Man-portable drilling in Antarctica
This version of our man-portable set-up uses and electric driver powered by a generator. This allows holes to be collared from inside a tent without risk from petrol fumes.
Mobile Weather Shelter (MWS) is set above the ground so that the base forms a working bench for drilling.
Water for drilling is provided from an IBC container. Drilling used about 700ltrs of water per day.
A generator is used to power the drill, avoiding the need to ventilate the tent of fumes.
A floor panel is removed providing access to the rock and collar location.
Collecting a geotechnical sample for laboratory testing.
Drill core recovered measures two sizes; about 75mm diameter and about 34mm diameter.
A mobile weather haven shelter is used as a base for drilling.
IG secures rights to sell man-portable core drills in Australasia
Cost-effective, value-for-money drilling solution for accessing remote, difficult or sensitive areas with minimal need for preparation and with minimal disturbance.
Man-portable drilling offers a cost-effective value-for-money solution to accessing remote, difficult or sensitive areas with minimal need for preparation and with minimal disturbance.
After using true man-portable core drills for a number of years, IG has now gone on to negotiate and secure the rights to sell the American-made machines in Australia and New Zealand.
Man-portable core drills offer a cost effective drilling solution that can help reduce need for larger more expensive drill rigs. They require little or no ground preparation and can get to locations not accessible to larger drill rigs. They are suitable for both geotechnical and mining/exploration-related work.
Core from man-portable drills is reportable to the stock exchange. Companies now have the ability to riase less cash on the back of early core drill results without the expense of larger scale drilling. Similarly, investors now have the ability to see funds directed to testing sites before funds are committed to larger rigs.
Our man-portable drills do not replace the need for larger drill rigs, but they can help reduce and focus use of these more expensive machines. Smaller machines can be used to quickly access a site to test where a larger machine might be best positioned. This can be done quickly with minimal or no ground preparation. This is critical in rugged, or culturally or environmentally sensitive areas.
IG will be progressively changing this website over coming weeks to provide additi0nal information on drilling products and techniques. In the interim, please contact us if you are interested in using our drilling services or in acquiring your own drills.
The following video shows the man-portable drill being used with a petrol driver. Both petrol and electric are available and their use depends on the location, the sort of drilling, ambient conditions and whether drilling is collared from within a confined space (such as from inside a tent, in the basement of a building or underground).
Man-portable core drills reach new heights
Drilling a highly foliated schistose rock on the side of a cliff in the Northern Territory.
Man-portable core drills are typically used in the early stages of exploration or for prospecting to identify sub-surface extensions of mineralisation. They are low cost alternatives to larger more expensive drills, requiring little or no regulatory approval for pads or tracks. This makes them quick, cheap and versatile.
Recent work in the Northern Territory desert for KGL Resources took the use of the man-portable drill to new heights: from exploration into the realms of Resource definition.
Infill drilling into known mineralisation can build up a level of confidence about the size and quality of the mineralisation to the point where it can be categorized as a ‘Resource’. But, what happens when a rugged topography prevents larger drill rigs accessing infill sites? The lack of infill information results in known mineralisation not being included in a Resource, underestimating both the size and value of that Resource. The value of that Resource underpins the value of the mineral asset. Thus, it’s non-inclusion negatively influences company value.
When that undrilled mineralisation is also located between the surface expressions of mineralisation and drilling at depth, then the ‘missing’ Resource is all the more valuable. This is because the mineralisation closest to surface is typically most accessible to mining, representing lower capital costs of development and earlier cash-flow to the company!
Man-portable core rigs typically do not replace larger rigs! A larger rig will get a larger, deeper sample more efficiently. However, they are more expensive to run, typically require access roads and prepared drill sites, which in turn may necessitate regulatory approval and the chance of increased bonds.
For KGL, the extra expense of using a larger drill rig was partially avoided by using Independent Geologist’s true man-portable drilling rigs. Each rig, complete with rods was mobilized by two people. No site preparation was necessary and separate approvals were not required. Hole depths were limited to less than 10m but could be spread in fences from cliff bottom to mid-cliff to cliff top. Hole positioning could be adjusted on the fly based on results at hand, with rig moves taking less than 1 hour.
Man-portable drills access confined spaces otherwise inaccessible to larger drills.
This drilling program requiring no separate approvals, no rehabilitation, no ground preparation and collared directly into mineralisation.
The end result? This low cost drilling program provided information on mineralisation with an in-ground value measured in the millions!
Click to read the KGL ASX release.
Another satisfied customer holder core produced using our man-portable drills.
IG- Man-portable drilling
Our man-portable drill rigs are becoming increasingly popular with mineral explorers who are seeking access to difficult, rugged, or environmentally sensitive areas.
These small-scale single-barrel drill rigs do not generally replace larger and more complicated drill rigs (click here to see an example where man portable drill rig out-performs a conventional rig). However, they can help to reduce the cost of a drilling program by providing critical information on where to place a larger drill rig. They are also capable or providing a market reportable drilling result for a fraction of the cost of conventional drilling.
Man-portable drill rigs can consistently drill relatively quickly to depths of up to 20m. They require little or no ground preparation, and are quick to transport and fast to set-up. They are low cost and their low impact results in shortened work program approval times.
Independent Geologist has two man-portable drills and provides rigs and geologist on a daily rate basis. Couple a geologist with a drill rig and a hand-held XRF and you get reportable drilling results at low cost in almost real-time.
The following video shows the man-portable drill rigs in operation. It looks easy but, as with any drilling, success relies on choosing the right rods, bits and muds to support the task being undertaken.
Bauxite: The importance of the ratio of available alumina to reactive silica
Beware if you get presented with an analysis from a bauxite deposit and all it shows you is total alumina. Total alumina is important but, a bit like iron ore, it is not the whole story.
We seems to be doing more and more work assessing bauxite deposits.This reflects a change in the market away from commodities such as iron ore and carbon steel-related materials to their substitutes. This is not really surprising. The high prices for iron ore over recent years encouraged new supply, but also increased substitution. You guessed it. The effect is to compound downward price pressure once demand turned. We now see iron ore at levels not seen for a number of years, with futures for 62% CFR China indicating sustained depressed prices for some time to come.
Welcome to the world of bauxite, the raw material for aluminium. Substitution for steel (cars) and copper (conductors) has seen sustained demand and pricing for alumina. There is a shift in the exploration industry to acquiring new deposits with resources appearing in places not previously widely accepted as being economic. ABx Resources deposits in Tasmania might be a good example.
To an extent, alumina ores can be thought of in a similar way to iron ores. The DSO (Direct Shipping Ore) benchmark for iron is about 62% Fe. Higher grades can attract a premium price and lower grades a penalty. The same is true for alumina, although the benchmark grades tends to be lower for alumina at around 48%.
Like iron ore, it is the impurities that are often more important to consider than the head grade. I’ll talk about these impurities separately in another post. For this post, I’ll simply focus on this head grade figure. This is the larger number that is shown at the top of many assays. It is often the only number in older assays, and it can be misleading.
Not all alumina is available for making aluminium. Not all alumina that is available for making aluminium is of a type that you want to use in a factory to make aluminium. Confused?…..
The table below shows total alumina analyses for two samples. These are real examples. The total alumina in both samples is quite high. That’s good, right – NO! Only KTV01 is acceptable.
Firstly, analysis of the second sample (KTV02) shows a large proportion of the total alumina is contained in minerals where that alumina is not available to become aluminium product. The available alumina is low compared to the total alumina. This can happen, for example, where alumina in the rock is locked up in minerals that make it too expensive to extract – ie it is not available to the refinery and/ore smelter.
Secondly, a sample may contain unacceptably high levels of reactive silica. This is silica that reacts and consumes chemicals used in the Bayer process to extract aluminium. The consumption of these chemicals increases the cost of processing each ton of alumina.
As such, beware of older or incomplete assays which only show total alumina. A high total alumina is not always indicative of a good ore. A general rule is that you want the ratio of available alumina to reactive silica to be >10. You cant ignore total alumina, but if your ratios are right then an ore with total alumina as low as the mid-20%’s can be more profitable than one yielding a total alumina result in excess of 49%.
Of course, this is not the whole story. There are other factors to consider, but I’ll talk about these separately.
Bauxite analyses showing ratio of available alumina against reactive silica.
A scooter for (just about) every occasion….
I’m not a great one for cooking programs, but tonight’s Luke Nguyen’s cooking show caught my attention for talking about motor scooters in Vietnam. If you’ve travelled anywhere in Asia then you’ll know that these scooters are an important form of transport for individuals, families, freight, livestock and ….. ….yes, even trees.
One of the few times I was allowed to drive the scooter. Yes, that’s the owner on the back holding a very big bush knife.
Scooters are the primary form of transport in parts of the jungle. Helmets are less popular.
Yes, I’ve come off more than once, commonly catapulted off the back after the driver fails to miss one of the (too) many potholes. Truth is, all credit to the driver for keeping me on the back and the bike upright in the first place. I’m not small. Add the driver, our packs, rock samples (iron ore!!!), rock hammers, food, water, and the odd (unsheathed) bush knife – no, not dangerous at all!
Many (…….hmmm…..ALL!….) of these little gems of moto-mayhem wouldn’t be roadworthy here in Australia. Missing foot pegs seem particularly common. No big deal you might say? Why pick out such a trivial problem others might point out? Ha, well, go try it for yourself and I guarantee you’ll experience ‘tender’!
Problems aside, these scooters go just about anywhere and do just about anything. I’ve traversed ground that would be impassable to a four wheel drive. I’ve closed my eyes and flown across decaying jungle bridges. I’ve even escaped illegal gold-miners riding a scooter at speed through the jungle (defimitely a story for another post)…….
Well done little scooter! You have proven yourself an indispensable addition to the exploration toolkit!!
Traversing deeper watercourses is not a problem if you keep the engine revs up…….
….. but, if you dont get it right then emptying the bike of water is also not a problem….. with a little help from your mates!
Alistair Reed qualifies for Masters of Business
SRA is pleased to announced SRA employee and principal geologist Dr Alistair Reed has qualified for a Masters in Business from the University of Tasmania.
Says, Dr Reed “My studies in finance and corporations law have proven invaluable to me in my work with SRA. Understanding the business of mineral exploration is critical to marketing, developing and funding our exploration and mining projects.”
Dr Reed is expected to graduate in 2014.
Rod Campbell: A geologist in demand!
SRA are pleased to announce the addition of new staff member Rodrick (Rod) Campbell.
Rod comes to SRA with more than 5 years experience in iron ore and gold exploration with Tanami Gold and Pluton Resources, respectively. Says SRA director and partner, Dr Alistair Reed, “We are really lucky to have Rod working with us again. His experience really adds to SRA’s ability to conduct exploration in difficult areas.”
Rod’s employment is a result of SRA gaining funding out of Asia for exploration in southwestern Tasmania. Rod will also with SRA’s other projects in the United States and Asia.
Says Rod, “I’m really pleased to be back working with Tony and Alistair. We’ve worked well as a team in the past and I’m really looking forward to that again in the future.”
“SRA – All the way!”
Rod Campbell of Schoer, Reed & Assoc.
Funding secured……
Schoer, Reed and Associates (SRA) are pleased to announce that they have secured funding for the next phase of gold exploration at Paragon Resources Elliott Bay gold project in southwestern Tasmania.
SRA manage the Elliott Bay gold project on behalf of Paragon Resources shareholders, coordinating exploration over an area of more than 100 square kilometers. This area includes highly prospective Mount Read Volcanic (MRV) rocks similar to those hosting world class mineral deposits at Rosebery (MMG) and Queenstown (Vedanta) to the north.
SRA partner and director, Dr Alistair Reed says, “We are very pleased to have been successful in raising private equity funding for this quality project at a time when many other companies in Australia are struggling to attract proper investment.”
Funding out of Asia will be used to develop and explore targets located along a newly discovered corridor of rocks referred to as the Discovery Creek Shear Zone (DCSZ). The DCSZ was discovered by SRA geologists following up on historic gold results. The DCSZ shares many characteristics with the Henty Fault in the northern MRV. Results to date are extremely positive, with visible gold in rock chips returning assay results of more than 5 ounces per tonne gold (160g/t Au). These results are of a preliminary nature only but are already more than 30 times the grade of gold ore being mined at Henty.
Visible gold in rocks from the Discovery Creek Shear Zone at Elliott Bay, Tasmania.