Explorative sampling of natural mineral resource deposits

A computer system for improving mineral resource exploration and resource classification efficiency by generation and improvement of a drill plan, said computer system comprising:

• a memory for storing program instructions;
• and
• a processor for executing the program instructions;
• wherein the program instructions comprise instructions for:
• defining one or more target volumes of interest in 3D space;
• segmenting the one or more target volumes into sub-volumes to which one or more attributes indicating relative desirability may be assigned;
• and
• iteratively generating and improving a drill plan using an algorithmic solver, wherein the drill plan aims to provide an optimal or near optimal solution for drill hole distribution within the one or more target volumes such that all or nearly all the sub-volumes, or at least the sub-volumes of greatest desirability, of the one or more target volumes are sampled to a specified or desired level, including obtaining information from a drill rig to be supplied to the algorithmic solver for the iteratively generating;
• wherein the resulting drill plan comprises a collection of one or more planned drill holes which are defined in 3D space, and
• wherein a set of operational constraints constrains the iteratively generated and improved drill plan;
• and
• wherein the computer system comprises an interface for graphically presenting the drill plan and for receiving input of user-defined target volume of interest parameters, operational constraint parameters, or a combination thereof,
• wherein the resulting drill plan is for identifying drill holes to be drilled by drilling equipment,
• wherein an orientation of a drill hole of the drill plan can be recalculated in real-time to accommodate for on-site drilling limitations, and wherein the on-site drilling limitations are any one of drill site accessibility, drill hole geometry, drill hole timing limitations, a requirement for movement of the drill rig, setup availability, or any combination thereof, and
• wherein a completion constraint is used to identify a point at which sufficient drilling has been completed, and wherein the point at which sufficient drilling has been completed is the point at which further increase in drill hole density provides additional value which is below a specified threshold.