MINERAL EXPLORATION
Africa, Australia, the United States and Pacific / Southeast Asia.
Perennial mining centres Canada, Australia and the US remained the top countries in 2017, with Canada recording a 12 % year over year increase in budgets and the remaining two countries each with 19 % increases. Latin American countries dominate with half of the top 10 most popular destinations, led by Chile, Peru and Mexico, with Argentina tipping Democratic Republic of the Congo to sit at 10th place.
As the CES series has documented over the past few years, exploration efforts have been increasingly focused at or near operating mines, which entail the lowest risk among targets. The data from the latest report show that the minesite share( 37 %) of the global budget has risen above both the late-stage share( 36 %) and the grassroots share( 27 %) for the first time since the CES series began in 1989, the swing away from grassroots made worse since 2012 by the collapse in market investment in junior explorers and sharp spending cuts by the major producers.
Ferguson said in October 2017:“ Although improved market sentiment over the past 18 months seems to have slowed the decline in grassroots’ share of budgets in 2017, another year of increase in the minesite share reflects a near-term focus by many producers, as well as a persisting climate of risk aversion.”
Europe’ s INFACT project
Exploration is the crucial first stage in the raw materials chain and has the goal of discovering economically viable deposits of raw materials. Periods of significant discovery directly follow innovations that either change the geological targets of exploration( fundamental theories), the physical places that are reached( regions and depths), or the manner in which they are explored( techniques and methods). Despite its rich history of mining and residual mineral wealth, current conditions within the EU present a number of social, political, legislative, cost and physical barriers to raw material exploration: barriers to be overcome by innovation, dialogue and reform.
The goal of the Innovative, Non-invasive and Fully Acceptable Exploration Technologies( INFACT) project is to drive innovation in costeffective and sustainable exploration techniques that are relevant to the particular conditions and strategic raw material targets of Europe. Its aim is to facilitate access to prospective locations that have remained under-explored due to technical, physical, social or cost restrictions.
Recognising that the future of sustainable exploration requires a reduction in environmental and social disturbance, the
INFACT project focuses on innovative exploration techniques that are‘ non-invasive’( airborne geophysics and remote sensing). The project includes investigation of the social aspects of raw materials exploration by integrating technological innovation and stakeholder engagement( encompassing local communities, wider society and industry) in order to encourage best-practice exploration conduct, measure public perceptions and improve relevance to industry and society alike. INFACT is comprised of the following main components: n Development and test of innovative, environmentally and socially‘ acceptable’ exploration technologies and processes- in an industrially-relevant environment n Foundation of three reference sites in Europe for demonstration, benchmarking and certification of new technologies and analysis of public awareness and opinion in the south, middle and north of Europe n Stakeholder engagement and education: exploration practitioners, policy-makers and wider society One main part of the project is to establish permanent technical infrastructure facilities, called reference regions, which provide industryrelevant environments representing a variety of social, physical and technical challenges in the EU in the context of exploration as well as enabling datasets. So far the availability of test sites in the EU to aid in the development of a new generation of discovery tools has been inadequate.
In the reference regions, which are marked by active or historical mining activities focused on both industry and high-technology metals, the researchers will test and establish benchmarks for non-invasive exploration methods. This will be accompanied by activities involving public authorities as well as local administrations and communities. There will be three EU reference regions:
North: Sakatti is an extensively mapped but as yet unexploited area with deposits of the copper-nickel-platinum group of elements close to Sodankylä in northern Finland, approximately 150 km above the Arctic Circle( operator: Anglo American)
Centre: This reference region centres around the small town of Geyer in the Ore Mountains( Erzgebirge), situated some 110 km south of Leipzig, Eastern part of Germany, and with a long history of ore mining. The region is known for its deposits of tin, zinc, tungsten, molybdenum, copper, iron, silver and indium
South: This reference region comprises two mining sites in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, both in Andalusia, South of Spain: Cobre Las Cruces is an open pit copper mine and on-site plant in Gerena, 20 km northwest of Seville. It is operated by First Quantum Minerals. Minas de
Ríotinto is a well-known ancient opencast polymetallic mine located in Huelva province, 65 km northwest of Seville. It is operated by Atalaya Mining.
Boart’ s underground and surface coring updates
Boart Longyear says its MDR700 underground coring mobile drill rig is catching the eye of exploration drillers, mining house geologists and exploration managers alike. Boart Longyear’ s global product manager, Zac Strauss says:“ The MDR700 is truly a next generation drill rig. It is the first and only underground coring mobile drill rig with an on-board rod handler.”
The rod handler feature isolates the driller from the hazards of manual rod handling and reduces the risk of hand and back injuries. A fully electronic Drill Control Interface( DCi) safely and efficiently operates both the rod handler and the drill.
“ Set-up is quick and easy with the fully hydraulic positioning system and handheld remote controller. The MDR700’ s agile Manitou diesel-powered four-wheel steering allows for easier moving between holes that has been shown to be 80 % faster than other underground exploration rigs. An integrated positioner, turntable and eight movable joints offer extremely wide drilling angles – 270 degrees horizontally and vertically up to vertically down – and sophisticated articulations.
For surface drilling,“ Boart Longyear’ s LF™160 surface coring drill and FL262 Freedom™ Loader combination is ideal for contractors who want to target sophisticated surface drilling exploration contracts that stipulate some of the highest safety standards, without compromising on productivity,” said Strauss.
Efficient and economical on shallow hole drilling, or deeper with up to 1,800 m of NQ™ capacity, the LF160 meets the demands of most diamond coring projects. This rig can be ordered as either a crawler or truck mount configuration with features that include a tilting top-head drive for simplified rod handling. Joints are made low to the ground where the driller has a clear and comfortable view. The foot clamping and breaking device safely aligns, holds, adds and breaks joints in the rod string and can be opened in front to allow for tools to pass through as needed in special drilling conditions.
The wireline winch is located in front of the mast, inside the rotation barrier for improved visibility. The driller can monitor the wireline spooling from the control panel, avoiding tangling of wire rope typically experienced while lowering the overshot. The wireline sheaves are also easily seen from the driller’ s platform, keeping the entire wireline system within view.
Built with driller safety in mind, The LF160 is
30 International Mining | FEBRUARY 2018