This post is also available in Spanish (Este texto también está disponible en Español).

Geologists across the mining industry often face challenges when planning drilling campaigns. Understanding the geology at a specific location is invaluable and can provide answers to common questions such as:

What will the grade be? How thick is the seam? When will I intersect the seam downhole?

These questions and many others can be addressed by using a Report Borehole Predict, a borehole planning tool available in GEOVIA Minex 6.5.1. This often underutilized function allows geologists to plan drilling campaigns and gain a feel for what is happening in the ground, by using existing structural and quality grids.  Report Borehole Predict helps users reduce manual investigation, saving time and costs.

We will now talk about how to apply this functionality in your daily workflow. The Report Borehole Predict is located in the BoreholeDB menu and the Reporting submenu, as shown below.

Before using this feature, please ensure you do the following:

• Ensure you are using Minex 6.5.1
• The Minex borehole database file (*.b31), geometry file (*.GM3) and parameter file (*.mpf) must be open.
• Structural and quality grids must exist in their associated grid folders.

1. Before deciding where to plan your drilling, it is advisable to display relevant data, such as boreholes, topography, registered images, pit designs etc. In the example below, a registered aerial photograph is displayed on topography with the drilled boreholes.
2. Go to BoreholeDB > Reporting > Report Borehole Predict function.Select a topography grid, e.g. TOPS grid.Click on Digitize and and click in the graphics window, where you would like to drill. Right click on the mouse and select Accept when all planned boreholes are digitized. The table will then fill with borehole names automatically and their XY coordinates. For example:

   
   If you have quality grids tick the box and select your quality grids. It is recommended that you set the Decimals column to 2 decimal places.

   
   If you have non-conformable surface that you wish to report, tick the corresponding box and select a file (not applicable in this example).

3. Tick Report to file and type a name and choose a format (e.g. CSV). Click OK to generate the report. The report will then be listed in the Output window for each hole, for example ‘Borehole 1′.
   This will also be output in your chosen format (e.g. CSV) where it can be formatted into Excel as shown below.
   Note that the Report Borehole Predict function has automatically calculated the z elevation of the collar from the Topography grid, along with the estimated seam intersections and associated quality values. This allows for better targeting, as the drillers have reliable information on when to expect seam/ore horizons.
   For more posts on borehole planning, check out Using Borehole Distance Gridding in Minex, or take a look at our other Minex Tips and Tricks here.

   This post is also available in Spanish (Este texto también está disponible en Español).