IAMGOLD BUCKREEF PROJECT

GEOTECHNICAL CORE LOGGING

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2007

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION

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 Buckreef Background
• Geotechnical data collected to date includes
TCR and RQD only.
• Core orientation has been carried out in most
cases specifically looking at vein orientation.
Some joint orientation has been collected but
joint characteristics have not been collected.
• At Buckreef, veining intensity, alteration type and
intensity, and alpha and beta angles are
currently collected as part of standard geological
logging procedures.
• To achieve advanced project status (e.g.
feasibility),detailed geotechnical data will be
required

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 Geotechnical Logging: Two Tier System

BASIC GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING (Run-based)

• Total Core Recovery (TCR)
• Rock Quality Designation (RQD)
• Intact Rock Strength (IRS)
• Fracture counts (joints, foliation and mechanical breaks)

DETAILED GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING

• Assessment of joint conditions (roughness, alteration of wall rock, fill type)
• Orientation of joints (alpha and beta angles)

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BASIC GEOTECHNICAL
LOGGING

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 Total Core Recovery (TCR)
TCR is the sum of all measurable core recovered in one drill run.

965.5
ROCK TYPE 1
The TCR (yellow shaded area) of
interval B is approximately 2.4m
(2.4 / 3.0 x 100 = 80%) while the
indicated drill run is 3.0m.
ROCK TYPE 2
968.5

¾Fit the core together as best as possible.

¾For the broken zones, push the material together so that it approximately resembles a
core volume.
¾Measure the total length of core recovered. This includes the solid and broken zones.

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 Rock Quality Designation (RQD)
RQD is the sum of all measurable core pieces >10cm recovered in one drill run.

• Total length of core pieces

that are longer than 10cm.
• Consider machine breaks as
solid core.
• Consider joints along the core
axis as solid core.

RQD is unaffected by this “core axis” break

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 RQD Methodology

In order to properly assess RQD, joints and mechanical breaks must be separated. In the example
provided above, the yellow boxes are zones removed from RQD while the red circles are not (as they are
bounded by mechanical breaks which do not affect RQD).

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 RQD and TCR Data Entry
Palm Logger format:

All ratios (TCR and RQD) are calculated using the run length drilled (derived from tags).
• This distance is obtained from the driller, using the rod measurements.
• This is critical, specifically in the weaker rock types, where core loss can be expected.

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 Fracture Assessment
NO JOINTS

VEINS AND HEALED FRACTURES

WEAKEST ROCK
OPEN JOINTS

>
>
STRONGEST ROCK

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 Fracture Assessment

It is important to realize that four (4) sources of open fractures can be found in the drill core.

• Artificial breaks induced by the core handling process should be marked with a yellow (X).

• Artificial breaks induced by the drilling process (mechanical breaks) are marked with a
yellow line (-----) across the break.

• Natural joints that are present in the rock mass are marked with a red line (-----). Joints that
are parallel to fabric (foliation) are also marked with the red line.

• Fabric breaks, induced by drilling, are marked with a parallel yellow line ( / ) next the break
(parallel to the foliation).

IDEAL
X

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 Fracture Assessment

IDEAL
X

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 Joints
• Joints refer to open, natural breaks which have been
recovered in drillcore.
• Indications of natural breakage may include:
– Staining of fracture surfaces
– Weathering of fracture surface (soft, broken material on face)
– Smoothness of break (smooth to undulating contact)
– Repetition seen in core (other similar, subparallel features)
• Defects that have been opened due to drilling (which
otherwise may be considered mechanical breaks) and have
a surface fill/coat, should be logged as joints.

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 Joints (examples)

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 Fabric (joints on foliation)

Fill scratched by
thumbnail

Note angularity of mechanical Although it is often difficult, loggers must look to identify
breaks (yellow) vs. smoothness evidence of “wear’ on the foliation surface such as a smooth
of joint (red) on foliation. contact (bottom left) or infill (above) along the joint face (joints
marked by red streaks).

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 Artificial Breaks
• Artificial breaks refer to breaks caused by drilling or
handling (breaking with hammer, transport etc).

• Indications of artificial breakage may include:

– High angle to core axis (>80 degrees)
– Freshness of break (no staining or fill)
– Roughness of break (angular contact, excellent fit
with adjacent piece)
– Break not going all the way through core
– Evidence of drilling damage (e.g. spun core)

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 Artificial Breaks (examples)

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 Artificial Breaks (examples cont’d)

Breaks commonly occur at

the end of runs (these are
typically unmarked handling
breaks but each one must
be assessed).

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 Fabric (mechanical breaks on foliation)

Note angularity of mechanical breaks

(yellow) indicating the fracture was opened
by the drilling process.

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 Fabric (additional notes)

No sheen Note sheen

Notes: Foliation breaks, although dominantly mechanically opened, do host evidence of being natural joints. Fill (top left) and
chloritic sheens should be considered as open joints.

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 Intact Rock Strength Assessment (IRS)

IRS • Start with the rock pick test, and then continue further tests to see whether the intact rock
is weaker.
Strong Weak % Weak
• The weak rock is classified in the R0 – R1 range, and the weak soil is classified in the S1
R3 R0 80 – S6 range.

Select ~15cm sample 25-50

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 Rock Strength (IRS) and Fractures: Data Input
Palm Logger format:

“All” fractures column includes mechanical breaks (drill), fabric (foliation) and joints.
The “Fabric” column includes all breaks along fabric including joints and mechanical
breaks. The “Joints” column includes all fractures marked as joints (including joints
on and off foliation).

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 Broken Zones: How do we assess?

• Broken zones such as faults or fractured

saprolites have historically been difficult to
geotechnically characterize.

• Often, loggers either ignore the fractured

intervals or describe them inappropriately.

• Broken zones are extremely important for

excavation design and must be properly
classified.

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 Broken Zones: Assessment

• In order to get some kind of Rock Mass Rating (RMR) value, the fracture frequency per meter (FF/m)
needs to be estimated.

Guidelines:
• Include all broken zones unless you are certain the breakage was induced by mechanical damage
• A ratio of 40 joints per metre must be applied to the measured interval (once core is pushed together)
• Joint counts for the broken zone are added to the All defects and Joints columns in the Palm Logger, and the
structure is described in the structure section of the Palm Logger.
NOTE: Broken zones must be removed from RQD measurements.
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 Broken Zones: Assessment (cont’d)
1.5m fault zone = 60 joints (using 40* 1.5m)

0.6m Broken zone = 24 Joints

M J J M

0.08m Broken zone = 3 Joints 0.2m Broken zone = 8 Joints

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 Broken Zones: Classification
Jointed Sheared

ƒ There are four types of major structures that should be recorded: jointed, broken, sheared and gouge (with gouge being the
most disturbed). Conditions for BROKEN zones can be estimated by examining the core pieces (with the exception of alpha
angle).

Broken Gouge

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 Saprolite: How do we classify?

0.47m Core <R1 strength = 19 Joints

A high percentage of the saprolite at 1.1m Core <R1 strength = 44 Joints

Buckreef is of soil consistency (S1-
S6) and must be logged as such
(see red boxes above). Remaining
competent rock should be classified
on the “R” scale.

Much like fault zones, when incoherent saprolite zones are encountered joint frequency needs to be estimated. All
“assumed joints” should be issued on a ratio of 40 joints per metre. This will ensure that the zones are properly
characterized in an engineering sense.

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DETAILED GEOTECHNICAL
LOGGING

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 Detailed Geotechnical Logging

• For Buckreef, detailed geotechnical logging

should be conducted on all diamond drillholes.

• Once collected this data will serve as vital

information for any excavation design (open pit,
underground etc.).

• Labour commitment can be significant

depending on the quality of the rock mass

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 Detailed Geotechnical Logging: Collection

• The following parameters must be collected as part of

detailed geotechnical logging:

– Alpha and beta angles (only alpha if not oriented)

– Joint conditions
• Surface roughness
• Surface weathering/alteration (selvedge)
• Fracture aperture (width)
• Fill type (Vnfill)
– Alteration
– Veining intensity
– At Buckreef, veining intensity, alteration type and intensity, and
alpha and beta angles are currently collected as part of standard
geological logging procedures.

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 Fracture Classification: Theory
GEOMETRY WALL STRENGTH (ALTERATION)

NO ALTERATION ALTERATION ALTERATION

PLANNAR UNDULATING STEPPED
SMALLER THAN LARGER THAN
IRREGULARITIES IRREGULARITIES

INFILL (NO TENSILE STRENGTH) HEALED (EXHIBIT TENSILE STRENGTH)

NO INFILL THICKNESS =/< IRREGUL. THICKNESS > IRREGUL. WEAK MEDIUM STRONG
(0-25 % OF IRS) (25-75 % OF IRS) (> 75 % OF IRS)

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 Joint Conditions
(modified after Bieniawski 1989)
JOINT ROUGHNESS

Roughness Selvedge
Slickensided (joint weathering)
V. Rough VR
None 0
Smooth Rough R
Weak 1
Slightly
Rough SR Moderate 2

Smooth SM Strong 3
Slightly Rough Slicken SL Intense 4

Width (aperture) VnFILL (fill type)

(mm)
Rough

Notes: Aperture refers to the width of the fracture when

pieced together, measured in millimetres. Fractures at
Very Rough Buckreef are commonly <1mm in width. Fill type refers
to the type of fill in the fractures. This will determine
whether the fill is classified as “soft” (defined as material
which can be scraped with minimal effort e.g. chlorite,
clay), or “hard” (defined as a material which cannot be
scratched easily e.g. quartz, carbonate).

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 Joint Roughness
ROUGH (2) VERY ROUGH (1)
Slickensided

Smooth

Slightly Rough

SLIGHTLY SMOOTH (4)

Rough
ROUGH (3)

Very Rough

SLICKENSIDED (5)

Roughness
V. Rough VR
Rough R
Slightly Rough SR
Smooth SM
SMOOTH (4) Slicken SL

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Rating = 1 Selvedge (Joint Weathering)
• Joint wall weathering results form fluids moving along the
joint and altering the surrounding rock composition.
• Only when the joint wall is weaker than the surrounding
rock, is the RMR affected.
• At Buckreef, weathering is generally minor on joint
surfaces. Most weathering is restricted to surface staining,
mild chlorite alteration, or carbonate coating (rating 1). In
the saprolite, weathering can be very intense (rating of 3 or
4).

Rating = 2 Rating = 4

Selvedge
(joint
weathering)
None 0
Weak 1
Moderate 2
Strong 3
Intense 4

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 Joint Width (Aperture)

Note: Aperture refers to the width of the fracture

when pieced together. Fractures at Buckreef are
commonly <1mm in width.

3mm
1mm

1 – 2mm

4mm

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Carbonate
Vnfill (Joint Fill Type)
Note: Fill type refers to the type of fill in
the fractures. This will determine
whether the fill is classified as “soft”
(defined as material which can be
scraped with minimal effort e.g. chlorite,
clay), or “hard” (defined as a material
which cannot be scratched easily e.g.
quartz, carbonate).

Rating = 1
Graphite Clay Chlorite

Rating = 2

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 CORE ORIENTATION
All joints (-----) must be measured

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 Orientation Methodology
Measuring of the required orientation parameters is accomplished using a graduated strip and a carpenters angle.

Alpha angle (α): the carpenter angle is used to measure the maximum dip (α) of the feature relative to the core
axis.

Beta angle (β): The plastic calibrated strip is placed with the “0” on the orientation line of the same piece of core
and the tape is wrapped clockwise around the core so that the 360º point returns to the orientation
line. The angle (β) is then measured, clockwise, to the bottom of the ellipse.

β IS MEASURED CLOCKWISE TO
THE BOTTOM OF THE ELIPSE. IN
THIS CASE IT IS ~232º
ORINTATION LINE
ORIENTATION LINE

DOWN-HOLE
350

DIRECTION ORIENTATION STRIP

60
50

20
40

10
30

SPECIFIC TO THE CORE SIZE

DOWN HOLE
DIRECTION

DIPPING JOINT
SURFACE

BOTTOM OF
ELLIPSE TO WHICH α
WE MEASURE THE β
ANGLE Α IS THE MAXIMUM DIP OF THE
JOINT/FEATURE, RELATIVE TO
THE CORE AXIS

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 Orientation Methodology
sStep 1 Step 2

Maximum dip

Downhole direction
Downhole direction
(alpha) angle
measured Beta angle is measured
clockwise (in the downhole
direction) around core from
the orientation line

Orientation line
(marked previously) Alpha = 42° Beta = 134°

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 Orientation Data Entry

Palm Logger format:

•In the case of NQ or HQ sized core, a measuring graduated strip and carpenters angle is used to measure the
core.

Alpha angle: the maximum dip angle of the feature relative to the core axis (core axis is 0°)

Beta angle: the angle between the reference line and the bottom of the ellipse measured in a clickwise direction
when looking in the downhole direction

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 EZY-Mark Core Orientation Tool
A
The EZY-Mark core orientation device will
be used along drilling intervals requiring
high levels of fracture orientation accuracy
(e.g. contact zones, fault zones).

B D
1. Drill operators will load tool inside a
standard inner core tube.
2. The tool is lowered down the drill
stem and come out at the end of
each drilled run (Photo A).
3. The orientation head profile is
aligned with the core face and the
C E orientation line is drawn (Photo B
through D).

NOTE: The line is based on the

orientation balls which is used to
define the true bottom of the core.

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 Examples of Core Logging

M J

M M

M J J
M

J M

J M M

J
M

M M

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 Examples of Core Logging
• The run from 30.5 –
J 32.0m has competent core
M
with a small broken zone.
• Surfaces of the broken
pieces of core appear to be
J stained.
M J
• For this reason, we
assess the breaks to be
natural, and joints need to
be assumed for this
section.
• When pushed together,
the broken core is ~0.20m
long. This equates to 8
assumed joints.
• For this run there are 2
other joints (10 in total),
and 2 mechanical breaks.
• The RQD will be reduced
to 86% (1.3/1.5 = 0.86)
• This structure should be
logged in the structures
field, with joint conditions
estimated.

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