Drilling Methods

Kuliah-9
Teknik Eksplorasi
 1. Constructing Drill Sections
Objectives : The student will be able to:
• Explain why drilling is important to exploration.
• Describe the difference between diamond core drilling and
rotary drilling.
• Explain how drilling data is used.
• List examples of the information included in a drill log
• Explain apparent dip
• Explain why it is important to determine the true thickness from
the apparent thickness.
Explanation

• Surface exploration only defines two dimensions of a mineral

prospect or discovery.
• Drilling is the stage of the exploration process where the third
dimension (depth) is defined.
• This is a very important process, because ultimately the information
acquired from drilling will prove if an ore deposit will be mined.
• There are essentially two types of drilling: diamond core and rotary.
Diamond core drilling
• Diamond core drilling uses a diamond bit to carve a solid column of
rock.
• The core is studied in detail, and then all or part of the rock column is
sent to a geochemical lab for analysis.
• If the rock is competent (solid) and the drilling goes well, the rock core
may be present in its entirety.
• Usually the rock is fractured and some is missing, so the recovery
percentage must be calculated.
Rotary drilling

• Rotary drilling methods shatter the rock into bits and then pump the
bits to the surface where they are collected for sampling.
• The drill uses compressed air to force the fragments to the surface.
• Recovery can be estimated by weighing the samples and comparing
the weights to the weights for the ideal solid column of rock.
• This can be calculated knowing the density of the rock and the
dimensions of the cylinder of the rock.
• Information gathered from both types of drilling is treated similarly.
• The best way to present drilling data is by graphical methods so the
information can be visualized more clearly and interpreted easier.
• This includes both maps and drill-sections.
• The depth dimension is shown in the vertical plane called the drill
section, which is essentially a special type of cross-section.
• The information plotted can be geochemical values, or geological
information, or both on the same section.
Drill Section
• A drill section shows the surface topography by creating a
topographic profile, just as in regular cross-sections.
• The profile will show the “collar” locations, which are the tops of the
drill holes.
• The profile will then show various “intercepts” (depth ranges) for
each significant geochemical zone or lithological unit that is
encountered, as noted in the drill log.
• By knowing the locations of the intercepts the geology of the rocks
can be interpreted.
• The closer the spacing of drill holes the more accurate the profile is
likely to be.
Drill Data Collection
• The geologist must carefully record the information from the rock
core or rock chips obtained from every drill hole.
• This is done by completing a “drill log”, which is a form that is filled
out during the actual drilling process.
• The drill log has basic information at the top, including hole number,
inclination, bearing and plunge angle, date, and loggers name.
• Then the log will show the depth scale on one side of the form.
• The scale is usually in feet / meter since the equipment used by most
drilling companies, particularly the drill stems, are in standard lengths
of feet.
Typical drill log.
• The drill log typically has a series of columns to the side of the
footage scale, each for a different criteria to be observed or logged.
• The choices for the column titles are quite variable due to the many
different characteristics which can be recorded.
• Drill logs are generally tailored to each individual drilling project.
• Some of the characteristics which are commonly recorded include:
1. lithology,
2. alteration,
3. mineralization,
4. structural features, and
5. geochemical values.
• The angle of a structure is a measure of the acute angle between the
structure and the core axis.
• Any of these characteristics may be plotted on the drill section.
 Plotting of geochemical
• Plotting of geochemical values on a drill section is commonly the
first step to understanding the geometry of an underground ore
body.
• The geometry must be understood in as much detail as possible
before mining can begin.
• The volume of ore bodies which are of a tabular nature, such as
veins or dikes, can be estimated by knowing the dimensions,
including the true thickness of a mineralized zone, the dip length
of the zone, and the strike length of the zone.
Graphic Representation of Drill Holes
• The drill holes are shown on the drill section as lines extending below
points representing the collar locations.
• The length of the lines are drawn to the scale of the drill section.
• A vertical drill hole will plot as a vertical line in the drill section.
• The length of the line will correspond to the total depth of the drill
hole, as stated on the drill log.
• Some drill holes are “inclined” at a specified angle below the
horizontal, and must be illustrated accordingly.
• For the simplest case of plotting an inclined hole which happens to
plunge directly down the plane of the drill section, the angle of the
hole will be shown as the same.
• If the hole inclines or angles away from the drill section plane, then
the “apparent” dip angle must be used to illustrate the drill hole.
Apparent Dip:
• Some angled drill holes plunge away from the vertical plane of the
drill section.
• If the drill hole plunges or dips away from the vertical plane, then the
dip angle which will be observed in the drill section is called the
“apparent” dip.
• The apparent dip angle is always smaller than the true dip angle.
• The apparent dip angle can be determined by looking up the true dip
angle in the “Dwerryhouse” table (Table T4).
• This table shows what the apparent dip angle will be as a function of
the angle between the section line and the strike direction of the
feature.
• This requires measuring the angle between the strike and the drill
section line in the map view.
Table T4: Apparent Dip Angles as function
of true dip and strike orientation.
Projecting Drill Holes to the Drill Section Plane:
• It is often necessary or desirable to “project” drill holes into the plane
of the drill section (Figure F14).
• This is the process of illustrating a feature in a drill section or cross
section, even though the feature does not actually occur in the drill
section plane.
• Drill holes which are not exactly on the section line will be
“projected” onto the plane of the drill section.
• Drill holes can be projected any distance, but the longer the distance,
the less the reliability in the interpretation.
• The drill hole is positioned on the drill section at the closest point to
the original.
• In most grid-based drilling campaigns these distances are usually kept
under 200 feet.
• After the drill holes are plotted on the drill section, the geochemistry and/or
geological data is plotted along side the lines representing the drill holes.
• It is then the goal of the geologist to interpret the geochemistry and geology
details into the ground between drill holes.
• This is why a good imagination is important.
• The interpretation process may be simple and straightforward, or it may be
difficult, depending on the complexity of the local geology.
• Typically a color coding system is used to color code the geochemical values.
The geology in between the drill holes is usually illustrated with patterns or
simple unit designators.
• Faults are shown as special line patterns, as they are on geologic maps.
Projection of drill holes to closest point on the drill section line A-B.
 Apparent Thickness
• If an angled drill hole intersects an inclined, tabular-shaped layer or deposit,
then the thickness of the zone as seen in the drill core or noted on the drill
log will represent the “apparent thickness”.
• The “true thickness” of the tabular body is the thickness measured
perpendicular to the contacts of the body.
• The reason it is important to determine the true thickness is because the
true thickness must be known in order to determine volume (Volume =
length x width x thickness).
• The size of a deposit has a direct impact on the commercial value of the
deposit.
Lab exercise For Drill Sections

Objectives:
• Part 1: Construct an east-west drill section from the data in the drill
logs in Data Sheet DS5.
• Part 2: Calculate the true thickness of the Charles Vein.
• Part 3: Plot an inclined drill hole using the apparent dip.
• Part 4: Determine the depth necessary to drill to intersect the
Victoria Vein.
Materials:
• Pencil
• 6 inch C-thru type ruler, with 10’s inches and protractor
• Drill logs (Data Sheet DS 5)
Procedure:
Part 1: Construct the drill section as follows:
1. Use the C-thru ruler to measure and draw vertical lines downward from the collar locations,
shown by small x’s. Make the lines the appropriate length (the scale is 1’ = 100 FT).
2. Draw a short perpendicular line across the bottom of the drill hole line. Label the bottom of the
drill hole with the total depth (TD = ).
3. Use a thick black line to highlight the intercepts (range) containing gold values above 0.8 opt
(ounces per ton). Note that DH1 has intersects both the Victoria and Charles Veins, and DH2
only intersects the Charles Vein. The intercepts represent the “apparent thicknesses” of the
veins.
4. Label the intercepts with the footage range (for example: 50 – 90 FT) and the average grade
(average the four values for the high grade intercept) for each of the high grade vein intercepts.
Example:
30 – 70 ‘:
40 ‘ @ 2.2 opt
5. Draw a smooth line connecting the top of the Charles Vein in DH1 with the top of the Charles
Vein in DH2. Draw another smooth line connecting the bottom of the Charles Vein intercepts.
6. Use shading to illustrate the sericite alteration halo adjacent to the vein. Refer to the drill logs
to determine the apparent thickness of the halo.
• Part 2: Determine the true thickness of the Charles Vein in DH 2 as follows:
1. Use the protractor to measure the dip of the Charles Vein.
2. Use trigonometry to determine the true thickness (thickness taken
perpendicular to the vein walls) of the Charles Vein, as follows:
a) Draw a right triangle such that the hypotenuse corresponds to the vein intercept
(apparent thickness)(side “b” of the triangle).
b) Determine the angle between the drill hole and the vein by subtracting the dip
angle of the drill hole from 90.
c) Multiply the sin of this angle times the hypotenuse (ie, apparent thickness). This
result is the length of side “a” of the triangle, which is the true thickness of the
Charles Vein.
Part 3: Plot an inclinded drill hole (DH3) on the drill section
1. DH 3 is an angle hole with a bearing of 45 and a true dip of 75 O,
and a total depth of 405 feet.
2. Determine the angle between the drill section line and the strike
direction (perpendicular to the bearing).
3. Look up the value of the apparent dip in Table T4.
4. Draw a line representing DH3 on the drill section, and using the
apparent dip value.
5. Use the scale to make the line the correct length.
Part 4: Determine the depth needed to drill to intersect the Victoria Vein if
the drill is located at an easting of 200 E.
1. Look at your drill section at 200 E. Draw a line down from the collar
location to represent proposed drill hole DH 4.
2. Use the scale to draw a vertical line representing proposed drill hole DH
4. The line should extend from the surface collar location downward just
past the Victoria Vein. Use the scale to measure the length of the line, to
the nearest tenth of an inch, which intersects the Victoria Vein..
3. The scale is 1 inch = 100 feet. The depth of the drill hole which must be
drilled in order to intersect the Victoria Vein. The drill hole depth is the
length of the line X 100.