Mining companies spend millions of dollars each year on exploration diamond drill holes. Because diamond drill holes are so expensive it only makes sense to utilize them to their full potential. The borehole televiewer provides a means of gathering extra important information from exploration boreholes. The televiewer data is useful to the geologist by providing orientation of structural features without the need for expensive oriented core drilling.

Structural feature orientation aids the geologist in interpreting the genesis of structurally controlled deposits and allows him/her to better position subsequent exploration boreholes. The televiewer also has significant downstream benefits during the mineral extraction phase.

The orientation of structural features (i.e. joints, faults, etc.) is important information for the mine planning engineer who is trying to lay out the development headings and stopes. Unfavourably orientated structure in the hanging wall of stopes can lead to significant dilution problems. Prior knowledge of this structure will allow mine personnel to orient stopes so as to minimize potential problems, or if this is not possible then to take steps to mitigate the problem, i.e. cablebolt.

The borehole acoustic televiewer has the added functionality of being a borehole caliper. At depth, stress in the rock induces breakouts in the walls of boreholes. The caliper function of the acoustic televiewer is used to identify these breakouts and determine their orientation. From this information the orientation of the principal stress field perpendicular to the borehole can be determined. Another use for the caliper capability of the acoustic televiewer is to inspect casings. The caliper can measure the in situ inside diameter of a pipe which can be compared with the design specifications to give an estimate of pipe wear for such applications as surface to underground backfill lines.

Stress orientation information is also important for making informed mine design decisions. Local stress perturbations can cause significant difficulties when mining and prior knowledge of these is very beneficial.

For added value to your project all this information can be incorporated into 3D models for visualization in Laurentian University's Virtual Reality Lab.

MIRARCO owns one of three FAC-40 acoustic televiewers available in Canada, made by ALT of Luxenburg. In addition to televiewer rentals, MIRARCO offers clients winch rental, borehole logging, and interpretation services.

Click here for more information or contact Greg Maybee at gmaybee@mirarco.org or phone (705) 675-1151 ext. 5033.