Written by our Geologist, Lyndell Juggernaut
Geotechnical logging of diamond drill core is used to characterize the rock mass and the structural setting. The collected data is applied in geotechnical studies to design mine excavations (open pit slope angles and underground mine excavation sizes and required ground support schemes).
Any feature that will influence excavation stability needs to be captured by logging. Geotechnical logging can occur on standard resource definition holes or specifically designed geotechnical investigation holes. The purpose of the hole often influences who will be doing the logging of the core.
To ensure that the best possible outcome is achieved, diamond core drilled for geotechnical logging must be prepared to a much higher standard than regular exploration core.
A significant amount of geotechnical logging is done by contractors/consultants. Low-quality core processing does result in the visiting geotechnical consultant or logger spending time bringing the core up to the required standard prior to logging. This could result in a lost opportunity to acquire accurate structural and rock mass data and in the worst cases, may require redrilling of the holes.
This article is intended to provide a basic guideline for the level of quality needed for reliable geotechnical data collection and will consider:
- Core orientation;
- Core loss;
- Meter markup;
- Geology markup;
- Feature allocation;
- Industry standards.
Read the full article in the Coring Magazine >
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