Mining Petrophysics: Extending the Value of Borehole Geophysics Data in Mineral Exploration and Mine Development through Integration

The increasing depth and complexity of mineral deposits being explored for and developed requires a change in the way subsurface evaluation is conducted in the mining sector. Drawing on the experiences of the oil and gas industry, which has long relied on borehole geophysical measurements as the primary source of evaluation data, there is increasing interest in applying similar approaches in the mining industry. By reducing or eliminating the need for coring or other sampling and subsequent laboratory analysis, these methods have the potential to reduce the time between drilling and decision-making, allowing for in-time drilling program optimisation, more efficient resource modelling, and ultimately accelerated resource development.
This workshop will review traditional mining sector borehole geophysical measurements such as gamma ray, density, neutron, resistivity and induced polarisation, and magnetic susceptibility, as well as novel measurements such as borehole magnetic resonance, neutron-induced gamma ray spectroscopy, and in-rod density.
For each measurement, the following will be addressed: the fundamental physics of measurement, QAQC procedures, the impact on the measurement of various drilling methods and borehole environments, and the response in different geological environments and resource types.
Finally, an integrated approach to interpreting such measurements, based on best practices from the oil and gas industry, will be reviewed.
The different measurement types and interpretation techniques will be illustrated using examples and case studies from throughout Australasia.