The National Rock Properties Database (NRPD) has been in development since 1998 and was initiated through a partnership between Noranda, Falconbridge, the Geological Survey of Canada, Quantec Geoscience Ltd, and Mira Geoscience Ltd. The result of the original development was a fairly complete data model and interface for the maintenance and query of rock property data collected using wireline geophysical methods.

Through a partnership between McMaster University, MIRA Geoscience, and the GSC through the CAMIRO Project in 2004-05, the NRPD data model was extended to include rock property data measured on rock samples, definitions of universal lithology and alteration classifications for geological description.

The database currently contains data for Ontario, largely funded by the government of Ontario OMET Program. These datasets include analyses from borehole logs, surface samples and laboratory samples of all ESS physical rock property datasets and from other government and industry sources.

Through the TGI-3 Program (2005-2010), additional data will be added to the database for the TGI study areas (Southern B.C., Cantral Manitoba-Saskatchewan, Central Newfoundland, Abitibi, Ontario-Quebec, Bathurst, N.B.).

The NRPD resides in an Oracle database. The database currently contains over 5 million rock property data records. Key parameters of each dataset include location coordinates, so that data can be queried by region, as well as geological attributes.

The NRPD Web query interface allows the user to make simple rock property statistical queries :

• When a single parameter is selected, a histogram of the records matching the search criteria is displayed, with a table of the mean, standard deviation, number of samples and number of records.
• When two parameters are selected, histograms and statistics are displayed for each parameter and a crossplot of the two parameters is generated.

The parameters currently available for query are Caliper, Conductivity, Density, Gamma, IP, Magnetic Susceptibility, Neutron porosity, Potassium, Resistivity, Self potential, Self potential gradient, Uranium, Temperature gradient, Temperature, Thorium and Acoustic velocity.

• Jonathan Mwenifumbo

• Geological Survey of Canada
• Canadian Mining Industry Research Organization (CAMIRO)
• Mira Geoscience