Exploration, Resource Modelling & Earth Sciences
IMC’s experience in Exploration and Geological Appraisal spans a period of more than 30 years, during which time, the company has been involved on nearly all of the World’s continents. With regard to exploration projects, IMC has experience in geological mapping, core logging, sampling, mineralogical analysis and the supervision of drilling programmes.
IMC regularly undertake mineral reserve and resource calculations, often in accordance with internationally recognised standards such as the JORC Code, IMMM and the USGS Coal Resource Classification System.
IMC also has the expertise to create geological deposit models which can be used to help with resource estimation and mine planning. Common software packages used include Surpac, Minex, Datamine, AutoCAD and Whittle.
Some recent examples of the consultant's Exploration and Geological Appraisal experience include the following:
India: (Bothli Titanium Project)
IMC are lead geological consultants as part of a beach sands exploration project and have taken overall management of the exploration, quality assessment and total station topographical survey of 125 km of beach. At present one beach has been totally surveyed, with the second and third having been started. Drilling has commenced and will continue for the foreseeable future with a total of approximately 3,500 boreholes to be drilled.
 - Ore Body Model
Kazakhstan: The consultant was engaged by Mittal Steel to undertake the geological modelling of three iron ore mines using Surpac and five coal mines using Minex. The modelling was performed by a multinational team of geologists and mining engineers. Large data sets, consisting on average of 1,500 boreholes per mine and complex geological structures, created a challenge for the modelling team. It is expected that a second phase of the project will be undertaken in the near future, consiting of a further large iron ore mine and three coal mines in the same area.
Papua New Guinea: The consultant is carrying out a regional geological mapping project and exploration in a consortium with the British Geological Survey and the South African Council for Geoscience. The work is being financed by the European Development Fund and will result in 24 geological, 24 geochemical, 24 mineralogical and 3 metalogenetic maps. These results are expected to attract many international mining companies and investors to the country, where mining has a great impact on its economical growth. Training of local field geologists is an important part of the project.
Germany: Carrying out geological data acquisition and interpretation of exploration drillholes including deviated wells with some thousand meters of cores for DSK Anthrazit Ibbenbüren GmbH. Work includes comprehensive geological evaluation of the coal deposit, additional geotechnical investigation of selected seam sequences and execution / interpretation of 2D seismic measurements and borehole geophysical surveys.
 - Model of Sibovc Lignite Mine
Kosovo: Prepared a geological resource model of the Sibovc lignite deposit 40 km west of Pristina. Work included resource assessment, hydrogeological studies, geotechnical and soil-mechanical investigations and a review of environmental aspects.
Turkey: Prepared a revised tectonic and geological interpretation of the Amasra-B coalfield for Hema Endüstri A.Ş., investigating geological structures by satellite image interpretation and analysis of existing boreholes. Based on the new interpretation of the deposit a preliminary tectonic layout was constructed and potential mining areas were identified.
Mauritania: Under European Union funding the consultant managed a gold prospecting programme in Northern Mauritania in the Oussat-Sfariates region. The project was divided into four phases with the work being carried out in conjunction with the Office Mauritanien de Recherches Geologique. The programme involved prosecution, sampling and a limited amount of drilling in prospective areas. The end result of the study was to produce a detailed geological map of the region.
Mali: Secured the management of a major mapping project in Mali, designed to improve the geological knowledge base of the country. The project was spread over four years and was funded by the European Union under the auspices of the SYSMIN.
Ireland: Commissioned by Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) to examine the exploration data relating to the Ballymoney Lignite Deposit (Deposit) and produce a plan delineating the subcrop of the deposit for the purposes of planning related activities.
 - Underground Mine Design
Spain: Requested to provide an independent report on the Las Cruces resource as the company was optimising its Las Cruces copper project in terms of resource estimation and mine planning. The company required a report suitable for presentation to banks, giving an opinion on the validity of the new resource estimate.
Turkey: Requested to undertake a technical audit of the Kure Mine in Turkey with a brief to concentrate on the review of the reserves, costs and CAPEX. In addition, the consultant provided an opinion on the concentrate production, recovery and grade.
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