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narrow-vein gold deposit in Newfoundland , Canada .
The company , through surgical mining , has set out to adapt a combination of drilling and imaging techniques already proven in the oil & gas industry for the narrow-vein mining sector , providing the technical and economical means to mine steeply
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The imaging tool , called the near borehole imaging tool ( NBIT ), uses sensor technology and in-built algorithms to identify the interfaces between rock units |
consortium was on the imaging tool ,
Angelo replied : “ The imaging tool is the enabling technology to conduct surgical mining . You cannot take a large diameter tool and carry out
‘ mining by drilling ’ using conventional methodologies .”
The imaging tool , called the near borehole imaging tool ( NBIT ), uses
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dipping narrow-vein orebodies with the reduced footprint disturbance modern mining operations require .
The Romeo and Juliet proof of concept was designed to test the entire surgical mining system and process , which is made up of three steps . This includes drilling a pilot hole with a standard NQ-sized diamond core rig and sending imaging tools down through the core barrel on wireline ; bringing in a large-diameter drill to drill to depth following the trajectory provided by the imaging tool and extracting the cuttings ; and backfilling the holes thereafter .
Starting in July of 2021 and wrapping in early December , the trial was designed to prove the concept of ‘ mining by drilling ’, Dustin Angelo , CEO of Novamera , told IM .
“ It was a proof-of-concept trial to demonstrate that we could carry out our entire surgical mining process ,” he said .
“ That whole concept we were talking about and trying to explain to potential customers over several years has now been demonstrated . The big doubts in the industry were around using large-diameter drilling for ore extraction – we have proven that it works .”
Angelo outlined some of the metrics that the company had set and achieved during testing : “ We drilled our deepest large-diameter hole to 90 m on a 60-degree dip angle . We also achieved our target rate of penetration on which we have based our economics to date . Then , on the imaging side , we were able to identify those interfaces between the host rock and mineralised zone .”
The company has carried out subsequent imaging work in the field , returning to Romeo and Juliet and its own control site in Newfoundland looking to refine its performance .
A large-cap gold producer and Sumitomo were among the interested parties that visited the pilot trial at Romeo and Juliet , with a number of desktop studies since conducted for mining companies interested in how the technology stacks up on an Excel spreadsheet .
The biggest development that has come out of the initial full field trial is the assembly of a consortium of companies looking to co-fund a field trial of the company ’ s minimum viable product ( MVP ) version of the imaging tool , which is the key enabling technology within surgical mining , through the Canada Mining Innovation Council ( CMIC ).
CMIC has proven influential in other segments of the mining innovation space in progressing technologies such as mechanised cutting and remote charge-up operations , and Angelo is expecting similarly productive results from the collaboration Novamera is involved in .
“ That will be a big step for us ,” he said . “ We ’ ll be working at our own and third-party sites to showcase what this technology can bring to the industry . The companies involved in the consortium and the fact that CMIC is on board will help validate the technology .”
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sensor technology and in-built algorithms to identify the interfaces between rock units . In addition to the data collected by the NBIT , the tool incorporates existing drill hole data and other geological information from the chosen site to set the course for the large-diameter drill to follow .
“ We ’ re not looking for the actual mineral – we ’ re looking for where the interfaces are ,” Angelo said . “ Normally , the miner will have a geological model and our technology is meant to provide higher resolution geometric definition of the mineralised zone .”
Traditionally when companies put together their geological models , they aim to drill on 25-m-hole spacing and interpolate the zones between them , but , as Angelo points out – especially in narrow-vein operations – a lot can happen in terms of mineralisation between those two drill holes .
“ You need a finer resolution to ‘ mine by drilling ’ in this context ,” he said .
The CMIC consortium in question will likely see the development and testing of a more robust imaging tool with further refined algorithms and potentially updated components from the one presented at the Romeo and Juliet trial , Angelo said .
In addition to kicking off this CMIC-backed work , the company has plans to finalise a full first-generation system by the end of 2022 .
This will see the large diameter drill component go up in size from the
1-m-diameter cutting head used at Romeo and Juliet to a 2-m-diameter cutting head . A redesigned ‘ entry sleeve ’ able to collar the hole accurately and change with the chosen dip and azimuth outlined by the imaging tool will also be included in the full system . On top of this , the company is looking into the development of a “ course correction mechanism ” positioned in the bottom hole assembly of the large-diameter drill that can keep the drill head on course regardless of the material it penetrates through . Added to this will be the company ’ s own software interface to accurately track progress of the drilling .
When are we likely to see such a machine appear ?
“ When we have a secured a full field trial for it , we will go out and fabricate all the components ,” Angelo explained . “ We ’ re not going to go ahead and order large diameter drills and other equipment without a potential customer confirmed .”
And while gold was initially the focus area for surgical mining given that Novamera was spun out of Anaconda Mining ( now Signal Gold ),
Angelo sees options to apply the technology beyond the yellow metal space .
He concluded : “ Initially it was all about gold , but , as we have done our research and talked to folks , we have realised that there are many opportunities in the world for small narrow-vein deposits that are left behind or being totally ignored . For the most part , this technology can be considered commodity agnostic .”
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