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Industrial Mineral Exploration & Mineral ResourcesBy: Anton
Geldenhuys
IMFORMED RendezvousApril 8-10 2019
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• Exploration (Some Techniques) & Collecting Data
• Modelling & Estimation
• Due Diligence – Things To Consider
Overview
Clay Aggregate
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Exploration and Collecting Data for Industrial Minerals
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• Exploration is the process of finding mineral deposits in
commercially viable concentrations
What is Exploration?
Corundum
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• First we need to ask….• what are we exploring for?• where do
we want to explore?• what techniques would be suitable?• what is
the budget?• what is the timeframe?• what level of confidence is
required?
How is Exploration Conducted?
Barium sulphate
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Lithium
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Fluorspar
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Graphite
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Exploration Techniques – Regional
Source: Wikipedia, 2019
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Exploration Techniques –Regional
Source: Boyd et al, 2010
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Exploration Techniques –Regional
Source: Wikipedia, 2019
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Exploration Techniques –Local Scale
Source: Obretenov, 1983
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Exploration Techniques – Mapping
Source: Frontier Rare Earths, 2016
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Exploration Techniques
Trenching
Source: Frontier Rare Earths, 2016
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Exploration Techniques
Reverse Circulation Drilling
Source: Lefroy Exploration, 2018
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Exploration Techniques
Reverse Circulation Drilling
Source: DTH Drilling Tools, 2019
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Exploration Techniques
Reverse Circulation Drilling
Source: Lefroy Exploration, 2018
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Exploration Techniques
Reverse Circulation Drilling
Source: CEO ca, 2018
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Exploration Techniques
Diamond Core Drilling
Source: Dando, 2018
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Exploration Techniques
Diamond Core Drilling
Source: Boartlongyear, 2019
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Exploration Techniques – Diamond Core Drilling
Source: Businesswire, 2017
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Exploration Techniques – Diamond Core Drilling
Source: Businesswire, 2017
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Exploration Techniques
Cost
SCALE
COST
Regional Local
Low
High
Desktop Study
Mapping
Geophysical Surveys
Trenching
RC Drilling
Diamond Drilling
Specialised Drilling
Geochemical Surveys
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Understanding the Properties
1 mm
Source: Frontier Rare Earths, 2016
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Understanding the Properties
• Junior explorer interested in a lithium deposit in Uganda• 32
grab samples submitted for analysis• Samples ranged from 0.83% to
1.78% Li2O• XRD analyses clearly showed the Li-bearing mineral to
be a phosphate (contains
fluorine)
• Despite being a high-grade lithium deposit, the presence of
fluorine could compromise the quality of lithium compounds for the
battery industry
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Understanding the Properties
Spodumene Amblygonite
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Geological Modelling & Estimation
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Geological Modelling
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Geological Modelling
• For industrial minerals, considerations:• particle size
(graphite)• mineralogy• product specification• processing
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Due Diligence Considerations
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• Data verification• Drilling, sampling technique and recovery•
Data quality• Mapping and logging• Deleterious elements• Is the
data representative?• Market• Site visit
Have you Considered…
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Thank You
