The Geopar group is a network of companies providing services in geology and mineral exploration, comprising Geosol, Geobit, Geosedna, Rede, and SGS Geosol. Its new concept, named "integrated solutions in mineral exploration", covers the entire range of services required by mining companies, from the initial geological survey to the operational stage of the mine.
According to Dalmo Pereira, the vice-president of Geosol and the Geopar group, the launch of this new concept of integrated solutions aims to meet an identified market need. "For about six years now, we have seen the challenge, which is to carry out not only the survey service but also all other associated steps, such as construction and management of a sample shed, a laboratory for sample analysis, and so on. Our group began to offer and execute these services on an integrated basis, supplying several projects in the states of Bahia, Mato Grosso, and other regions of Brazil."
Grosso do Sul, and Alagoas, covering a variety of mineral commodities: iron ore, nickel, gold, and copper. The most complete service, however, was a large-scale, highly innovative and quite challenging campaign for LHG Mining.
In Pereira's view, the starting point of the mineral exploration cycle is a simple prospect, following up with the most primary exploration, leading to an accurate assessment of the area's true potential. After that, he says, we move on to a more advanced geological exploration, doing everything that is needed for the certification of resources and reserves. That includes a procedure manual, a data bank, and drawing up the technical reports in accordance with various standards — JORC, NI 43-101, and others. These reports will then serve as the basis for feasibility studies, to obtain investments and then to implement the mining project. After that, more exploration is carried out, more samples are analysed, geological mapping is expanded, the geophysical analysis is done, until you reach the point of having a reserve approved. Then development begins, followed by implementation of the venture, until finally the mine comes into production. Eventually the mine will reach the end of its lifetime, he continues, leading to decommissioning or alternatively, in the event of new geological discoveries, the cycle will start over with rehabilitation of the mine.
The Geopar group takes part in each one of all these stages of a mining venture, Pereira says, and I see no other company or other group in the world that has such a diverse and comprehensive portfolio. He emphasizes that the Geopar group has as its two main values its respect for life and its focus on creativity and innovation. All the companies in the group are certified under ISO 9001:2015, he says, and Geosol is already on the path toward certification under ISO 14001 (the environment) and 45001 (occupational health and safety).
Tradition is a significant feature of the group, Pereira says. Geosol is now over seventy years old — it was founded in 1953 by Victor Dequech — and it has been working in laboratory analysis since 1967.
An important distinguishing feature, he adds, is that the group has its own training school for professionals in drilling. The school has already trained around 350 people, including women: currently the group has eight female drill operators in activity.
The star of the show, in Pereira's words, is an electric drill, conceived and now being developed under a partnership with Finep, a Science and Technology Ministry agency providing financing for project development. This is a rotary diamond-tipped drill affording sustainable operation, with zero carbon emissions and using photovoltaic energy.
Pereira further highlights the diversity of the Geopar group's portfolio, through its subsidiaries: Geosol specializes in rotary diamond drilling and deep tubular wells; Geobit Tools manufactures machinery and tools for drilling and mineral explorations; Geosedna carries out rotopercussive drilling and grade control in reverse circulation; Rede carries out geological and geotechnical exploration; and SGS Geosol operates a laboratory conducting geochemical, environmental, and metallurgical analysis.
Pereira mentions the Drilling Simulator, which offers an advanced virtual environment, replicating, with precision, the operation of a real drill and allowing users to operate the drill virtually. This is useful also for educational purposes and for gaining practical experience. There is also the Operational Control Center, enabling the operator to remotely film the exploration area and to monitor the drill online, controlling the operation in real time and giving a diagnosis enabling the operator to make decisions and effect any needed correction. Using telemetry, the operator can to be covered, how many boreholes will be needed and the optimal distance between them, the gradient of any slopes — in brief, the entire range of inputs that we will need to take into consideration. If the project is an unusually complex one, we have a variety of special tools we can use, such as a diverter barrel, for example.
Pereira cites the case of a campaign now just beginning at a planned underground copper mine in the state of Pará. A borehole measuring 700 to 800 meters (2300 to 2600 feet) will first be drilled, from which branches will be dug out to reach the mineral body at several points. This procedure brings the advantage that more extensive information will be gained, more quickly and at a lower cost.
Another project using the same method is under way at a planned nickel mine in Bahia, which called for deep boreholes keeping deviation to a minimum. Pereira recalls, "We drilled boreholes from 1,000 to 1,500 meters deep, where the final deviation was just seven meters."
Returning to the types of drilling, Pereira notes that each method has its particularity. In reverse circulation, for example, the Geopar group offers special services such as Smart Sample, which is a trailer for samples placed next to the drill. It was jointly developed by Geosedna and the SGS Geosol laboratory, with the main purpose of physically preparing the samples in the field, reducing the volume, so that the sample will be representative. Another novelty that the group is offering is Ore Control, a machine having an array of sensors that will provide a reading of the compactness of the rock as drilling proceeds. "This is highly interesting," Pereira says, "because it is of great help in the concept of 'mining to mill', which means having the rock, measuring its hardness, and hence knowing the appropriate way to feed it into the crusher."
In other words, the testing is carried out at the mining site. Ore control is associated with group control, which is for the short term. And as a result, the samples are considerably more representative than they are when drill-dust drilling is used, Pereira says.
Whenever he is asked which is the better drilling method, diamond-tipped or reverse circulation, Pereira's answer is that they are both important and each of them has its advantages and disadvantages. "Diamond drilling yields more accurate samples," he says, "and the geological structures are more clearly seen. We can observe the orientation of the geological structures and learn more about the structural features of the rock. This method is widely used at near-mine greenfield sites. When diamond drilling is used, he adds, the group can offer additional services such as measuring the borehole trajectory, the core orientation, a plastic container for cores, core cutting, support vehicles and yellow-line equipment.
Special services can also be offered, such as geophysical profiling, which includes the use of a three-arm caliper to measure borehole diameter, gamma-natural, dual induction (short conductivity, long conductivity, gamma-natural), electric logging (normal resistivity, short and long, SPR, SP, gamma-natural), full-waveform sonic (compressional wave arrival speed), sidewall density (short, medium, and long density, gamma-natural), dual neutron (a qualitative count, short and long, of the hydrogen content of the rock formation), OPTV/ATV (optical imaging), and hi-rat (acoustic imaging).
In reverse circulation drilling, on the other hand, the work is finished more quickly, and it focuses mainly on the content of the material being drilled and on grade control. The sample format is rock fragments, called chips. Differently from diamond drilling, the drilling speed is higher, ranging from 100 to 150 meters in each shift, compared with an average 25 to 30 meters in diamond drilling. On the other hand, with diamond drilling it is possible to reach much greater depths, of up to 3,000 meters, while in reverse circulation drilling the depth can range from 5 to 500 meters in crystalline rock or 150 meters in iron ore, because in many open pit mines the aquifer is very close to the surface, placing restrictions on the drilling. The sample diameter, in this type of drilling, ranges from 3.5 to 6.0 inches. Trajectory control is much more rudimentary than in diamond drilling, which gives much greater precision.
In this case, too, the Geopar group can supply additional geotechnical services, including instrumentation and testing, which can be done either on site or by collecting samples to be forwarded for lab tests.
Pereira reports that several clients are now using the group's services ranging from selecting the precise spot for drilling to monitoring the exploration work, providing a sample shed, which can be anything from a tent to a brick-built structure, sample shed management (receiving, checking, organization of samples, photographing the core and the chip container), sending in geologists to produce the geological and geotechnical descriptions, drawing up sampling and density plans, all in accordance with the parameters that will later be audited. And of course, he adds, we feed all this data into the client's database, whether it's drilling data or the results of laboratory sample analysis. We're doing this now for several clients.
For the analysis of samples requiring a different type of scan, the group sends them to SGS Geosol, where everything is done from the physical preparation of the sample up to the ore processing tests. The laboratory is equipped with everything needed to carry out the chemical analysis of the sample and the complete characterization of rocks and sediments, using analytical methods such as fluorescence X-ray, fire assay, ICP-OES, and ICP-MS.
SGS Geosol also works on projects and testing within the client's corporate structure, at either the Capex or the Opex level. "We have done this at several companies," Pereira says, "where we initiated a project from scratch and even provided all the consultancy for equipment purchases. And then, after the project is completed with all the equipment installed, we work to ensure that the laboratory is duly certified."
The Opex case applies to a company that already has a laboratory as part of its corporate structure, where SGS Geosol comes in to provide the management and arrange all the documentation. In these cases, the work consists mainly of introducing improvements, expanding quality control, and obtaining productivity gains. Under arrangements of this kind, in addition to its consultancy role, SGS Geosol can also provide qualified technical personnel.
Mineral processing is another important part of SGS Geosol's range of services, Pereira says. The fact that it can be done on a small scale means that operations such as grinding, desliming, flotation, and acid leaching can enable the client to purchase a full-size processing plant. "With that," he says, "you avoid the risk of overspending on a crusher, say, or on another piece of equipment. Sometimes it can guide you to a better choice that is a better fit with your processing needs."
In the area of obtaining certification for resources and reserves, the group works in partnership with several independent Qualified Persons (QPs) who contribute by producing procedure manuals, quality assurance and control (QA/QC), auditing, independent evaluations, due diligence, and calculating resources and reserves, all closely connected with the geological and economic potential of the deposit, in full accordance with standards such as CBRR, Canadian NI 43-101, JORC, and American standard S-K 1300.
Another activity that the group is now developing is core scanning, which gives a readout of parameters associated with digital photography of the rock formation. In this case, Geopar acts in partnership with a foreign company.
In conclusion, Pereira notes that the Geopar group is now proposing to sign a single contract with each client, bringing together the activities to be provided by each company in the group, though with billing still to be handled by each of them separately.