Ever wonder what happens to drill core after it’s been logged and sampled?
Once drilling is completed, core is carefully labelled, organized and stored in core shacks or core farms, creating a lasting physical record of the geology encountered below surface.
Drill core is retained for the life of the project, which does not have a defined time limit. Regulations also protect the technical value of this geological record, requiring that drill core not be abandoned, discarded, destroyed or otherwise handled in a way that reduces its original technical value.
Why preserve it? Historical core remains an important geological resource. Geologists can return to it to re-examine mineralization, verify previous observations, conduct additional sampling or testing, and apply new interpretations as geological knowledge and technology evolve.
Core drilled today can continue providing valuable information well into the future — preserving an important geological record for future exploration and future generations. ⛏️