Coring Magazine Issue 17

PIONEER IN ECO-FRIENDLY DRILLING

Issue 17

Drilling

Exploration & Mining Geology

October 2021

In Focus // › KATI Oy

Q&A from the Experts // › Dr Brett Davis, Principal Structural Geologist at Olinda Gold Structural Geology Consulting

21 Questions // › Sarp Ayken, Drilling Manager at Ortadoğu Sondaj ISSN 2367-847X www.coringmagazine.com

More Inside // › Labor Shortage in Canada

Explorat ion

D ia mond

More Inside // › Drilling on Top of Afghanistan’s Roof › Lockdown, Rocks and Two Rotating Barrels

D r i l l i ng

Table Contents /21 QUESTIONS 6

Exclusive interview: Sarp Ayken, Drilling Manager at Ortadoğu Sondaj

/IN FOCUS 10

KATI Oy: Forty years of prospecting in the toughest Arctic conditions

by Matti Rautakoski, Business Manager at Oy Kati Ab Kalajoki

26 Servitec Foraco: The path to optimized diamond drilling

by Rafael Echebarrena, Technical Support Manager Brazil Operations at Servitec Foraco

/ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 30 Drilling into the autonomous future of the industry

by Maksim Mayer, Editor at Coring Magazine

/PRODUCT REVIEW 34 DeviCloud: A new standard for planning and monitoring drill holes

by Rune Lindhjem, Senior Technical Advisor at Devico AS

/EXPLORATION & MINING GEOLOGY 39 Q&A from the experts: In conversation with Dr Brett Davis, Principal Structural Geologist at Olinda Gold Structural Geology Consulting 46 Lockdown, rocks and two rotating barrels: Another day in paradise

by Gemma Lawson, Exploration Geologist at Origin Exploration Ltd. 48 Drilling on top of Afghanistan’s roof

by Ibrahim Jafari, President & CEO of Afghanite Company

/LABOR SHORTAGE 16

Labor shortage in Canada: An interview with top drilling professionals

by Coring Magazine

/CASE STUDY 24 Recon Drilling: Reaching new depths at the Santander mine in Peru

by Mark Scoles, General Manager at Recon Drilling SAC

/EXPLORATION DRILLING CATALOG 52 Diamond drilling services 53

Drilling equipment & accessories

58 Survey equipment 58 Miscellaneous

/AUTHORS

Authors in this issue

Sarp Ayken Drilling Manager at Ortadoğu Sondaj

Rafael Echebarrena Technical Support Manager Brazil Operations at Servitec Foraco

Dr Brett Davis Principal Structural Geologist at Olinda Gold Structural Geology Consulting

Matti Rautakoski Business Manager at Oy Kati Ab Kalajoki

Maksim Mayer Editor at Coring Magazine

Gemma Lawson Exploration Geologist at Origin Exploration Ltd.

Mark Scoles General Manager at Recon Drilling SAC

Rune Lindhjem Senior Technical Advisor at Devico AS

Ibrahim Jafari President & CEO of Afghanite Company

CORING MAGAZINE October 2021 Cover photo

KATI Oy

Issue 17 ISSN 2367-847X Not for resale. Subscribe: www.coringmagazine.com/subscribe

Publisher Coring Media Editor in Chief Grigor Topev Executive Officer & Editor Martina Samarova Editor Maksim M. Mayer Section Editor – Exploration & Mining Geology Timothy Strong

Contact Us Coring Media Ltd. 119B D. Petkov Str., Sofia 1309, Bulgaria Phone +359 88 953 2653 Email editorial@coringmagazine.com Website coringmagazine.com

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Coring Magazine is an international quarterly title covering the exploration core drilling industry.

Published in print and digital formats, Coring has a rapidly growing readership that includes diamond drilling contractors, drilling manufacturers and suppliers, service companies, mineral exploration companies and departments, geologists, and many others involved in exploration core drilling.

Launched in late 2015, Coring aims to provide a fresh perspective on the sector by sourcing authentic, informed and quality commentary direct from those working in the field. With regular interviews, insightful company profiles, detailed product reviews, field-practice tips and illustrated case studies of the world’s most unique diamond drilling and mineral exploration projects, Coring provides a platform for learning about the industry’s exciting developments.

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/21 QUESTIONS

Exclusive interview with

Sarp Ayken

questions

‎Drilling Manager at Ortadoğu Sondaj

Sarp Ayken was born in 1977 in Izmir, Turkey.

He entered the Geological Engineering Department of Middle East Technical University in 1995. After graduation, he started working as a Site Engineer at Ortadoğu Sondaj (Ortadoğu) in March 2001. He has been with the company ever since.

In these 20 years, Sarp has been involved in many domestic and international projects as an engineer and later as a manager. He has extensive experience working on projects in his home country of Turkey, in Italy, Iran and Pakistan.

Sarp is a member of the Chamber of Geological Engineers of Turkey and the Turkish Association of Economic Geologists. He also is a frequent speaker on Diamond Drilling subjects such as: Slim Hole Drilling Technology, Fluid Mechanics and Drill Mud, and Maximizing Core Recovery at international events. He holds multiple prestigious certifications.

Nowadays, with Sarp in the leadership of Ortadoğu Sondaj, the company has become the largest contractor in Turkey and one of the largest in the region with their own drilling rig and equipment manufacturing facility.

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Grigor Topev: How did you start out in drilling?

Sarp Ayken: My professor in the university was a hydrogeologist and was working as an advisor for a trona mineral exploration project for US Borax around the city of Ankara, Turkey and Ortadoğu Sondaj was the drilling contractor. He recommended me to Ortadoğu for a Site Engineer. This project was a stepping stone as it marked the beginning of my drilling career.

GT: How has the industry changed?

SA: I think the biggest change happened in the technology of the drilling rigs and equipment.

For example, the capacity of drill rigs increased allowing to drill deeper with the same bit size.

The performance of drill bits and other downhole tools has improved a lot allowing faster penetration rates.

I remember that when I was starting even the impregnated bit design was very new in Turkey and no driller was willing to use it. Also, back then, there were almost no hydraulic drill rigs available in Turkey. All of our rigs were the ‘mechanical’ type and it was an adventure and a large achievement in the country when we drilled the first continuous coring borehole deeper than 1000 m (≈ 3281 ft) – the final depth when it was completed, just as I began my career, reached 1003 m (≈ 3291 ft).

Another big change happened in drilling fluids additives. With the improvement and introduction of new products, the characteristics Coring Magazine #17

of drilling fluids improved and changed a lot, mainly from the typical bentonite muds to the more complex bentonite/polymer ones.

This way the knowledge of engineers and drillers increased.

I must also mention here the vast improvement in the attitude towards safety and environment in the drilling sector in these 20 years.

So, with all these changes, drillers and engineers improved themselves and as a result, much deeper boreholes are now being drilled under higher safety and environmental standards.

companies that can be considered as the main players. I think the drilling capacities of the other big players are close to ours, whereas the rest have average to small capacities.

GT: How was this year compared to 2020?

Has the amount of work increased? Have you made any new investments or are you planning to in the near future?

one is in Lahore, Pakistan. We have worked and have completed projects in other parts of Italy and in Iran.

Our Pakistan project was delayed by about a year due to the pandemic, but we are planning to resume within August, 2021. We are still offering to international tenders, and we are about to start a contract on a new project in Asia.

SA: Since 2019, the global demand for exploration drilling has been increasing enormously and the same goes for Turkey

GT: Has the price per drilled meter gone up recently? Do you expect it to increase more over the next year?

GT: Tell us the most important drilling-related practical lesson that you have learned during your career.

SA: I cannot share a particular lesson, but my multitasking ability has definitely increased a lot. I must also note that being a team leader is something that I’m still improving.

GT: You work as a Drilling Manager at Ortadoğu Sondaj. What is the most interesting drilling project of the company that you have ever participated in?

SA: The most interesting project of Ortadoğu Sondaj was the deepest slim hole, which was drilled with the purpose of exploring a geothermal reservoir and was completed at 2146 m (≈ 7041 ft) in N-size in 2013. We drilled in P-size to 973 m (≈ 3192 ft) and used H-size to reach the depth of 1602 m (≈ 5256 ft). We also did some measurements and hole tests after completion. It was a great experience for all of us.

GT: Please tell us about your responsibilities in Ortadoğu Sondaj.

SA: I’m daily monitoring and interfering (if necessary) with the performance of all the drill rigs through the drillers’ shift reports, which are uploaded to an online platform our company is using, and through the daily reports of our site management. I am also responsible for the arrangement of the drilling crew. Additionally, I am periodically visiting our projects.

GT: Tell us about the drilling industry in Turkey.

SA: Especially this year, the drilling industry in Turkey is very hectic. Currently, we are the biggest (exploration) drilling company in Turkey with 35 drill rigs on the ground and we have an annual drilling capacity of about 350 000 m (1 148 300 ft). Although there are a lot of drilling companies of various sizes in Turkey, I can say that we are amongst the two or three Drillers’ trusted publication

‘In the previous years, there were some foreign drilling companies, which tried to work in Turkey, but none of them stayed. I think the biggest reason was that the formations in Turkey are not easy to drill, which makes most projects hard to complete.’

as well. Our company’s policy during this period is to preserve the number of drill rigs and our core drilling crew, increase the quality of all the work elements we are responsible for and train new drillers. In the near future, we don’t have any plans for new investments or expanding the number of drill rigs or drillers.

Over the last 10 years, our company has been operating globally. We have two branch offices. One being in Pisa, Italy and the other

SA: Even if you consider the currency of the price per drilled meter in USD or EUR, unfortunately, the rates in Turkey have gone down.

We hope and expect an increase in the next year because there is a huge global increase in the demand for raw materials, such as metal, silver, plastic, etc. and this has a large impact on our rates. Rates are also affected by local price hikes of fuel, labor, etc.

GT: Are there any foreign drilling companies in Turkey?

SA: In the previous years, there were some foreign drilling companies, which tried to work in Turkey, but none of them stayed. I think the biggest reason was that the formations in Turkey are not easy to drill, which makes most projects hard to complete. If a company intends to work abroad, profitability expectations are much higher than for domestic projects. In Turkey, however, that is not the case, as the prices are low and the risk is high! Also, this fact makes it very difficult for foreign companies to compete with the local contractors.

GT: What are the main differences between Turkish and international contractors? What do you think they could learn from your region?

SA: Turkish contractors take jobs regardless of the volume of work. However, international contractors usually want to work long-term.

Also, one of the main differences I’ve seen in international contractors, who have worked in Turkey, is that sometimes they stick to the contractual items too much. This can make things complicated in the projects.

GT: When talking about surveying, core orientation, cementing, wedging, directional drilling, what are the preferred products that Turkish drilling contractors tend to use?

SA: For practical reasons, we mostly prefer Devico products. For surveying, we use the magnetic or nonmagnetic tools, such as 7

/21 QUESTIONS

DeviSoft (a Multishot instrument) and DeviFlex. For core orientation purposes, we prefer DeviCore. In some projects, depending on the availability of Devico products, we can use Reflex ACT for core orientation applications.

For cementing, we usually use ordinary Portland 42.5 cement (CEM- I or CEM- II type) that can be found on the market. For some special cases, like deep drilling a slim hole for geothermal (where there is intensive heat at the borehole) or salt drilling projects, we do Class-G cement with some lubricants to extend the setting time of cement. Wedging tools are our own manufacturing.

GT: What drilling equipment do you supply locally and what do you use external suppliers for?

SA: Our company also has a manufacturing division, GEO Drilling Machinery Co. We are the main customer and almost all of the drilling equipment is being supplied to Ortadoğu from this company. We use external suppliers only for surveying tools and drilling mud additives. Most of our mud additive suppliers are also local.

GT: What are the main challenges that the industry in Turkey faces? Why? SA: The biggest challenge our company is facing is the supply of raw materials both domestically and internationally. Especially due to the pandemic in the last two years, this has started to become a very big problem in the

industry. For example, the price of steel has increased by about 250% in the last year while silver – by about 40%.

Another challenge in the industry in Turkey is that some domestic manufacturers produce drilling equipment that doesn’t conform to international specifications like DCDMA. Sometimes we like to purchase some equipment from local suppliers as well, but if it is not produced by the standards, you cannot use it with your own equipment. For example, you don’t want to mix a drill rod with your standard drill rods if the threads don’t match.

GT: Turkey is known for its many diamond drill rigs producers, I would say more than most of the countries. Why do you think this is?

SA: When you consider the dedicated diamond drill rig producers, they are not many. Actually, I would say that there are only two or three professional ones in Turkey. That is because producing and selling a drill rig also means providing servicing for at least one year after the rig is sold. In this manner, among all the big companies in the world that are both drilling contractors and at the same time manufacturers, our company is the 2nd or 3rd, as it produces all its drill rigs and equipment (including drill bits!). It also has a 350 000 m (1 148 300 ft) annual drilling capacity with 35 rigs.

I would highlight two facts as the reasons for choosing to become a drill rig producer:

Ortadoğu’s drill site from bird’s eye view, Chiniot, Pakistan 8

1.

2.

prices of imported drill rigs being exorbitant and, it takes extremely long for spare parts from abroad to arrive in Turkey (sometimes it takes seven–eight weeks). In case of a breakdown, no contractor can allow its drill rig to wait on standdown for such a long time.

GT: How often do you have to use casing and reduce the size to reach the final depth?

SA: As I’ve mentioned, drilling in Turkey is difficult because of the country’s geology.

Although most of the time we aim to drill the holes all in one size, usually this is not the case. Depending on the target depth and formation, in some projects we have to use three or four different sizes, even for a 400 m (1312 ft) to 500 m (1640 ft) hole, to be able to reach the final depth.

GT: If you get a chance to work on a drilling project anywhere in the world, where would that be and why?

SA: I’ve worked in many project areas that have beautiful nature. For example, there are very beautiful areas in Western Turkey and thankfully, we still have a few projects there.

Also, we had a project for Enel Green Power in the beautiful Tuscany region, Italy. I would really like working in those kinds of environments.

GT: With your experience, what would be the advice you can give to the professionals from other countries/regions?

SA: A drilling project can be condensed into three steps: the first one is to sign the contract, the second is to start and complete the project with all the deliverables and the third is to receive your money. In all three, the client and contractor have different roles and responsibilities.

In some projects, there may be very challenging technical problems caused by geological or environmental circumstances and there may be a need for mutual understanding between the contractor and the client. Contracts are of course an extremely important and necessary part of a project. But when we face some problems, I believe that the key to the solution is to always maintain good communication between the representatives of each group on the site. So, my advice to the professionals would be: don’t stick to the words inside a contract to solve problems on site.

On the other hand, for the companies that would like to expand and work abroad, they have to know the laws and regulations of the Coring Magazine #17

country extremely well before contracting.

Otherwise, since some countries may have very different regulations, companies might trip on one of the three steps I mentioned.

GT: There is a growing labor shortage for skilled drillers, geologists and even drilling rigs and equipment in some countries.

Are you experiencing something similar in Turkey?

SA: For many years, our company’s policy has been to train our crew from the very basics. All our drillers have begun as helpers in our company before becoming drillers. We also usually prefer new graduate geologists as site managers, and they undergo our periodical training programs. So, we are not experiencing a labor shortage in our company. Thanks to GEO Drilling Machinery, we don’t have a problem with rig or equipment shortages either.

drillers, and I can say that about half of them are experienced. However, in the 25 years of our company’s history, there have been so many drillers, who have retired or quit our company, some of them being very experienced. A few have established their own drilling companies, some went abroad and many of them are still working in other companies in Turkey.

So, regarding only the ones I know, I don’t think that it is difficult to find experienced drillers in Turkey. But if the question is: ‘Is it difficult to find a good driller who fits the operation and the policies of your company?’, then my answer would be no, it is not difficult.

It is very difficult.

GT: Is it difficult to find experienced drillers in Turkey?

GT: What do you think about automation and the implementation of AI technologies in diamond drilling? How are they accepted in your country? From your point of view, do they make drillers’ work easier?

SA: ‘Experienced driller’ is a tricky term. Currently, our company employs around 100

SA: I think that AI technologies in diamond drilling will be the dominating and defining

factor both for manufacturers and clients that want to contract in drilling projects. Our company is also conducting its own research and development on this matter.

GT: What is in the future for diamond drilling in Turkey?

SA: Three years ago, the Government of Turkey announced a policy to explore and mine all underground resources in the country. They also announced a massive long-term exploration program. So, we expect that diamond drilling in Turkey will see a large boost in the future.

Actually, two years ago it sped up and we expect this acceleration to continue at least for a few more years. C

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/IN FOCUS

KATI OY:

Forty years of prospecting in the toughest Arctic conditions

by Matti Rautakoski, Business Manager at Oy Kati Ab Kalajoki

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Coring Magazine #17

KATI OY

Company history KATI Oy (KATI) was founded by two young men in 1980. In fact, it was the first private company to start offering core drilling in Finland. Until then, core drilling was carried out solely by a state-owned company. One of the KATI founders was working there and saw opportunities to revolutionize the industry in Scandinavia. He found a common ground with his brother-in-law, and they began operating with one Atlas Copco Diamec drill rig. Since 2019, a new generation of entrepreneurs has taken the lead and continues the same business idea by bringing something new to the well-proven concept. KATI is still running as a family business.

Company development KATI started the first projects abroad in Sweden during 1990s. Roughly after the turn of the century, exploration activity began increasing in the Nordic countries. Since then, drilling operations have been expanding steadily to what they are today.

Nowadays, KATI has 16 rigs, most of them for surface coring. From the early 2000s, the company has paid much attention to environmentally friendly exploration. In 2004, KATI’s environmental management system was certified according to ISO 14001 standards, which was quite uncommon among drilling companies, showing that KATI was ahead of its time. KATI has since developed a number of solutions for eco-friendly exploration drilling, its water recirculation system being probably the most famous of them.

In 2020, KATI generated EUR 18.7 million in sales and was employing 135 people. There was a slight decrease in sales compared to 2019, due to COVID-19, projects getting canceled or delayed, travel restrictions and budget changes.

‘Today we are a company that strives to find and develop new methods, techniques, tools and services, which we can implement to our business and offer even more advanced and tailored help to our customers’ needs,’ says Tapani Niskakangas, Operational Manager and Chairman of Board.

Team Even though there has been a recent change in the ownership and leadership, it was more of a technical nature rather than bringing in totally new faces. The current management and owners have been in the business for a long time. ‘My experience starts from 1993 as an off-sider, and since then I have been involved in the industry,’ comments Tapani Niskakangas, one of the second-generation entrepreneurs.

An in-house built KATI rig Drillers’ trusted publication

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/IN FOCUS

‘KATI operates on various kinds of drilling projects. When there is an exceptionally challenging situation, KATI is often the preferred drilling contractor of choice, which contributes for resolving any problem.

In the end, it is about delivering the core to the client, this is why the company exists.’

The first drill rig of KATI, working in Central Finland in 1980 KATI’s drill teams have the chance to work independently; they are used to it and like the autonomy that the work gives them. Autonomy is part of the company’s work culture that has been preserved and nurtured for over 40 years, as it has proven to be successful and appreciated.

Equipment KATI’s rigs are designed and built in-house. The main reason is that there are not many choices for ready-made drill rigs which are suitable for Nordic conditions. In-house manufacturing also allows quick updates and modifications, which are sometimes necessary for different projects or to reflect changes in safety standards.

The rig fleet has standard surface coring rigs, underground and heli-portable rigs. Most of the drills are Sandvik-made, but heavily modified to become as they appear on-site. Their key features are agility in the hilly, boggy and forested areas, as well as a comfortable and safe working environment. It is quite typical that temperatures may vary between 30°C (86°F) all the way to -40°C (-40°F), which is why the drills must offer shelter for the employees. Most of the drill rigs are mounted on rubber tracks, which is a useful feature in the Arctic conditions and in the pristine nature. The rigs can drill from B-size up to P-size. The newest drill rig is made by Epiroc and has some computerized features.

When it comes to drilling equipment, KATI has developed their own KATI-100 rod size, which has a relatively small outer diameter making it maneuverable by fairly compact rigs, which cannot drill with P-size.

With KATI-100, the core diameter is 69 mm (2.72 in), which is significantly bigger than H-size (63.5 mm (2.5 in)). The volume of core is 18% more than in H-size, making KATI-100 a tempting choice for applications such as metallurgical test drilling and for certain types of gold exploration drilling, as well as some downhole installations.

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Service range Exploration core drilling is the main activity of the company. However, it goes together with many additional services. Among them are the deviation surveys, the demand for which is rapidly increasing.

Directional core drilling is also becoming more and more popular. Drill targets are deeper than they used to be, so there is more distance to cover, making hole deviation a bigger issue. In order to overcome these problems, KATI has been working closely with one of the most famous companies in this field, Norway-based Devico AS (Devico). Together, the two companies have carried out directional core drilling for years on a constant basis in Agnico Eagle’s gold mine in Kittila, Lapland, Finland.

The KATI survey team also has deep knowledge in deviation surveys with real north seeking gyros, such as Stockholm Precision Tools (SPT).

Another special service offered by the KATI survey team is packer testing, which is used to give data of bedrock’s hydraulic conductivity.

Projects KATI operates on various kinds of drilling projects. When there is an exceptionally challenging situation, KATI is often the preferred drilling contractor, which contributes to resolving any problem. In the end, it is about delivering the core to the client, this is why the company exists.

The deepest hole drilled by KATI is 2024 m (≈ 6640 ft) with N-size in 2020. The hole is located in the Zinkgurvan mine in Sweden. Another almost similar in its depth hole that the company achieved, 2015 m (≈ 6611 ft), is located in Espoo, Finland. The latter is a sounding hole for geothermal power plant that has been drilled for an energy company ST1 in 2015.

There were several occasions where a target which had been deemed almost impossible to drill with the standard type of surface drilling, Coring Magazine #17

KATI OY

turned out to be quite reachable when KATI entered the picture. A recent project of this kind is owned by Aurion Resources and is situated on a steep hill covered with big boulders, making access extremely difficult by both wheeled and tracked vehicles. Together with the Aurion CEO Matti Talikka, KATI conceived the idea of using rubber mats as a road to the hilltop, which made the target area accessible by standard drills.

This revolutionary road enabled the completion of a full-scale drilling project for the first time.

Another example of a rare and special situation is from Eastern Finland, where a company wanted to explore under a lake. There was drilling done on top of the lake both during the winter and the summer. However, to get a complete understanding of the deposit, it had to be approached from a different angle - horizontally. KATI and Devico made a joint project and started drilling on the lakeshore at a 40 degrees angle. At a certain point, directional core drilling was introduced, and the angle was gradually changed to almost horizontal. Eventually, the ore section was reached and penetrated at about 500 m (≈ 1640 ft), which was not too far away from the bottom of the lake. Several holes were made with this method and valuable information was produced for the customer.

One of the projects representing the combination of state-of-the-art technology and Arctic know-how is the Sakatti project in Northern Finland. It is a world-class multi-metal deposit, located deep under a nature conservation area, so it is mandatory to collect drill cuttings and clean all of the water, used in the drilling process. KATI has designed and developed a closed system unit that meets the standards given by the authorities and helps with leaving practically zero traces from drilling.

Minimized traces are also possible because drilling is done only when

there is snow cover protecting the ground. To extend the season, KATI has the equipment to make artificial snow, which is used to prepare routes and drill pads (read more in Issue 15).

Gemcokati, a prosperous blend of East and West in the Indian exploration sector Many people are not aware that KATI also has a solid presence in India. Since 2010, Gemcokati Exploration Private Limited (Gemcokati) has been operating as a joint venture between two companies, KATI and Gemco. Gemco is an Indian company, and it was in the business way before KATI joined. The first half of this decade-length cooperation was fairly challenging for many reasons, starting from cultural differences to adapting to political changes and a slow market situation. During the past few years, Gemcokati has evolved into a dynamic, efficient and very desirable drilling contractor and a partner for major Indian mining companies, such as TATA Steel, Vedanta Resources and many more. The company operates pan India, except in the northern part. A great share of its activity focuses on the mineral-rich eastern part of the country.

As of this year, Gemcokati employs 400 people. They have 15 hydraulic drills and 50 rigs of other types, such as semi-hydraulic and mechanical. The idea right from the start has been to develop a strong company in the Indian market by merging Gemco’s local contact network and understanding of Indian business climate with top quality working culture, drilling technical knowledge and quality- and system-oriented thinking. This has not been a walk in the park, but hard work pays off and KATI now has an exceptional Indo-European company that is being highly recognized among Indian exploration and mining companies. It

KATI drill rigs reaching the drill area with the help of rubber mats Drillers’ trusted publication

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Drilling in extremely cold weather attracts talented and skilled people due to the positive, fresh and slightly Western type of working culture. The growth in India will continue and Gemcokati has the potential to also expand in other Asian and African countries.

tween the two countries. ‘These kinds of procedures are easily found frustrating, and they stress people in the long run, but our drillers have stayed strong and now luckily, the border crossing seems to be easier again,’ Ojala describes the latest situation.

Health & safety

‘The KATI way’ to operate

Mining and exploration have been in many ways at the forefront in achieving safety. There are practices that have been adopted from the aviation industry, which is known for the long heritage in maximized safety-based thinking. ‘Even relatively small companies must meet the standards of the mining companies, which is not necessarily the same in some other fields of business,’ notes CEO Markku Ojala and continues, ‘We are proud to be in a sector where safety is considered so seriously.’

This year, the KATI safety management system will be certified according to the ISO 45001 standard. With that, the company will have three certified systems, the other two being quality and environment management systems.

Coping with COVID-19 has brought many challenges and many new practices have been created. For example, crossing the state border between Finland and Sweden has been much different from the usual, as for some time negative tests were always required while driving be-

KATI is well-known for its capability to deliver high-quality samples at any cost. It may be fractured rock, nasty fault zones, difficult access or other challenging conditions.

The KATI business values always strive to meet those of the customers and focus on making the right decisions to achieve successful exploration and good practices and turn the company into the dream place to work. These values contain more than just a few words and they are taught to all new employees as well as reminded to all existing personnel. These are lessons which are fully applicable during daily work, not merely idealistic slogans.

To put this philosophy into a few more words, KATI wants to excel by having the best equipment to complete the work, by being innovative in solving the customers’ problems, by overcoming challenges and by creating genuine cooperation. C

For more information Visit: www.oykatiab.com

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Coring Magazine #17

The new era of safety.

Safety is the challenge, CX Line is the answer. Compact design, hands-free rod handling system for fully automated and remote controlled operations: it’s the new range of exploration drilling rigs.

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/LABOR SHORTAGE

Labor shortage in Canada An interview with top drilling professionals

As projects reopened and the prices of commodities skyrocketed, rumors of a labor shortage in Canada spread.

Over the past six months, professional groups on social media became littered with job postings, as opposed to people looking for work.

What is the state of the industry? Is there indeed a labor shortage in Canada and how does it affect driller wages, projects and competition? Coring Magazine presents not only answers to these questions, but an exclusive deep look of the industry in Canada.

We have explored the labor shortage in details by interviewing four representatives of the hottest diamond drilling contractors in Canada. Each response is presented without editorial changes in order to reach the core of the issue.

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Coring Magazine #17

Every story has two sides and Coring aims to reveal both of them. To reach the core of the Labor shortage issue, our magazine not only interviewed industry professionals but also conducted an online survey on the opinions of drillers.

The results, while not statistical, still paint a picture of the situation in Canada. Most of the respondents were indeed from Canada, close to 60% of all, with the US being second with 15%. Almost all have confirmed that there is an ongoing labor shortage (there was just one respondent to answer ‘No’). Furthermore, the reasons for this situation also match: not enough young people enter into the industry. This sentiment does echo the ongoing generational clash, particularly since most of the North American respondents have over 10 years of experience in the industry.

According to Deloitte Global 2021 survey, the Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) and Gen-Z (1997 to 2012) value job stability, healthy work-life balance and the state of the environment much more than previous generations.

These views are in collision with the nature of mineral exploration drilling and the unfair reputation that the industry gets.

Another reason, touched upon by several respondents and corroborated

by Coring sources, could be the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Closures have forced many experienced drillers to exit the industry and with the restrictions to travel, there are less people available. The work meanwhile seems to be even more, as projects struggle to make up for lost time and new opportunities sprout thanks to the record increases of prices of most of the commodities.

In consequence, 50% of all responders have noted that the labor shortage has affected their work negatively, while another 10% are not certain. ‘Yes’ is a prevailing answer amongst experienced and/or senior drillers, while ‘No’ and ‘Maybe’ have been chosen primarily by people from other regions or with less years in the industry.

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Likely, the answer is somewhere in between these two reasons. But the ongoing labor shortage also raises the question of wages. There appears to be an even split amongst the responders; half had seen an increase. Amongst Canadians, the distribution is vastly different - approximately 80% of respondents report increases. Most of them, however, seem to be driven by a change in the company they work for.

There is indeed a growing competition between contractors and money is the driving force. Seventy-five percent of all responders and almost everyone from Canada have reported that they or their colleagues have been approached by other companies within the past year.

Alongside the bump in salary, the offers include better travel pay and improved conditions.

It is difficult to estimate and exact the percentage of wage increase that would compel drillers to change jobs. According to 85% of all responses, it would take more than 10%. This answer is prevalent in people with more experience and/ or from industry-leading companies. In another 10% of the answers, 4% - 8% would be sufficient and only several responders have chosen 1% - 3% (none are Canadian).

There appear to be other challenges.

Drill rigs seem to also be in demand, with some predicting a full-blown shortage in the upcoming months. Additionally, the labor shortage may not be limited just to Canada. More information is needed, but the responses and other information Coring has obtained, suggest it could be spread across the developed regions of the world (US, Australia and Europe). Considering the attitude towards the industry and the lack of proper funding in Geology education (see the conversation with Dr Brett Davis on p. 43), this shortage could remain, and quick, effective solutions seem to be in even shorter supply than drillers themselves.

‘The work meanwhile seems to be even more, as projects struggle to make up for lost time and new opportunities sprout thanks to the record increases of prices of most of the commodities.’

Read responses 17

/LABOR SHORTAGE

TB

KS

Tim Bremner

Kevin Slemko

Senior Vice President North America

Corporate Business Development Manager

Foraco International

Major Drilling

What is your opinion on the ongoing labor shortage and drillers’ daily wages? What are the main reasons?

‘The market for skilled drillers, helpers, supervisors and mechanics has never been tighter. It has limited the number of rigs our company can put to work and has impacted those that are currently in operation. This shortage has spurred in significant increase in wages and benefits as various contractors pitch lofty offers to attract crews. The situation is unsustainable and overall not very healthy for the industry.

The main reason is the prolonged downturn in the industry lasting almost 9 years. Many who worked as drillers have retrained and left the industry. Others have found new careers that have a better work/life balance and in some cases even pay more than drilling.’

‘With the current exploration demand in North America, we are experiencing a strain on our labor pool. We are facing this challenge along with our competitors. Wages are sometimes being dictated by the demand.

The main reasons we are experiencing the labor shortages is due to the 6-year industry downturn, a lot of experienced people have left the industry. Also, fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a slower influx of the unemployed getting back into the work force. Plus, we have seen reluctance from newer generations wanting to adopt the driller lifestyle and schedule.’

How does it affect your company? Were you forced to increase driller/staff salaries?

What do you do to retain your current staff?

‘As I mentioned, we are short on crews on about 50% of our projects. In addition, we cannot respond to new tenders and field the remaining drills. We’ve been forced to increase wages at least twice in the past twelve months.

In order to retain the crews we have, we use long term contracts, wages and benefits within the top 80 percentile, safe work sites with good equipment, visible management, fair labor practices and predictable rotations.’

‘Costs have been affected and we anticipate they will continue to increase. This is mainly due to wage increases and higher investment costs of recruiting, training/trainers, retention/signing and referral bonuses.’

Do you expect potential production/project delays caused by the ongoing labor shortage?

‘Yes, and we are experiencing them now.

This is having a significant impact on the financial performance of the company – and you simply can’t pass on the costs to the customer.’

‘We are already seeing certain project delays and have been declining some bids because of the lack of labor availability in certain areas. Some of our current customers are adding rigs and/or extending drilling programs which we need to prioritize.’

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Coring Magazine #17

RS

DS

Ryan Sunderland

Devin Smith

Shareholder and Supervisor

Business Manager

Bryson Drilling

More Core Diamond Drilling Services

‘My opinion would be that there does not appear to be enough of a pay increase incentive for people to work at a career like this, where you need to be away from your family for extended periods of time. The best example I can think of is a basic machinery operator for this area gets almost the same hourly as a driller and is home every night.

The other major factor is how seasonal the work can be. In previous years for us, retention of a full crew has been difficult due to lack of work. Because of this, in some instances workers only work 4-6 months of actual work on-site. This also causes the lack of ability for promotion, so workers find jobs in other fields that are steadier. These workers that have been leaving the industry over the past 5 years are the workforce that is currently needed with market conditions, but it will take 3-4 years for the proper training to take place.

This has also created a problem with being able to promote workers to get the needed experience to become drillers.’

‘The price of gold and other market forces are incentivizing mining investments and activities placing a high demand on labor. I wouldn’t characterize it as a shortage relative to other years, only relative to the high demand.’

‘For retention of experienced workers, we did significantly increase pay scale. This affected us in that our tenders needed rate increases, becoming more costly for clients and increasing chance of non-awardal. We attempt to make working conditions better and appease individual schedules.’

‘I wouldn’t say we were ‘forced’. We did increase salaries and benefits as a business choice to help us maintain a quality work force.’

‘For us it does not seem to be an issue, as we turn down work that we do not have sufficient existing crew to accommodate. But I do expect this is an issue for the industry as a whole. I see it as very possible that companies are potentially having difficulty finding contractors to drill within their timelines, even if they are receiving less experienced workers.’

‘We have turned work away this year but not strictly due to lack of labor. We’re pretty busy as it is. To take on any more work would have stretched our capacity in other ways such as equipment and administration.’

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/LABOR SHORTAGE

Tim Bremner

Senior Vice President North America Foraco International

Kevin Slemko

Corporate Business Development Manager Major Drilling

Are the daily wages the main factor for drillers to change jobs?

‘No. Work/life balance and security are the most important. Some, however, are tempted by the higher wages only to find out that 6 weeks later they are looking for new assignments. Many crews prefer a 2 week on, 2 week off rotation in favor of higher wages.’

‘I think getting the wage right is a factor in the decision but what makes great people want to come and stay at the right company will be how they are treated.

Are they paid fair, provided with the right benefits, given a schedule that works for them and their families, and do they have the right equipment to do their job safely and efficiently?’

Does the labor shortage affect the competition between drilling contractors and how?

‘Not really, but I don’t understand how a company can increase labor costs so significantly without serious impact to the bottom line. We have not seen rates for drilling services increase at the same rate as wages – far from it. This situation may result in some companies failing.’

‘It does affect the competition between drilling contractors but instead of the competition to be awarded work, we are in competition to find labor for our current and future projects.’

How much of a difference in wages can make a driller go on a job with less attractive working conditions?

‘Twenty per cent more.’

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‘It is a direct correlation to the conditions of the job. If employees have to work the wrong rotation, live in a camp that is not up to modern standards, or deal with difficult people, you have to match the extra pay to the amount of perceived disadvantage.’

Coring Magazine #17

Ryan Sunderland Shareholder and Supervisor Bryson Drilling

Devin Smith

Business Manager More Core Diamond Drilling Services

‘I would not say the daily wages as much as the lifestyle comparison. Most previous workers of ours that have gotten out of the industry, mention mostly being at home more and a steady paycheck making life significantly easier for budgeting. It is reassuring for people to know when their next paycheck is coming and build their life around that, other than seasonal work.’

‘I would say there appears to be less competition between contractors in terms of contract awardals, but more competition in terms of labor retention.’

‘Of course, it does. That’s true in every industry. In this market, workers have options, and they know it, so the contractors who try to get by being the lowest bidder might find themselves with a handful of contracts and nobody to work them. It’s a balancing act that really favors contractors with a solid reputation and repeat customers who are willing to pay what it takes to keep getting core out of the ground and do it safely.’

‘When the industry was not as busy, anyone sticking with it did not appear to need a significant wage bump to go into spots with less attractive working conditions, but with current labor shortages, I would estimate most drillers would expect a significant wage bump to go to such places because there are nicer jobs needing workers the same.’

‘It’s hard to quantify an answer to this question but it’s a good one. The changes from job site to job site and from month to month create a moving target of working conditions. On the other hand, there are some constants regarding working conditions on certain long-term projects that employees do become familiar with that cause a few of them to either beg for the opportunity to return or refuse to go back regardless of the incentives. But I believe the firsthand knowledge and on the ground experience of our management team has created an empathetic response in our employees that make this company different than some. We’ve been able to use monetary incentives and investments in improving working conditions that have to lead to a relatively stable work force, in spite of the competitive environment we’re in that makes it difficult to do so.

Higher wages can help where working conditions are tough. But our employees are generally willing to push through less than favorable working conditions in order to stay with us but it’s not just about the wage.’

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21

/LABOR SHORTAGE

Tim Bremner

Senior Vice President North America Foraco International

Kevin Slemko

Corporate Business Development Manager Major Drilling

Are companies poaching staff from their competitors, if so, how?

‘Yes. Mostly using social media and direct solicitation. This is totally unacceptable.’

‘As a company it is our responsibility to build the right set of conditions instead of worrying about someone trying to hire the people away from us. When we do it right, people want to stay. We are a small industry overall and understand our employees are exposed to other offers but we are confident that when you take care of your employees, they stay and help make the company a success.’

Is the labor shortage impacting the industry negatively and how?

‘There will be a correction in the market.

Drilling services will not be required to the extent they are now. Rates will fall and competitive bidding will mean labor rates will get reduced significantly. This uncertainty makes our industry even less attractive than it is today – given the new generation workers, who are not necessarily that much in love with the lifestyle of a diamond driller.’

‘The shortage is a negative impact because keeping up with the demand is a constant challenge. Exploration and mining companies are being challenged to find a drilling contractor that has availability. We as a contractor are working hard to promote, attract and retain crews to take on additional requests from partners, but we always commit only to projects we can complete and have a positive outcome for both parties.’

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Coring Magazine #17

Ryan Sunderland

Devin Smith

‘Yes, that is definitely happening. Although, in most cases I find it is the individual using their skill as a personal marketing tool to try and achieve a higher pay rate for themselves.

There also does seem to be the occasional where company hiring representatives will contact workers who had previously worked for them or been referred by a current employee of theirs. They typically go straight to job offers and in some cases wage incentives to exceed where they are currently working.

It is always difficult to explain, but most drillers have worked for one or numerous companies in previous years for various reasons (typically work shortages with any specific company). I have even seen where a worker quits one jobsite for company X after secretly attaining a new position with company Y drilling a neighboring property and has company Y pick him up from company X’s worksite.’

‘Every business has to make choices in an effort to stay ahead of their competitors.

That’s why they’re called competitors. Human resources are the number one requirement of almost every business in existence so to exclude them out of the ‘competition’ all together would be unrealistic. However, drilling companies have one of the most daunting challenges of any business and as such, there’s a bond there amongst many of them that can’t be ignored in the name of ‘fair competition’. The logistical challenges and stress involved in delivering several tons of steel and crews of young men and women to some of the most extreme environments on Earth, then successfully complete the project in a way that brings everyone home safely provides endless opportunities for ‘competitors’ to become ‘great friends’. We’re way more likely to share resources, including workers than we are to poach anyone.’

‘I believe the labor shortage will impact the industry negatively in quality of work, typically costing more $/meter for companies to drill. Any sub-standard labor (everyone’s opinion varies on what is considered sub-standard) causes less production, or in difficult drilling locations, lower hole completion percentages, or need to use various drilling methods that may be unnecessary (such as need to reduce drill string size, sometimes referred to as telescoping) because they lack the proper experience to correctly utilize specific drill muds, understand what to do when grounds are caving, how to avoid being stuck in the hole, etc.’

‘No. If anything, the incentives are helping to bring more people in. Like I said, it’s only a shortage relative to the high demand. High demand is good.

I should add; this year for the first time we’re actually importing workers from the US and Mexico by sponsoring them to obtain workers permits. It’s an expensive strategy to combat the labor shortage but we believe in doing what it takes to keep the drills turning especially for our repeat good paying customers. This market won’t last forever, it never does. You have to take advantage of it while it’s hot. The labor shortage is just the other side of the coin of a very hot market so having an affective strategy to deal with it is a must. We’re not complaining. We survived through times where the phone was ringing off the wall with workers looking to land anything they could get, but we couldn’t land enough work for them. We’ll take the hot market with the labor shortage any day.’ C

Shareholder and Supervisor Bryson Drilling

Business Manager More Core Diamond Drilling Services

Coring Magazine will continue following the developments of the situation. Thank you to all respondents for their time!

Drillers’ trusted publication

23

Recon Drilling:

Reaching new depths at the Santander mine in Peru

by Mark Scoles, General Manager at Recon Drilling SAC

Recon Drilling (Recon) are proudly drilling for Trevali Mining at their Santander mine, some 200 km (125 mi) away from Lima, Peru. The zinc, lead and silver underground mine consists of a 2000-tonne-per-day processing mill, a conventional sulphide flotation mill, and associated infrastructure.

Recon’s project has started in mid-December 2020 and is still ongoing.

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Coring Magazine #17

/CASE STUDY

Recon have a team of experienced local Peruvian professionals in all capacities on the project, from supervision and safety, through maintenance and the drill crews themselves.

We also have an Australian project manager with extensive global drilling experience on board. Owing to this talented team and a fantastic client to work for, Recon have thankfully had a smooth start in Peru and continue to learn about handling the local conditions to ensure any issues arising in the future will be managed.

The project is using a world-class Sandvik DE740 drill rig on tracks. It has the capacity to drill P-size – 830 m (≈ 2723 ft), H-size – 1230 m (≈ 4035 ft), N-size – 1837 m (≈ 6027 ft) and B-size – 2350 m (≈ 7710 ft) at sea level. The rig is set up at an altitude between 4500 m (14 800 ft) and 5000 m (16 400 ft), making for some incredible views, high up in the Peruvian mountains.

The very first hole we drilled for the project was our very first hole in Peru as well. We reached a depth of 1990.3 m (≈ 6530 ft) - the deepest that has even been drilled in Santander, and one of the deepest holes in the whole country. Aside from the depth, we successfully drilled through several major faults on the way to completion. Moving forward, average hole depths have been around 600 m (1970 ft) and 800 m (2625 ft). In addition, we are the first company to use the Reflex HUB for drill reports - a cloud-based data management and analysis solution with near-real-time updates - so we are paperless with our reporting to the client. This is extremely helpful for the invoicing process, as it is an all-in-one system and fits with our commitment to improve environmental standards.

Drilling at such a high altitude brings its own challenges as the crew and equipment come face to face with the elements of Mother Earth. In one day, the weather can vary dramatically including spots of sunshine, snowstorms and freezing winds. This makes for a difficult scenario to work in and requires preparedness. For the equipment, we needed to winterize the rig, the waterlines, etc. We also had to instruct our crews to drain the pumps immediately after a shutdown as water would Drillers’ trusted publication

freeze quickly at this high altitude and could crack the pumps.

The crews must hydrate and manage fatigue on a constant basis, while handling the different weather conditions. The health, safety and wellbeing of our workers are top priorities.

For this reason, we have taken the extra precaution to help mitigate fatigue by increasing crew sizes. Each crew has an extra off-sider permanently added to the team. The company provides a rig office on the drill site for shelter and warmth, which is also a place to heat up meals, make coffee, eat a hot lunch, etc.

With all of this effort, so far eleven holes have been completed on plan. There’s more drilling ahead of us and Recon go to extra lengths to make sure the project stays on track.

About the company Established in 2020, Recon Drilling provide diamond core drilling services to major, intermediate and junior mining companies in Peru and in the LATAM region. With a modern fleet of drills adapted for high altitudes, the company specializes in deep directional drilling using DHM (Down Hole Motor) and wedging methods. Recon Drilling is a subsidiary of Geodrill Limited, best known for its extensive footprint throughout Africa and its enviable reputation of providing safe, professional specialized drilling services to major, mid-tier and small exploration companies.

Geodrill has always invested in modern equipment and world-class operations to supply their clients with a ‘one-stop’ drilling solution. As a purpose-led company, their expertise, experience in the field, highest maintenance and HSEQ standards, and ESG vision and values, have earned Geodrill a reputation for delivering results. This is demonstrated by an impressive rig growth, attributable to a strong culture of professionalism, customer satisfaction, and caring for the communities in which they operate. C

Sunshine and snow at Recon’s drill site

‘We have been very impressed at Trevali with the drilling services provided by Recon Drilling’ said Yan Bourassa, VicePresident of Technical Services & Exploration for Trevali Mining. ‘Recon Drilling has exceeded the expected daily production while maintaining impeccable recoveries and safety track record.'

For more information Visit:www.recondrilling.com

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/CASE STUDY

Servitec Foraco: The path to optimized diamond drilling

by Rafael Echebarrena, Technical Support Manager Brazil Operations at Servitec Foraco

Servitec Foraco were awarded a diamond drilling project located North of Brazil. The project involved an Atlas Copco CS14 drill rig.

The task Search for operational excellence in a new diamond drilling project (H-size/N-size) with the objective of reaching all goals with safety, high productivity and sample quality, and low maintenance.

The solution Monitor, measure and adjust all operational parameters, such as drilling fluid, rotation, pump pressure, diamond bits, etc.

The results At the beginning of the project in March 2021 the average productivity was 13 m (≈ 43 ft) per shift and a daily average of 52 m (≈ 171 ft) per rig. With the monitoring and adjustment of operational parameters, in the following month (May 2021) the average productivity increased to 19.56 m (≈ 64 ft) per shift and with a daily average of 78.24 m (≈ 257 ft) per rig. In June 2021, we reached an average productivity of 24.15 m (≈ 79 ft) per shift and daily average of 96.60 m (≈ 317 ft) per rig. Thus, from March until June 2021 we obtained approximately 85% increase in productivity.

The service life of the H-size diamond bits increased from 40 m (≈ 131 ft) to 90 m (≈ 295 ft), while the N-size diamond bits from 95 m (≈ 312 ft) to 180 m (≈ 591 ft). The result obtained was an increase of 125% in the yield of H-size diamond bits and 89% for N-size diameter.

The details We were awarded a new diamond drilling project by one of the largest mining companies in the world, located in the state of Pará (PA), Brazil. From the first meter drilled, we were monitoring the operational parameters 26

with the help of a fluid specialist, sent by our Brazilian partner - BUN Mud Solution (BMS).

The specialist carried out a daily monitoring of the activities and subsequently developed the most suitable fluid for the perforated lithology. In this specific fluid, we maintained a Marsh viscosity between 45 and 50 seconds with the use of PHPA (Extravis VH) and corrected the pH of the water with the barrel, going from 6 to 9. Lubricating oil (soluble oil) was also used in this formulation, controlling the torque and favoring the preservation and the increase of the diamond bit life.

After this initial stage of drilling fluid preparation, we began monitoring and adjusting the fluid’s pumping pressure rate. At the beginning, we recorded a pressure/flow rate of 63 L (≈ 17 gal) per minute, which is adequate for a pressure/flow rate of 40 L (≈ 11 gal) per minute, as high pressures in the fluid’s pumping rate can slow the penetration rate (advance) and increase the torque, which can cause a collapse of the walls of the well (in friable materials) and a series of problems. With operational parameters adjustment during drilling, we reduced torque, increased penetration rate and controlled fluid velocity during return into the annular space.

Afterwards, we adjusted the rotation speeds and pressures to suit the perforated lithology.

We knew we couldn’t estimate the constant (default) rotation/pressure due to variations that occured in lithology. For this reason, we advised our drillers to always be alert to the probe panel (manometers). And if they were to notice an increase in pressure/torque, they had to make the necessary corrections immediately.

During drilling, it was essential to keep torque down, as we knew the direct relation of this parameter to tool weight and hole depth.

As we went deeper into the hole, and placed more shanks, there was an increase in the to-

tal weight of the tool, and consequent gradual increase in the torque. Through torque we can know if at current depth, there is a hole cleaning problem due to excessive amount of cuttings and other issues that can cause premature wear of the diamond bit matrix. At the beginning of this new project, the BMS fluid specialist evaluated the situation and helped us realize that due to the large number of cuttings, we had to fully dispose of the drilling mud to achieve a decrease in torque. Following this, on every 150 m (≈ 500 ft) on average, the mud pits were emptied and new mud was prepared, avoiding the accumulation of solids and the problems generated by that.

As for the fluid cost for X meters, we calculated the volume of the hole, depending on the diameter, and eliminated a possible waste of additives. The basic relationship was that for each meter drilled in N-size, we had 4.49 L (≈ 1 gal). In a 300 m (≈ 984 ft) hole we would have 1347 L (≈ 356 gal) of fluid inside the well. In H-size we had 7.23 L (≈ 2 gal) per meter and 2169 L (≈ 573 gal) at 300 m (≈ 984 ft). Thus, we kept a maximum volume Coring Magazine #17

Juliano Machado, Project Manager and a mining engineer monitors drilling operations daily

2 RIGS / 4 SHIFTS PER DAY

MARCH

MAY

JUNE

AVERAGE DURATION OF H-SIZE DIAMOND BITS

39

63

91

AVERAGE DURATION OF N-SIZE DIAMOND BITS

95

148

178

AVERAGE METERS DRILLED PER DAY

MARCH

MAY

AVERAGE OF DIAMOND BITS

JUNE

MARCH

MAY

JUNE

Average duration of HQ Diamond bits Average duration of NQ Diamond bits Drillers’ trusted publication

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/CASE STUDY

of 4000 L (≈ 1057 gal) in the returning wells.

This limit helped fluid treatment, facilitating fluid correction and adaptation, and reducing product consumption.

Conclusions Choosing the most suitable diamond bit/matrix for a project is essential. With the appropriate operational parameters, the improvements in the performance of the diamond crowns/matrix are clear and result in the best performance in terms of penetration/yield, productivity per shift and reduced operation costs.

We must emphasize the importance of safety and compliance with operating procedures; respect for the environmental norms and laws; effective preventive maintenance and equipment organization in the drilling areas and survey site. All of these are essential factors that contribute to successful operations. Prioritizing operational excellence, occupational health and environmental rules, Servitec Foraco always achieves results aligned with the customers’ demand and objectives. C

Aerial view of the drill site inside the Amazon Rainforest

For more information Visit www.servitecforaco.com.br

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Coring Magazine #17

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/ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Courtesy of Epiroc

Drilling into the autonomous future of the industry

by Maksim Mayer, Editor at Coring Magazine

Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers a convenient solution to the ongoing qualified driller shortage in North America and elsewhere. Almost all of the leading experts Coring Magazine has talked to in the past years foresee automation becoming central to exploration drilling sooner rather than later. But in the current situation, does this panacea to the struggles of the industry seem too good to be true?

The autonomous drill rig The emergence of autonomous drill rigs seems obvious given their history. One of the first rigs with a programable logic controller was the Diamec 264 APC. It was introduced in the mid-90s by Craelius, a division of Atlas Copco. The rig had a digital display and rudimentary automation functions. A decade later, in the 2000s, the drill rigs with computerized controls appeared. One of the first such examples was the Diamec U6 APC. Over the next years, manufacturers made huge leaps in improving the performance and responsiveness of the controls. Around 2015, Epiroc integrated the Rod Handling Systems, a technology already known to the industry, to the control panels, allowing for more complete automation of tasks, and thus increasing safety. Three years later, data logging from the rig became an option as well as automatic functions, such as auto-drilling and rod running, improving drilling and operations further.

Coring Magazine has covered this progression throughout the years.

Some examples include the Epiroc’s Diamec Smart line of drills - perhaps the most well-known (reviewed all the way back in Issue 1). Another is Comacchio’s CX line (see Issue 15) offering remote control via radio signal and their innovative ComNect™ telemetry system, which gives users real-time equipment status.

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There is a plethora of other solutions from manufacturers and many contractors have also developed their own customized rigs with additional AI functionalities. Drillers have been reaping increasing benefits from these features over the years. Now several manufacturers have taken this even further, creating fully autonomous exploration drill rigs and even more companies are slated to present their solutions within the next months and years.

The promises are lofty: the autonomous systems would be able to control drilling with infinite precision, their improved telemetry would help making complex decisions almost instantaneously without human input, and all data and performance information would be available immediately for analysis and adjustment. Significantly less risk for the workforce and reduced downtime are just the most obvious advantages autonomous drill rigs could bring. Avoiding the costly human errors equals lower costs to repairs, while also generating higher quality core samples – the very thing clients care about.

The examples from the automation of the Mining industry seem to indicate that these rich promises are possible to reap. In 2018, Rio Tinto has reported that their autonomous haul trucks have reduced hauling costs by 15% and on average, each vehicle has operated 700 hours more than their manned counterparts. Another example is the Garpenberg mine in Sweden – the oldest in the country that is still in use. With the help of Coring Magazine #17

tele-remote Epiroc drills, the mine has begun living a second life, as the operators conduct their work from remote and extremely comfortable underground offices. The goal is to increase production from 2.5 million tonnes of ore to 3 million, while also tremendously improving safety. So far, the results are more than promising.

While AI can make more informed - or as some companies boast ‘better’, decisions - fully autonomous drills are still technologically new, expensive and do more complex tasks. This means that there are many kinks and quirks that need testing and fixing before the autonomous rigs could start drilling away at a project near you. Early adoption, the process of trying out new to the market products, is a risky, costly endeavor and presents a set of new and unexplored before questions.

What happens if the AI software faces some sort of a critical issue whilst working in the wilderness where there’s no signal? Is it a simple ‘turn off and on’ solution, or do contractors have to fly in a tech support to the field? And what about updates, patches, and fixes? Even the most rudimentary software reveals bugs and limitations when deployed in unique environments that demand unique use cases. Many contractors worry that without a simple and robust way to fix or update the software performance of autonomous rigs, they could find themselves stuck with a giant hunk of metal that does not work for their specific needs.

There is also the matter of adoption hesitancy within the industry.

Many drillers, perhaps rightly considering the early capabilities of AI, believe that manual control is better. If there is a risk of injury, human reactions may be faster and more accurate. Humans can shut down the rig in specific risky situations, where the AI control may fail to recognize these situations as such and continue drilling.

All these questions, as well as countless others concerns, are on the minds of contractors looking to upgrade or purchase new drill rigs, thanks to the increased interest in the industry. The answers require extensive field testing, data analysis and feedback for manufacturers.

However, the good news seems to be that the industry, particularly the leading companies, are open to becoming early adopters of the autonomous drills. Almost all of the ten biggest contactors by drilled meterage for 2019 are investing into the field, some are also conducting field rig tests in partnership with manufacturers.

With millions of funding into AI, in several years, maybe more and more contractors might become comfortable with the notion of adopting the technology.

project challenges or mechanical issues. Many of the newer drill rigs come with such solutions built-in and some of the leading contractors have used custom safety software to achieve zero loss time injury milestones. One such example is the Epiroc Exploration Manager, a tool analyzing drilling and operation data and enabling users to make informed decisions and actions to improve.

The average improvements to operations from AI drilling software are hard to measure. Most of the developers claim anywhere from 10 to 50% depending on the purpose and the use cases of the software. Many of the solutions are cloud-based and are available on phones, tablets and computers (even through measurement devices, as is the case with DeviCloud), allowing much easier access for all parties involved. Saving precious time and being able to make decisions, without the burden of countless sheets of documents, or an office for that matter, is considered a tremendous, albeit hard to measure, advantage by most industry executives.

AI drilling software does have similar difficulties as autonomous rigs. Bugs, stability and updates are always a point of uncertainty, as well as pricing, accessibility and ease of use. With the vast choice of

Artificial intelligence drilling software While the wide adoption of autonomous drill rigs might seem some ways off, AI and autonomous software have been helping the exploration industry for some time now. In its nature, AI is driven by data and lots of it, so as long as there is enough available, it can do just about anything programmers and engineers can envision. There are more than 30 solutions on the market with various automated and/or AI functions with new ones being frequently released by both equipment manufacturers and independent software companies. Generally, the drilling software falls within two loosely defined categories: • Drilling optimization software gathers and organizes data from drilling, geostatistics, geophysics and anything else of relevance.

They make plans that aim to manage and/or maximize drilling in order to improve efficiency and save money. Objectivety.ca’s DRX, covered in Issue 16, is merely one such example. It relies on data modelling to create more efficient hole plans and/or to reduce the number of meters drilled, while retaining volumetric conversion.

• Drilling safety software is used to monitor the performance of drillers and their equipment, assessing potential safety risks, Drillers’ trusted publication

Courtesy of Titeline Drilling 31

/ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

applications, contractors must do careful research before choosing to employ a certain software to their drilling operations.

Conclusion Artificial Intelligence, despite still being relatively new to the industry, is developing quite a track record for improving both safety and productivity. Drilling software offers a vast number of solutions to most of the tricky, laborious and time-consuming issues within exploration drilling. Autonomous drill rigs, while still some ways off, appear to be a natural continuation of the development of AI. But uncertainty around their applications, functions and viability in the field needs to be properly addressed.

A recurring theme of this article is the quality and stability of software.

The increasing use of AI, both in the shape of autonomous drills and apps, has created the need for more data analysts and software engineers for the industry. Their growing role in the upcoming automation cannot be overstated.

In Michael Bay’s 1998 Armageddon, NASA decides that it would be easier to train drillers to become astronauts than the other way around.

After 20 years, this notion remains absurd, but there is a grain of truth to it. Experienced drillers have unique skills. Even with the workflow improvements from AI software, even with autonomous rigs, in extreme conditions or on complex jobs, human drillers cannot be replaced completely. But their work and safety can simply be improved. C

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Courtesy of Comacchio

Coring Magazine #17

Diamec Smart 6M is here.

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Depth and mobility What do you get when you take one of the most respected underground core drilling rigs on the market and fuse it with a wellproven and mobile carrier? You get the Diamec Smart 6M. Find out more at epiroc.com

Helping drillers improve their performance.

Even when socially distanced. Reach out easily at www.fordia.com/support.

/PRODUCT REVIEW

DeviCloud:

A new standard for planning and monitoring drill holes

by Rune Lindhjem, Senior Technical Advisor at Devico AS

Recent years have seen a big shift towards digitalization and wireless communication in mining operations worldwide. Network access has become common even in the underground sector, improving planning, scheduling and overall daily operations.

With live communication and data transfer between workers, progress can be shared, issues can be corrected and the right decisions can be made immediately. It follows naturally that drilling programs should benefit from the same advancements.

I

n a drilling program, an important part of the daily communication between drill site and ‘office’ relates to drill hole positional and navigational data. The drill crew requires information on where to start drilling and when to continue, while the geologists and engineers need to be updated on the current drill hole position and the final results of completed holes.

The traditional ways of sending information over the phone, two-way radio, text, email or hand-delivery via USB sticks and paper notes have served reasonably well in the past. However, these methods also lead to issues such

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as difficulties in organizing the data, errors due to poor signal, typos, data loss, security vulnerabilities, as well as inefficient delivery or feedback. All these issues cause countless delays or errors to the drilling operation.

DeviCloud is Devico’s complete survey data management system, connecting drillers, geologists and engineers through a fast, secure and uncomplicated cloud-based platform.

The onsite processing, transfer and management of borehole survey data are more streamlined than ever. Providing each defined (and unlimited) user group with immediate access to surveys, as soon as they are uploaded

directly from the handheld survey instrument at the drill site. Supporting two-way communication between site and office, DeviCloud also makes it possible to share and sync drill plans directly to the handheld device at the drill site, reducing the risk of miscommunication.

At its core, DeviCloud is a drill hole position and navigational data management system set to modernize the way information is shared within a drilling program. However, with its advanced functionalities like direct quality control, plotting and data analysis, DeviCloud is far more than just a data sharing and storing Coring Magazine #17

solution. Being cloud-based, the system may be accessed from any device with a network connection, making it easy to follow up on the drilling program even while working from the office, on-site or anywhere else.

A major benefit of DeviCloud is that users can never run outdated software. DeviCloud is continuously advancing its functionalities and being cloud-based, updates immediately become available to all the users. Moreover, security is at the forefront throughout the whole process, with the system utilizing encryption, authentication, managed access levels and geo-redundant storage to safeguard the data.

Cloud storage and login systems are sourced from renowned, industry-leading third-party providers to minimize downtime and ensure the highest possible security. As survey data is uploaded and becomes available in DeviCloud, the user group will have the opportunity to view it in an interactive 3-D plot and compare the surveyed trajectory to the planned.

Furthermore, the quality of each survey can be viewed and assessed, with options to approve and reject data as needed (Figure 1). For drill holes that have been surveyed multiple times or at different stages, all the survey runs can be plotted, analyzed and combined to provide a complete and definitive survey report.

Finally, the data may be exported, either as a configurable text file for import into a wide range of geological modeling software or as a final QA report for offline archiving.

The DeviCloud program was developed inhouse by Devico AS in cooperation with its Aus-

tralian subsidiary, Downhole Surveys Pty Ltd, who like Devico has been at the forefront of survey data management and QA processing software development since the early 90s.

In early 2020, a comprehensive beta testing phase was initiated in Australia for active DeviGyro users, and later that year expanded to include users worldwide. Over the course of the test phase, more than 300 drilling programs including 12 000 holes and more than 55 000 surveys were created and uploaded.

Along with direct feedback from the clients, this extensive database provided invaluable information to the development team.

‘The most effective and time-efficient part for us as the users is the ability to simply log on and upload all the collar shots and gyro (surveys) in a matter of seconds. The safety of the client loading their drill files into DeviCloud leaves little to no room for error when setting up the drill rig.’

Drilling Supervisor, Western Australia ‘The DeviCloud addition has enabled us to move to a fully cloud-based system and has streamlined the way we manage drill data and survey information onsite. We are extremely pleased with the service and support provided.’

Senior Underground Geologist, Western Australia

‘One of the benefits we like with DeviCloud is that after the surveyor downloads the data from the tool, they can share it immediately with their workmates at the office. Allowing them to discuss the results and make decisions while both having the full set of data. Later, reports can be created at the office while the surveyor continues with their work on the site.’

Project Manager, Switzerland Officially launched in May this year, DeviCloud is now a system that supports the full range of Devico positioning and navigational products, including the DeviGyro, DeviAligner and other survey tools. Synchronizing with DeviCloud is directly available from the handheld devices used to operate these instruments.

The typical DeviCloud workflow starts with the project owner, usually a project geologist or engineer, creating and defining the drilling program. Drill holes may be added to the program at any time with data that includes starting coordinates, azimuth and inclination, as well as planned hole trajectory. On-site, the operator can connect their Devico survey instrument to DeviCloud and get immediate access to the program data. For instance, the DeviAligner to align and set up the drill rig and the DeviGyro for downhole surveying, simplifying the process significantly. The planned hole data is transferred directly to the DeviAligner and set as the target direction during the alignment process. As the alignment is completed and the planned angle is reached, the data is stored and uploaded back

Figure 1 - DeviCloud makes drill hole information and survey data securely accessible via web browser Drillers’ trusted publication

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/PRODUCT REVIEW

up to the cloud. There it may be reviewed and later synchronized with the DeviGyro to conduct a downhole survey. The DeviGyro implements the latitude and alignment data from DeviCloud directly in the survey, diminishing the need for manual inputs and transfers.

Since DeviCloud also includes Devico’s survey data QA/QC system, users get feedback about the survey quality immediately after it is completed. While surveys rarely fail, this system guarantees that no hole is left with poor-quality survey data. Detailed analysis of every parameter is provided, giving the operator the necessary assistance to correct the issue before the re-survey of the hole.

The new generation of drillers, geologists and engineers expect data to be easily available anywhere at any time, and that the system that collects and displays it is always up to date. DeviCloud sets a new standard as an integrated eco-system of borehole survey instruments, handheld devices, visualization capabilities and QA/QC data management that does exactly this and is included free of charge with every Devico survey tool, through Devico’s commitment to quality assurance for all customers.

New features and improvements are continuously being added to DeviCloud that will continue to evolve this new standard over the years to come, including closer integration and feedback to the drilling process with the ultimate goal of saving even more time, meters and money.

The future is bright! C

DeviCloud fast-tracks the communication and data transfer between site and office

For more information Visit: www.devico.com or click below:

The DeviAligner receives plan data from DeviCloud for drill rig alignment, and returns the final results 36

Coring Magazine #17

Depth in meters Recommended Maximum

Exploration Mining Geology In this issue: Q&A from the experts: In conversation with Dr Brett Davis, Principal Structural Geologist at Olinda Gold Structural Geology Consulting Lockdown, rocks and two rotating barrels: Another day in paradise

by Gemma Lawson, Exploration Geologist at Origin Exploration Ltd. Drilling on top of Afghanistan’s roof

by Ibrahim Jafari, President & CEO at Afghanite Company

/Q&A FROM THE EXPERTS

In conversation with FROM

Dr Brett Davis

THE EXPERTS

Dr Brett Davis Principal Structural Geologist at Olinda Gold Structural Geology Consulting

Timothy Strong: How did you decide to pursue a career in Structural Geology?

Dr Brett Davis: I was always going to be a geologist, ever since I was a kid. My father fostered in me love for the natural world. I was raised on a cattle property and my father was the inveterate ‘bushie’, a term used for people who have lived their life on the land. He was a selftaught naturalist, sponsoring in me a fascination with nature and nurturing love of rocks.

So, I was one of the rare breeds of students who turned up at university knowing what they wanted to be. Believe it or not, though, Structural Geology wasn’t something planned - I was actually going to be a geochemist!

Thankfully, I had Professor Tim Bell as my undergraduate Structural Geology lecturer, and I saw the light. The 3-D geometries appealed to me, given I had done a lot of geometric drawing and perspective and I’m a bit of a bush artist. Once I saw how much sense stereo nets made, I was hooked. Professor Bell’s advice was to work hard, get a First Class mark, and then I would be in good stead for a scholarship if I wanted to do a PhD. Drillers’ trusted publication

Dr Brett Davis graduated from James Cook University, Australia with a Bachelor’s in Geology in 1986, which was followed by a 1992 Doctoral degree in Structural Geology from the same university. Between his Bachelor and Doctorate, Dr Davis worked briefly at the Mt Isa Mines as a production geologist. Since then, Brett has held prestigious Structural Geology positions in companies such as Placer Dome, RSG Global, Chalice Gold Mines and Orefind. Brett has established himself as a world leader in Structural Geology and now runs his own consulting company – Olinda Gold Structural Geology Consulting. Brett also serves as an Adjunct Research Fellow at his alma mater – James Cook University.

What followed was a very intense year with two months of fieldwork (most people did two weeks) and seemingly endless days with five-six hours of sleep. But it was fantastic – I learned microstructural analysis and how to integrate it with geometries and overprinting at all scales, and I learned it from the best in the world.

And the sleepless nights paid off – I got two publications in peer-reviewed journals from my work and finished two weeks early, something that hadn’t been done before in the history of the department. Two years later, after a stint as a production geologist at Mt Isa, I got a scholarship to undertake a PhD to further my passion for Structural Geology.

TS: Briefly explain why Structural Geology is so important in mineral exploration and mining.

BD: There are very few mineral deposits that don’t have some sort of fundamental structural geological control in terms of focusing the fluids, controlling sites of mineral deposition, and subsequently structurally modifying the original architecture of the deposits.

So, understanding Structural Geology is fundamental to undertaking informed exploration for, and exploitation of, natural metal accumulations. It provides an important constraint in exploration area selection at scales from mountain belts to prospects and has been the underlying tenet to the development of some of the most widely used geological modeling software in the world, such as Leapfrog. Importantly, Structural Geology provides an interface with other disciplines, such as rock mechanics. For example, projects that take Structural Geology and mechanical aspects of rock deformation into account will be the safest ones. Additionally, proper planning that incorporates these aspects will be the most economical. I’ve recently been involved in a large risk mitigation project where I provided the interface between mine geology and geotechnical monitoring.

TS: From your point of view, what are the most important factors that make a good Structural Geologist?

BD: There are quite a few things: 39

/Q&A FROM THE EXPERTS

Simply, you have to be an interested geologist. I often see people in geology roles who are just going through the motions and there is no passion. It makes me wonder why they are even there.

The ability to understand geometry and perspective that is, the ability to think and draw in 3-D. This can be learned but the better Structural Geologists are generally the ones with a natural ability.

An acute sense of observation, which is a critical thing that all geologists should have.

Noting the deviations from expected geological relationships, the obscure minerals, the overprinting relationships, the ability to link the observations at all scales.

An understanding that Structural Geology does not provide answers in isolation. It must be married with all other aspects of the geology – geochemistry, geochronology, alteration, etc. This allows the construction of a holistic geological interpretation of the volume of rock you are looking at. Mineral System Analysis is the industry buzz-term now, and this can’t be undertaken if only one aspect of geology is considered.

An appreciation of processes. If you see a geometry, how did the rocks get to that state?

What minerals were involved in accommodating the deformation? How was the strain partitioned? Was the process progressive or pulsative? What is the overprinting history of the mineralization-alteration system and which structures provided the permeability framework? What level in the crust and geothermal environment(s) acted as controls to develop different structures? What controlled brittle versus ductile deformation?

The ability to get out of your chair, walk out the door and actually go and put your nose on the rocks. Technology is a real boon to mining and exploration, but it has also produced elements contrary to the essence of geology in general. We are seeing an inundation of virtual geology, which has been exacerbated by COVID-19. However, even before that, I noted geologists wanting to migrate to roles where they spend an inordinate amount of time constructing and spinning computer models around, with the biggest traverse they make being from their desk to the coffee machine.

In many cases, these models are constructed by people remote to the sites and the modelers haven’t even touched the rocks. I saw one guy, who touted himself as a 3-D Structural Geologist (is there any other type?!), who never collected any data himself but would go to site and proclaim that sections people had agonized over, based on mapping and logging, were wrong. That is poor, uninformed form.

Good Structural Geology comes from know40

ing the structural history, recognizing all the structures, assessing which ones were critical for the current disposition of mineralization, reviewing overprinting and geometric relationships and taking high-quality measurements. This can’t be done from your desk in a capital city or from an office where you can see the core yard but deem it too far away to walk over and review the core.

The ability to offer pragmatic assistance is critical within the minerals industry. Commonly, we see reports that simply get shelved because the essence of the findings hasn’t been distilled down to something useable by the troops on the ground. This is especially true of consultants who have come straight out of university with a career solely comprised of academia. I saw one of the products of a newcomer to the industry who worked on a gold project in Northern Ireland. He had proposed seven deformation events, which was crazy. There wasn’t much dust in the area but most of it was on the unusable report he wrote.

Realizing that the cliché ‘the best geologists have seen the most rocks’ is largely true. I have a good friend who is probably the smartest geologist I know, and the number of deposits he has seen is unbelievable. Experience can’t be underestimated.

Staying abreast of the latest ideas and concepts in Structural Geology and deposit formation. Taking time out to read a paper in Economic Geology or Coring is not a waste of time. Nor is attending workshops and conferences, be it in person or virtually, or watching presentations on the amazing GeoHUG site. I also follow the latest posts on LinkedIn on a daily basis and there is some great information. And I have mentors and peers I am willing to listen to. I don’t always agree but their opinions sponsor discussion and make me test my own ideas.

TS: You worked at the Mt Isa Mines after your Bachelor’s degree. What were the most challenging aspects of your job then? Which was the most challenging company that you have worked at in general and why?

BD: I was working at the Hilton Mine, Australia, which was subsequently incorporated into the George Fisher Mine. Hilton was a new mine, so I was there for the planning and extraction of initial ore. The mine was divided into three sections – the southern end, the central initial mine block and the northern end, which I was allocated. The northern end of the deposit was extremely faulted and when I arrived, I was confronted with 30 km (≈ 19 mi) of

unlogged, extremely broken core from which I had to piece together a coherent interpretation. I’m not sure what size the core was, but its diameter couldn’t have been greater than about 30 mm (≈ 1 in). So, trying to interpret continuity of stratigraphy and mineralization was tough because small diameter core through faulted ground manifested in the core tray as gravel. And it didn’t help in that I had one of the worst drillers I have ever met in terms of the trays of core he produced. There was not a single shift where he placed the core in the trays correctly. Sometimes it was back the front, sometimes it would snake backward and forward from row to row. I spent more time getting him to repack the core than he spent drilling. For some reason, he was never sacked.

Ground conditions varied from okay to absolutely atrocious, which made mining a logistical challenge in terms of ground support and safety. That said, safety awareness back then was almost non-existent. Geologists never had a tag system so no one knew where we were at any one time. And it wasn’t like the Australian mines today where people drive everywhere. We had to walk and the restricted cage times meant we couldn’t always get between levels. So, we used to climb between levels using the return air raises – these were done in 120 m (≈ 394 ft) segments with no safety staging and at an angle of about 80 degrees. Back then you could go up to the unsupported face and take samples and I was regularly doing this while the jumbos were drilling the same face. I was lucky in that I only had one incident of being hit by a rock, which fell just at the same time I looked up, so I caught it squarely on the nose. I had several other near-death experiences.

One occurred as a result of some mining engineer, who had obviously left a village without an idiot when he commenced work at Hilton. The engineer in question had the brilliant idea of getting a geologist to climb into the filled stopes (we were using a cut-andfill method) and paint a line around the top of the fill so that the bogger operator would know how far down to bog material on the next lift. I was ‘lucky’ enough to get the job and, working solo as we usually did, I went underground, climbed the 5 m (≈ 16 ft) bulkhead and duck-waddled out along the fill. The clearance between the back and the fill was such that I didn’t quite have to crawl. After going in about 50 m (≈ 164 ft) I heard a ‘bloop’ and 5 m (≈ 16 ft) of fill liquified and turned to quicksand around me. Luckily, someone had forgotten to take out a service line on the back and I grabbed it and literally monkeyed all the way back to the bulkhead. It turned out that Coring Magazine #17

ated with field trips, the preference to apply drone and software skills to geology – they all show a general devaluation in the way geological knowledge and skills are viewed.

Don’t get me wrong, we need environmental safeguards, and technology is a godsend. But we are applying these things at the expense of understanding the rocks. You only have to look at the popularity of the fantastic videos on Fieldcraft by Nick Tate to see that there is a quest for information not taught at university.

TS: What is the most interesting deposit you have ever worked at?

Fieldwork in an area of amazing geology and scenery near Brucejack Mine, Canada someone, maybe the same mining engineer, had left an active airline in the stope. The air pressure had built up and when it suddenly released, it agitated the fill. Needless to say, I had some pretty colorful words to say to the rocket scientists who came up with the idea and it was never done again. Given that we had no tag system, no one would have known where I was if I’d gone to the bottom of the fill!

Another equally challenging role was with Chalice Gold. I was their exploration manager in Eritrea. The country was a long string of challenges, from logistical to security.

The airport at the time was the worst in the world in terms of the amount of time it took to get in or out. It was not uncommon to take more than two hours to exit the airport. I was dragged into backroom security on more than one occasion, being accused of things varying from stealing gold - because I had a 2 cm (≈ 0.8 in) quartz crystal with me - to trafficking electronics - security had x-rayed my bag and seen my stainless-steel coffee cup.

Travel meant having a plethora of travel passes. You could not have a mobile phone without a license. Internal air travel was frowned upon so 12-hour drives were undertaken in lieu of one-hour chopper rides. Medical services were horrendous. Security was an issue.

Chalice had one of its cars ambushed and four of our personnel were shot. I left the country after I drove a road that had a landmine on it.

Even though the army knew that the landmine was there, they didn’t bother moving it.

Despite all the negatives, there were many positives. I became a better person professionally as I met the challenges and I had some fabulous mentors and peers, many of whom are friends I keep in touch with today.

Drillers’ trusted publication

I mean, I wouldn’t have met you if I hadn’t been in Eritrea, Tim!

TS: What have you learned from field practice and your job experience that is not taught at university?

BD: So many things! Geologists usually get thrown into drilling programs but don’t know how to extract the pertinent information from drill core. You can see that this is still an issue because there are regular core logging workshops sprouting up, being held by professional agencies (e.g. AIG) and allied with universities.

In some cases, the courses are great but in others, I tend to think they are looked on as money-spinners. How many of us have been involved in re-logging historical core, in devising new logging codes, in working out what to include or omit from drop-down logging menus? And, at the end of the day, the fundamental stuff is still commonly missed e.g. structural domaining, structural asymmetries and kinematics, overprinting relationships.

I sometimes think not enough time is devoted at university to the things we see the most. For example, many people map faults, but the fundamental understanding is lacking, such as the evolution of the textures over time, shear sense, roles with respect to hostrock permeability, relationship to proximal and distal vein arrays and so on.

Fieldcraft in general is dying at universities.

Many courses are now restricted to virtual field trips or suites of rocks laid out in a classroom with no spatial context. The continued destruction of funding and the abysmal funding models for higher education, the exponential growth of environmental courses, the threat of litigation, the logistics associ-

BD: I can’t single out any individual deposit so I’ll mention several: The Kanowna Belle orogenic gold deposit in Western Australia is fascinating in terms of both its geological evolution and the evolution of ideas, some of which were widely conflicting. The sulphides show some of the coolest microstructures I have seen.

The Maleev deposit in Kazakhstan is fascinating because it has been touted for decades as a classic VHMS deposit, yet my colleague Jun Cowan and I have noted that the overprinting and structural geological geometries do not support this, and the deposit is better interpreted as epigenetic. To see the drill core, go underground in a massive deposit that will soon close, and to examine the incredibly detailed logging the Soviets undertook, was amazing.

The Nkran orogenic gold deposit in Ghana has some of the best textural relationships in terms of alteration, veining and cleavages I have ever seen. I use a lot of examples of overprinting and geometries in my Structural Geology training course.

The Havieron deposit in north Western Australia is a beautiful deposit with amazing world-class textures. This is a relatively new discovery and much of the geological detail hasn’t reached the public yet, but when it does, people will be seriously impressed. Full kudos to the drillers who have managed to provide consistently oriented core over hole lengths approaching 2 km (≈ 1 mi).

The low- to intermediate-sulphidation epithermal gold Buritica deposit in Colombia, because of the scale of the system and the well-developed geometries of structures controlling the mineralization. I have an MSc student working on the deposit and our understanding is constantly evolving.

The Chelopech high-sulphidation deposit in Bulgaria. It is so big and so rich, and we still don’t have a holistic model for its geometry and formation, regardless of what some consultants would purport.

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/Q&A FROM THE EXPERTS

TS: What is your favorite structural feature that you never tire of seeing?

BD: I would predict that many geologists would say folds. However, for me, vein systems are the most amazing. The geometries, which commonly involve other structures such as foliations and faults, can be jaw-dropping. You can see them at all scales from core to deposit-scale. And their evolution, overprinting relationships and geometries can provide a wealth of information on the evolution of a mineral deposit. Plus, I am a passionate mineral collector, and veins can produce some beautiful specimens.

TS: Being based in Australia, with current travel restrictions, how has your work changed? Do you think these changes will remain even after the lockdowns end?

BD: COVID-19 has been a real issue. Prior to the pandemic, I based myself in rural Queensland, Australia, which is where the family cattle property is. This allowed me to help run the property and has worked well logistically. Rockhampton has a good airport, and it is an hour’s flight to Brisbane, which is my international hub. Most of my clients were overseas, so travel restrictions basically torpedoed all my site-based work. Hard borders with other states, in particular Western Australia, were another impediment.

I love Queensland, however, it is a fundamentally difficult part of the world to have a project in, due to barriers imposed by archaic legislation plus obstructions imposed by Department of Environment and Science, which runs the direct governance on mining and exploration leases and not the mines department, as it is in every other state. So, national mineral expenditure basically collapsed in 2019 and has been dismal ever since.

Long story short, I had a lot of free time in 2020, so I updated my training courses and posted articles on Structural Geology on media sites such as LinkedIn. Plus, I perfected some domestic skills such as paving!

TS: What project have you worked on that has surprised you the most with its success?

BD: Several deposits, in particular the orogenic gold projects, seem to have perpetual lives of several years regardless of when they commenced. The really big ones, such as Kanowna Belle, Sunrise Dam, Wallaby and so on, just keep on giving. Dugald River base metal deposit, because my predictions of structural architectural controls are now being realized and adding significant tonnes and confidence in grade prediction. Cardinal Resources’ Nam42

dini deposit – it certainly didn’t look as big as it is touted now, nor did I expect the insane takeover bidding war it sponsored.

TS: Have you had any terrible experiences with drill crews when trying to obtain structural data? Can you tell us about your most memorable experience with an exploration drilling company in general?

BD: A couple of instances come to mind. When I was working for Dundee Precious Metals as their Group Structural Geologist, I was getting poor orientation marks from a crew in Serbia, which was using a spear, which at the time was a commonly used orientation tool. I have been around long enough to see the evolution and demise of multiple core orientation

‘Poor results can follow poor geological supervision, even if you have good drill crews. And if you have poor drillers and poor geologists, you have a perfect storm of problems.’ devices and protocols. As such, it is an integral component of my structural training course.

I asked the drillers if the spear was bent, and they said it wasn’t. I then made the mistake of saying I would go up to the rig later and check the tools and procedures. When I got there, the spear was fine. After some discussion, I walked away for a leak at the edge of the drill pad. Looking over, I spotted the bent spear hidden in the ferns. That’s how I learned the golden rule of not warning the drilling crew when I was going to visit.

On another occasion, I saw very poor marks from a crew drilling at Newmont’s giant Ahafo deposit in Ghana prior to the commencement of mining. Some marks were 60 m (≈ 197 ft) apart, even though the contract stipulated orientations every 6 m (≈ 20 ft). When my colleague, Dr Julian Stephens, and I procured 20 m (≈ 66 ft) of angle iron and laid the core out, we found that the lines would sometimes spiral around the core, due to poor orientations and subsequent poor mark-up controls.

When I tried to tell the local senior geologist about this, he denied everything but refused to go to the core shed with me. Ultimately, he was yelling at me before slamming his office door in my face.

Five minutes later the Canadian drilling foreman appeared and confronted me. It was obvious that the local geologist had rung him after slamming the door, asking him to come to the office to tell the Structural Geologist a thing or two. My response was to ask the foreman to go to the core-shed and look at my perceived issues with the core. The foreman was a rational guy and agreed. After a little while, he told me I was correct and that the poor orientations were inexcusable. The senior geologist never spoke to me again.

I think every exploration or mining geologist has a poor experience at some point. That’s human nature and the law of averages. But, as many people know, problems can come from more sources than the drilling contractors, as I’ve mentioned above. Poor results can follow poor geological supervision, even if you have good drill crews. And if you have poor drillers and poor geologists, you have a perfect storm of problems.

TS: Structural Geology from drill core requires excellent recoveries. How do you work with drillers to achieve that?

BD: There are several facets to answering this. Above all, communication is king. You must discuss the aims of the program with the drillers and from that let them know your expected products in terms of orientation and recovery. The communication has to flow both ways throughout the program because things change – drilling personnel, drill sites, ground conditions, logistics. If the geologist can start predicting the geology of the hole, such as when major structures will be intersected, then the drillers can plan for it.

Another thing that a geologist needs to understand is the orientation method being employed. This is essential if you are going to undertake an audit of the orientation marks.

I saw a classic example of what can go wrong when I was in Liberia.

I found one of the geologists getting all of the core in the trays and turning it all around.

When I asked what was wrong, he told me the orientation marks were at the end of the runs and so the drillers had put the core in the boxes incorrectly. I told him that he needed to go to the rig and watch and understand the drilling and orientation process because a Reflex tool was being used and the marks were supposed to be on the bottom of the run. The geologist had assumed that the drilling crew was using an Ezy-Mark device and was effecCoring Magazine #17

tively dislocating his mineralized intervals when he was wrongly flipping core around.

TS: In drilling, we have seen a shift from mechanical core orientation to fully digitalized. Both have advantages and disadvantages. To what extent does this full digitalization erase errors and when are we to expect the optimal and fully reliable core orientation system?

BD: I don’t think that full digitalization does erase errors. Although the devices are great, they have the disadvantage of being backend gadgets. So, they never actually orient the core. Instead, they orient the core barrel and then the mark is transferred to the core. This way, you can introduce errors in a couple of places during the drilling and orientation process.

Firstly, the core can move around in the barrel prior to the device recording its orientation at the end of the run. You will almost always get a mark on that last bit of core because it doesn’t care if something rotated in the barrel during drilling. Secondly, the transfer of the mark can lead to errors as well. For example, I’ve seen people put the orientation on the wrong side of the break. The old mechanical devices, such as Ezy-Mark, and even the spear, oriented the core stub prior to drilling a run, so there wasn’t a chance to rotate the core in the barrel before orientation. And the device was responsible for marking the core, whereas the electronic devices rely on the driller or offsider.

The next step in the digital revolution for core orientation concerns the collection of data after the core has been marked up. Devices, such as the iQ-LoggerTM, allow a huge number of readings to be taken very quickly.

So, if you have an itchy trigger finger or feel obliged to cram as many readings as possible into the database, there is incredible scope for error if the core has been incorrectly oriented.

ReflexTM has gotten around this to a certain degree by linking the iQ-Logger to the computer so you can plot data in real-time. However, the digital revolution has also spawned a population of geologists who only want to use computers, sometimes to the extent where they will do geological models without checking the veracity of the data.

Increasingly, I am visiting sites that don’t have core orienting frames, which are invaluable tools for providing checks on orientation data and for visualizing the structures being measured. Furthermore, the users of the alpha-beta devices, tend not to measure representative numbers of structures with low alpha angles because the devices can’t cope with the length of core required. The iQ-LogDrillers’ trusted publication

ger is probably the best of the alpha-beta devices in the respect of mitigating this, but I guarantee you the users are still biasing their data toward structures with high alpha values. If you use the alpha-beta devices in conjunction with core orienting frames you can cover all bases, and this should be standard procedure.

Once again, technology has been a boon, but it has also generated an ever-widening gap between geologists and the rocks. This is especially the case when limitations to the technology aren’t acknowledged.

TS: Tell us more about your ongoing relationship with James Cook University, do you feel it is important for professionals to give back to their alma mater?

there are hungry for knowledge and training but don’t get the same opportunities as many other parts of the world. It has been a deliberate decision to base the course there. Logistics are handled by my colleagues at Sahara Natural Resources, who are based in the capital Accra. As part of this, we ask for applications from students at the universities and let the successful ones attend for free. Although the course is Ghana-based, attendees come from many countries. The last time I ran it, I had attendees from Ghana, India, Egypt, Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

I answer all questions I get, which mostly come from my large LinkedIn network and the professional network I have developed.

I figure that I had to ask for help at various points in my career, and am very grateful for the people who obliged, so it is only fair that I offer assistance when and if I can.

TS: With the current demand for critical metals, and in particular domestic supply, do you think governments, such as Australia, are giving enough attention to mining?

Drill core examination as part of the Olinda Gold structural geology course at Inata Mine, Burkina Faso BD: It is definitely important to give back. I co-supervise postgraduate students in a formal capacity. One of my students has just completed his PhD thesis on the Tick Hill gold deposit in northwest Queensland and another PhD will soon be completed by a student working on the Dugald River mine, also in northwest Queensland. Both students have world-renowned principal supervisors at James Cook University. I am also co-supervising an MSc student on the Buritica deposit in Colombia. Informally, I also help undergraduate and postgraduate students from many parts of the world, currently helping colleagues in India, Iran, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Until COVID-19 impacted the world, I would undertake a yearly multi-client Structural Geology training course in Ghana. The geologists

BD: I think the response is highly variable and better viewed on a state-by-state basis. The best way to look at the success is to review the mineral sector expenditure data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on a yearly basis. The data is a mess, but it does highlight big differences in support. Recent breakdown in trade (and virtually all other) relationships with our previously largest trading partner, China, have pushed critical metal supplies into the limelight. I think it has opened the eyes of at least some members of government to the point where they realize they can’t just sit back and idly twirl their mustaches while they reap the benefits from metals trade like they used to. Rather than just being a cash cow, the metals industry, in particular those mines producing metals married to mitigating climate change, are now critical to furthering technological growth. Then again, maybe I give the guys in Canberra too much credit.

TS: With the lack of large deposits being found, and starting work on smaller projects less feasible due to higher commodity prices, do you think there are still some large ones out there? If so, where should we be looking?

BD: There are absolutely some big ones left to be discovered. The general problem is finding jurisdictions that are politically stable, that don’t use graft and corruption as business methods, that offer acceptable security for people working on the ground, and that are 43

/Q&A FROM THE EXPERTS

logistically feasible in terms of getting on the ground. This immediately rules out a lot of the world.

For example, there are still many really good-looking areas right across Africa but, as a general overall designation, the continent is a basket-case. Banro Corporation recently had amazing discovery potential in the belt they were exploring in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but security issues have plagued them. The Arabian-Nubian Shield is a prospective block of rock and some companies, such as Randgold – Barrick, will likely persist in their exploration and acquisition activities in that part of the world. Then there are the other parts of the world at the end of the Alpine-Balkan-Carpathian-Dinaride Belt.

This linked orogenic belt has spawned some massive deposits, but once you get across into the Stans, exploration becomes prohibitive. Some places are just too hard to work in logistically and cost-wise. So, in lieu of this, companies are hunting elephants in known, friendly localities such as Canada and Australia, and pushing geological knowledge and technology as far as they can to find hidden and/or deeper deposits.

TS: There is an ongoing labor shortage in some countries. Have you noticed a similar issue when it comes to mineral exploration? Is there a hunger for geologists at the moment?

BD: Definitely. The number of advertisements for geologists has exploded and we are seeing people drafted into all sorts of roles, from junior positions being filled by new university graduates through to management roles. Furthermore, there has been an increase in the need for people who can fill specialist roles, such as geochemists and Structural Geologists. The geological service industries hanging off the exploration and mining companies are now facing demand that hasn’t happened for a long time. Just have a look at the number of articles on LinkedIn where geophysical consultancy companies are regularly stating how ‘excited’ they are to be working with as many companies as they can list. Petrographic services are seeing increased demand, which is refreshing, given that many people now just want to get the portable XRF and zap a rock and not worry about the textures.

TS: What does the future hold for Mineral Exploration in general?

BD: I think it’s going to be exciting. The rise and rise of so-called critical metals has widened the exploration spectrum significantly.

Historically, the low demand for these metals 44

meant most were just byproducts from general mining. Now, however, people are actively looking for these commodities in their own right. So, a greater number of people are having to learn about the geological environments that spawn and host them. Look at how many lithium ‘experts’ there are now, compared to a decade ago. There’s nothing like increased commodity popularity and price to drive a boom – the profile of Greenland or the plethora of junior companies exploring in Western Australia to name a few examples.

Technologies are going to drive exploration toward discoveries at greater depths. These would’ve been historically considered blind but are now being targeted by identifying subtle footprints, be it the chemistry of minerals (e.g. the green rocks distal to porphyries) or geophysical (e.g. refinement of the interpretation of seismic data). The timeframes for receiving results, the ability to drill deeper and faster, and the rapid geochemical analysis of samples will the increase speed and efficiency of programs.

Ultimately, we will see people become early (probably not first) movers to jurisdictions that have historically been hostile in terms of logistics, security, and political stability. Sadly, many places, such as those controlled by fundamentalist ideologies, may be a long way off. But there are still lots of opportunities in central African countries, northern Africa, many of the ex-Soviet republics. Right now, people will be saying ‘you have to be kidding’, but let’s see what happens as global stockpiles diminish, established mines end their lives and become more expensive, and some countries withdraw their supply.

There are places where I think we should hold off mining and exploring for the moment, for example, the ocean bed and Antarctica. We don’t know enough about the ecosystems around sub-sea deposits, especially volcanic vents, and the disruption of these for metals that are available on land is unnecessary. With respect to Antarctica, the continent is governed by international law banning military activity or mineral exploration and freezing territorial claims, for now. However, although it won’t get much publicity, there will be big companies and countries preparing for a time when this arrangement changes. Have a look at the increasing size of bases being established by a large foreign country in the interior of Australia’s Antarctic territory.

TS: You’ve given us an insight into your passion for Structural Geology, and geology in general. To conclude, have there been any negative experiences in your career to date?

BD: There are always frustrations, but generally, these aren’t insurmountable, and you can figure out a work-around. However, in some cases, they are out of your control and several come to mind.

Unfortunately, consulting can sometimes allow you to interface with the seedier and less desirable people and aspects of the industry. On one occasion, my colleague Jun Cowan and I were wined and dined by the director of a gold mining company as part of the grooming process for developing a model in a well-drilled gold camp in Western Australia.

When we sent in our invoice, we were advised the company would pay on the last Friday of the month. On the last Thursday, we were informed they were insolvent. We had no idea about the shoddy financial state the company was in, but I’m sure our work was part of trying to garner a better price for a failed company.

On another occasion, a high-flying, high-profile explorer with an ego the size of a solar system was happily being lauded as one of the smartest guys since Einstein, taking credit for the discovery of a deposit that had a huge market cap at the time. When Jun Cowan and I checked the location of drill holes in the press releases on their website we found that 75% were not in the recorded positions.

We informed the person in question and his response was not to acknowledge the mistakes (for the record, we think they were genuine mistakes) or thank us for not making it public. Rather, he took the bully-boy route and threatened us with legal action if we told anyone. When I went back to their website, I found that all the releases had been removed.

Most recently, I worked on a project in eastern Europe. There were serious problems with the geological management, and I highlighted the shortcomings in my report. The response by the geology manager at the time was to get another consultant in under the guise of redoing the work I’d done and to pay him for a report that left out any details of the poor management. The worst was that my report was effectively rebadged and resubmitted with the other consultant’s name on it, and I had yet to be paid. This was the closest I came to taking legal action, and the subsequent MD to this company told me I should have.

However, both the consultant and the ex-geology manager have consequently garnered poor reputations in the exploration industry and, after I finally got paid, I decided my life was too short to worry about them. Anyway, the good experiences I’ve had have far outweighed the bad, so I’m happy with that! C Coring Magazine #17

Lockdown, rocks and two rotating barrels

by Gemma Lawson, Exploration Geologist at Origin Exploration Ltd.

AY ANOTHER D E IN PARADIS Any geologist that has worked in Africa, is familiar with the harsh conditions and an ever-changing barrage of unique challenges. In March 2020, Côte d’Ivoire, along with multiple other African nations, closed its international borders amid the rising COVID-19 pandemic. A plethora of expat workers were suddenly locked in, with no idea of how events would unfold. Sanitation quality in the next town across was on par with the inside of a nightclub’s toilet, so our hopes were not quintessentially high. It was turning into a bad day in West Africa.

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Every fly-in, fly-out worker in the mining industry understands how drastically our work circumstances have changed in the last year and a half. Here’s the reality – demand for metals does not cease to exist amidst a pandemic, and a producing gold mine cannot feasibly halt production for an unknown period of time. As gold prices surged, some ventures set on running full steam ahead. But what was it like working on-site through the lockdown?

I was a junior exploration geologist working in Côte d’Ivoire, fresh-eyed and exuberant my rotation had recently started when the lockdown began. The Hiré Mine, a shear-hosted intrusion-related gold deposit, was undergoing a series of exploration drilling campaigns to enable pit extension and the definition of new waste dumps. Abundances of intensely altered drill core were passing through the core shed, adding new data to the geological jigsaw. Ribbons of dust from the RC rig drifted off on gentle wind currents, heading in typical fashion straight for the rugged huts that kept appearing adjacent to the mine borders. We were busy… another day in paradise.

For the most part, daily life remained much the same: we drilled, roasted in the sun, blasted, sent material for processing and ate copious amounts of anorexic chicken and rice served from the camp kitchen. Exploration and production continued at a steady pace, with the somewhat understaffed team surpassing targets. From the perspective of an early-career geologist, working throughout this period was key to an unprecedented rate of career development.

Charcoal clouds loomed overhead as the arrival of the rainy season announced itself through a menacing rumble of thunder. The main issue now was that fresh teams could not come in to relieve those that were already due out. As the months crawled by, we experienced a slow-building fatigue.

You can recreate this sensation at home by rubbing sand in your eyes, and repeatedly overdoing leg-day, all whilst on a whiskey hangover.

Coring Magazine #17

/EXPLORATION & MINING GEOLOGY

Despite that, spirits remained initially high, spurred on by late evening phone calls with family, regular Braiis (a grill or a barbecue that has turned into a social custom in much of Southern Africa), and the realization that some of us had more freedom than those back home.

We were still working and earning, somewhat unfamiliar with the frustrations of expats stuck off-site. New arrivals in the form of owls took up residence in the camp, seeking refuge from sticky rains in building eaves. Life got muddy.

In line with government guidelines the camp bar shut. People migrated to evening beers on the outside porches, and malaria cases spiked.

If you’ve had the misfortune to meet Mother Malaria and her wild fever dreams, you’ll be aware that your chances of contraction increase immensely with every person that becomes infected on the camp.

The expat hairstyle of choice suddenly switched from rugged and overgrown to bald, a shock for anyone, who sat bleary-eyed in the mess at 04:30 a.m. Not to say that these events were related, but morale was waning with time and barbers lacking. This was likely exacerbated by whispers of increasingly strained conversations with family as time slid by. The pandemic was taking its toll on long-distance relationships and divorce was not an uncommon undertone.

Barrels kept rotating, core in, results out. Production was soaring higher than our surveyors’ drone, which became an exciting target for the eagles. Aromas of amber nectar wafted from the re-opened bar - Boc tastes as good as you make it - and we relaxed in evening downtime.

Camp was somewhat quieter in the final weeks, except for the persistent screeching of the resident owls, likely contributing somewhat to a couple of unlucky souls’ fatigue. Departure was a sudden event, in the form of a chartered flight, only available to those from countries with open borders and manned by a swarm of hazmat suits. I recall not believing I was truly leaving until we landed on the soil at Heathrow airport, UK. However, for many, longer months away stretched ahead.

The pandemic has changed multiple aspects of the mining industry and we adapted to these new challenges at a rapid pace. Naturally, a large degree of uncertainty remains as we venture into unchartered waters, with changes in rotations and perceptions of work-life balance prominent. But, as life continues, it seems the future may indeed be golden… C

Chipping away and dusting off RC logs

For more information Visit: www.originexploration.co.uk

Major Drilling is one of the world’s largest drilling services companies primarily serving the mining industry, and maintains field operations and offices in Canada, the United States, Mexico, South America, Asia and Australia.

info@majordrilling.com

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/EXPLORATION & MINING GEOLOGY

Drilling on top of Afghanistan’s roof

by Ibrahim Jafari, President & CEO at Afghanite Company

Afghanite Company (Afghanite) is the leading engineering service provider for the mining and infrastructure projects of Afghanistan. Its name comes from the mineral discovered for the first time in 1968 in the Badakhshan Lapis mines in Afghanistan. With many monumental track records, it has a very adventurous and exciting experience of working in a country which at first sight seems not that easy to operate in.

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Afghanite has accomplished the largest ever topographical survey of Afghanistan using aerial LIDAR and photogrammetry techniques for a transboundary gas pipeline named Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline. The surveyed area was a project corridor with a length of 815 km (≈ 506.41 mi) and a width of about 2 km (≈ 1.24 mi).

In 2018, Afghanite accomplished the two largest geotechnical investigation projects of the country as well. The first one was the Geotech investigation of the same pipeline route (the TAPI gas pipeline) with thousands of meters of soil and rock drilling, around a thousand trail pits excavations, and another thousand geophysical field tests in addition to those needed on the collected soil, rock and water samples.

The other was a geotechnical investigation for a new tunnel in Central Afghanistan (Salang Pass) over the period 2018-2019. Nine boreholes with a depth around 220 m (722 ft) each had to be drilled on top of three pre-selected locations, as the candidate alignments needed to have more conducted investigations for the selection of the final option.

Logistics were the most challenging part of the project. Almost all the drilling points had no ground access, and all of the major items had to be transported by a suitable helicopter. The heli-support for the drilling points was not easy.

Coring Magazine #17

Up there about 4000 m (≈ 13 123 ft) above sea level, the winter season showed up when almost half of the work remained unaccomplished

Challenges often came with some unique views Drillers’ trusted publication

There were three major challenges: 1. the altitude; 2. strong wind and gusts; 3. making a capable helicopter available for the project timespan in the country.

Considering the very simple fact that with the increase of the altitude, the air density and accordingly the lifting power of helicopters drop dramatically, finding a solution for sling loading the drilling machines and other equipment in the project area at 4000 m (13 123 ft) above sea level altitude was quite tricky. During the evaluation of the different capable options (the helicopters KA-32, MI-17, Chinook, etc.) different factors had to be considered, such as cost of lease, cost of operation, maneuverability and availability of crew.

At the end of the day, with a little bit of support from drilling machine engineers in the reduction of total weight to the lightest possible package, the decision was made to hire an MI-17 helicopter for the mission. Of course, the aviation market of Afghanistan and the region was not particularly reliable and after a failed attempt, a trustworthy service provider got involved.

In the closed V-shape glacier valleys, the drilling points were adjacent to the rocky sides. This was a very limiting factor for the pilots. It was risky because they would need to consider the wind speed of 5 to 10 knots and wind gusts of up to 40 knots. There was a very brave pilot who took the risk and started operating. After the transportation and assembly of the rigs and accessories, drilling activity with a very high requirement (over 95% core recovery) was on the agenda. To meet the criteria in a very tectonized and lithologically diverse ground, the triple tube wireline drilling system was decided to be the most practical. The drilling sizes were mostly H-size with some cases of N-size for the deeper runs.

Simultaneously with the progress of drilling, some in-situ tests had to be done in the boreholes. The major ones were Lugeon Permeability and also Televiewer tests, scanning of all the length of BHs. Considering the lack of similar experience in the country and the hurdles in finding the needed solutions, the project activities schedule entered the fast-approaching cold season.

The costs of operation, which were considered for normal weather, had to be increased exponentially to keep the project running and have it accomplished as per the requirements.

At a temperature of around -15°C (5°F), it was critical to decide whether to bear the extra costs of labor and equipment as well as the increased fuel consumption or leave the 49

/EXPLORATION & MINING GEOLOGY

The daily support of the drilling points was done by the local people and their donkeys. The rent of a donkey up there would be more than the renting rate of a modern car in Kabul city.

The collected core samples, which were about 2000 m (6562 ft), were the most valuable asset of the project. They should be used carefully to get the needed information.

project unaccomplished. Afghanite management decided to finish the project no matter what it took.

Afghanite lab, having an ISO 17025 and also a US Army Corps of Engineers Certificate, did a great job to prepare a detailed lithological log of a whole length of collected cores. In addition to that, multiple highly sophisticated tests were conducted on the collected samples. These tests were petrographical studies of the rocks, Compressive Strength (Uniaxial and Triaxial), Cerchar Abrasivity Test, Ultrasonic waves velocity tests, direct shear of the weak surfaces, point load index, indirect tensile strength, XRF chemical analysis, and many other required tests.

Afghanite Company is trying to diversify its range of services in Afghanistan and enter into new fields, such as aerial geophysical surveys, while serving the mining and infrastructure projects with its drilling, field works, lab testing and consulting capabilities. Being of assistance and a partner to a couple of most reputable Geological surveys of the world, Afghanite has shown that in the new era which Afghanistan is entering in, it can be a reliable partner to the international community and investors as well as domestic investors to work easily on the targets they are interested in.

Afghanite Company having the experience of such sophisticated and challenging projects is looking towards expanding its activities in the neighboring countries, as well as other frontier markets where there are high technical expectations to meet and different risks and challenges to be managed. C

For more information Visit: www.afghanite.net

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A complete 3-meter H-size granite core recovered from the depth of over 150 m (≈ 492 ft) in a drilling run Coring Magazine #17

Explore the difference with RX-4

: keep doing the best, proudly

Levent 2002 RX-4 is designed by taking into consideration comfortable controls and ease of use to enable more effective drilling. This rig also has a hold back feature, which enables much longer bit life.

The mast and feed features are powerful and stable and present minimum vibrations directly into boreholes, making lifting and holding easier. The rod guide with a telescopic mast allows easier transportation.

Telescopic mast

The telescopic mast makes the drill easy to transport while the dump feature allows mounting on platforms of various sizes.

Rotation unit

The rotation unit has four speeds (funk), which enable the required torque and rpm speed levels necessary for coring. It can drill effectively from 45° to 90° angles, make and break rods (by using the control panel), and it also incorporates safeguards.

Rod holder

The rod holder opens hydraulically and closes using gas pressure. In the event of a loss of hydraulic pressure, the drill string is immediately blocked by the rod holder stopping the drop of the drill string into the hole.

Wireline hoist

The wireline hoist is mounted on the chassis and has an adjustable level wind angle. It does not need to be moved when changing drilling angle.There is an automatic winding system to prevent the rope from making straight or mixed winding.

Power unit

The Cummins engine is acclaimed for its prolonged durability, high efficiency and low fuel consumption even in the most challenging drilling operations.

The engine conforms to Tier III/ Stage 3A. A Stage V diesel engine is available far US and European markets

Levent 2002 RX-4® surface coring rig Advantages • A fully hydraulic surface coring rig; • Designed for exploration drilling; • With three types of carriers: trailer-, skid- and crawler-mounted.

• A remote control feature that enables the driller to operate from a safe distance What makes Levent 2002 RX-4 unique is the flawless combination of verified concept and durable components. The rig adopts the most advanced technology for diamond core drills and the latest developments, in order to carry out effective drilling.

The rotation speed, power and rotation unit aperture of Levent 2002 RX-4 are made to present optimal performance in 60-122.6 mm (2.36 - 4.83 in) (B-P) diameter wireline or conventional drilling.

As far the spindle bore, its diameters is 127 mm (5 in).

Levent 2002 RX-4 has all the necessary features and safeguards to protect the driller from the hot and moving parts.

Self-contained control panel

The rig has a self-contained control panel, a mast dump, hydraulic jacks, and a telescopic mast, which allow an easy setup. Its ergonomics and safety bring a serious advantage; both for the driller and for the environment.

Drilling depth guidelines

The bellow drill depth capacities only serve as guidelines and refer to vertical down drilling. SON-MAK cannot guarantee that these results can be achieved in all drilling conditions Size

Meters

Feet

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PROSPECTORS Phone +61 (02) 9839 3500 Fax +61 (02) 8824 5250 sales@prospectors.com.au Coring Magazine #17

Safety - Efficiency - Trust EDM MK-2 ROD FEEDER (Patent Pending) An Independent Diamond Rod Handling System that is compatible with Multiple Machines and Eliminates Hazardous Hands-on-Steel Opertions associated with Diamond Drilling

All MK-2 operations are performed at its control panel from a safe distance, where simple joystick commands are converted to the long and tedious series of consecutive maneuvers, removing any intervention from the driller’s assistant.

The MK-2 Rod Feeder is the latest “hands-off -steel” technology for diamond pipe handling and allows drilling contractors to instantly upgrade their existing rigs to the highest levels of operational safety by removing drill crews from repetitive hands on steel tasks.

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