Mapping the geology around mine zones is a key economic and safety concern at Saskatchewan potash mines. Experiments were carried out to investigate the feasibility of using a mining machine as a seismic source for in-seam reflection mapping. Using mining machines as a seismic source would provide a cost effective method to map orezone discontinuities. Twenty-four geophones were mounted on the roof of the mining rooms at the PCS Potash, Rocanville Division potash mine to record 1second records. The records were then cross-correlated with a pilot trace that moved with the advancing machine. These experiments indicate that frequencies of at least 2000 Hertz are generated as both shear and compressional energy. The geophone records had spurious frequencies in the 900-1200Hz range, which were suppressed with predictive deconvolution. Strong linear events recorded at the shear wave velocity dominated the geophone records. The mining machine stacked section had coherent events that could be tied to synthetic seismograms and in-seam hammer seismic from the area. Based on these results the mining machine source is an effective method for in-seam recording.

Azimuthal resistivity was used to characterize fractures in a glacial till at the King site, near Birsay SK. The King site is a hydrogeological test site where the presence of fractures has been identified, but the fracture orientation was not previously known.Preliminary azimuthal resistivity surveys indicated that the site was electrically heterogeneous. There was no interpretable anisotropy in the azimuthal resistivity data. A revised methodology was developed where the effects of heterogeneity could be removed from the azimuthal resistivity data. A detailed 3D, isotropic, geoelectric model was developed for the site. This model was used to predict the azimuthal resistivity observations from an isotropic, heterogeneous earth. These predictions were removed from the observations, leaving the anisotropy. The process resulted in an interpretable anisotropy over portions of the site where the variations in resistivity varied by approximately a factor of two. However the process did not remove the heterogeneity from portions of the site with larger resistivity contrasts.

Azimuthal resistivity was used to characterize fractures in a glacial till at the King site, near Birsay SK. The King site is a hydrogeological test site where the presence of fractures has been identified, but the fracture orientation was not previously known. Preliminary azimuthal resistivity surveys indicated that the site was electrically heterogeneous. There was no interpretable anisotropy in the azimuthal resistivity data. A revised methodology was developed where the effects of heterogeneity could be removed from the azimuthal resistivity data. A detailed 3D, isotropic, geoelectric model was developed for the site. This model was used to predict the azimuthal resistivity observations from an isotropic, heterogeneous earth. These predictions were removed from the observations, leaving the anisotropy. The process resulted in an interpretable anisotropy over portions of the site where the variations in resistivity varied by approximately a factor of two. However the process did not remove the heterogeneity from portions of the site with larger resistivity contrasts.