A major problem in exploration drilling is knowing exactly where drillholes go, since they often deviate from the planned path by significant amounts, both in direction (azimuth) and dip. The GSC has partially supported the development (by IFG Corp. of Brampton, Ontario) of a new borehole orientation probe based on measurements with a 3-component fluxgate magnetometer and solid state tilt meters in the probe. The probe continuously monitors its movement in dip and direction as it moves down the hole at about 6 m/minute sending the data to the up-hole electronics for recording and display on a PC. Because the borehole orientation data are recorded every few centimeters in the hole, noisy parts of the record which may occur due to magnetic anomalies can be easily edited to provide accurate survey results. Most of the older techniques which relied on magnetic measurements were recorded at largely separated points in the hole and anomalous readings were hard to detect and ambiguous to interpret.

The 3-component magnetometer measurements are themselves of interest in mineral exploration for detecting the presence of magnetic bodies at some distance from the hole. The prototype version of the probe being used by the GSC, contains two sets of 3-component magnetometers and the application of borehole magnetic gradiometer measurements are also being investigated.