Tag Archives: JORC

IMDEX in deep dive study to show value of orebody knowledge

Mineral exploration, Mining industry recognition, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Leading global mining-tech company IMDEX is collaborating on what it says is a groundbreaking study backed by Canada’s preeminent sciences research body to determine the real value of orebody knowledge (OBK) in mineral exploration and mining.

IMDEX is partnering with the Mineral Deposit Research Unit (MDRU) and the Bradshaw Research Institute for Minerals and Mining (BRIMM) at the University of British Columbia, and Ideon Technologies, a leader in applying muon tomography for orebody imaging, in the million-dollar, two-year deep dive into the economics of OBK.

The MDRU is one of the largest integrated mineral deposit and exploration research groups in the world, dedicated to solving mineral exploration-related problems. The BRIMM creates multidisciplinary teams of leading researchers to work with industry to find solutions to the biggest challenges facing the mining industry and trains the next generation of multidisciplinary professionals.

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada – the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering research in Canada – will part-fund the study through the NSERC Alliance program.

IMDEX Chief Geoscientist, Dave Lawie, said the research findings would contribute to knowledge on the economic benefits of enhanced OBK, promote adoption of new technologies, and help define future research and development directions in the mining industry.

“The mining industry has been slow to adopt innovative orebody knowledge approaches and data collection, despite the increasing improvement and sophistication of the technology,” Lawie said.

“One of the reasons for this reluctance is that mining companies, researchers and technology providers find it difficult to articulate the financial value of OBK; to explain in dollar terms the financial gain of being able to make better decisions earlier and reduce risk from greenfields exploration through to mining production.

“Clearly articulating the dollar value of OBK also assists in the adoption of technology where the cost is born in one part of an operation or organisation, but the dollar benefit is accrued in a different department or during a separate phase of development. It helps address the question, ‘Who will pay for what does not happen?’ where operational risk reduction is the key driver.

“Without quality OBK, companies are taking unnecessary mine development risks.

“For the mining industry to adopt this technology, it must have clear evidence of the financial impacts and risks of poor or no OBK and a way of assessing the most efficient methods of collecting, analysing and optimising it.”

IMDEX says it is leading the development of innovative orebody knowledge technology including through its IMDEX BLAST DOG™, a semi-autonomously deployed borehole sensing and physical measurement technology that provides near real-time orebody knowledge and physical information of the blast hole.

The company also has extensive experience in directional core drilling capabilities through its acquisition of Devico and its leading technology, which has benefits particularly in the search for deep mineral deposits.

Ideon’s technology generates images of orebodies deep beneath the Earth’s surface, up to 1 km below ground level, and has proven effective in detecting deep orebodies, which are challenging to locate using traditional methods, according to IMDEX.

“As exploration increasingly targets greater depths, deep OBK and efficient, environmentally sound methods of drill testing will become more relevant for making accurate early estimates of mineral reserves at speed,” Lawie said.

Senior researchers at UBC will drive the study along with a range of postdoctoral experts. The study will analyse mine projects completed over the past 23 years, integrating information from the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Australian Securities Exchange with the respective countries’ mine project reporting codes, the NI 43-101 and the JORC code, to assess the link between OBK – or lack of it – and mine project performance.

Other elements of the study will:

  • Quantify the write-down value attributable to orebody complications;
  • Quantify the link between OBK and mine project performance;
  • Assess the cost of obtaining OBK against the potential value lost in the project; and
  • Develop a risk assessment tool to allow companies to design work programs to optimise OBK and reduce project risk.

Lawie said previous UBC research by John Steen, Michael Samis and Andrew Gillis covering the period 2003 to 2016 revealed that geoscientific challenges were associated with financial losses by mine projects in at least 30% of cases, presenting the Value of Information case that has now expanded into the economic benefits of enhanced orebody knowledge.

This research will provide a starting point for the study using advanced data collection and interpretation to better understand the geological risks associated with mine development projects.

“To our knowledge, this integrated research approach has not been previously attempted,” Lawie said.

RPMGlobal helps Gübre Fabrikaları achieve gold reserve first at Gübretaş Söğüt in Turkey

Mine operation news, Mineral exploration, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , , ,

RPMGlobal’s Consulting & Advisory division has expanded its local presence in Turkey in conjunction with the successful completion of a resource and reserve estimate for the local Gübretaş Söğüt gold project.

The company’s local Advisory division has grown its in-country capabilities, having welcomed Egemen Saygın to the role of Senior Mining Engineer and Tunahan Kılıç in the position of Consulting Geologist.

Collectively, the pair bring a high level of industry experience across exploration, operation and consulting to the Advisory team, further positioning RPMGlobal for success in the next phase of its market growth within Turkey, the company said.

RPMGlobal says it recently completed the first resource and reserve public disclosure for the high profile Gübretaş Söğüt gold project on the Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange (BIST), in line with the recommendations of both the JORC Code and UMREK Code.

This marks the very first time a Turkish-listed company released a statement of mineral reserves on the BIST under UMREK, which was made compulsory in 2019, according to the company.

RPMGlobal was engaged as an independent estimator for Gübre Fabrikaları’s emerging gold project, considered one of the largest high-grade undeveloped gold projects in Turkey with significant upside potential.

Philippe Baudry, RPMGlobal’s Executive General Manager—Advisory Services, said: “The company is continuing to see opportunities supporting Turkish companies in a number of areas as the country’s mining industry undergoes a resurgence.

“Our team of experts on the ground are fielding queries from companies for our knowledge and support in the preparation of mining studies and compliance reports which is a reflection of our solid reputation and quality offerings in these important areas of project development.”

Baudry added: “The recent expansion of our Turkey team reflects a critical part of our strategy to grow our market share across the region through the provision of a strong local presence, and our Turkish office provides the perfect base to serve clients in the region around Turkey while giving them access to RPMGlobal’s global capability.”

RPMGlobal remains committed to providing expert advice and solutions to Turkey’s mining industry, recently becoming a corporate member of local industry organisation YERMAM (The Earth Sciences, Mining and Metallurgy Professionals Association of Turkey). It is also one of the few consulting firms with its own in-house UMREK Qualified Persons in Turkey, leading to increasing market demand for the company’s expertise in the preparation of JORC and UMREK compliance reports and NI-43-101 for equity market reporting, it said.

Baudry said Turkey’s growing pipeline of projects and strong levels of exploration would lead to continued acceleration of demand for the company’s expertise in independent assessment, governance and financier due diligence services.

Europa mobilises diamond drill rig, service providers for Toral lead-zinc-silver exploration

Base metals, Mineral exploration, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , , ,

Europa Metals reports that a diamond drilling rig has been mobilised to its Toral lead-zinc-silver project in Leόn, northern Spain, as the London-listed company looks to commence a new exploration campaign in the next week.

The rig and associated operating crew is being supplied by Sondeos y Perforaciones Industriales de Bierzo SA and will be overseen by Europa’s on-site exploration team, the company said. The campaign will be conducted using a single drilling rig with assays sent for independent analysis on a rolling basis.

Addison Mining Services Limited (AMS) has been retained to carry out a revised independent resource update in accordance with JORC guidelines once the campaign has been concluded, Europa said, with Wardell Armstrong engaged to conduct the metallurgical test work from a representative sample taken from the drilling.

The core objectives of the drilling campaign are to drill into the high-grade core of the project, as defined within the existing inferred JORC resource (16 Mt at 7% zinc-equivalent); target high-grade areas within the defined resource to further the company’s understanding of the project – the aim being to increase confidence in the resource estimate and attain the indicated resource category – and; obtain a significant sample for the metallurgical test work to determine the potential zinc, lead and silver concentrate composition from Toral.

Laurence Read, Executive Director of Europa Metals, said: “Over the next two quarters, we are expecting to announce the results from the drilling, an updated JORC resource, and details of the likely product types that can be produced from Toral. Taken together, we believe that these key milestones will allow us to advance the processing design and commence discussions with potential offtakers.”