Crosshole seismic imaging for sulfide orebody delineation near Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

Crosshole seismic instrumentation based on a piezoelectric source and hydrophone detectors were used to gather seismograms between boreholes at the McConnell orebody near Sudbury, Ontario. High-frequency seismograms were recorded across rock sections 50 to 100 m wide containing a continuous zone of massive sulfide ore. First-arrival traveltimes obtained from a detailed scan were used to create a P-wave velocity tomogram that clearly delineated the ore zone. Refraction ray tracing on a discrete layer model confirmed the main features of the tomogram. The survey demonstrated that it is possible to conduct cost-effective, high-resolution crosshole seismic surveys to delineate ore bodies on a scale useful for planning mining operations.