Foran Mining–Veracio Scan at McIlvenna Bay: exploration workflow notes for geologists
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on International Mining – News
30 Second Briefing
Foran Mining is deploying Veracio’s Scan core-scanning technology at its McIlvenna Bay copper-zinc-precious metals project in Saskatchewan to compress exploration timelines during the 2025 winter drilling campaign. The system acquires continuous high-resolution imagery and multi-sensor data directly from drill core, enabling near-real-time geological logging and faster targeting decisions compared with traditional manual core logging workflows. For geologists and resource modellers, this means earlier structural and lithological interpretation, tighter drill spacing decisions, and potentially shorter cycles between discovery, resource definition, and mine planning.
Technical Brief
- Continuous scanning removes gaps between core trays, improving structural continuity compared with spot measurements.
- Digital core records are archived in a central database, enabling rapid cross-hole correlation and re-interpretation.
- Automated feature extraction supports consistent lithological and alteration coding across multiple logging geologists.
- Near-real-time outputs feed directly into 3D geological and grade models used for drill targeting updates.
- Reduced manual handling of core during logging lowers risk of core damage and mislabelling in winter campaigns.
Our Take
McIlvenna Bay adds to the 102 keyword-matched copper and zinc pieces in our database where operators in North America are increasingly trialling digital core and logging tools to de-risk early-stage design decisions.
Foran Mining’s use of Veracio’s Scan system ahead of the winter of 2025 positions McIlvenna Bay alongside other Canadian critical metals projects that are trying to compress exploration-to-feasibility timelines to capture near-term demand signals for copper and zinc.
Because McIlvenna Bay targets both base and precious/critical metals, shortening the exploration cycle with automated scanning could materially influence how quickly Foran can update multi-commodity resource models and sequence zones for development compared with more conventional single-commodity copper projects in our coverage.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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