Drilling trends

Drilling is essential to exploration and mining, as it is the only way to investigate an anomaly fully and delineate and define a deposit.

Canada is home to a significant diamond-drilling industry, and many drillers are members of the Canadian Diamond Drilling Association (CDDA), based in North Bay, Ont.

The CDDA gathers annual diamond-drilling statistics from its member companies, and these stats compare with a second set of data from drilling contractors, which report their numbers directly to Natural Resources Canada.

Drilling activity peaked in 1997, then dropped by 31% in 1998 and a further 47% between 1998 and 1999. In 2000, the number of metres drilled jumped 92%, only to fall 20% in 2001. The declines are chiefly due to periods of weak metals prices. Between 2001 and 2002, CDDA members witnessed a 6% drop in the number of metres drilled.

On a longer-term basis, the CDDA’s surface diamond-drilling statistics compare relatively well with those of the past 11 years, whereas underground drilling has decreased considerably.

In total, 2.4 million metres of surface and underground drilling (including diamond drilling and other methods) were carried out in 2002, compared with 1.8 million metres in 2001. About 2.3 million metres of the 2002 total consisted of diamond drilling.

Some 80% of the total drilling activity in 2002 was dedicated to exploration, whereas deposit appraisal accounts for the remainder.

Drilling by senior mining companies accounted for 70% of surface drilling and all underground drilling.

Exploration for precious metals accounted for 1.6 million metres, or 65%, of all drilling in 2002, and of that total, 920,000 metres, or 59%, were drilled from surface. Base metals exploration accounted for 510,000 metres, or 21%, of all drilling. Fewer than 200,000 metres were sunk in order to explore for diamonds.

— The preceding is from Overview of Trends in Canadian Mineral Exploration, an annual report by the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Mineral Industry.