Leading mining-tech company IMDEX™ says it has simplified the data deluge that flows from modern drilling, negating the need to have multiple tablets to capture the information from individual exploration tools. IMDEX™ SURVEY-IQ™ allows efficient and simultaneous quality assured survey and gamma logging that can be completed by one member of the drill crew. Survey results are immediately available for approval through the cloud-based service IMDEXHUB-IQ™.

Using one tablet and interface with multiple tools at the same time reduces hardware costs, including tablets, and chargers, while increasing functionality. IMDEX™ Global Product Manger Downhole Navigation Lee Webb said the latest iteration of the SURVEY-IQ™ focused on streamlining use of the tool and automatically populating key fields, which reduced the risk of errors being introduced. “We are trying to introduce as much automation in the survey process as possible for the end user while also recognising that drillers want different data from geologists,” Webb said. “Key data is easily available and upfront but there is also the ability to go deeper if that’s required.”

He adds: “We have come to the point now where we are populating information that comes down from the IMDEXHUB-IQ™ into the tablet, so the driller is basically pressing the go button. There are not having to rely on numbers that could be written down on a piece of paper. As an example, they could be dealing with magnetic azimuth, true north azimuth, or grid azimuth. IMDEXHUB-IQ™ will send the correct azimuth into the tablet without the user having to choose. To be able to implement and remove the need for the user to be involved is quite significant. The user interface for viewing data is better and results can be calculated on screen, so you have the answers both on the screen and in the IMDEXHUB-IQ™.”

Webb said the ability to verify results in-field on the tablet meant decisions on whether to change the direction of drilling could be made straight away. This was particularly beneficial in regions including parts of Canada and Africa where remote locations often had no Wi-Fi connections, and drillers and geologists had to wait until the end of the day when they reached Wi-Fi range to validate their results. Saving that time brought substantial productivity improvements.

“SURVEY-IQ™ has crossed the threshold in saving hours for drilling operations by increasing productivity up to four times compared to using conventional apps,” Webb said. Improvements to SURVEY-IQ™ came from customer feedback. “It’s robust, driller friendly and, increasingly, intuitive so that it prompts the user to take the next step and, in that way, it reduces the possibility of errors being introduced. Using it gives you confidence in your data.”