A gypsum exploration project is currently underway in the USA utilising Robertson Geo’s High Resolution Optical Televiewer (Hi-OPTV)® with Natural Gamma to locate a gypsum bed within a formation. This approach is not only cost-effective, but safe too. The Hi-OPTV® provides a full 360° map of the entire borehole without the need for coring. It saves substantial time and delivers a highly accurate and fully orientated virtual core, unaffected by poor core recovery, and saves the need for a geologist to manually map and orientate it.
The Natural Gamma was able to pinpoint the contacts between the layer of interbedded sand and clay with that of gypsum. The Hi-OPTV® could identify the zone by the contrast of colour from the surrounding formations and showed the true image of the borehole. In addition, the Hi-OPTV® can also map out fractures and features within the borehole for slope stability studies where open pit mining is necessary or required.
If core samples are taken, by comparing the log responses to the gypsum content in core samples, it is possible to calibrate the log data and develop empirical relationships to quantify gypsum concentration.
Most customers using Robertson Geo’s High Resolution Optical Televiewer (Hi-OPTV)® or High Resolution Acoustic Televiewer (HRAT)® can be trained on-site in less than a day, and many opt for online training too. Our GeoCAD® processing and interpretation software is easy to navigate and designed to produce industry-standard reports with minimum effort. Core images can also be imported to the report – fully aligned, depth-matched and placed alongside the virtual core image. GeoCAD® produces these detailed structure reports, including data stereonets, rose diagrams, histograms, deviation plots and more.
Using the Hi-OPTV® with Natural Gamma is a safe and viable choice for gypsum exploration projects.
