Development, Implementation and Regulation of Exploration Programmes for Uranium Mineral Resources Data Collection & Sample Storage Regional Training Course: RAF 3007-2 Malawi, 24-28 May 2010 International Atomic Energy Agency
Date acquisition Exploration is all about gathering data Exploration is costly The data from all exploration activities therefore has probably cost a lot of money..look after it!
Regulators role Data copies for Government are usually mandatory Government must stipulate form, reporting frequency, number of sets, types of data etc Government must respect the confidentiality of data in accordance with licence conditions Government should use data to verify reports of activity
Data forms May come from: rock sampling, soil sampling, survey, remote sensing, logging of boreholes, drill core or RAB chips, film or video, material analyses, water analyses, plant analyses, geophysical data from airborne studies, etc May be: electronic, paper, charts, photographs, paper tape, micro fiches, core & rock samples, etc etc
Data management All data should be treated as if they are of high value All data should be backed up or duplicated so a spare set can be stored separately; ideally in a different location Accessing electronic files may lead to degradation; check data frequently Physical material (core etc) must be stored safely Labelling and filing systems must be robust and reliable
Data reporting Raw data will normally be kept on site as well as copies at headquarters All refined data should be copied for archiving in two locations, one may be Regulator Data should be analysed to assist in preparation of statutory reports Timing and expected content of such reports should be clearly set out in the exploration licence Core may be halved for storage with Regulator
Summary Data are precious guard them well All data collected should be prepared for submission to the Regulator as required by licence etc Security of storage for data is vital Check archives and files periodically to ensure records are being maintained Systems must be robust and at least in duplicate
Red Book a special case Governments of Member States are requested to make biennial returns of uranium resource data and mining activities (including exploration) to the Secretariat for use in compiling the Red Book Data are needed to assist in long term strategic planning for UPC activity
Red Book data collection Request originates from on behalf of the Uranium Group (/NEA) Questionnaire has to be completed withn a few months of receipt Forms are sent out next one Q1 2011 Data are compiled and checked for consistency in Vienna as they are received Data are compiled into Red Book for publication in even-numbered years-2009 nearly ready now Next new Red Book will be published in 2011
Red Book support programme Level of reporting is not satisfactory, some countries are very poor at returning data Some open source data are also used (e.g. mining company reports and web sites) RAF3007 will try to assist Red Book team by incorporating a special workshop at the end of the mid-term meeting in Ghana July 2010 Delegations should preferably include appropriate persons
A cautionary tale about data Geological modelling Data is collected Surface outcrop observations Geophysical results Drill core data A map of the data is drawn up and a model of possible ore body disposition is constructed
Let us consider a set of drilling intersections
A very conservative geologist s interpretation.
A conservative geologist s interpretation.
An optimistic geologist s interpretation.
A very optimistic geologist s interpretation.
An extremely optimistic geologist s interpretation.
A geophysicist s interpretation.
The mining engineers interpretation.
Summary Collect as much data as you can Use multiple sources Beware of extrapolating too far You only have enough data if you predict a borehole log, then drill the hole and find a 100 % correct result!