In gold exploration, the romance of a discovery drill intercept often overshadows the reality – which is that a truly concrete exploration programme is built on discipline, not dreams. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the early-stage greenfields or revisiting a brownfields property with a thick legacy database, the rule is the same: garbage in, garbage out.
I’ve seen programmes burn through millions because of blind trust or due to leaning on assays with no blanks, duplicates, or any real consistency. It’s easy to fall in love with a cross-section that looks like the next big discovery, but if the underlying data is flawed, you’re not building a mine, you’re building castles on the sand.
Start with respect for the data
A real exploration program starts by respecting the data. That means:
- Auditing every legacy hole and geochemical point: Don’t assume the past is correct. Confirm it.
- Implementing QA/QC from day one: And not just for the sake of protocol; act on the results immediately.
- Logging with discipline, not optimism: Rock descriptions should be accurate and repeatable, not influenced by hope.
- Iterative modelling: Let the data guide the geological model, rather than forcing it to fit a preconceived shape.
- Killing weak targets early: It’s better to abandon a pet theory than drill it into oblivion.
When these steps are ignored, exploration becomes expensive guesswork. When they’re followed, they form the backbone of a credible, defendable programme.
The right team, not just the right rocks
Geology is a people business as much as it is a science. A strong team is a unit that communicates openly, challenges assumptions, and thinks systemically about the deposit model, economics, and operational realities. Sharp geologists with poor collaboration can sink a programme just as quickly as bad rocks. The best results come from teams where field observations, data interpretation, and strategic planning flow seamlessly between members, and where anyone can question the direction without fear of stepping on toes.
Build a thesis before the rig turns
Before any drill steel touches the ground, a solid exploration thesis must be in place. This means answering:
- What exactly are we targeting?
- Why here?
- Why now?
- Could it be big enough?
- Could it be mined profitably?
Without these answers, drilling becomes a costly exercise in optimism. A clear thesis forces discipline. It sets a standard against which every new dataset, anomaly, or promising outcrop can be measured.
Discipline: Trying to break the target
The best explorers are their own harshest critics. They make every effort to disprove their targets before committing to drill. This means stress-testing the geological concept with alternative interpretations, additional datasets, and conflicting hypotheses. If the target survives every reasonable challenge, that’s when the green light turns on. And when that first box of core arrives with mineralisation exactly where you predicted it, it’s not luck, it’s the result of a process designed to earn that moment.
The paradox of planning
In truth, it is impossible to plan a truly concrete exploration programme but that’s half the excitement. Exploration is, by nature, a mix of science and surprise. The unexpected will always play a role, and sometimes lead to the biggest wins. While you can’t control every variable, you can control your inputs: your data quality, your team, your thesis, and your discipline. Do that well, and you tilt the odds in your favour. In the end, gold exploration may be unpredictable, but the best programmes are never careless. They’re built on respect for the fundamentals, because in this business, you don’t just find a deposit, you earn it.