Deep Digital Cornwall and Cornwall Resources: Regional fieldwork supporting university research and data hub.
Over the next few months, you may meet field teams from Cornwall Resources (CRL) working in the local area. This work is being conducted as part of Deep Digital Cornwall, a £4.1m project comprising a consortium of regional companies and research bodies, led by the University of Exeter’s Camborne School of Mines (CSM), in which CRL and Cornish Lithium are delivery partners. The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and the UK Government. The objective of this work is to generate an open-source sub-surface data set to use as demonstration data at a new ‘Digital Hub’ being built at the Camborne School of Mines (at the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus). The resultant data will be of relevance to end-users including in the farming, environmental, and mineral exploration fields, as well as for scientific research and general interest. A brochure on the project is available at https://deepdigitalcornwall.org
CRL are helping to deliver work in the area to the west of Kelly Bray, including in the parish of South Hill and Callington and Kelly Bray. Work is small-scale and low impact and consists of soil sampling and analysis, and a gravity survey. The soil sampling involves collection of small (<500 g) soil samples with a hand-held powered auger, from depths of 40-80 cm below the surface. These samples are then analysed for over 50 elements. Gravity measurements are non-intrusive, and carried out using an instrument that measures the earth’s gravitational force at a given point with a high degree of precision. By combining this with accurate topographic data, variations in gravity can be modelled, allowing interpretation of sub-surface variations in geology, such as the presence of a granite, or the presence of underground voids.
Two teams are working outdoors, in all weather, to collect soil samples and gravity measurements. The teams are composed of three graduate geoscientists gaining vital early career work experience, and one local resident trying his hand at something new. Landowners will be contacted to request permission for land access, and to ensure that any impacts, for example on stock movements, are limited.
All data collected under the Deep Digital Cornwall project will be made open-source, available to anyone interested, including farmers, other land users and local residents.
Further information on the above can also be found on the Cornwall Resources website: https://www.cornwallresources.com/deep-digital-cornwall
Cornwall Resources remains focussed on Redmoor, near Kelly Bray, where it has been working since 2017, and where it has met with considerable success – defining a world-class underground tungstentin-copper resource. However, the company is pleased to be able to facilitate the Deep Digital Cornwall work, which will put their already-discovered deposit into regional context, and show that Cornwall is at the cutting edge of earth data collection and interpretation.
If you see our teams at work in the field, feel free to say hello. If you would like more information, or would like to be informed when the data is released, please do not hesitate to contact Jeff Harrison by email jharrison@strategicminerals.net or on 07403 568770.
Jeff Harrison
Non-Executive Director Strategic Minerals Ltd.
July 26th 202
