Workshop 3: The Role of In-Mine Geophysics

in Resource Evaluation
Using Geophysics in underground hard rock mining ws 3.1
A question of value and vision
Peter Williams Western Mining Corporation

Introduction
Using Geophysics in hard rock underground mines to see beyond the face of the
wall of the drive is a natural extension of using geophysics to see beyond the face
of the earth in mineral exploration. The laws that govern geophysics in exploration
are the same as those that govern geophysics in in-mine applications. The
petrophysical properties of the earth (or as importantly the petrophysical contrasts)
that are the source of the geophysical signal in exploration, are the same sources
as those sensed in mining.

However, there are several major differences in application of geophysics in-mine

which must be considered:

1. Survey access is governed by hole access, be they drill holes or tunnels,

drives, shafts or adits.

2. The time frame for information extraction from the surveys and decision making
is often significantly shorter in the mine environment.

3. The desired spatial resolution of the information extracted from the surveys is
generally at least an order of magnitude higher than that required for
exploration.

4. The environment in which measurements are made are generally noisier, due to
vibration and electromagnetic clutter (exceptions being some aspects of airborne
geophysics), and can be hindered by high levels of dust, moisture in the air or
water/mud.

It is therefore not a realistic expectation to take exploration geophysical equipment

of the shelf and use it in an operational sense in the mines.

In the coal mining industry, in seam seismic measurements have been used (and
are currently used) to predict and map subsurface faults in the coal seams, so that
long wall mine design is optimised (Krey, 1963; Gupta, 1971; Mason, et al 1980);
borehole geophysical measurements have been used to derive lithology,
depositional environment, coal boundaries, ash properties, oxidation effects and
coal quality estimates (Davies, 1992). In petroleum mining, a similar use of
downhole geophysical logging is made (Selley, 1980), with additional information
being derived for oil and gas estimation; 3D seismic surveying is now considered
routine for mapping reservoir geometries (Enachescu, 1993; McWhorter and
Torguson, 1995) and to further facilitate the interpretation of the 3D geometry of the
depositional environment.

The use of geophysics in hard rock metalliferous mining has been investigated on
several occasions over the past 30 years.

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Elliot (1967) investigated the use of seismic refraction in mines in the western USA;
Parasnis (1967) investigated the use of Mise-a-la-masse surveying to assist in
predicting the shape of a base metal deposit in Sweden; Reid (etal, 1979) describes
the application of high resolution seismic reflection to chromite exploration in
southern Africa; Nickel and Cemy (1989) have reported the use of the radio wave
shadow method for underground exploration for lead-zinc ores in Eastern Europe
since 1982; Olson (etal, 1989)has reported using borehole radar to map fractures in
the Stripa Iron Mine in Sweden; Jackson (etal, 1995) reports using seismic
tomography to map anomalous stress and rock burst hazards in a silver mine in
Idaho; Arai (1995) has described using resistivity tomography to map out the shape
of epithermal polymetallic vein type mineralisation in Japan; and more recently
McGaughey (etal, 1995) has reported using the Radar Imaging Method (RIM) to
map structural disruptions, to under potash seams in Saskatchewan, Canada.

In Australia, Williams (1987) and Griffin (1987) discuss the application of radar to
map abandoned stopes in the open pits of the Golden Mile in Kalgoorlie; Doe (etal,
1991) has reported using Down Hole Transient Electromagnetics (DHTEM) to
explore underground in the Cobar district of NSW; Thomson (etal, 1992) and
Thomson and Hinde (1993) describe investigations into the application of RIM in the
Mount Isa, Broken Hill and Osborne base metal deposits; Sinadinovski (etal, 1995)
reports an investigation of crosswell and VSP seismic reflection imaging in the
nickel mines at Kambalda. However, despite the success of some of these
applications, geophysical surveying has very rarely become a routine operational
tool for the hard rock miner.

Learning from other Mining Businesses

In both petroleum and coal mining, there has been a careful study of the information
that is required to conduct the mining business. This has been driven by the low
worth of the commodity being mined in the case of the coal industry, such that tight
cost control is essential (Davies, op cit). They have asked and answered the
question as to what is the most cost effective source of this information now. They
have considered what could be the most cost effective source of this information in
the future, and appear to have made the commitment to develop these sources. To
do this in a geophysical sense they have had to have understood what the
relationship is between petrophysical contrasts (and their variations) and the
desired earth science information, and at the same time they have to assign a value
or benefit to having this information. They then have to derive costs for the different
information sourcing mechanisms (capital, operating), and simply work out which is
the most efficient and cost effective source. Other information attributes such as
reliability, precision, resolution, robustness, support are factored into this basic
equation.

There are interesting similarities between some petroleum, coal and nickel sulphide
ore environments. These similarities make one question the manner by which hard
rock nickel miners traditionally extract information from their drill holes.

If we consider Hard Rock komatiite hosted nickel in WA, there is an interesting

geological explanation of the genesis of some nickel sulphide ores which is derived,
in part, from well known soft rock (Petroleum, Coal) deposition processes (Gresham
and Loftus Hills, 1981). The komatiitic lavas are considered to form flow channels,
within which the nickel sulphide minerals settle out, eventually forming massive and
disseminated nickeliferous ores at the base of the channels (Figure 1). Fine grained

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