Working with drillholes

Exciting tools and ease of use, not just what it can do and how much data it can handle, set Maptek Eureka™ exploration software apart.

In a world of ever-expanding technology, the claim to be ‘most innovative’ faces an important challenge: ‘Is it easy to use?’ It is impressive when technology can achieve a new outcome, but if the process is tedious, the technology loses much of its value.

Eureka targets exploration geologists, enabling them to visualise vast and disparate data sets, simultaneously. User-friendliness and functionality continue to be top priorities in Eureka development.

Eureka opens up a new world of desktop 3D exploration. The tools make it particularly quick and easy to visualise data and generate interpretations. More analysis can be done in less time with less effort, meaning greater likelihood of making useful connections.

Drillhole import is a simple insert process from a browse window. Drillholes import as geospatially correct objects which can be viewed in 3D space. Drillhole appearance can be changed through tabular menus, and colour legends containing relevant information are automatically created when required.

‘Click and drag’ functionality and a sidebar of listed drillholes, legends and surfaces allow easy selection for further analysis. Simply click ‘Apply’ to update, preview and edit display variables without needing to close the panel.

Drillhole visualisation in Eureka includes display features such as labels and colour, and display by attributes such as formation, lithology or easting. Legends are automatically applied.

The appeal of editing drillholes in Eureka lies in the dynamic data sharing. Right-click on a drillhole and the changes are automatically updated in the CSV data file. No import/export is required to ensure data is synchronised - it is all captured seamlessly.

Eureka makes it easy to focus at several levels, with multiple views open simultaneously. A small selection of drillholes in a large deposit can be viewed exclusively in a new tab, while the original tab showing all drillholes remains - the ‘overview’ and ‘specialised’ windows are just a click away.

Grids showing the distribution of different formations across a large area can be created in seconds. A calculator option performs grid summations, differences and other functions. Results are easily pulled into Maptek Vulcan or other software for further modelling.

Fence diagrams display the correlation of formations between drillholes. Correlations can be run on a small or large selection of drillholes. Correlation storage ‘containers’ in the sidebar allow for easy file management, referencing and conversion to triangulations for use in Vulcan.