From core orientation to borehole surveys:
Making drilling data work harder
Exploration drilling relies on accurate measurements collected under demanding operational conditions. Directional surveys define the trajectory of the borehole, core orientation provides structural context for geological observations, and drilling records allow teams to monitor the progress of a drilling campaign. These survey data have always played an important role in mineral exploration. What has evolved in recent years is the way this information is managed and shared throughout the workflow of an exploration project.
Modern exploration campaigns generate large volumes of operational data. Directional survey results, core orientation data, and drilling parameters often need to move between field crews, drilling contractors, geologists, and project managers. At the same time, many exploration programs rely on multiple digital platforms for planning, reporting, and technical interpretation.
Ensuring that all this information remains reliable, traceable, and accessible throughout the workflow has become an important operational consideration. As a result, drilling technologies are increasingly being developed with two complementary objectives in mind: to provide reliable measurements in the field while also supporting more structured data management within technical environments.
Recent developments from Stockholm Precision Tools (SPT) follow this direction. The company has introduced new capabilities for exploration data integration through SmartCloud™ and the SmartCloud™ Open API while also presenting new operational tools such as the SmartCore™ core orientation system and updated surveying instruments including GyroMaster™ Evo and MagCruiser™ Evo.
Together, these developments illustrate how drilling technologies are evolving to support both operational efficiency at the rig and reliable data management within exploration workflows.
Keeping every survey, core orientation,
and parameter connected
Exploration drilling projects often involve several technical environments. Field equipment generates survey readings and operational parameters, while exploration teams rely on different software platforms to plan drill holes, monitor progress, and analyze drilling results. In many situations, transferring information between these environments requires manual exports or additional processing steps.
To support more efficient workflows, Stockholm Precision Tools introduced new interoperability capabilities within SmartCloud™ through the SmartCloud™ Open API.
SmartCloud™ functions as a digital platform where exploration data from different sources can be consolidated into a centralized project environment. Within this environment, operational measurements such as directional surveys, rig alignment information, core orientation data, and structural logging records can be reviewed and validated before being used elsewhere in the workflow.
As exploration campaigns become increasingly data-driven, the ability to organize and integrate operational measurements is becoming as important as collecting them accurately. What SPT has achieved with SmartCloud™ is the ability to manage exploration data within a fully traceable and secure digital environment. The platform does not only store final survey measurements, it also records the operational parameters behind every measurement, including instrument configuration, sensor readings, and system diagnostics.
This means that key conditions during data acquisition, such as battery status, memory integrity, survey speed, gyrocompass north-seeking time, temperature, and even vibration levels, are automatically documented. By capturing both measurements and the conditions under which they were obtained, SmartCloud™ creates a continuous record of quality assurance across the entire drilling workflow.
This way, data can be correlated from the moment the drilling rig is aligned, through directional surveys and core orientation operations, all the way to the logging of alpha, beta, and gamma angles at the core shack. This level of traceability provides exploration teams and project stakeholders with confidence that the data supporting technical interpretations is verifiable, auditable, and defensible.
In mineral exploration, where investment decisions depend heavily on the credibility of technical information, maintaining a reliable chain of data custody is essential. If a result appears exceptional, but the supporting data cannot be verified, or its provenance is unclear, decision-makers will naturally hesitate.
SPT’s SmartCloud™ Open API allows this chain of custody to extend seamlessly into external geological and drilling data management platforms. By preserving traceability across different systems, the platform helps ensure that exploration teams can rely on accurate, transparent, and trustworthy data when making critical decisions.
Less time on core orientation,
more focus on drilling performance
Core orientation remains a common procedure in exploration drilling programs. Reliable core orientation provides geological teams with the structural reference needed to analyze features observed in the recovered core. However, traditional orientation methods can introduce additional handling steps during drilling operations.
SmartCore™ was introduced as a core orientation system designed to simplify the workflow at the rig while providing consistent orientation measurements. The system installs directly within the standard inner tube head assembly, replacing conventional components without increasing the overall length of the drilling configuration or requiring additional barrel extensions. As the orientation mechanism is integrated into the drilling assembly, drilling operations can continue without significant changes to the coring setup.
When the core barrel exits the borehole, the SmartCore™ automatically activates its Bluetooth connection once the system detects that it has reached surface during the inner tube retrieval process. At that moment, the driller already has the PDA connected and ready, allowing the orientation mark to be performed immediately and without requiring any manual activation of the instrument. This reduces the steps required to mark the core, saving time and lowering the risk of errors, and enables drilling crews to focus on maximizing drilled meters per shift.
The handheld interface also allows operators to record contextual information about the recovered core using predefined tags. These tags can indicate whether the core was successfully oriented, loose, outside the spring or not orientable. This information is synchronized automatically with SmartCloud™, where orientation measurements and operational parameters can be processed, visualized, and stored as part of a structured dataset associated with the exploration project.
By capturing both orientation measurements and contextual drilling information, the system contributes to a clearer operational record that can be reviewed later during the project.
Improving efficiency in downhole surveying operations
Directional surveys remain one of the most important measurements carried out during exploration drilling. Accurate borehole survey data allows drilling teams to verify the path of the drill hole and provides a spatial reference for geological observations.
Stockholm Precision Tools recently introduced GyroMaster™ Evo, an enhanced evolution of the proven and widely recognized GyroMaster™ north-seeking gyroscopic surveying tool. The Evo configuration incorporates substantial improvements designed to increase operational efficiency and versatility while maintaining the high level of accuracy that has made GyroMaster™ one of the most precise gyroscopic surveying instruments used in the mining industry.
GyroMaster™ Evo determines azimuth by sensing the Earth’s rotation, allowing the instrument to align with true geographic north without relying on magnetic measurements. This approach enables directional surveys to be performed independently of magnetic interference. The Evo configuration introduces a compact design intended to simplify deployment during drilling operations while maintaining the measurement principles used in gyroscopic surveying.
The system can also be used together with CoreRetriever™, a complementary tool designed to perform directional surveys during core retrieval operations. The CoreRetriever™ connects directly to conventional overshots as well as to specialized high-speed overshots, allowing drilling crews to maintain the operational advantages of these systems while acquiring downhole survey data.
Enabling directional surveys to be conducted while the core is being retrieved from the bottom of the hole virtually eliminates the need to stop operations and perform surveys as a separate step. This integration streamlines drilling workflows, reduces non-productive time, and allows drilling teams to maximize the number of meters completed during each shift.
In addition to gyroscopic surveying, SPT has also developed the MagCruiser™ Evo, the latest generation of its magnetic surveying tool. MagCruiser™ Evo is designed for exploration drilling in non-magnetic environments and provides reliable azimuth and dip measurements. It also allows survey data to be exported and synchronized directly with SmartCloud™.
Through the integration capabilities available within SmartCloud™, these survey results can then be connected with other technical environments used by exploration teams. In this way, survey results can be incorporated into centralized project datasets where borehole survey data and operational measurements are validated, organized, and preserved as part of a structured exploration workflow.
When every drill run becomes
part of the geological model
Exploration drilling continues to evolve as projects generate larger volumes of operational data and involve increasingly integrated technical workflows. Downhole survey data, oriented core information, and drilling parameters collectively provide the dataset exploration teams use to monitor drilling progress, constrain the position of mineralization within geological models, and support informed technical decisions throughout the exploration program. Ensuring that this information remains organized, traceable, and accessible throughout the drilling process is becoming an important consideration for exploration programs.
Recent developments from Stockholm Precision Tools illustrate this broader shift in drilling technology. Platforms such as SmartCloud™, together with operational systems including SmartCore™, GyroMaster™ Evo, and MagCruiser™ Evo, demonstrate how drilling tools and digital environments can complement each other within modern exploration workflows.
By supporting reliable measurements in the field and structured data management within technical environments, these technologies contribute to more consistent operational records across exploration projects.
About the company
Stockholm Precision Tools (SPT) is a Swedish company specializing in high precision surveying and navigation technologies for the mining, oil and gas, and civil engineering industries.
With more than 30 years of experience developing directional surveying solutions, SPT provides instruments and digital platforms designed to improve drilling accuracy, operational efficiency and data reliability across exploration projects worldwide.
For more information: Visit sptab.com
