Prospecting for ore targetsGold's Journey from Exploration to Mining
Drilling to establish Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves
After an interesting target area - with potential for finding ore - has been identified through boulder tracing, geological interpretations, geophysical surveys, bottom moraine and chip sampling, the next and most expensive step follows: exploring the area further through core drilling. Once a target ore has been identified in the early exploration stages, the target becomes to develop the project into an "indicated and measured" mineral resource, the foundation upon which prefeasibility studies and investment decisions are made. Core drilling produces drill cores, which can be studied from a geological perspective. Samples are taken and analyzed for content of valuable elements. To determine the size and classification of the resource requires extensive drilling to be carried out, and it has to be tailored to specific complexities of each deposit. Drill programs are managed and planned by so-called "Qualified Persons", who ensure that the extent and execution of the drilling is sufficient for a prefeasibility study and reporting to the market.