NMR for Geotechnical,

Hydrogeological and
Mining Applications

The NMR technique for groundwater

characterisation is rapidly gaining ground as
an essential set of data for hydrogeological,
geotechnical and mining applications.

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 NMR versus Neutron Porosity Below the water table the NMR produces profiles
Logging and Hydraulic Testing with depth of water content distribution by pore
Techniques size and values for hydraulic conductivity and
transmissivity using three estimation techniques:
Before the introduction of borehole NMR technology Sum of Echoes, Schlumberger-Doll Research and
for measuring ground water pore size Timor-Coates.
characteristics, estimates of hydraulic conductivity
have traditionally been obtained by hydraulic Geotechnical
testing techniques. There are a variety of established
For major civil engineering projects, designers will
tests including slug tests, airlift tests, packer tests
also need the expertise from hydrogeologists to
and pumping tests, with packer tests being popular
understand how groundwater considerations may
for geotechnical boreholes. Packer tests involve
affect their designs. The information provided by
isolating sections of the borehole with inflatable
NMR logging would be relevant for sub-surface
packers and then pumping water under pressure to
structures, pile design and projects involving tunnels,
enable measurement of the resulting fluid flow. The
therefore most major civil engineering projects.
data resulting from the tests and the interpretation
of it is well documented and understood. Mining and Minerals
Neutron porosity logs have enjoyed a lot of In the mining and minerals industry there are many
success measuring the water content in formations hydrogeological factors that impact on the
i.e. the total porosity. However, it is not possible development and working of mines. To understand
with this method to identify how the fluid is held the hydrogeological conditions data may be
within the formation, whether it is mobile, capillary collected from existing exploration boreholes initially,
or clay bound. but as the project advances it may be necessary to
In addition to the above, standard wireline probes drill additional boreholes purely for hydrogeological
are often run to provide further information about testing purposes. Apart from surface and
the groundwater conditions. Caliper and Televiewer groundwater considerations it is vital that
data can indicate suitable sections of borehole over geotechnical and hydraulic parameters of formations
which the hydraulic tests can be run with around the mine are understood as they may have
Televiewers also providing information on fractures implications on mine stability and depressurization.
and bedding. Resistivity logs, long established as a NMR logging, as with most geophysical probes can
standard for water logging, provide information on augment data from other investigation techniques
bedding layers and fluid distribution. Temperature providing valuable information on the undisturbed or
Conductivity logs and flow meter logs also provide ground state of the formation.
information relating to ingress and egress of
borehole fluid from aquifers.
Robertson Geo Operational Services teams
Packer tests can be time consuming and may not be
have been using NMR technologies at
suitable for very high or very low permeability
several locations and applications.
formations. In addition, a clean rotary drilled borehole
is required to prevent leakage around the packer Lower Thames Crossing
which can cause false interpretation of the test results. In 2019, as part of a full suite of geophysical
The disadvantages of neutron porosity logging are logging probes, Robertson Geo was asked to
the limited data provided and the complex provide NMR logging. In partnership with Vista
regulatory and safety overhead of systems using Clara Inc it supplied an NMR system using the
strong AmBe nuclear sources. Javelin JP238 probe with four depths of
investigation or frequencies. Data quality was
The advantage of the NMR technique is that it very good but deploying this tool through
Above: Examples of quickly provides detailed repeatable results 100mm steel drill casing was problematic due
NMR borehole data. characterising the groundwater profile from a single to the strength of the magnets and relatively
borehole including, most significantly, details of low weight of the tool (35 lbs). Consideration
how the fluid is held within the formation. was then given to deploying the wireline
Javelin probe which is heavier and contains
Hydrogeology fewer permanent magnets. Vista Clara also
Characterising and understanding groundwater developed a new non-conductive standoff and
conditions is vital for hydrogeologists involved centralizer specifically for deploying through
with water production including public water these 100mm drill pipes.
supply, flood and drought management, water HS2
quality and contamination issues including
HS2 is the largest infrastructure project in
wastewater and impacts on protected habitats. Europe and involves the construction of more
Where NMR logging is conducted in the than 300 bridges and 70 viaducts for the first
unsaturated zone above the water table good data phase alone. Robertson Geo has been working
is achievable from the reduced level NMR signal. on the project since 2015 and site investigation
However, only the water content of the formation work is continuing as new phases are
will be measured yielding a volumetric water undertaken. In the early days of HS2 site
content as some of the pore space will not be investigation NMR logging was not available
water filled. Also, estimates of hydraulic but has now been included for work in the
conductivity using the standard formulas are not northern section between Birmingham and
meaningful in the unsaturated zone.

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 In most cases the probe would be raised by use of
Manchester in 2021. The Javelin JPY238 probe a sheave wheel on the drill rig with
with two depths of investigation continues to centralisers/offsets affixed which reduced the
be used on this project. potential adhesion of the magnets to the casing;
this meant that entry to and exit from the borehole
Kendal
was easily achieved.
Robertson Geo secured a contract to conduct a
comprehensive geophysical survey for a major The probe is run from the bottom up to achieve
flood management scheme in Kendal. Part of the smoothness and cannot be switched on near to
remit was to conduct NMR logging which was metal casing. Log speed is typically less than 1
performed using a Vista Clara Javelin 238 probe metre/minute and there is an option to run
with two depths of investigation. This operates in statically at discreet intervals.
a standard wireline configuration which meant As the majority of geotechnical boreholes are now
that the same winch could be used for NMR as drilled to 146mm “Geobor S” and are logged in
for the rest of the geophysical probes, simplifying sections it was vital that the probe could readily
operations and reducing client costs. This project pass through the “Geobor S” drill bit without the
is still ongoing with NMR data being collected on magnets adhering. For the two depths of
all boreholes to date. investigation system this worked perfectly.

NMR System Calibration

All geophysical logs conducted by Robertson Geo
Operational Services are backed by a valid
conformance certificate. As designers and
manufacturers of practically all its own equipment
the calibration and conformance requirements are
similarly designed as an integral part of the
development process.
The NMR, manufactured by Vista Clara, has its
own calibration regime as below:
Robertson Geo engineers on-site at the Pulse sequence parameters including pulse length
flood management project site Kendal UK. and echo time shift are determined by testing in
(GeoUnlocked issue 11, page 7) 100% water using repeated long repetition times
until a maximum amplitude on the echo signals is
BGS achieved.
At Sutton Bonington, in collaboration with BGS A second calibration is then run, in a similar manner
and Nottingham University, Robertson Geo is
in the same tank, to determine the conversion
involved in pioneering research for carbon
factor from NMR spin echo amplitude (in volts) to
sequestration. Several deep boreholes have
water content as a percentage of volume, as well as
been constructed to provide a field site for the
calibrating the phase of the signal.
testing of carbon dioxide injection and
monitoring its dispersal in a target formation. As Once the above calibrations have been conducted
part of the logging suite, NMR has been included there is unlikely to be significant change in the
to help understand the groundwater conditions calibration unless some components are changed. As
across the test location. The boreholes being the requirements for the calibration are strict, (i.e.
logged are cased with PVC which presents no sufficient water tank size, no metal or steel in
problems when acquiring NMR data. proximity and no external RF interference) this
calibration is probably best left to the manufacturers. Above: Examples of
However, there is a facility in the Javelin Pro NMR borehole data.
NMR Field Practice Processor software to enable this to be conducted
The Javelin 238 probe deployed in its wireline anywhere where there is an acceptable test unit.
configuration can, in many aspects be managed Vista Clara routinely re-calibrates all rental probes
like any other probe, albeit quite long (3.6m) and that pass through their manufacturing facility and
heavy (30kg) with a 60mm diameter. It runs on for all probes the software can export a calibration
300V DC internally, and additional safety protocols report which will indicate if noise levels remain
have been put in place for its operation. acceptable or if any calibration parameters have
The CE certified Javelin Wireline system comprises changed significantly.
a probe and a surface unit, from Vista Clara, and a
custom-made patch box was designed by
Multiple Investigation Depths
Robertson Geo development to connect with a (or frequencies)
standard four core winch. Due partly to Covid To ensure that the resulting data from NMR relates
restrictions initial training was provided by video to an undisturbed part of the formation it is vital
link from USA. Once staff were all trained, that there is sufficient depth of investigation. Oil
consideration was given to additional controls for well boreholes with their relatively large diameters
working in the field environment. This covered the and invasive mudcake adhering to the walls
voltage, steelwork precautions, permanent require a deep radius of investigation, usually with
magnets, power on/off sequencing, connectivity four discreet radii (or frequencies). For
and manual handling of the probe. geotechnical and mineral exploration boreholes

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 The NMR probe produces the following outputs versus depth:

OUTPUT UNIT DESCRIPTION

Total Porosity φ V/V A unit equal to the percentage of pore space in a unit volume
of rock, measured from the longitudinal relaxation rate
Clay Bound Fluid V/V Percentage of pore space attributable to clay bound fluid,
Volume measured from a cut-off on the transverse relaxation rate T2
Capillary-bound Fluid V/V Percentage of pore space attributable to capillary bound fluid,
Volume measured from cut-offs on the transverse relaxation rate T2
Mobile Fluid V/V Percentage of pore space attributable to mobile fluid,
Volume measured from a cut-off on the transverse relaxation rate T2
Hydraulic Conductivity M/Day Measure of how easily water can pass through soil or rock
SDR using Schlumberger Doll Research equation
Hydraulic Conductivity M/Day Measure of how easily water can pass through soil or rock,
T-C estimated using Timur-Coates equation
Hydraulic Conductivity M/Day Measure of how easily water can pass through soil or rock,
SOE estimated using Sum of Echoes
Transmissivity SDR M^2/Day Measure of how much water can be transmitted horizontally
using Schlumberger Doll Research equation
Transmissivity T-C M^2/Day Measure of how much water can be transmitted horizontally
using Timur-Coates equation
Transmissivity SOE M^2/Day Measure of how much water can be transmitted horizontally
using Sum of Echoes
MLT2 log base 10 (sec) Mean Log transverse relaxation rate (of T2)
SOE μV Sum of echoes
Noise % Percentage of signal attributed to noise

the diameter is generally less than 150mm and two routine as it provides a cost-effective means of
Above: Example of
depths of investigation gives sufficient radius to augmenting or confirming data from other methods.
NMR borehole data.
measure the undisturbed zone.
The Future of NMR
NMR Glossary of Data Outputs With a wealth of invaluable information and relatively
The outputs from NMR logging show a variety of straightforward deployment the NMR technique for
information, most of which will be familiar to groundwater characterisation is likely only to gain in
hydrogeologists including hydraulic conductivity popularity over time. Currently the price point for
and transmissivity estimates. The detailed porosity NMR logs remains significantly higher than other logs
data it provides however, being directly linked to due to the cost and complexity of the systems, but
Robertson Geo has committed to it as the way
pore size is difficult to obtain by other means.
forward for groundwater investigation. If the point is
As more data becomes available and comparative reached when NMR can be accepted as a replacement
studies between NMR and existing techniques take for the established practice of packer testing then the
place acceptance of NMR is expected to become price can quickly look extremely cost effective.

MORE: Javelin JPY238 NMR Probe (GeoUnlocked issue 9, page 6)

Javelin Wireline Slim

Small-Diameter Magnetic Resonance Wireline Logging Tool
For professional geophysical logging operators
The new Javelin® Wireline Slim provides high-resolution, continuous measurements of
principal aquifer properties for groundwater and environmental investigations:
• Porosity
• Bound and mobile water content
• Pore size distribution
• Hydraulic conductivity
• Natural gamma

Applications
• Geotechnical site investigations
• Groundwater resource management
• Aquifer storage and recovery
Two independent • Environmental site characterization
measurement shells • Mine water engineering
(shown to scale) • Brine and leach mining

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