2026 Q2 Technical Highlight

 

This episode features the following technical highlights:

• Globally adopted GIS plugins for 3D geological modelling, from the Project 6 team at the University of Western Australia
• Portable three-component seismic source enables multi-component seismic data from distributed acoustic sensing, from the Project 5 team at Curtin University
• Next-generation coiled tubing directional drilling prototype launched for mineral exploration, from the Project 2 team at Adelaide University in collaboration with AnTech

 

GLOBALLY ADOPTED GIS PLUGINS FOR 3D GEOLOGICAL MODELLING

Contact our Project Leader: Mark Jessell

MinEx CRC’s Project 6 has delivered a suite of GIS-based plugins for 3D geological modelling, now achieving over 17,000 global downloads since late 2024.

A key objective of MinEx CRC is to improve the integration and usability of geoscience data for faster, more accurate subsurface interpretation. Delivering modelling tools as accessible GIS plugins removes technical barriers and enables broader industry uptake of advanced 3D geological workflows.

Project 6 transitioned its modelling tools from standalone codebases (Python and Fortran) into user-friendly plugins within widely used GIS platforms such as QGIS, with future integration into ArcGIS underway. This approach simplifies installation, leverages familiar environments, and enables built-in update mechanisms for end users.

The plugin suite includes tools for geophysical processing and inversion, geological mapping, and 3D modelling, such as LoopStructural, SGTool, and tomofast-x-q, supporting more efficient model building and improved data integration.

Since their release in November 2024, the plugins have achieved over 20,000 downloads across 150 countries, demonstrating strong global demand and rapid adoption by both research and industry users.

This work reflects a broader shift within Project 6 toward delivering tools that are not only scientifically robust, but also usable and useful in real-world exploration workflows.

The continued development and integration of these plugins will enable scalable, industry-ready 3D geological modelling workflows, supporting faster decision-making and improved targeting in mineral exploration.

 

PORTABLE THREE-COMPONENT SEISMIC SOURCE ENABLES MULTI-COMPONENT SEISMIC DATA FROM A SINGLE-COMPONENT FIBRE-OPTIC DISTRIBUTED ACOUSTIC SENSING (DAS)

Contact our Project Leader: Konstantin Tertyshnikov

A prototype electromagnetic three-component, or 3C, seismic vibrator was developed and successfully field-tested, demonstrating the ability to collect full 3-component borehole seismic data using distributed acoustic sensing, or DAS, with a single fibre-optic cable as the receiver.

MinEx CRC focuses on high-resolution mineral exploration technologies that are more affordable, non-invasive, and environmentally friendly. The successful field trial of a portable 3C seismic source – funded by MinEx CRC – shows how multi-component seismic imaging can be achieved with dramatically lower cost and minimal surface footprint by using fibre-optic sensors instead of conventional geophone arrays.

In a field trial at Curtin University’s research facility in Perth, the Project 5 team deployed a novel electromagnetic 3C seismic source built from commercial components using heavy-duty 1-kilogram haptic transducers that are mounted on a steel base plate. This compact vibrator was designed with three groups of such actuators, oriented 120° apart on the base plate and tilted 45 degrees from vertical, and operated sequentially in the three non-collinear directions, effectively generating vibrations along three independent axes that form the full wavefield vector. The vibrations were recorded by a fibre-optic cable deployed in a 900 m-deep well using DAS technology at the test site. This trial confirmed that a 3C electromagnetic vibroseis source in combination with distributed acoustic sensing can capture a full multi-component seismic wavefield using a single fibre.

This advanced 3C seismic source can be readily scaled and deployed in the field or as a permanent installation, enabling more widespread high-resolution, multi-component seismic surveys at lower cost and with minimal environmental impact, thereby accelerating mineral exploration and continuous subsurface and mines operations monitoring in line with MinEx CRC’s goals.

 

NEXT-GENERATION COILED TUBING DIRECTIONAL DRILLING PROTOTYPE LAUNCHED FOR MINERAL EXPLORATION

Contact our Program Leader: Soren Soe

This technical highlight will feature what the Project 2 team achieved in the first integrated field trial of the AnTech COBALT™ Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA) with the RoXplorer® 1000 system at the Adelaide University Mawson Lakes campus.

MinEx CRC aims to improve the sample integrity of coiled tubing drilling to match that of diamond drilling, and to develop the ability to drill multiple deviated holes up to 1000 meter reach from a single pad — to within 10 meter of target and surveyed within 1 meter — while maintaining the cost, speed, safety, and environmental benefits of a greenfield coiled tubing system. MinEx CRC, Adelaide University, and AnTech are currently field testing a new steering and measurement system specifically designed for mineral exploration drilling. This system integrates the RoXplorer® 1000 platform with AnTech’s newly engineered, slim COBALT™ Bottom Hole Assembly. A key challenge we are working through is that drilling small-diameter coiled tubing holes can affect the straightness of boreholes, depending on the drilling tools used, the driller skills, and the formations encountered.

The objectives of this trial were straightforward in principle but technically demanding in practice: demonstrate that a true vertical section could be drilled, then intentionally kick off and build inclination in a controlled, steerable way. All of this using a slim BHA specifically redesigned for mineral exploration — not the conventional environment from oil and gas where this technology comes from, but the much tighter constraints of hard rock exploration drilling provides.

The team first drilled the vertical section without any active steering, which naturally produced 4 degrees of deviation. The team then activated the Continuously Rotating Orientor (CRO) and corrected back to less than 0.3 degrees, while maintaining inclination within plus or minus one degree for the remainder of the vertical section.

Then came the directional section. The team kicked off targeting 180 degrees azimuth with a 1 degree PDM bend. That is a shallow bend, and in a soft, sandy formation, you would typically expect sluggish build rates or poor tool face control. What the team saw was the tool begin building within 3 metres of initiating the kick-off. The team established an average build rate of 3.5 degrees per 30 metres, and reached a maximum measured inclination of approximately 13 degrees before the trial ended.

Beyond the directional performance, the team were logging the full suite throughout: weight on bit, torque on bit, gamma, downhole pressure and temperature, vibration in all three axes, and CRO motor data. The data quality from downhole was excellent, and it all came back in real-time through the RoXplorer platform.