Tool
Drill result decoder
Paste the numbers from a drill result and see what each part actually means. This tool explains. It does not tell you whether a result is good, because that depends on depth, width, metallurgy, location and the price of the metal, and no calculator knows those.
How to read a drill result
A drill result is normally written as an interval and a grade, for example 40 metres at 1.25 g/t gold from 120 metres. Four things matter when you read it, and only one of them is the grade.
The interval is not the thickness. A hole that cuts a mineralised zone at an angle passes through more rock than the zone is thick. The true width is the honest number, and a result that does not state one is telling you less than it appears to.
Depth costs money. The same intercept at 60 metres and at 600 metres are different propositions, because one can be mined from surface and the other cannot.
Grade only means something in context. One gram per tonne is marginal in an underground vein and perfectly workable in a large open pit. Comparing grades across deposit types tells you very little.
One hole is one hole. A single intercept says the metal is there at that point. Whether it continues is what the next holes are for.