Deep Exploration Technologies’ Cooperative Research Centre deployed its lab-at-rig system to test a new geological interpretation of the Stavely zone in western Victoria.

The program tested for new gold, copper, nickel and base metals provinces, and was a collaboration between the government’s DET and Geoscience Australia.

DET CRC chief Richard Hills said the technology aimed to inform drilling decisions, cut costs, and speed up sample analysis by doing the work onsite.

“This drilling program is providing an important field test and an opportunity to ‘pull through’ the new technologies that will be required to explore the 80% of the Australian continent where mineral deposits are hidden beneath barren cover,” he said.

The lab-at-rig system deploys a trailer-mounted x-ray fluorescence and x-ray diffraction system to provide almost real-time geochemistry and mineralogy information during diamond drilling.

Along with Geoscience Australia and DET, Reflex, Olympus and Boart Longyear are working on the program.

Olympus’ contribution involves team members and technology developed for NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover.

The system works by uploading drilling data to the cloud for remote access, and gives geologists information on key geological horizons during drilling and before core logging.

“It was exciting to be able to login to the Reflex HUB from Perth and see that the drill rig in Victoria had crossed a critical boundary,” project leader James Cleverley said.

“Our team will use the learnings from this concept testing to further refine the prototype development of the lab-at-rig system.”

DET also deployed its logging-while-drilling solution, AutoSonde, during the program.

AutoSonde currently records a natural gamma log, and other sensors are being added.

The technology is pumped down the drill rods and logs them as they are being pulled out of the hole.

It removes the need for a separate conventional wireline logging crew.