VEXRAD • Exploration Decision Intelligence
Reduce Exploration Drilling Risk & Cost.
Drilling is where subsurface uncertainty becomes expensive. VEXRAD adds depth-referenced evidence before the rig arrives — helping exploration teams rank targets, challenge assumptions and decide which hole deserves to be drilled next.
The commercial problem
The expensive part is not collecting another dataset. It is drilling the wrong question.
Too many plausible targets
Geology, geochemistry and geophysics can generate multiple anomalies. The capital decision is which ones deserve physical testing first.
Depth uncertainty
A plan-view anomaly may be interesting without resolving the depth interval, material change or structure that actually matters to the drill design.
Drilling is ground truth
A physical borehole remains the decisive test — but each hole consumes capital, time, access, logistics and environmental resources.
Weak or inconsistent target
Evidence does not justify priority. Preserve capital or gather more information first.
Interesting but uncertain
Acquire another evidence layer, refine the model or change the drill question.
Converging evidence
Multiple independent datasets support the target. Move it higher in the drill queue.
Where VEXRAD fits
Put another evidence layer between target generation and the drill bit.
ADR is surface acquired. VEXRAD processes the response into depth-referenced Virtual Boreholes that can be compared with geology, existing geophysics, nearby drilling and the exploration model.
How risk reduction works
Risk is reduced by better decisions — not by pretending uncertainty disappears.
Before a survey
- Define the target and decision
- Review existing drilling and geophysics
- Assess whether the expected target has a plausible ADR response
- Set acceptance and validation criteria
- Identify what would change the drill decision
After acquisition
- Build depth-referenced Virtual Boreholes
- Compare independent evidence
- Identify candidate target intervals
- Record uncertainty and known nulls
- Rank the next physical test
Evidence from the field
Predictions matter most when the drill provides the answer.
Charters Towers, Queensland
At scan A56, ADR called a single anomaly at 467.91 m. Hole CT8205 was subsequently drilled to test it and intersected roughly 40 cm at 463 m, assaying 37.9 g/t Au. The VEXRAD case study explicitly notes the favourable massive-sulphide versus granite dielectric contrast and that ADR does not assay gold.
United Downs, Cornwall
A pre-drill ADR Virtual Borehole acquired in 2014 identified three candidate permeable zones. After the ~5 km UD-1 well was drilled, two of the three picks fell within the well’s reported major mud-loss intervals. The third remains Candidate rather than being retrospectively called a success.
Capital allocation
Where can the economic value come from?
The value is project-specific. It comes from changing a decision before expensive work is committed — not from assigning a universal saving to every Virtual Borehole.
| Decision | Potential value of additional pre-drill evidence |
|---|---|
| Which target first? | Prioritise the target supported by the strongest combined evidence. |
| Where should the collar sit? | Use depth and structural interpretation alongside existing datasets to refine the physical test. |
| How deep should we investigate? | Focus attention on depth intervals relevant to the geological hypothesis. |
| Should this target be drilled yet? | Down-rank a weak target or gather more evidence before committing the rig. |
| What did the hole teach us? | Use drilling to validate or reject the pre-drill interpretation and improve the next decision. |
Start small
Before field mobilisation: test the project fit.
You do not need to begin with a large survey.
VEXRAD’s commercial pathway starts with the target, existing evidence and the decision you are trying to improve. A Project Fit Check can establish whether the opportunity warrants deeper assessment.
ADR Opportunity Report
A desk-based assessment of the target, inherited geology, geophysics and drilling, with an ADR forward view and recommendation on whether a field programme is justified.
Frequently asked questions
Reducing exploration drilling risk
Can VEXRAD eliminate exploration drilling?
No. Drilling remains the definitive physical test. VEXRAD is designed to improve the evidence available before drilling and to help rank where physical testing may create the most value.
Does a Virtual Borehole tell me mineral grade or resource size?
No. ADR can investigate material-property contrasts and depth-referenced subsurface responses. Grade, tonnage, reserves and economic resource classification require appropriate drilling, sampling, assays and geological modelling.
How can ADR reduce drilling cost?
Potential savings arise when additional evidence changes a drilling decision: for example by down-ranking a weak target, prioritising a stronger one, refining the target interval or avoiding premature mobilisation. VEXRAD does not apply a universal percentage saving because drilling costs and decision impacts are project-specific.
When is ADR most useful?
It is most useful where there is a defined subsurface question, a target with a plausible dielectric contrast, sufficient geological context and a clear way to validate the result. Existing drill control can also be valuable for calibration.
See before you drill.
Which target deserves your next drill hole?
Bring VEXRAD one target, the evidence you already have and the decision you need to make. We will assess whether ADR can add useful intelligence before you commit to drilling.