Rock Sampling

Rock sampling reveals the true potential of an area for containing a mineral deposit. An
anomaly in a rock sample from bedrock has had no effects of secondary dispersion, so
the location of the sample is the location of the source. A rock sample anomaly will
provide much more valuable information about the location of the mineral deposit
because its source is within the mineralizing system, ie, it helps delineate the zone of
primary dispersion. However, this applies only to rock samples collected from bedrock.
Rock samples of float (rock material suspended in colluvium with no indication of
proximity to the bedrock source), talus, glacial material, etc... give no indication of
location of the source, so even if they are highly mineralized, they are of limited value.
Rubble (rock material suspended in colluvium and due to consistency or other
information suggests proximity to the bedrock source) in some cases may be worthwhile
to sample.
Several different types of rock samples are collected for mineral exploration. Most
importantly, rock samples are collected to determine the concentration of metals,
including both the major and trace metals. This type of sample is most commonly
referred to as a “geochem” sample. Trace metal values are often useful as “pathfinders”,
which means they are closely associated with the metal of interest and may occur within
a halo surrounding the mineralization of interest.
Rock geochem samples are collected in different manners depending on the goal of the
sampling.

The principle types include:

 Grab Samples: A grab sample is a sample of rock material from a confined area
(< 30cm across). It can be a single piece of rock. These are the most common
types of samples collected. If it is not specified otherwise, one usually assumes
that is the sample type. The sample usually consists of a single piece of rock, or
chunks, which are representative of a specific type of rock or mineralization
 .

 Composite Samples: A composite sample consists of small chips of uniform

rock material collected over a large area (generally > 2.5m across). These are the
ideal “representative” samples. The procedure is to collect small pieces of rock
over a large area (usually at least 10 feet across) and to make the sample as
homogenous as possible. A composite sample might be collected to determine
the background values of trace elements in a particular type of rock, or to
determine if ore grade mineralization is present over a large area.

 High Grade Samples: A high grade sample consists of selective pieces of the
most highly mineralized material, in which an effort is made to exclude less
mineralized material. Consequently, a high grade sample is generally not
representative of the overall mineralization type. A high grade sample might be
collected to get an idea what the best possible values are, or to provide material
for certain types of trace element analyses. If a such a selective sample does not
return good results, then it is unlikely that valuable mineralization is present.
When a high grade sample is collected it is important to note that it is a high
grade sample so its values will not be misinterpreted as representing the
“average” values.

 Chip Channel Samples: A chip channel sample consists of small chips of rock
collected over a specified interval. The objective is to obtain the most
representative sample possible for the specified sample interval. Most of the time
chip channel samples are collected in succession along a sample line which is
 laid out in advance using a tape. This provides a great deal of information about
the width and other aspects of the geometry of a mineralized zone. Often the chip
channel samples are collected along the floors or walls of trenches or adits.
When chip channel sampling along walls, sometimes a piece of canvas or plastic
is laid out for the material to fall on so as to avoid contamination and make the
collection easier. The freshest material possible is sampled, preferably chipping
directly from bedrock. Sample intervals are set at a specified width, usually
ranging from 30cm to 7m. For example, in a five foot interval, at the end of the
first foot, 20 % of the sample bag should be filled, at the end of the second foot
the bag should be filled to 40 %, etc... Due to the method of sampling, chip
channel samples tend to be rather large (up to 20 pounds for a five foot interval)

Several other types of rock samples are sometimes collected to help interpret the history
of mineralization in an area, to better understand the relationships between different ore
minerals, or to determine more detailed geochemistry. These types of samples are often
collected to evaluate the mineralization in a regional context, or to compare the
mineralization with models which might apply to a given situation. Although they can
might be costly, the information they provide can be invaluable. Some of these sample
types include:

 Whole Rock Major Oxide Samples: Whole rock major oxide samples are most
often collected to study the whole rock geochemistry of plutonic and volcanic
rocks. The sample must be completely fresh, unweathered, and unoxidized. If
necessary the weathered rind must be removed by chipping or by using a rock
saw. Samples must also be unaltered by hydrothermal alteration (this adds new
components and removes others, such that it will no longer represent the parent
magma composition). The sample is analyzed for the principle oxides, including,
SiO2, Al2O3, CaO, Fe2O3, FeO, K2O, MgO, MnO, Na2O, P2O5, TiO2. Usually
at least 98 % of the rock is made up of minerals comprised of some combination
of these components. Not uncommonly igneous rocks contain up to 1 % water.
This water is lost when the rock is oxidized in the furnace (referred to as LOI or
“loss on ignition”). Major oxide analyses are used to classify igneous rocks based
 on their chemical composition. These can be used to compare intrusions within a
district or to use in regional studies by comparing the analyses with those for
known models.

 Age Date Samples: Age date samples are used to determine the age of the
rocks. There are several methods, including 40Ar/39Ar, U/Pb, K/Ar, Rb/Sr, and
Carbon 14. They are all based on the half life theory, which states that certain
isotopes of certain elements decay to radioactive daughter products at a specific
rate, called a decay constant. Knowing the constant, the amount of parent and
daughter product material in the sample is measured and then used to calculate
the age of the rock. The 40Ar/39Ar method can provide reliable age dates up to
several hundred million years. Argon gas forms by decay of potassium and gets
locked in the crystal lattice. The U/Pb method is also quite reliable, and can be
used to date rocks up to billions of years old. Older rocks have longer histories,
and during those longer histories more events can occur which cause problems.
For example, metamorphism and tectonic activity. These can cause opening of
the crystal lattice of the mineral being dated, and loss of the daughter product
material, causing erroneous results. Typically these effects cause the methods to
yield ages which appear to be younger than the actual age of the rock. Minerals
can also obtain overgrowths during remelting events, causing excess parent
material to be present, also making the rock appear younger. Ar-Ar and U-Pb age
dates can be obtained can be obtained from very small amounts of material. The
procedure involves separating the grains of one mineral type to be dated. Ar-Ar
age dates are usually obtained on minerals such as mica or hornblende. U-Pb
age dates are usually obtained on zircon or other accessory minerals which are
 known to contain small amounts of uranium.

Petrographic Samples

 Petrographic samples are collected to conduct thin section petrographic

analysis of the rock, which is the identification and evaluation of the minerals
comprising the rock by using a microscope equipped with both plane and
polarized light. A thin section is made of the rock, which is a paper thin slice of
the rock mounted on a glass slide. Different minerals have different optical
properties when the plane light or polarized light is transmitted through the thin
section. Textural relationships also become apparent, which provides information
about the order of crystallization (or paragenesis). The proceedure is to cut a flat
side and use special epoxy to glue the piece of rock called a plug, to the glass
slide. Thin a special trim saw cuts off the part opposite the glass. Then the rock
wafer is polished with special grinders to achieve the desired thickness. The
thickness must be very precise to compare the optical properties with known
 standards.

 Fluid Inclusion: Fluid inclusion samples are typically samples of quartz (others

include fluorite, sphalerite or tourmaline). The samples are prepared similar to a
thin section, and examined using a special microscope equipped with a heating
stage. The inclusions can contain solid, liquid or gas, or any combination of
these. The inclusions are formed when they are trapped on the surface as a new
layer of the mineral crystallizes. As the mineral cools down, the phases separate.
The sample is heated gradually while being examined under the special
microscope to find the temperature at which the gas or solid crystal in the fluid
inclusion will goes back into solution. This provides valuable information about
the temperature and pressure of formation of the ore forming fluids.geologists
routinely envisage tectonic, sedimentary and metamorphic events which are no
longer active and should also envisage the palaeo-fluid systems which led
directly to the economic ore bodies that are now exploration targets.

          A bit more about fluid inclusions

Typical studies of fluid inclusions are myopic and too often fail to see
beyond the minute details of individual fluid events and do not scale to be
usable as exploration methods. University tuition concentrates so much on
forensic analysis of a few inclusions in a few samples from a hydrothermal
system that it fails to show how to use fluid information in mineral
exploration where we need to examine a large spatial array of samples to
determine a favourable mineralised target location. Fluid inclusions are
"bubbles" of fluid trapped within the host mineral during its deposition from
its parent hydrothermal fluid. They are tiny remnants of the exact fluid from
which the host mineral and its associated ore minerals deposited and they
provide direct information about the fluid composition, temperature and
pressure at which the hydrothermal deposit formed. They are usually very
small, from 1 to 20 microns across so you need a microscope at high
magnification to study them.   They are surprisingly abundant and milky
quartz typically contains some 1 billion fluid inclusions per gram!  Most fluid
inclusion studies are carried out on quartz, simply because it is transparent,
but inclusions occur in all hydrothermal minerals.During the active
deposition of the hydrothermal minerals, the parent fluid is usually a single
phase, most likely a supercritical aqueous fluid with salt and perhaps
CO2 at high temperature and pressure. But when the fluid cools it will
probably condense to liquid water with a vapour bubble, CO 2 may form a
separate phase if it is abundant and salt may crystallise as halite if it
exceeds the saturation level of 23% NaCl. Observations of the complex
phase relations are used to deduce the original deposition temperature,
pressure and salinity in genetic studies of ore deposits.
The most common fluid inclusions contain simply water, now condensed to
liquid with a bubble of water vapour. From these, the original deposition
temperature can be deduced, but that is not particularly useful in mineral
exploration unless you have a large array of samples with which to map out
palaeo-thermal anomalies. These images are at a much higher microscope
magnification of about *400.Many fluid inclusions contain substantial
amounts of CO2. This is very useful in mineral exploration as mineral
deposits, such as gold, are frequently associated with such CO 2 rich
hydrothermal fluids. If the internal pressure of the inclusion is high enough
(above about 50 bars), CO2 can be present as a liquid phase at room
temperatures (below 31 C)And if the hydrothermal fluid is highly saline,
above 23% NaCl, then halite can crystallise upon cooling, with other
additional solid crystals also present. Such fluids usually occur in porphyry
copper deposits or the core of igneous intrusion derived fluid systems.
Although such saline inclusions are less common, they can be very useful
in mineral exploration.
 Polish Section: to look at reflected light properties of ore minerals; ie, sulfide and
oxide minerals.

 Electron Microprobe Analysis: highly sophisticated method to determine

mineral compositions and textures using the backscattering of electron beams.
 Secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is a technique used to analyze the
composition of solid surfaces and thin films by sputtering the surface of the
specimen with a focused primary ion beam and collecting and analyzing ejected
secondary ions. The mass/charge ratios of these secondary ions are measured
with a mass spectrometer to determine the elemental, isotopic, or molecular
composition of the surface to a depth of 1 to 2 nm. Due to the large variation in
ionization probabilities among different materials, SIMS is generally considered to
be a qualitative technique, although quantitation is possible with the use of
standards. SIMS is the most sensitive surface analysis technique, with elemental
detection limits ranging from parts per million to parts per billion.
Trench/Adit Mapping
Trench or adit mapping is the process of creating a geologic map, which shows the
geology of the floor and walls of the trench or adit. Adit mapping emphasizes mapping of
the walls more than the floor because the floor is often poorly exposed due to the
presence of a layer of debree which results from blasting and mucking. Trench mapping
emphasizes floor mapping because:

1.  the floor is usually scraped as clean as possible with a dozer or backhoe, and
2. because floor mapping shows a “map view”. Trench or adit mapping always
involves setting up a base line using a tape. Meter marks are then painted or
flagged and labeled.
3. The base line and distance marks are then drawn to scale on the map page to
facilitate mapping. Often the same base line is used to accomplish a chip channel
sampling program.
One approach is to first draw the outline of the floor, which will be oriented with respect
to true north and drawn to scale. The geology of the floor is then mapped just as an
ordinary geologic map is made. The corner of the trench or adit matches the edges of
the strip showing the geology. This is the “map view” (looking straight down) of the
geology of the floor. The edges of the “strip map” represent the two bottom corners of
the trench. The walls of the trench or adit are mapped adjacent to the strip map such
that the right wall is mapped as if looking at the vertical on the right, and the left wall is
mapped as if looking at the vertical wall on the left. These can be labeled to indicate they
represent the geology of the walls, even though it is usually obvious. This gives a 3-D
perspective of the geology, which greatly facilitates the interpretation of the geometry of
features. For example in determining the dip of layers, faults, joints, etc... on the floor of
the trench, it is useful to show where the feature trends as it intersects the adjacent
walls. Structural measurements can be put directly on the map, in notation form next to
the appropriate distance mark.
Another simpler approach used to make mapping more rapid is to sketch the floor
outline at a standard, average width and not worry about the exact width. The outline is
drawn parallel to the edge of the map sheet without regard to actual geographic
orientation. The azimuth of the axis of the trench or adit floor is carefully measured and
noted on the map. If the trench or adit contains bends, then the new orientation is noted
at the appropriate distance mark on the map.
The alteration style can be added to one side or the other of the map if desired. The
alteration can be mapped using colors, patterns or other designators, in the same way
the rock types are mapped.
 
Example of Trench  map oriented to true north.
Example of Trench 5 map with trench axis parallel with map page edges.

Core Sampling
Diamond drilling has directly resulted in the discovery of many minable orebodies that
would otherwise have gone untapped. Before the introduction of mainstream diamond
drilling, mining was still primarily dependent on finding outcrops of rock, with little
information available about ore concentrations below the surface. Diamond drilling
allows the removal of solid cylinders of rock (core) from deep within the earth.
 
Drill Structure
Diamond core drilling is so called because it uses a ‘diamond bit’. This drill bit is
composed of group of small, industrial grade diamonds set into a metallic, soft matrix. As
the ground is drilled, this matrix will wear away and expose more diamonds.
This is then attached to a drill rod, which is around 10 foot in length, and then more
sections of pipe can be attached to the top of this so a greater depth can be drilled. The
depth that is drilled to is estimated by the number of rods attached to the top of the drill
rod.
Inside the drill rod, a core tube is attached to a cable via a latching mechanism. The core
tube is lifted to the surface using the cable, so the solid core can be removed.
There are two primary types of diamond drilling-rotary drilling and wineline drilling.
Rotary drilling is used primarily for bore hole drilling, whereas wineline drilling is used for
solid core sampling.
There a five standard tube sizes associated with wire line drilling. These are as follows:

 AQ (Hole diameter: 48mm)

 BQ (60mm)
 NQ (75.5mm)
 HQ (96mm)
 PQ (122.6mm)
The drill size used depends on the desired core diameter and the desired depth of
drilling, and the wider the diameter of the tube, the more power that is required to drive
the drilling.
A drill bit with industrial diamond cutters in a matrix. Image Credit: http://www.sandia.gov

Core Extraction
To extract core, the drill rod rotates the diamond bit, spinning it into the ground. As the
drill bit bores through the rock, solid rock is taken into the circular opening at the end of
the bit, into the core tube, and can then be recovered at the surface as it piles up. Once
the core is recovered at the surface it is broken along natural fractures and stored in
core trays to await analysis. A standard core tray can hold around 3m of core.
To keep the drill moving through the rock smoothly, the drill must be well lubricated
using water to prevent overheating or sticking.
For optimum core extraction, the driller must listen to the drill to evaluate subsurface
conditions. To keep drilling efficient, the rotation speed, pressure and water circulation
must be strictly monitored.
Sometimes when drilling in highly fractured zones, overheating can occur due to a stuck
bit. This issue is usually counteracted by the injection of mud or sawdust to plug
fractures in the rock.

Applications
Diamond core finds its primary function in the exploration mining sector. It is usually one
of the last stages of exploration, during which the orebody is delineated in three
dimensions. This will determine whether the prospect is economically viable. Using a
diamond drill rig, long vertical sections of core can be extracted from deep in the ground,
which can then be analysed at the surface by geologists.
The core can then be analysed using a wide range of petrologic, structural and
mineralogical techniques to determine whether the potential mining site is economically
viable.
Extracted core is first washed and macroscopic features are logged by an exploration
geologist. The core is then cut and representative samples are sent for chemical
analysis.
Health and Safety
Mine sites always have inherent safety risks and diamond drilling rigs are no exception.
While operating a diamond drill rig, correct protective gear must be worn at all times.
Steel toe cap boots, hearing protectors, gloves, and goggles are some of the typical
pieces of protective clothing needed.
When approaching an active drill rig, care must be taken to catch the drillers’ attention
before stepping into the work area, as not to surprise the operator.
Furthermore, as diamond drilling is primarily an exploration technique, the conditions in
which it is carried out are often harsh and so due diligence needs to be taken whilst in
these environments. For example, if working in desert conditions, enough water and
shelter must be provided for the drillers to prevent dehydration and heat stroke.