Cornwall Resources Ltd. are very interested in promoting cross-discipline and industry-academia collaboration. The business has a good working relationship with Camborne School of Mines, having hosted several student projects, and were approached to join the Deep Digital Cornwall consortium as a delivery partner at its inception.
Cornwall Resources Ltd. have hired a full-time, DDC-funded Junior Geologist to work on field data collection and processing. They have also hosted several early career geologists as Field Assistants, to assist with fieldwork, providing these geologists with their first experience of working in industry. The business has hired an MSc student to develop Deep Digital Cornwall (DDC) generated datasets, enhancing project outputs and the completion of an industry-focused thesis. This student was hired for the full term of their project. To date, Cornwall Resources Ltd. has used DDC funding to complete an expansive geophysical gravity survey and integration of a historic dataset, as well as phase one of a major soil sampling campaign.
As a result of this work, they have provided a 2D update to the geology of the project area covered by the gravity survey, as well as a 3D model interpretation of the structure and shape of the Kit Hill granite pluton in their project area. They have also provided the surface location data of completed and planned soil samples, as well as the associated geochemical datasets for the 1,700 completed samples. Cornwall Resources are planning further project work to continue soil sampling, and to collect further datasets for use in the DDC Hub. Visualisations of these datasets are now available for exploration in the DDC Hub and will continue to be accessible to any parties that it may be of interest to!
Cornwall Resources are interested in furthering collaboration, and as such, discussions have begun with Geoscience to provide a field-testing site for downhole heat mapping. They have also worked closely with Cornish Lithium, exchanging ideas and datasets to help develop DDC projects, including preparations around their soil sampling campaign. Cornwall Resources will provide training and documentation for fieldwork, and have been involved in DDC events, including presenting their own work.
For the remainder of the project, Cornwall Resources Ltd. will continue to collect and process further soil samples, with a final target of 2,500 samples. These data will be available for other project partners to study and for use and visualisation within the DDC Hub. They plan to assist and participate in the acquisition of a planned regional geophysical dataset and make their project area accessible for other business assists and collaborations. As they enter the project’s final year, they will focus on the collection of a new dataset to complement the new gravity and soil data and demonstrate the effectiveness of regional exploration and the datasets it can provide.
The DDC Hub is growing into a regional centre of excellence providing a – unique-to-the-UK – source of geoscience data directly applicable to the extractive industries and those interested in the green technology revolution and achieving Net Zero. Our aim is that the DDC Hub continues to develop, by securing ongoing support and funding, and continues to increase its links to industry, policymakers and researchers – and be a long-term home for the data it houses, enabling access for all.
