GTK’s Geological Sample Archive, One of the Largest in the World, Contains Around 4 Million Metres of Drill Cores and Millions of Other Samples

The geological sample archive has operated in Loppi since 1974. Data on earth crust in Finland preceding this time have also been stored there.

One part of the sample archive is the Drill Core Archive, which, in accordance with the Mining Act, receives representative drill cores produced in exploration and mining activities. The archive also accepts drill cores drilled during bedrock engineering activities.  Over the decades, approximately 4 million metres of drill core samples have accumulated in the archives.

“Information that remains in drill cores will also play an important role in the future. A previously insignificant element may later become important. This has happened in the past, for example, to cobalt. In addition, evolving research methods provide new information on drill cores. Some of the cores have also been hyperspectral scanned into digital form,” says Team Manager Mikko Savolainen from the GTK.

The drill core archive serves in particular the mining industry and bedrock engineering activities. Exploration companies operating in Finland use the archive’s services in the early stages of information acquisition. The samples can also be used to determine whether the bedrock of a certain area is suitable for construction. In addition, the archive services are used by researchers from research institutes and universities.

Drill cores have also helped solve mysteries of the past. The research published in the prestigious Nature Communications publication is one example of this. The research confirmed that an asteroid collision created life-friendly conditions in the Lappajärvi meteorite crater. Samples were taken from cores drilled in the area, which are now in the GTK sample archive.

In addition to drill cores, the Loppi archive also contains till geochemical samples, a peat archive, a layman’s sample archive, lake sediment samples and a museum collection of rock types and minerals. GTK stores thin section samples in Kuopio.

Information on the drill cores in the drill core archive and their locations can be found in the Mineral Deposits and Exploration map service. In the map service, you can view many datasets on top of one another, both from the GTK and other data producers, which are needed in ore exploration. Information can also be found on the National Drill Core Archive data product in the Hakku service.

More information

More information about the geological sample archive and research services

Mikko Savolainen, Team Manager
Geological Survey of Finland GTK
Tel. +358 29 503 0694
mikko.savolainen@gtk.fi