today can be up to10 years for larger, more complex projects ata cost ranging from $20 million to $200million. The upfront investments inresource definition, process selection,engineering, environmental impact assets,are key to successful project development,but also increasingly expensive, he said.

He also suggested a change in thebalance of global mining power. Thepresent shortage of skilled professionalsfrom traditional mining countries will beexacerbated as companies compete forpersonnel with energy and serviceindustries, he declared. The skilled personnel

to fill the vacuum will often be trained inSouth America and Asia and will naturallytend to source future services andequipment from their familiar home base.This erosion of our traditional mining centres

will further increase as technologyand engineering support servicesare also sourced from theemerging mining centres.

Working with JuniorsIn other presentations at Roundupexploration executives from majorminers offered advice for juniorsseeking to work with and makedeals with the larger companies.Geoff Handley, Executive VicePresident for BusinessDevelopment for Placer Dome,reminded attendees that therelationship between the majors

and juniors is particularly important. Heexplained that senior mining companiescould bring a wealth of skills and experiencein exploring, defining, designing, buildingand operating mines, as well as providinggood financial resources to develop a juniorcompany project. However, majors cannotcover all territories and certainly do not haveexclusivity to good ideas.

Business ventures with juniors are criticallyimportant to gain access into new explorationproperties and regions, he declared.

While it costs more to find new projects innew areas, he noted that exploration projectsin emerging nations have achieved greatersuccess than their counterparts in NorthAmerica and Australia combined. Handleysuggested juniors became experts in a singlenation or in a single district.

Paul Severin, Senior Vice President ofExploration for Falconbridge, declared thatFalconbridge enters into joint ventures toaccelerate its discovery rate and increaseexposure to opportunities, or to developdeposits of non-strategic size and quality tofeed existing mine and processinginfrastructure, and reduce the risk andincrease the probability of success.

Newmont Vice President WorldwideExploration Steve Enders echoed the feelingsof many that the international mining industryis really behind the ball in generative orgreenfields exploration. Enders reminded usthat different districts enjoy explorationsuccesses at different times. These cyclesgenerally run over three to four years andthen regroup. Meanwhile, these successes

are punctuated with true greenfieldsdiscoveries.

Newmonts 2006 exploration budgetincludes $158.2 million for expensed directexploration and $29.5 million in capital

JULY 2006 International Mining 17

Is Tenke Fungurume in the DRC the lastundeveloped great copper deposit? Will it finally

be developed? It took a junior to bring it back to

life this time Tenke Mining.

(Photo courtesy of Tenke Mining)

07/06


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direct exploration. Of the total $187.7 millionexploration budget, 56% is spent on nearmine exploration while 23% is allocated togreenfields programmes. Of the $43.3 millionallocated to greenfield work this year, $9.6million is allocated to Suriname, $6.9 millioneach to Australasia and Nevada, $6.6 millionin Peru, $4.6 million in West Africa, $3.7million in North America other than Nevada,$2.9 million in Turkey (see IM , August), and$2.1 million in Guyana.

Rich Leveille, President of Phelps DodgeExploration, surveyed 16 copper companiesfor about a combined net of 95.8 Mt ofcopper reserve additions from 1997-2004.However, only a handful managed to statistically

land within a strike zone that added asmuch copper to reserves as productiondepleted. His research showed that aweighted average of $0.02 was spent forexploration per pound of copperproduced. Of those surveyed only eightdeposits were added to proven and probablereserves from 1997-2004. Of those eightdeposits, seven were located in South America.The median time from discovery to completedfeasibility study was 14 years. Five of thedeposits have been or will be developed bya company other than the discoverer.

To achieve maximum joint benefits fromexploration, major mining and juniorexploration companies need to takeadvantage of their synergies and create anenvironment of trust.

In a presentation to the Society ofEconomic Geologists (SEG) Conference inKeystone, Colorado, reported by Mineweb ,William Mercer of Falconbridge presented astudy co-authored by Robert W. Schafer ofHunter Dickenson. They note that basemetals companies spend 1-4% of theirrevenue on exploration while gold companiesspend 4-8%. They also noted that thenumber of base metals companies hashalved over the last nine years. In theexploration business cycle, Mercer andSchafer found that juniors respond to capitalmarkets and investor sentiments, while majorcompanies tend to respond to metal prices.

To take a mining project from concept toproduction can range from 12-17 years,according to Mercer and Schafer. However,it is difficult for a junior company to

sustain investor interest for that length oftime. They suggested that successful

junior companies usually have a project thatis easy to permit, has a relatively smalldevelopment capex, and will use

conventional mining and processing technology.Mercer and Schafer believe that the

making of a discovery is really not theprimary goal of a junior exploration company.The primary goal is to enhance shareholdervalue through increasing the share price anddaily trading volumes, and expand themarket cap of the company, they asserted.The second consideration is to generate anenhanced level of merger and acquisitioninterest on the part of major mining companiesand other junior companies.

Mercer suggested that key componentsfor junior exploration success include acombination of technical expertise and luck,possessing the flexibility to adapt to marketand investor preferences, and thecommunications skills to gain the support ofthe market. He declared that the financialcomponent--such as relationships withbankers, regulators, and financial institutional is most misunderstood by junior companies.

Junior companies must realize thatinvestors lack the patience for greenfieldsstrategies and much prefer brownfield work,according to Mercer and Schafer. Explorationcompanies should consider picking upleftovers from major companies, theysuggested.

Newmont President Pierre Lassondeexpressed his opinion to the SEG thatexploration is still not viewed as a profitablebusiness. He also noted that major American

pension funds have yet to get into miningand/or commodities. He suggested, accordingto Mineweb , that exploration budgets, effec-tively the research and developmentlifeblood of mining, are not anywhere near

the R&D budgets of other industries, such aspharmaceuticals and IT. Pfizer allocates 51%of its cash flow to R&D and Microsoftspends 37%, but Lassonde explained, inour business, if you spend 10%, you areprobably a top major mining company.

Lassonde said, I do not see anything onour plate that will be a step change toadvance mining exploration. He noted onlytwo grassroots 500,000-Moz gold depositsfound in the past seven years.

OMET successThe aim of the Ontario Mineral ExplorationTechnologies (OMET) program was todevelop new technologies and methods tohelp find the next generation of Ontariosmineral deposits. Since this is one of theareas in the world where the most technicallyadvanced exploration occurs, OMETproduced technology to benefit all. The totalinvestment in technology development wasC$16.6 million over five years looking at:1.Best techniques to find mineral resourcesin bedrock beneath conductive or thickoverburden (common conditions throughoutNorthern Ontario)2.Best methods to see through thePalaeozoic rocks of the Hudson Bay andJames Bay lowlands

3.Effective ways to use Ontarios Quaternarygeology to explore for mineral resourcesburied in the bedrock.

One of the successes has been Titan-24from Quantec Geoscience and Project

EXPLORATION

18 International Mining JULY 2006

Channel sampling.

(Photo courtesy of CanAlaska Ventures)


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Manager Rob Gordon notes OMET providedcritical support for the demonstration of thenew Titan Deep Earth Imaging Technology.Acceptance of this technology within the sec-tor has been growing since the demonstrations.

Quantec says, the array based Titan 24system is the most advanced electrical earthimaging technology to date. Based on bestpractices found in the oil and gas industry,the system has been designed to meet theneeds of a variety of stakeholders in miningexploration and to serve as a tool in makingkey property evaluation decisions.

Measuring the parameters of DC(resistivity ), IP (chargeability) and MT(magnetotelluric resistivity ), Titan 24 measures

to depths of 750 m with IP and can explorebeyond 1.5 km with MT data. These depthsand multi-parameter data make the systema great option for obtaining subsurface pre-drilling information related to geologic structureand for the direct detection of mineral deposits.

50 and still flyingCelebrating its 50th Anniversary this year,Sander Geophysics (SGL) has taken deliveryof two new survey aircraft to supportcontinued high demand for SGLs airbornegeophysical services. With these newadditions to the fleet, SGL now owns andoperates 12 aircraft, including 11 airplanesand one helicopter, all extensively modifiedfor airborne geophysical surveying.

Sander Geophysics has grown to be thelargest independently owned airborne surveycompany in the world. With a head officelocated in Ottawa, Canada, SGL fliesairborne geophysical surveys worldwide formineral exploration companies and govern-ment clients.

The two new aircraft include a Cessna208B Grand Caravan SGLs seventh aircraftof this type and a Diamond Aircraft DA-42, which is a brand new model of twin-engine aircraft. The DA-42 is an all-compositeaircraft, powered by twin diesel engines.The extremely reliable and efficient dieselengines are designed to use Jet fuel, whichis more readily available than traditionalpiston engine aviation gasoline in manycountries. In addition, its compositeconstruction means the aircraft has a lowmagnetic signature, which is ideal for high-

resolution magnetic surveys. SGL is currentlypreparing both of these new aircraft forsurvey operations.

SGL specializes in airborne gravity,magnetic, radiometric and electromagnetic

surveys. Airborne gravity surveys are flownwith AIRGrav, SGLs purpose-built airbornegravimeter. AIRGrav continues to be thesystem of choice for airborne gravity surveying

and to replace ground gravity surveying.SGL now has a total of four AIRGrav systemsin operation worldwide.

New geochemical ideasDale Sutherland, Activation Laboratories,notes that Soil Gas Hydrocarbons (SGH),a precise and unobtrusive geochemicalmethod, is the latest technology to aid inthe location and identification of buriedmineral and Kimberlite targets. SGH is ageochemical test that has successfullybeen used to delineate a wide variety of

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http://www.boartlongyear.com/


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buried mineralization as shown in twomajor CAMIRO (Canadian Mineral IndustryResearch Organization) studies since 1997(97E04 and 01E02).

The SGH test uses the near surface samples,such as soil or peat as a collector of heavierhydrocarbons that have migrated to thesurface. Lake-bottom sediments have alsobeen used with great success. As compoundsin the C1 to C4 carbon series range haveassociated high variability, SGH has beendesigned to eliminate this variability and othersby using heavier, more robust, hydrocarbons.The 162 specific hydrocarbons targeted inthe SGH test covers a broad range ofclasses and molecular weights in the C5

through C17 carbon series range. This analysisrequires measurement in the low parts-per-trillion concentration range for the minutehydrocarbons of interest mobilized by bacteriaacting on mineral or Kimberlite targets atdepth. A forensic pattern recognition approachto the data has resulted in defining specificSGH signatures for various types of targets ina fashion similar to DNA signatures. Throughextensive case studies these SGH signatureshave been defined and refined resulting in amethod that both vectors to the location of aburied target as well as being able to identifythe type of target present.

The method has been fine tuned todeliver precise data, which results in easilyinterpreted anomalies. Its sensitivity andspecificity provide a new tool.

More geophysicsGEM Advanced Magnetometers has a newgeneration of optically pumped airbornemagnetometers and gradiometers forcustomers flying surveys.

GEMs technology is based on theimplementation of onboard data acquisitionand processing with RS-232 data transfer;

EXPLORATION


Titan 24 systems are proven to be effective in many geologic and physicalenvironments. At Kidd Creek mine, geological input for interpretation,above, and, below, interpretation in 3D.
http://www.devico.com/


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capabilities that required a separate dataacquisition console in previous generationsof GEMs airborne systems.

The new solution builds upon GEMsproven line of airborne optically pumpedPotassium systems.

Also new is GEMs GSMP-35 magnetometer/ gradiometer series designed for explorationof traditional and subtle geologic targets.It is a key new technology for explorationistsseeking gold, base metals or other traditionalmagnetometry targets. In addition, itprovides the high sensitivity needed forsubtle targets such as kimberlites and thehigh gradient tolerance needed for prospectingfor iron or near iron-bearing geologic

formations.Data quality is ensured through high

sensitivity, which leads the industry.In a new geophysical exploration

development, CSIRO Industrial Physics has ahighly portable tool called LandTEM. Basedon Superconducting Quantum InterferenceDevice - or SQUID - technology, LandTEMinvolves extremely sensitive magnetic sensorsthat detect large and highly conductivedeposits of minerals such as nickelsulphide, gold and silver, whichcreate problems for conven-tional coil magnetic sensors.([email protected])

The GDP-32II is ZongeEngineerings fourth generationmulti-channel receiver foracquisition of controlled- andnatural-source geo-electric andEM data. Enhancementsinclude 66 MHz or 133 MHz586 processor, expandedkeyboard, 1/2-VGA graphicsdisplay and Ethernet port.

Zonge says its unique capabilitiesare remote control operation,

broadband time-series recording and high-speed data transfer.

Drilling developmentsSandvik, not a major player in explorationhitherto, has just jumped into the market ina big way. Over the last couple of months,Sandvik has purchased SDS in Australia,Swedish-based Hagby-Asahi and its latestacquisition, completed on June 8, is UDR inAustralia. Sandvik has signed an agreementwith Major Drilling Group International toacquire the business and assets of UDRGroup, including its business units inAustralia and Chile. UDR Group is one ofthe markets leading manufacturers and

suppliers of surface mineral exploration drillrigs. UDR Group reported sales for the lastbusiness year of about A$48 million.

The acquisition is in line with theSandvik Groups long-term strategy ofcontinued profitable growth. With thisacquisition and the recently concludedacquisitions of SDS and Hagby-Asahi,Sandvik has established itself as a full-serviceprovider to the mineral exploration industry.UDR is a company with a strong marketposition, particularly in Australia and LatinAmerica, and we intend to continue ourexpansion globally within mineral explorationsays Lars Josefsson, President of the SandvikMining and Construction business area.Particularly, UDRs strength in multi-purposeexploration drill rigs will be a very strongcontributor to Sandviks offering within the

mineral exploration field.As a part of the transaction, Sandvik and

Major Drilling have signed a five-year strategicco-operation and supply agreement. Underthis agreement the two parties will co-operatein product development and Sandvik andUDR will remain as a preferred supplier ofmineral exploration rigs and consumables toMajor Drilling.

The thin wall wireline system, developedby Hagby-Asahi, was designed especially for

drilling in hard rock formations.Hagby-Asahi has extensiveexpertise in core drilling. ItsOnram series drills handle alltypes of drilling conditionswithin the scope of moderncore drilling. There are drillswithin the series with capacitiesfor deep hole drilling, as wellas short-hole drilling, forproduction control.

Atlas Copcos ChristensenCS14 is a trailer mountedmedium sized wireline coredrill rig for surface exploration.Now manufactured in Sweden,

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Pan Africans new Atlas Copco Craelius CS14. The

company has targeted eight zones for core drilling

along the approximate 10 km northwest-trending

Mountain of Gold shear system. The project is in

the Dabolava region of Madagascars Central-West

Plateau.
http://www.geosoft.com/


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CS14 is built on the proven Christensenconcepts of easy operation, simple technology,high capacity and reliable performance. Thefollowing are the main improvements to thenew Christensen range.

Further improved power - the drillingcapacity is 1,200 m using N-size and the rigcan operate in ambient temperatures up to50C and at altitudes up to 3,500 m abovesea level (operations up to 5,000 m requirederating of the engine and hydraulic system).The CS14 is equipped with environmentfriendly Stage II Cummins diesel engines.

Further improved ergonomics and safety -all controls on the ergonomically designedcontrol panel are easily reached with logical

and clear symbols and readings. From herethe driller can control all operations neededfor high productivity drilling. Guards forrotation unit, hoist and winch improve safetyand enables CS14 to be CE approved.

The rig is easy to set up for safe drillingwith mast dump and four jacks as standard,which is time saving and gives better drillpositioning. Foldable top mast combinedwith the trailer base ensures easy transportation.With a modern and powerful rod holder,there are also many factory-mounted optionsto improve drilling productivity (mud pump,water flow meter, large crown block etc).

One happy CS14 customer is Pan AfricanMining. This is a junior that has decidedthat, with an extensive drilling programmeplanned, it is better to own its own rig thanspend money on contractors. Its new CS14core drill along with all attendant equipmentrecently arrived in Madagascar and is on site

at the Mountain of Gold project. It is skid-

mounted and will be used in conjunctionwith the companys Caterpillar D-5 bulldozerfor mobility.

Irwin Olian, CEO, said: We are delightedthat our new core drill rig has arrived inMadagascar. Together with its attendantequipment and full-time drilling personnel, itrepresents a considerable investment. Giventhe large volume of drilling we have slatedfor our various projects, owning our owndrill will substantially expedite our progress,give us maximum operating flexibility andsave us some 30% or more over prevailingcontract drilling rates.

Boart Longyear says that its LF90 core drill,originally modelled after the very successfulLF70, has proven itself to be one of themost productive drills in its class. However,the company still felt that there was roomfor improvement so it took it a step further.The LF90D is packed with even more features

and includes a truck mount option.

Its depth capacity is 900 m NQ/NRQHPand it features hydraulic rod making andbreaking, and independent dual hydraulicmast raising cylinders. There is the hydraulic,telescopic, 6 m pull mast for ease of setup.The mainline hoist has a capacity of 7,258kg and there is the field proven, patented,nitrogen gas spring Nitro-Chuck . The LF90provides high drilling torque for productivedrilling at depth. Two configurations areavailable; truck mounted for mobility or scowmounted for remote locations.

Directional drillingDevico notes that sidetracking of multiplebranches from a single mother hole by usingits directional core drilling technology canreduce exploration costs by more than 70%.The example above compares both the timeand cost of different methods in hard rock.In this case the target zone is at 1,000 mdepth. The mother hole is drilled down to700 m and will require 20 deviation drillingto get on course to hit the target. Thealternative methods that can be used are:1. Devicos directional core barrel ( DeviDrill )2. Wedging3. Mudmotor technology.4. Redrilling from surface.(with no guarantee of hitting the target)

Devico has also developed a cost savingcalculator to compare various kick-off depths,required deviation and other parameters tosee how much time and cost saving can begained in each case.

Devico has a new product for continuouscore orientation DeviCore. This comprises

simple equipment and easy to run procedures.Oriented services maintain a record of thecores original orientation relative to its nativeformation. Oriented core samples providereliable information on:

EXPLORATION


Collecting lake sediment samples(Photo courtesy of CanAlaska Ventures)

Situation Devico Wedges M-Motor RE-DrillDeviation required 20 20 20 Not possibleDrilling required 86 m 120 m 86 m 800 mDogleg severity 7/30 m 1.5 per wedge 7/30 mDaily production, m/day 7.0 m 1 opr./2day 3 m 25Time required, days: 13 days 35 days 29 days 32 daysTime saving comparedto redrilling: 19 days No time saving 3 daysTarget hit probability 95 % 70 % 95 % 40 %Cost saving compared toredrilling from surface: 74% 21% 40.7% 100%

Time and cost of different hole deviation methods


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Fracture directionFormation dip and strikeFormation anisotropyStress orientationDirection of lamination or crystallization for sedimentary and

ingenious formations respectively.The system employs a conventional WL core barrel assembly

for oriented coring. Setting the tool and assembling is simple andis done in the field with no additional parts. The DeviCore kitcontains all the additional equipment needed for oriented coring,delivered as a standard package. DeviCore fits Inner tubes rangingfrom 37 to 67 mm.

Directional drilling is a relatively new aspect of exploration inthe mineral resources industry. While technology still needs toadvance if its application is to be successfully integrated into thehard rock environment, according to Murray & RobertsCementation, it has significant implications for cost and timesaving in exploration. It also has the potential to enhanceexploration efficiency and production greatly.

The company is developing directional drilling technology atdepth and in a hard rock environment. Martin Bevelander,Surface Drilling Manager at Murray & Roberts Cementation,explains the costs of drilling in the minerals industry have escalatedsignificantly over time. The time taken to drill many holes fromsurface down to an orebody in the traditional way also frequentlyhas an effect on the time to advance projects. Various players in

the industry began to look at the possibility of employingdirectional drilling technology to achieve multiple intersections onan orebody through a single mother hole.

The objective is, in a pre-planned way, to aim the deflectionin three dimensions out of the mother hole towards the

GEMS new Potassium Mineral Magnetometer, GSMP-35, offers

hands-free, backpack-mounted operation for ease-of-use.

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http://www.fordia.com/


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EXPLORATION

geographic point that one needs to intersect.Once the deflection is completed, the directionaldrilling equipment is removed from the hole andclassic core cutting technology is used to traversethe lithology, he says.

Further directional drilling is done in increments,taking the hole in the preferred direction. A sectionof drilling is done, the equipment is removed fromthe hole, and a down-hole survey is carried out toconfirm that drilling is progressing in the correctdirection. The next stage of drilling is then carriedout in the same way.

Both the technology itself and the incrementalsteps in which drilling takes place, are governed bythe technical and design capability of the down-hole motors used, Bevelander points out.

Generally speaking, the drilling equipment is ableto adjust to an inclination in the order of 3 to 5in each sequential step. In this manner a gentle arcis systematically created in order for drilling toprogress in the preferred direction.

Murray & Roberts Cementation is one of the first companies tocarry out down the hole motor, directional drilling down to approximately3,000 m below surface. The company is currently using the technologyon a gold exploration project for AngloGold Ashanti in GhanasAshanti province. Two drilling rigs are employed on the project, anddrilling is planned to reach some 2,500 m below surface. Directional drilling technology is still in its early stages of

development as far as hard rock and deep exploration environmentsare concerned. Bevelander comments that there is an expectationthat deep level exploration worldwide will increase. To this end,Murray & Roberts Cementation has made it part of the companysstrategy and vision to develop and maintain its ability in this field.

...and sonic drillingThe benefits to the industry include the [possibility] to save costs onexploration budgets, improve project time lines and to save time onachieving the required number of intersections on a particularorebody, thereby adding significantly to achieving acceptable feasibilityconfidence levels in good time, Bevelander states.

According to Nancy Argyle, Director of Communications andMarketing, Sonic Drill, the history of sonic drilling technology is astory about the efforts of many but it is Canadian Ray Roussy,President of Sonic Drill Corp and Sonic Drilling Ltd, who can clearlylay claim to the prize of improving the technology to the point thathe could patent his improvements and commercialize a sonic drill thatis both reliable and field tested.

Today, after 27 years of field testing and development, Roussy hasnot only patented his super-performing drill but he has succeeded incommercializing a rig that bores three to five times faster (dependingon soil conditions) without using any drilling mud and is able toprovide continuous core samples to depths of more than 100 m.

Sonic drilling can be employed in many applications includinggeotechnical and geothermal projects, environmental investigations

and exploration. Sonic Drills patented sonic drill head works by sendinghigh frequency resonant vibrations down the drill string to the drillbit, while the operator controls these frequencies to suit the specificconditions of the soil/rock geology.

Resonance magnifies the amplitude of the drill bit, which fluidizes


Rapidly building an exploration division from virtually nothing, Sandvik has

purchased the Australian companies SDS (shown here) and UDR, and Swedish-

based Hagby-Asahi, since the spring.
http://www.sonic-drill.com/


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the soil particles at the bit face, allowing fast and easy penetrationthrough most geological formations. An internal air spring isolatesthese vibrational forces from the rest of the drill rig. By providing thenecessary rotational and vibrational forces, the Sonic rig can core andcase, in one operation, in any overburden material. The task is performedas a completely dry process, producing core samples that range from76 to 203 mm in diameter. Cores can be obtained from a wide varietyof deposits including oil sands, slag piles, tailings and heap leach padswith an absolutely minimal amount of disturbance and compaction.

The samples are then extruded into clear plastic sleeves. Neatly laidout, these core samples can be subjected to a detailed visualexamination and analysis, followed by sampling, photographing andarchiving for a permanent record of the existing mineral conditions.

Drill site backupFordia now offers a diesel engine on the Elepump KL45 an optionthat offers better fuel efficiency and lower overall operating cost, itsays. The KL45 offers 2.5 litres/s pumping capacity for large drill siteoperations that demand greater output. Since the introduction of theElepump, we have been asked for a diesel option, says Gabriel Allen.

The Elepump KL45 is mounted on a four-cylinder Kubota V1305-40M transmission and offers 22.4 kW at 3,000 rpm. The Newage40M four-speed transmission with integral reduction provides ratiosof approximately 13:1, 9:1, 5:1 and 3:1.

The factory-specified completion kits include a 12V starter andcharger, a radiator-cooler with HD guard, an HD dry-type air cleaner,keystart with glowplug assist, Vernier-type throttle control, a batteryrack and cables, Racor fuel filter, and electric fuel pump. The batteryis not included. It does, however, include chain-type coupling.

Elepump KL45 requires only periodic oil checks and changes - and

worn parts can be replaced quickly and simply without special tools.

Contract explorationIncreased demand for surface exploration is evident in South Africaand on the African continent generally. This has resulted in a substantial

increase in exploration drillingwith no sign of demand comingdown any time soon, Murray &Roberts Cementation reports.Taking a proactive approach, ithas over the past few monthsinvested in excess of R15-millionacquiring new drill rigs for itsalready extensive fleet, whichnow has the capability ofdrilling from very short holes toultra deep holes.

The drill fleet has beensupplemented with state-of-the-art rigs covering both shallowand deep-hole equipment. The

company has acquired fromBoart Longyear four LF90s andtwo LF230 core-drillingmachines.

Ferreira says good corerecovery is as important asachieving a consistently good

production rate on surface exploration contracts. Use of appropriatemachines for a given application, coupled with competent skilledoperators is an important factor as is the use of technologicallyadvanced directional drilling techniques, Ferreira says. Safety is

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Murray & Roberts Cementation ACM5000deep-hole rig being erected at Kloof in SouthAfrica to drill to a depth of 3,800 m.

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another top priority and focus area in theMurray & Roberts Cementation operation.Achieving competent core explorationdrilling requires the appropriate accreditation,speed of delivery, quality of core recovery andconstantly being mindful of the fact thattime cost efficiency is a critical componentof each overall contract.

The Rotary Vertical Drilling System (RVDS),originally pioneered by RUC and MICON,offers levels of accuracy substantially higherthan other pilot hole directional drillingsystems. Ferreira explains that it is possiblewith the use of the RVDS to improve pilothole accuracy to a tolerance of 0.1%. Gyro-based technology is incorporated into the

controlled drill head tooling and this facilitatesdrilling inclined holes to just as high adegree of accuracy.

Bevelander says: The internationalenvironment has changed in terms ofenvironmental aspects, client expectationsand the general exploration standard. It isnecessary for companies to address thesetopics, as well as embrace new technologies,both in drilling and the general geophysicalexploration environment. In the currentbusiness environment, the need to have theexploration drilling company integrated intoan exploration project as a whole, addingsupport and technical advice, has becomemore necessary. In fact, the latest trendinternationally is to have the explorationdrilling team not as a contractor but as partof the exploration team, Bevelander points out.

He will endeavour to keep the companyin line with international standards in termsof the safety and environmental issues thatexist around exploration drilling, as well asto facilitate an understanding of clientexpectations and of how to optimizeexploration drilling programmes.

Timing in exploration these days is ofcritical importance. Companies are oftenfaced with tight project feasibility studydeadlines and the lack of good technicalunderstanding can often result in timedelays, he notes.

Software updateGeosoft has released a major 6.3 softwareupdate to its industry-standard Oasis montajmapping and processing system, and its

Target exploration geology software. The 6.3software release focuses on usability,productivity and performance, providingnew template tools for map production,significant enhancements to the softwares

3D capabilities, and the addition ofDatamine format support.

For diamond explorers, Geosoft has alsoadded a SEMPlot (Scanning ElectronMicroscopy) geochemistry workflow to itsGeochemistry extension for Oasis montajand Target. SEMPlot allows geoscientists toefficiently discriminate surface sediment andkimberlite rock samples based on theirindicator mineral grain geochemistry.

The 6.3 release allows customers to usestandard and custom templates to streamlineand simplify map production. Using templates,users can create multiple data views on asingle map; use existing standards from atemplate library or create new template

standards. They can interactively create theirown customized map templates by definingtheir own data views, titles, text, logos andbackground graphics or images. Templatesare fully scriptable for power users.

Geosofts 6.3 includes enhancements toits 3D subsurface visualization tools thatenable geoscientists to more quickly displaydata from surfaces, drill data and voxelsmodels and thereby better visualize theirspatial context. Voxel gridding speed hasbeen increased by a factor of five. Voxelmanipulation enhancements include theaddition of voxel math support and a Voxel-Grid Clipper. This new capability al lows avoxel to be clipped to an elevation surfaceor to the top and bottom of a lithologic unit.

To further support the use and integrationof 3D models, Targets section generationmodule now allows for the slicing ofGeosoft voxels and topographic surfacesrepresented by 2D grids Surpac DTM andDatamine Wireframe models at any sectionorientation. Voxel slicing is also supported inPlan generation.

Andy Lloyd, Rio Tinto Exploration projectgeologist in South Africa, attributes thepower of SEMPlot to its ability to take verylarge volumes of microprobe data; useknown, scientific analysis tools such ashistogram plots and scatter tools to analyzethat data; and then quickly produce spatialmaps, graphical maps and plots. SEMPlotallows the data to be displayed in a graphicalformat, so it can be effectively interpreted,he says. Its ability to manage data in excessof a million data points, with ease and

simplicity, makes it a very powerful tool.Among its features, SEMPlot allows

geoscientists to efficiently determine mineralidentification of grains based on theirgeochemical stoichiometry. Once they have

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identified the grain, they can plot it correctly.They can choose to display selected mineralgrains on standard published discriminatinggraphs, or graphs and overlays they havecreated themselves. They can alsointeractively select and reclassify the samples.

In addition, diamond explorationists canuse the software's built-in capabilities todynamically link between and amongsamples, maps, graphs and data. Thisensures maintenance of the spatial contextbetween grain graphs, databases and maps,and makes anomaly location and targetselection quicker and more efficient.

You can click onto a point in a geologicalmap where you have a sample and see how

it plots in terms of its mineral chemistry, orlook at various geochemical displays and seewhere they fall on the ground, said Dr.Chris Smith, diamond consultant to RioTinto. Im not aware of any other commercially-available package that can do that.

Uranium by CanAlaskaUranium has been but one of the boomsthat have seen feverish exploration recently.It is instructive to examine the techniques ofone of the companies, CanAlaska, whichbegan the last season by being one of thefirst explorers in the Athabasca Basin toemploy MEGATEMII airborne geophysicalelectromagnetic survey technology fromFugro. Electromagnetic signatures fromgraphitic conductors in the basement havetraditionally been closely associated with thepresence of uranium deposits. The firstflight over the West McArthur propertyyielded clear targeting data and outlinedgeological structures at depth that heldpromise for follow-up exploration.

In the previous exploration cycle of the1980s, explorers could only use such surveysto examine unconformity depths of up to300 m. Present-day surveys show detailedgeological delineation to depths of 1,000 m,thereby enabling meaningful investigation ofdeep unconformity regions previouslythought to be unexplorable. In total,

CanAlaska performed 19,000 line-km ofairborne electromagnetic, magnetic andgravity gradient airborne surveys acrossseven of its properties. These surveys provideda wealth of promising uranium signaturesand improved understanding of target zonegeological structures.

As much as airborne geophysics can helpto narrow targets for prospective exploration,proper target delineation also requiresconfirmation from basic ground geologicalwork, says CanAlaska. Over last summer thecompany deployed over 40 individuals inone of the largest geological teams under-taking ground exploration in the AthabascaBasin in 2005. Spread across various camps,

the teams performed seismic surveys, uraniumboulder tracing and ground geochemistrystudies including hydrocarbon sampling andclay alteration studies. High uraniumsurface showings, especially on the NorthEast property, provided furtheracquisition/staking impetus. Late in theseason, ground resistivity surveys were alsoconducted to measure clay alteration halosassociated with potential unconformityuranium deposits. Productivity on theground was significantly enhanced bymodern technologies such as GPS, portableanalyzers and satellite communications.CanAlaska estimates that it accomplishedground exploration during the summerseason that would have required a total offour or more complete seasons a meredecade or two ago.

Sat commsCanAlaska has noted the benefit thatsatellite communications has brought toexploration on the ground (above). E-goSolutions says companies needing robust,high-speed connections can now communicatefrom anywhere on the planet with theintroduction of its revolutionary new service.It has launched packages for the mostadvanced commercially available satellitecommunications service in the world.

Using Inmarsats Broadband Global Area

Network (BGAN), E-go Solutions can deliversecure high-speed Internet, voice and emailservices across 85% of the global landmass.The service not only provides guaranteeddata rates for its always-on high-speedonline connection but is also the onlywireless technology that is capable of carryingvoice and data services simultaneouslythrough a single device. E-go Solutions saysits customers can now take their networkwith them regardless of geography,terrestrial infrastructure limitations ortimescale to deploy.

Peter Crafter, Managing Director, TETSatellite Solutions, said: BGAN is a hugestride forward in communications technology.

Never before have we been able to offer ago-anywhere broadband connection withsuch portability and ease of use for suchlow costs. E-go Solutions has worked veryclosely with Inmarsat throughout thedevelopment of the technology and services,as a result we are uniquely placed to deliveraffordable cutting edge solutions to ourcustomers.

E-go Solutions is a total BGAN solutionsprovider offering customers a single sourcefor terminals, airtime packages, service andsupport. The full suite of BGAN servicesincludes high-quality Internet, voice andemail services, with data rates of up to492 kb/s on demand. E-go Solutions canprovide tailored packages designedspecifically around the customers requirementincluding a dedicated backhaul, guaranteedend-to-end connectivity, networkmanagement and Service Level Agreements.

BGAN is delivered via the latest generationof Inmarsat satellites, providing a range ofservices in secure, reliable high-speed con-nectivity. Users simply connect a compactlightweight terminal to their laptop, point ittowards the satellite and go online within afew clicks.

By April 2006, two of the three plannedsatellites are operational, providing coverageacross 85% of the global landmass to 98%of the global population. IM

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worldwide exploration

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