Thierry Bineli Betsi

PhD, P. Geo
5/5/2025 GLEN 324_2025 1
 MINING GEOLOGY
LECTURES OUTLINE
I. General Introduction

II. Mining Value Chain and Operations

III. Mining Methods-cont.

IV. Mine Mapping Method and techniques

V. Sampling and Sampling Errors

VI. Quality Assurance-Quality Control

VII. Geotechnical Logging and Mapping

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 2
GLEN 324_2025
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
BACKGROUND

Optimisation of underground openings and open pit slopes

requires systematic documentation of the different physical
characteristics of the rocks which are commonly referred to as
geotechnical information.

The geotechnical information is obtained by:

 drilling the specially designed geotechnical drill holes

 geological mapping of the mines and in the drill core

Geological mapping of the mines and the drill core logging are
commonly carried out by the mine geologists who are assisting
the geotechnical engineers in collecting the geotechnical data.
Thierry Bineli Betsi
5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 3
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GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING OF THE DRILL CORE

Diamond drill core is the most common source of geotechnical

information at the mining projects. Therefore, geotechnical
documentation of the drill core has become one of the routinely
undertaken tasks of the mine geologists.

The geotechnical logging procedures are usually set by experienced

geotechnical engineer and can significantly differ between the mines
depending on the mineralisation style and the mining method.

For example, open pit mines require rigorous documentation and

analysis of the rock fractures, whereas supporting in-situ leach (ISL)
operations require systematic measurement and documentation of the
porosity and permeability of the rocks that host mineralisation

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 4
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GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING OF THE DRILL CORE

Consistency in core logging should apply and facilitated by

training the geologists in geotechnical documentation, which is
reported in geotechnical logging sheets and templates.

It is also a good practice to assign the codes to the observed

geotechnical features, which together with their clear description
in the logging sheets will allow selecting and grouping
geotechnical characteristics for structural analysis and for their
selective use in geotechnical model of the mine.

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 5
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GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING OF THE DRILL CORE

Table 1

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 6
GLEN 324_2025
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING OF THE DRILL CORE

Drilling Parameters and Core Recovery

Drilling equipment and drilling parameters may carry important

geotechnical information on drilled rock masses and should be
recorded by drillers. Most common parameters that are
recorded to facilitate geotechnical interpretations of the rock
mass characteristics are shown in the Table 2.

Core recovery depends on the drilled ground conditions and

drilling methodology and therefore carries important
geotechnical information. It should be systematically recorded
for every drilled hole.
Thierry Bineli Betsi
5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 7
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GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING OF THE DRILL CORE

Drilling Parameters

Table 2

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 8
GLEN 324_2025
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING OF THE DRILL CORE

Drilling Parameters and Core Recovery

Drilling equipment and drilling parameters may carry important

geotechnical information on drilled rock masses and should be
recorded by drillers. Most common parameters that are
recorded to facilitate geotechnical interpretations of the rock
mass characteristics are shown in the Table 2.

Core recovery depends on the drilled ground conditions and

drilling methodology and therefore, carries important
geotechnical information. It should be systematically recorded
for every drilled hole.
Thierry Bineli Betsi
5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 9
GLEN 324_2025
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING OF THE DRILL CORE

Rock Weathering

Weathering causes significant changes of the rock strengths

Therefore, degree of rock weathering should be defined and

documented by geologists.

It is recommended to use classification of the residual regolith

(Butt et al., 2000) to define the types of weathered material.

But site-specific classification of the weathered material should

be developed based on documented profile of the regolith
developed in the project area.
Thierry Bineli Betsi
5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 10
GLEN 324_2025
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING OF THE DRILL CORE
Rock Strength
Strength of individual rock fragments is determined and
described by mine geologists who are logging core.

Usually, rock strength is qualitatively defined in the field using

field equipment, such as geological hammer, pocketknife and
rock scratcher.

An example of the field classification of the rock strengths is

presented in the Table 3.

The measurements are made on the rock specimens, which are

collected by the field geologists, and which are representative for
the mapped or logged rock types
Thierry Bineli Betsi
5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 11
GLEN 324_2025
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING OF THE DRILL CORE

Rock Strength

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 12
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GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING OF THE DRILL CORE
Rock Quality Designation Index (RQD)

Rock Quality Designation index (RQD) was developed by

Deere (1964) and since then, it has become the standard
technique in the mining industry for quantitative assessment of
the rocks quality.

RQD is routinely documented by the mine geologists for rock

mass classification which is used for estimating support
requirements in the underground mining.

RQD is defined as the percentage of intact core pieces longer

than 10 cm recovered during a single core run

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 13
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GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING OF THE DRILL CORE

Rock Quality Designation Index (RQD)

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 14
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GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING OF THE DRILL CORE
Rock Quality Designation Index (RQD)

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 15
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GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING OF THE DRILL CORE Rock Quality Designation Index (RQD)

Core should be not less than NQ size (48 mm core diameter).

HQ size (63 mm core diameter) and larger are preferred for RQD
measurements

It is important that only natural fractures and fragments are used for
calculation of RQD. Fractures and fragments that have been
induced by drilling or core handling processes should not be
excluded from RQD measurements (Fig. above). All defects
induced by drillers should be marked on the core to facilitate
geotechnical logging and Measurements

Measured RQD values are also used for estimating the mean
discontinuity spacing which are commonly used for calculation the
rock mass classification indexes
Thierry Bineli Betsi
PhD, P. Geo
5/5/2025 16
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GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING OF THE DRILL CORE
Discontinuities
Discontinuities represent important geotechnical information and
therefore, their characteristics are thoroughly documented when core
is logged for geotechnical purposes.

Discontinuities, also referred to as rock defects can be open or

sealed, and represent different geological phenomena, such as
cleavage, bedding planes, joints, stress release fractures, faults, brittle
shear zones, geological contacts, dykes, veins and many others.

The geological nature of the defects should be clearly documented in

the logging guidelines where diagnostic features of each rock defect
types are concisely summarised. Type examples of each defect should
be photographed and included into logging manual.
Thierry Bineli Betsi
5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 17
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discontinuities

Discontinuities, when logged for geotechnical purposes are

classified by their strength. A common approach is to describe
strength of the rock defects depending on degree of cementation
of the rock fractures (Barton et al. 1974; Grimstad and Barton
1993).

Geotechnical modelling requires good understanding of

preferred orientation of the rock defects. Orientation of the rock
defects is measured on the orientated core; therefore, core
orientation should be carried out on each core run in the
geotechnical drill holes

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 18
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GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING OF THE DRILL CORE
Discontinuities

Geotechnical characteristics of the rock Defects/Discontinuities include

description of the planarity and roughness of the breaks, which can
change from slickensided type, when roughness is less than 0.1 mm,
to very rough category, when roughness exceeds 5 mm (Barton et al.
1974; Grimstad and Barton 1993).

Planarity represents the large-scale undulations on a rock defect

plane, and roughness of the break surfaces characterises small scale
irregularities on a defect plane.

To measure the roughness of breaks in the field, a surface roughness

tester can be used, employing a stylus to trace the surface and
measure the irregularities. Alternatively, non-contact methods like laser
scanning can also be used to create a 3D profile of the surface.
Thierry Bineli Betsi
5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 19
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GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING OF THE DRILL CORE

Discontinuities

Minerals that are developed on the surface of the rock defects

should be diagnosed and documented. And the thickness of
mineral infill developed on the rock defects is also an
important geotechnical characteristic that should be
measured and recorded in millimetres.

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 20
GLEN 324_2025
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING OF THE DRILL CORE
Discontinuities

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 21
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GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
Geotechnical Mapping
Geotechnical mapping of the rock faces includes collection of
the same information which was recorded during geotechnical
core logging.

However, several additional parameters can be observed on

the rock faces and mapped:

 length of the discontinuities which is finite and can be

measured on the rock faces. Length is measured along strike
of discontinuity and in the down dip direction.
 the type of termination of each end of the defect
(discontinuities can be terminated with other defects,
including faults, shear zones and joints or fading in the rocks)
Thierry Bineli Betsi
5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 22
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GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
Geotechnical Mapping

Several additional parameters can be observed on the rock

faces and mapped:

 Spacing between discontinuities. This is another parameter

which is difficult to measure in a drill core but is relatively
easy to deduce from rock faces. It is measured as the
perpendicular distance between two defects of the same
set.

 Water seepage. This parameter is used in the rock mass

classification schemes (Grimstad and Barton 1993; Hudson
and Harrison 1997; Brady and Brown 2004).

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 23
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Geotechnical Mapping

 Characteristics which are observed in the drill core and

mapped on the rock faces should be compared and
reconciled.

 Some parameters, such as number of discontinuity sets and

their geological types, are usually more accurately defined
on the rock faces.

 The discrepancies should be documented and considered

when recorded geotechnical data are analysed and the
geotechnical model is constructed.

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5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 24
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Geotechnical Applications of Rock Mass Classification Schemes

Results of the geotechnical studies are used by the mine

design specialists for estimating the optimal parameters of
the mine excavation, including the pit slope in the open pit
mines and size and shape of underground workings

Based on the geotechnical data, the requirements for the

roof support of the underground workings is determined,
together with the definition of the optimal support methods
and parameters of the rock bolting and shotcreting.

This is usually made using a detailed information on in-situ

stresses, rock mass properties and planned excavation
sequence.
Thierry Bineli Betsi
5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 25
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Geotechnical Applications of Rock Mass Classification Schemes

By using geotechnical documentation of the drill cores and

the rock faces, mine geology team can construct a 3D
geotechnical model of the mine, showing composition and
characteristics of a rock mass as determined by the chosen
rock mass classification scheme.

The model provides an initial estimate of support

requirements, and provide estimates of the strength and
deformation properties of the rock mass

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 26
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GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
Geotechnical Applications of Rock Mass Classification Schemes

The most widely used rock mass classification schemes are:

 Rock Mass Rating (RMR) proposed by Bieniawski (1973)

 Q-index (Barton et al. 1974; Grimstad and Barton 1993).

Both systems include geological, geometric, and the main

governing rock engineering parameters incorporating them into
a single quantitative value characterising the rock mass quality

The estimated indexes, thus, provide a basic guidance for

geotechnical assessment of the mine designs

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 27
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GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
Geotechnical Applications of Rock Mass Classification Schemes

Application of the estimated Q-index for estimating the support

categories is made using classification diagrams . Simplicity in
using rock mass classification indexes made them routinely
used tools in the mining industry.

However, it should be remembered that the use of these

systems as the sole design tool cannot be supported on
scientific grounds.

Therefore, the classification indexes shell be used as

approximate guidance only

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 28
GLEN 324_2025
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
Geotechnical Applications of Rock Mass Classification Schemes

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 29
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GEOTECHNICAL L OGGING AND MAPPING
Parameters for estimation Q – system (Barton et al. 1974; Grimstad and Barton 1993)
Geotechnical Applications of Rock Mass Classification Schemes

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 30
GLEN 324_2025
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
Geotechnical Applications of Rock Mass Classification Schemes

Parameters for estimation Q – system (Barton et al. 1974; Grimstad and Barton 1993)

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 31
GLEN 324_2025
GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
Geotechnical Applications of Rock Mass Classification Schemes

Parameters for estimation Q – system (Barton et al. 1974; Grimstad and Barton 1993)

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 32
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Geotechnical Applications of Rock Mass Classification Schemes

Estimating support
requirements using Q-index
(Grimstad and Barton 1993).
ESR (excavation support
ratio) is explained in the
Table below

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 33
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GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING
Geotechnical Applications of Rock Mass Classification Schemes

Definition of the ESR (generalised after Barton et al. 1974)

Thierry Bineli Betsi

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GEOTECHNICAL LOGGING AND MAPPING

Thank you for your attention!!!!!!!!!

Thierry Bineli Betsi

5/5/2025 PhD, P. Geo 35
GLEN 324_2025