Here are some reasons why we may get our geological models and understanding completely wrong.

Is the new Leapfrog Geo 4 now as good as Leapfrog Mining?

Physicist Richard Feynman was famous for working from 'first principles'. This is how I think Feynman would have approached exploration problems.

Ron Reid field tests the Midland Valley’s Field move Clino

What exactly is 'Vectoring' to Mineralisation? This post has all the answers.

ARANZ Geo, a self-proclaimed 'thought leader', fails to reinvent Leapfrog—the software they had claimed to have created more than ten years ago!

In this post, I question the usefulness of a geological habit universally accepted as a good thing—the geological cross-section

Geologists are highly biased, but can we take advantage of this fact?

How can a mineral resource be downgraded by 90%? This is a simple explanation most geologists are not aware of.

The following is an abstract of a BBQ lunch talk that will be given at MineSpace in West Perth, Australia at 12PM Friday 24 July, 2015

The ability to define whether a geological domain boundary is hard or soft is important for the integrity of the resource estimate. A workflow is outlined for boundary analysis using Micromine's distance tool.

Two years after Leapfrog Geo's release in Feb 2013, Ron Reid discusses TOP 5 reasons why the original Leapfrog Mining still continues to be the better Leapfrog software for most mining and exploration related work.

The 3D drawing tool in Leapfrog released in 2004 cannot be faulted from a technical standpoint. So why wasn’t it included in the next generation of Leapfrog software, Leapfrog Geo?

The revolutionary 3D drawing tool in Leapfrog released in 2004—is all but forgotten a decade later. Why this happened is a lesson to all software companies that develop and introduce something new to an established market.

The term "implicit modelling" has been used to describe all sorts of modelling methods in the mining industry over the last decade. Paul Hooykaas of Micromine finally defines the term.

MineSight beat Micromine to produce the true implicit modelling module to compete against Leapfrog. But how does it stack up against the other implicit modellers? Here is Ron Reid's verdict.

This article, which originally appeared in Optiro's website, provides a good summary of AusIMM's Monograph 30 – The AusIMM guide to Good Practice.

Ron Reid reviews the latest shiny new Implicit Modeller from Maptek. Find out how it stacks up to Leapfrog.

Implicit 3D modelling tools should be used by every exploration company as a geological tool, but like any other geological tool, it should be used by experienced geologists. Use it like a black box, and it will inevitably lead to disaster.

One of the most common diagrams you see on stock market releases and on any wall in a mine office is a long section grade * thickness plot of the ore body. Here is how to create this plot in Leapfrog Mining and Leapfrog Geo.

Orefind reviews the latest tool for core orientation - Ezy-Ori by 2iC Australia.

Modelling the weathering profile can be tricky especially when dealing with topographic undulation. Guest Leapfrog Mining user Yafet Birhanu explains.

Leapfrog Mining and Leapfrog Geo are both used and compared in this presentation as tools for boundary analysis for resource estimation.

Ron Reid presents an independent review of Micromine's new Implicit Modelling software and compare it with Leapfrog. A mere tadpole or is it a cane toad to Leapfrog? Read and find out!

I introduce you to ‘The System’ – a betting system that is guaranteed to make you money. The good news is that this is not a scam or illegal, so it’s perfectly timed for the mineral industry downturn. The bad news is that you’ll be taking your winnings from your geologist friends.

Creating objects from XYZ points in Leapfrog Geo is easy while Leapfrog Mining's method is simply elegant, but Ron Reid finds out that there is even a simpler way in Micromine's new implicit modeller.

Ron Reid outlines in Part 1 of a two part post how to construct a 3D object from a set of points that are not connected to each other using Leapfrog Mining and Leapfrog Geo.

What are some of the lessons to be learned from the past mineral industry boom?

How do you run a good grade interpolation using Leapfrog Mining? Ron Reid provides some solid practical advice as a geologist working in the mining industry.

Last month Micromine released the latest version of their flagship product with an optional implicit modelling module that’s designed to compete head-to-head with Leapfrog software. In this post, I list six reasons why Micromine’s Leapfrog facsimile could possibly ruin the fragile toehold held by Leapfrog software.

Ron Reid provides some tips on how to use drill hole data intelligently with Leapfrog Mining software.

This brief blog post is a response to a recurrent question that comes from exploration and mine geologists. The question is ‘what is a fracture?’

Dr Michael Gipp believes that there is a problem with the current way of publicly disclosing significant intercepts data. He believes the format provides an advantage to financial institutions who can actually model these datasets. The debate is whether to restrict the data, or to open it up for everyone.

Dr Alistair Reed of Schoer, Reed & Associates has a few tips about what one can write about listed companies. As it turns out, you need special licences to discuss openly about public companies.

The majority of geologists don't understand 3D ductile strain, judging from our consultations with clients. I explain why it is absolutely critical to understand ductile strain to benefit exploration and resource evaluation.

Paul Hooykaas presents an interesting historical background to the construction of topographic contours and why this representation of topography is still used in the resource industry.

If you shouldn’t use topographic contours for 3D modelling, then what should you use? In this blog post, I show the superiority of 3D interpolation by contrasting the stark difference between 2D and 3D interpolated LIDAR surfaces.

In marketing, you put forward the positives and spin the negatives into a more favourable light. Unless of course there is a big negative that is too heavy to spin.

I outline the quickest way to model geology in 3D, but it's controversial and the discussion may offend the majority of academic economic geologists!

“Interpreting in section and in plan is the most reliable way we can understand the geology of the deposit.”, or is this statement a myth?

Brett discusses the secret weapons that we use in our consulting work.

The analysis of mineralisation occurrences requires an integrated approach that should include all facets of geology, not just structure. In this post I talk about how to display this information in a small convenient format - the paragenetic table.

Notwithstanding the nearly 200-year history of topographic contours, in today’s post I’ll question the usefulness of topographic contours in the context of 3D geological modelling. WARNING: Some of you, who have grown up using maps and GIS software, might consider the content of this post blasphemous!

This post discusses a structural geological methodology that is rarely used but can be extremely powerful in terms of the information it can provide.

Season's Greetings Youtube video from Orefind

Many geologists consider the modelling of faults in mineral deposits to be VERY important. I am not one of these geologists. To understand why I feel this way, you have to ask the question "What is a Fault?"

Visits to many different mining and exploration sites shows huge diversity in the skills of geologists. This post suggests ways to manage the issue of poor geological skill sets.

How do you decide whether to make a fault boundary hard or soft? Geologist Ron Reid, who is an Orefind-trained veteran Leapfrog user, explains how to do this effectively in Leapfrog Mining software.

Gemcom recently announced the 'Dynamic Shells' update to their Surpac software, which is described as a fast implicit modeller. This is a module that jumps and croaks like Leapfrog, and regardless of whether it actually works like Leapfrog is a moot point. It doesn't really matter because in marketing, it's all about perception.

Obtaining reliably oriented core at the rig is only the first step in the process of dealing correctly and efficiently with oriented core. Individual orientation marks need to be checked and orientation lines constructed from those of high confidence. This post looks at processes and problems associated with checking orientation marks, constructing orientation lines, measurement of data and recognition of problems in data distributions

This post has a look at some potential solutions to poor core orientation that occurs at the rig. The single biggest issue is lack of diligence by, and the experience of, the drillers and geologists. Scrutiny of the orientation process needs to be maintained by both drillers and geologists through the life of the drilling programs.

Why is the previous post "The Watch Riddle" relevant to geological modelling and interpretation? Find out in this blog post.

A parable is a short tale that illustrates universal truth. Today's post is a geological parable in two parts, and it starts off with a strange looking watch.

Here's a music video for you to get you into the swing of rapid geological modelling. All done without a single polyline digitised in section! The video was constructed from 6 Leapfrog Mining Tutorial Videos prepared by Jun Cowan to introduce novices the basic operation of the software. Now completely FREE for all who register at orefind.com.

The mining and exploration industry spend too little time interrogating the data that is most routinely used. Unusable structural data is commonly taken from oriented core yet incorporated into exploration and mining studies, which may result in severe consequences. Brett Davis, in part 1 of three posts, discusses common drill core orientation problems and what to do about them.

For geological modelling, resource geologists generally favour the use of sectionally hand-digitised wireframe models for resource estimation, but in 2012 is this still considered industry best practice? Jun Cowan, the conceptual founder of Leapfrog software, discusses this issue with a familiar example.

Last week was a busy one for Orefind. After putting the final touches to the website Orefind personnel winged their way to the mining mecca of Kalgoorlie for the AIG Structural Geology and Resources Symposium.

The focus of this blog is to highlight some applied structural geological issues that impact the mineral exploration and mining industry.