Automated logging of drill core M.Klawitter 1 , R.Valenta 1 , N.Spanswick 2 , I.Fahey 2 1 University of Queensland, Sustainable Minerals Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4072 2 Glencore plc, George Fisher Mine, Mount Isa Qld 4825 CRICOS code 00025B
Sustainable Minerals Institute W.H.Bryan Mining & Research Centre Introduction • The aim is to find solutions to automate aspects of geological drill core logging based on the multi-element geochemistry of the rock • The samples for this study were provided by Glencore plc from the George Fisher Mine in Mt Isa • 31 drill holes were scanned with an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Scanner • The XRF scanning was performed with a Minalyzer CS (core scanner) Automated logging of drill core | 26.02.2019 CRICOS code 00025B CRICOS code 00025B 2
Sustainable Minerals Institute W.H.Bryan Mining & Research Centre Introduction Geology glencore.com Murphy, 2004 Automated logging of drill core | 26.02.2019 CRICOS code 00025B CRICOS code 00025B 3
Sustainable Minerals Institute W.H.Bryan Mining & Research Centre Introduction Minalyzer CS The Minalyzer CS provides: • Chemical Assays - From Mg to U • Photography • Topography • Rock Quality • Structural Logging • Specific Gravity chalmersventures.com Automated logging of drill core | 26.02.2019 CRICOS code 00025B CRICOS code 00025B 4
Sustainable Minerals Institute W.H.Bryan Mining & Research Centre Data Acquisition • Non-destructive XRF scanning on full core length • Scanning on the core in trays • Scanning rate: 1 cm/s • Outcome data intervals: Sulphur Sulphur - 1 cm / 10 cm / 1 m Iron minalogger.com Automated logging of drill core | 26.02.2019 CRICOS code 00025B CRICOS code 00025B 5
Sustainable Minerals Institute W.H.Bryan Mining & Research Centre Cleaning of the data Al 2 O 3 SiO 2 P S Cl K 2 O CaO TiO 2 V Cr MnO Fe Ni Cu Zn Ga As Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Ba Pb • Example of Stratigraphy Log and XRF Scan • The log includes important geological information The XRF data shows low S and Fe values • XRF data is presented in bars for each cell (high value = long bar) Automated logging of drill core | 26.02.2019 CRICOS code 00025B CRICOS code 00025B 6
Sustainable Minerals Institute W.H.Bryan Mining & Research Centre Clustering • 4 Clusters (yellow/orange/blue/green) based on the ‘heat - maps’ and associated trends • Blue: high values of Al 2 O 3 , K 2 O, SiO 2 , TiO 2 , Zr • Green: high values of Fe and S • Yellow: high values of CaO • Orange: Traces of all major elements/oxides Automated logging of drill core | 26.02.2019 CRICOS code 00025B CRICOS code 00025B 7
Sustainable Minerals Institute W.H.Bryan Mining & Research Centre Rocktype classification • Blue: Shales (high values of Al 2 O 3 , K 2 O, SiO 2 , TiO 2 , Zr) • Yellow: Calcareous Siltstones (high values of CaO) • Green: Pyrite (high values of Fe and S) • Orange: Mixture of lithologies (traces of all elements/oxides) • The Pyrite-rich layers can be further distinguished - high content (>20% Pyrites) - low content (5-20% Pyrites) • The samples in the orange cluster were associated with adjacent clusters Automated logging of drill core | 26.02.2019 CRICOS code 00025B CRICOS code 00025B 8
Sustainable Minerals Institute W.H.Bryan Mining & Research Centre Automated drill core logging • Automated detection of 4 host-rock lithologies ✓ Example of automated log Calcareous Siltstones (light grey) ✓ Shales (dark grey) ✓ Pyritic shale (5-20% Pyrite) (brown) ✓ Pyritic shale (>20% Pyrite) (yellow) • Consistent interpretation of the data • Interpretation based on actual scanned XRF data and correlation between elements/oxides Siltstone Shale Pyritic Shale (5-20%) Pyritic Shale (>20%) Automated logging of drill core | 26.02.2019 CRICOS code 00025B CRICOS code 00025B 9
Sustainable Minerals Institute W.H.Bryan Mining & Research Centre Automated detection of host-rock lithologies Siltstone Shale Pyritic Shale (5-20%) Pyritic Shale (>20%) 10 cm 10 cm 10 cm 10 cm Automated logging of drill core | 26.02.2019 CRICOS code 00025B CRICOS code 00025B 10
Sustainable Minerals Institute W.H.Bryan Mining & Research Centre Enhanced geological drill core logging South North Shale Pyritic Shale + Zn & Pb Downhole Siltstone Pyrite Pyritic Shale + Zn & Pb Banded + Zn & Pb Siltstone Automated logging of drill core | 26.02.2019 CRICOS code 00025B CRICOS code 00025B 11
Sustainable Minerals Institute W.H.Bryan Mining & Research Centre Enhanced geological drill core logging Automated logging of drill core | 26.02.2019 CRICOS code 00025B CRICOS code 00025B 12
Sustainable Minerals Institute W.H.Bryan Mining & Research Centre Enhanced geological drill core logging d1l c6 c6 c5l c5l c2m c1l c4 b4 c3m b3m c2m c1l b2 b1l Automated logging of drill core | 26.02.2019 CRICOS code 00025B CRICOS code 00025B 13
Sustainable Minerals Institute W.H.Bryan Mining & Research Centre Enhanced domaining Automated logging of drill core | 26.02.2019 CRICOS code 00025B CRICOS code 00025B 14
Sustainable Minerals Institute W.H.Bryan Mining & Research Centre Outcome • Enhanced geological drill core logging - Rocktype classification and domaining • Consistent interpretation of the data - Interpretation based on actual scanned XRF data • Enhanced detection of domain boundaries - Based on geochemical signatures and rocktype recognition • Implications to mining - Potentially saving time and costs Automated logging of drill core | 26.02.2019 CRICOS code 00025B CRICOS code 00025B 15
Thank you Dr Matthias Klawitter | Postdoctoral Research Fellow Sustainable Minerals Institute m.klawitter@uq.edu.au 07 3365 5941 facebook.com/uniofqld Instagram.com/uniofqld Twitter.com/smi_uq linkedin.com/school/sustainable-minerals-institute/ @uniofqld CRICOS code 00025B
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