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Overview
Under rule 36.4 of the MinEx CRC Constitution, the Board of Directors has appointed the Science Advisory Committee (SAC) to oversee the allocation of additional Project funding as/when this becomes available.
The SAC will recommend the allocation of the Opportunity Fund to the Board by reviewing proposals and making recommendations as to whether a proposal should be designated as an additional MinEx CRC Project.
OPPORTUNITY FUND 0P7: IMMERSIVE ANALYTICS
Status: Completed
Project Leader: Tom Raimondo (UniSA)
Project Participants:
- University of South Australia
Project Summary:
Project OP7 will extend the NDI Data Portal by developing an immersive VR platform with an integrated analytical and visualisation toolkit for interacting with complex geoscientific datasets. This platform will offer an entirely new capability for data insights using immersive techniques, enable enhanced in-person and remote collaboration opportunities, and a software-independent and device-agnostic interface to facilitate effective decision-making both in the office and the field.
OPPORTUNITY FUND OP7.1: AUGMENTED REALITY CORE LOGGING
Status: Completed
Project Leader: Tom Raimondo (UniSA)
Project Participants:
- University of South Australia
Project Summary:
To bring core logging into the 21st Century by developing a novel augmented reality platform that seamlessly integrates all of the available data streams derived from core samples and related contextual information into an immersive digital workflow. This will significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of the core logging process, and the potential for new and more powerful insights, by having all relevant information at hand and intuitively interactable. Furthermore, it offers the potential for a completely virtual core logging experience without the need for physical access to borehole samples, and synchronous or asynchronous collaborative workflows for both in- person and remote users.
Related Videos:
LogAR: Augmented Reality Core Logging – Development Snapshot
OPPORTUNITY FUND OP10.1 STANDALONE FLUID AUTOMATION
Status: Completed
Project Leader: Masood Mostofi (Curtin)
Project Participants:
- Curtin University
Project Summary:
This Project will deliver a stand-alone fluid automation unit for diamond drilling (Hobby) to automate the entire workflow of making, measuring, maintaining, and optimizing drilling fluid. This technology has the potential to deliver significant improvements in diamond drilling. It eliminates the difficult logistics of handling, and management of fluid, additives and chemical in environmentally sensitive areas. It takes an operator away from the harsh operational environment and eliminates human error.
OPPORTUNITY FUND OP4: DISTRIBUTED SENSING FOR MINERAL CT DRILLING
Status: Completed
Project Leader: Brett Harris (Curtin)
Project Participants:
- Curtin University
- University of South Australia
Project Summary:
This Project will assess the feasibility of using optic fibre distributed sensing technologies in the context of CT drilling for the mineral industry. Optic fibre distributed sensing may be a key element in MinEx CRC rig achieving the vision of being a low cost, rapid, safe, and environmentally friendly subsurface data harvesting platform.
The potential end-point will be an optic fibre cable integrated in the drill string that delivers real-time, high frequency data along the entire length of the drill string that contributes to CT drilling optimization (Project 2), seismic imaging (Project 5), logging-while-drilling (LWD), imaging while drilling and real time drill bit trajectory control (i.e. Project 4).
OPPORTUNITY FUND OP6: RECOVERY OF LITHOLOGICAL AND STRATIGRAPHIC DATA FROM DRILLHOLE DATABASES
Status: Completed
Project Leader: Mark Jessell (UWA)
Project Participants:
- University of Western Australia
Project Summary:
Legacy and new drillhole data are a key constraints for geological understanding and subsequent 3D prediction. Company databases held by Australian Geological Survey Organisations (GSOs) contain complexly coded lithological information, but limited stratigraphic data. This project will develop Open Source algorithms automating the extraction of lithological and stratigraphic data from new and legacy drill hole data.
OPPORTUNITY FUND OP9: FAST LOGGING WITH HYLOGGER DATA
Status: Completed
Project Leader: June Hill (CSIRO)
Project Participants:
- CSIRO
Project Summary:
To add value to HyLogger data (Program 3 NDI drilling and legacy data) by providing a workflow for first pass, fast automated logging. This will have 2 benefits: (1) a non-subjective interpretation of HyLogger data to aid in multiscale geological logging, and (2) rapid delivery of results to aid researchers in selecting samples from drill core or chips for further analysis.
OPPORTUNITY FUND OP3.1: LIBS FOR REAL-TIME ANALYSIS OF WET AND SLURRY DRILL CUTTINGS
Status: Active
Project Leader: Ben van der Hoek (UniSA)
Project Participants:
- UniSA
Project Summary:
A key strategic priority of MinEx CRC is to develop a new set of technologies for collecting data while drilling for enhancing mineral exploration and discovery. LIBS analysis of slurries would provide a novel capability and data stream for rapid geochemical assessment of the ore and deleterious elements as they are returned from the drillhole without further sample preparation (e.g. dewater or comminution). This will improve exploration efficiency, orebody knowledge and can be applied to downstream processing and refining. Furthermore, LIBS slurry analysis aligns with activities within Project 2 (on-site capabilities of the CT rig) and Project 3 (development of technologies for collecting data while drilling).
OPPORTUNITY FUND OP8.1: BARCODING METALLOGENESIS
Status: Active
Project Leader: Marnie Forster (ANU)
Project Participants:
- UniSA
- ANU
Project Summary:
Project OP8.1 aims to identify previously unrecognised episodes of potentially widespread cryptic metasomatism. The techniques developed in the pre-cursor OP8 project, based on Ar/Ar analyses, allowed recognition of spatiotemporal variation in alteration patterns, as well as the potential use of palaeotemperature as a proxy for palaeo depth on the terrane scale.