Exploration, Scientific, and Engineering Boring Hole Locations Stored in the Drill Core Library

The primary purpose of the Drill Core Library is to receive, preserve, and make available boring samples to serve the state policy for mineral development (M.S. 93.001). This means that environmental impacts are reduced when existing drill samples can be re-used multiple times such that the total number of drill holes is reduced. The drill samples have also proven to be extremely valuable for academic researchers, such as university professors and graduate students. Many graduate student theses have been possible largely based upon the free access to drill core samples in this library. Further, the drill samples are available for environmental research, such as to understand the natural background trace element composition of the bedrock materials. Policies: The majority of drill samples in the library are public data and available for viewing. Most exploratory boring samples are delivered to the library in fulfillment of statutory requirements which have been in effect since 1980. If a state mineral lease terminates, then the drill cores associated with that lease become state property and public data. The drill samples remain public data even if a new lease becomes active on the same mining unit. Exploratory Boring Procedures- Minnesota Statutes 103I.601: http://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=103I.601 Submission of Data from Exploratory Borings- Minnesota Statutes 103I.605: http://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=103I.605 Those same statutes also identify that some core samples and related data are not public data meaning they are not viewable by the public. This is due to the core sample and data being on an active state minerals lease. The DNR must follow this law. If you wish to view confidential core, then you need to be an employee of the state mineral lessee or have written permission from the state mineral lessee.