IGS as Technical Partner of the Saudi Geological Survey in the RGP Geophysics project
IGS (International Geoscience Services) geophysicists continue to carry out quality control and provide technical advisory services to SGS (Saudi Geological Survey) for the Regional Geoscience Program (RGP) Phase 1 geophysics which consists of magnetic gradiometry and radiometrics flown at 300m line spacing over the entire Arabian Shield.
Sander Geophysics is flying Block 1 while Xcalibur is currently flying in Block 3. Both blocks are approaching 50% completion and some final products have been generated for completed portions . There are now 7 aircraft on the project and > 700,000 line kms flown to date. IGS and partners have also assisted the Saudi Geological Survey with developing scope of work for future airborne acquisition phases comprising targeted surveys (e.g. electromagnetics) over areas prospective for mineral deposits.
Arabian Shield Phase1 blocks
(For more information on this article please contact Dr. Feargal Murthy principal geophysicist at fmurphy@igsint.com)
IGS staff participated in recent Saudi Foundation Day celebration
(from twitter)
#فيديو |
جانب من احتفالية #هيئة_المساحة_الجيولوجية_السعودية بــ #يوم_التأس #يوم_بدينا
"نمشـــي ونتحـــاور" pic.twitter.com/CUkx7h9BAe— هيئة المساحة الجيولوجية السعودية (@SgsOrgSa) February 23, 2023
IGS Exhibits at Mining Indaba 2023
IGS was privileged to showcase the company and its services at the large UK Department for International Trade (DIT) stand at Mining Indaba, Cape Town, 6th to 9th February 2023. We received a lot of interest and enquiries with Indaba this year being better attended and having more of a ‘buzz’ than 2022. Certainly, and as always, it was a pleasure to meet up with clients, partners and colleagues.
Dr. Peter Zawada (MD) gave a presentation at the DIT stand entitled ‘Increasing Nation States competitively in the Mineral Sector’. Dr. Ash Johnson (COO) and Dr. Frik Hartzer (Senior Project Manager) of IGS also attended Indaba. It was particularly pleasing to meet up with Government Ministries and Geological Survey officials from across the world under one roof.
Saudi Geological Survey
The Saudi Geological Survey have announced the launch of a new committee that brings together international geological experience from the Saudi Arabia, the US, Australia, Europe and China to take a modern look at structures across the Saudi part of the Arabian-Nubian shield.
Luke Stannard process Manager at Resolve Mining Solutions | Board Member of the Australia Saudi Business Council indicated that some regions have not seen review for over 50 years. He said he has often come across reports that appear to need a new eye cast over them and this will lead to a few new discoveries/interesting exploration programs.
Below is Dr. Christoph Dobmeier – principal geologist at IGS (International Geoscience Survey) Ltd and two colleagues from the Saudi Geological Survey.
IGS as Technical Partner of the Saudi Geological Survey in the GSAS project
The High-Resolution Geochemical Survey of the Arabian Shield (GSAS) project which covers the entire Arabian Shield (c. 600,000 km²), commissioned by the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) and conducted by the Chinese Geological Survey (CGS) is currently in its second sampling phase.
Since GSAS started at the end of 2021, the project has been making great strides. More than 48 000 stream sediment samples have been successfully collected and progressed by the contractor. The first analytical results are expected in the coming month. The project will have a duration of six years with the sampling and collection of approximately 100,000 sediment samples which will be completed in the first three years.
In its role as the official Technical Partner of the SGS, IGS experts supported by geochemists from the Finish Geological Survey (GTK), advise the client and undertake the quality control of the following project stages: planning, sampling, sample preparation, chemical analysis, data quality, geochemical databasing, statistical analysis of data, interpretation, and geochemical map production.
(For more information on this article please contact Dr. Reik Degler – Project Geologist at rdegler@igsint.com)
IGS completes Mozambique mapping project
On schedule, IGS, together with its partners BRGM, Gondwana and PGW, completed a mapping project in north-eastern Mozambique with the delivery of ten geological maps at a scale of 1:50,000 and the accompanying sheet explanations in two volumes for the geology and the mineral resources.
The approved products were passed on to INAMI (Instituto Nacional de Minas) on 11 November 2022.
The project was undertaken within the World Bank-financed Mining And Gas Technical Assistance Project (MAGTAP). Work included the acquisition and compilation of historical data, the interpretation of airborne geophysical data, the compilation of 25 preliminary geological maps, geological mapping of approximately 7,500 km2, inspection and cataloguing of all resource, the assessment of the resource potential, laboratory work (thin sections, whole rock analyses, age determination) and the production of ten geological maps and their accompanying GIS databases at a scale of 1:50000. Furthermore, five sheets of the Geological Map Series 1:250 000 were revised to incorporate the results of the survey.
IGS consortium wins major contract in India
IGS Ltd, as part of IDPeX Pvt Ltd, has signed an agreement with the Odisha Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd (OMECL) of India to optimise the exploration of mineral deposits in the eastern Indian State of Odisha. This will result in an inventory of auctionable blocks of different minerals.
IDPeX Pvt Ltd is the Indian registered joint venture of IGS Ltd, Datacode International (Pvt) Ltd, and Paterson, Grant & Watson Ltd (PGW). On this project IDPeX is working with consortium partners MSA Group Pty Ltd.
The work program will manage legacy data from exploration agencies of the State of Odisha. New airborne geophysical surveys will follow resulting in the selection of potential mineral blocks for different mineral commodities. The exploration programme will use the latest technologies and adhere to international standards.
Shri D.K. Singh, IAS, Chairman, OMECL said that, “Odisha is a mineral rich state. However, a large part of the State is still unexplored. This exploration program will lead to the discovery of hidden mineral deposits across the state using the latest technology which will help the state to utilise the mineral resources for the development of the State.”
Dr Ash Johnson, Director of IDPeX Ltd said “We are honoured and excited that IDPeX and MSA have been selected by OMECL as their Strategic Technical Consultant for this project. Our knowledgeable local team will work alongside our international experts to deliver auctionable blocks suitable to attract additional domestic and international investment into the State of Odisha.”
Saudi geophysics project update
The Saudi Geological Survey geophysics program covering the Arabian Shield is divided into 3 blocks, with Sander Geophysics flying Block 1 and Xcalibur Multiphysics flying Blocks 2 and 3.
After initial delays due to COVID, there are now four aircraft in country. Block 1 is 17% complete while production in Block 3 has commenced.
IGS is lead partner of the Technical Partner (TP) consortium. The TP team is responsible for providing quality control of contractor data and provides training and advisory services to SGS.
For the geophysics, IGS employees have carried out field inspection visits, generated QC reports and delivered training to SGS geophysicists.
IGS staff performing QA on geophysical data in Nigeria
IGS, in partnership with Paterson Grant and Watson (PGW) of Canada (lead party) and the Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM) of France, has been performing quality control of an airborne geophysics program in Nigeria. The World Bank backed Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification (MinDiver) project is being conducted by the Nigerian Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD).
The IGS group is responsible for quality control of data acquisition and interpretation. The acquisition program is currently 30% complete with more than 400k line kms already flown.
IGS staff visit Uganda to QA geochemical field work
From left to right: Dr. Isaiah Tumwikiriz (DGSM Project Manager), Paula Babirye (DGSM Geophysicist), Dr. Reik Degler (IGS Project Geologist/Geochemist)
IGS is contracted by the Ugandan Directorate Of Geological Survey and Mines (DGSM) to quality control a large geological survey. The geological mapping and the stream sediment geochemical survey in the Karamoja region is being carried out by Xcalibur Multiphysics.
IGS geologists are currently reviewing re-mapped regional geological maps (1:250 000 scale) and supporting the implementation of stream sediment sampling. A site visit was made by Dr. Reik Degler in March 2022 for assessment of field work in the Karamoja region and technical meetings with DGSM project management in Entebbe.
Due to safety issues, all field activities are currently suspended for the Karamoja region.
IGS leads a major Saudi geodata acquisition project
In 2021 IGS was appointed as the official technical partner of the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) for a major geodata acquisition project in Saudi Arabia. The project will expand on previous geological data collections for the Arabian Shield. The project forms part of the Saudi Arabian Vision 2030 to modernize the country, including the mining sector.
IGS is the Lead Party in a consortium with GTK (Finland). IGS has also contracted the Jeddah based geoscientific company Geotech Arabia, PGW geophysicists, and several other independent consultants.
The IGS role in the project includes the QA/QC of the various sub-projects, which are:
- Upgrading existing SGS legacy data sets into a National Geological Database (NGD). The NGD will then host the newly acquired geodata. Some aspects of the NGD will be implemented by GTK, with others implemented by external contractors.
- Establishment of a National Core Library (NCL), with modern borehole scanning and photographic facilities. The NCL will host legacy and future drill cores.
- An airborne magnetic and radiometric geophysical survey over the Arabian Shield, flown at a line spacing of 300 m, and a height of 60 m. Sanders and Excalibur are the appointed contractors for the survey, which is under way.
- A geochemical survey over the Arabian Shield at a density of one sample every 6 km2. Over 100,000 stream sediment samples will be collected and analyzed. The Chinese Geological Survey (CGS) won the contract for this survey and began the first phase of the project in 2022.
- 1:100,00 scale geological mapping over the Arabian Shield covering 271 map sheets. This project will probably start in 2023 and run for a maximum period of 11 years. A National Stratigraphic Committee has been established which will work closely with the mapping contractor throughout the mapping program. The project will begin with a five-year phase concentrating on the areas with well-established high economic mineral potential.
For further enquiries please contact IGS project leader Frik Hartzer (fhartzer@igsint.com).