Submit drill core samples

The Geological Survey of Victoria (GSV) encourages industry, academia and government to gift drill core and cuttings from drilling programs within Victoria to our Drill Core Library.

These drill holes will be made publicly available for future exploration efforts and applied geoscience research.

We encourage submissions of representative drill holes spanning important geological units, structures, mineralised zones and significant intersections. Our limited storage space means it is sometimes not possible to accept all samples from an individual drilling program although individual drill holes will be considered.

Where good examples of particular geological units, deposit styles, structures etc. from a particular area are already held in our collection we may consider not accepting additional drill holes.

How to package cuttings

All drill core/cuttings should be packaged in clearly labelled core trays. The following information needs to be clearly visible on the front of the tray:

  • the name of the hole
  • the start and finish depth
  • tray number
  • orientation markings, metre marks, sample intervals, lost intervals etc. should also be clearly marked.

How to deliver cuttings

Samples can be delivered to the Drill Core Library at 18 South Rd, Werribee by prior arrangement. The general expectation is that the owner of the drill core/cuttings will arrange delivery to us.

  • Core trays stored on quality pallets should be firmly strapped with lids on the top layer.
  • Individual pallets should not exceed one tonne in total weight.
  • Forklifts and qualified operators are onsite to unload pallets.

Contact us to make an appointment or for further information.

Data Requirements

Digital and hardcopy details of the drill holes submitted should be provided to us to provide future geoscientists with the required data and knowledge.

The following data will probably only need to be supplied once for a dataset, rather than for each drill hole. If it differs between individual drill holes in the submission, details will be required. Analytical results (including associated metadata) would be beneficial to avoid the need for additional sampling. It is advantageous if the data already exists in a prescribed template (e.g. Mineral Reporting Template), however minimum guidelines are provided below.

Data Requirement Example
Exploration Company Compulsory owner company name
Purpose Compulsory minerals, extractive, general geological, etc.
Tenement/s Compulsory will help determine when confidentiality ends
Reports Compulsory complete details of reports referencing the hole/s
Location method Compulsory plus/minus meters accuracy for location
Location accuracy Compulsory method of obtaining location etc. GPS, topo map
Drilling contractor Preferred drilling company name
Method Compulsory diamond, air core, percussion, etc.

Drill hole – metadata

Data Requirement Example
Co-ordinates-easting Compulsory six figures
Co-ordinates-northing Compulsory seven figures
Co-ordinates-zone Compulsory either MGA54 or MGA55
Co-ordinates-datum Compulsory GDA94
Elevation accuracy Compulsory should be supplied if elevation supplied
Elevation datum Compulsory should be supplied if elevation supplied
Drilling start date Compulsory at least one date required
Drilling completion date Preferred  
Bore depth Compulsory metres
Bore confidential Compulsory Y/N
Local name Optional Free text name assigned by the company (ie prospect)
Map name Preferred  
Elevation Compulsory elevation at ground level
Parish Optional if known
Type Compulsory e.g. diamond drill, sidewall
Depth from Compulsory metres
Depth to Compulsory metres
Recovery % Preferred proportion of sample when originally recovered from the borehole

Page last updated: 03 Sep 2024