A core sample is a cylindrical section of a substance. Most core samples are obtained by drilling with a hollow steel tube drill (commonly referred to as a core drill) into the substance. Generally, the substance is sediment or rock, although core samples may be taken from man-made substances, such as concrete, ceramic material, or metal. Some medical procedures also use core drills to collect samples of bone.
The drilling and collection of core samples is quite common in the mining industry, where geologists take core samples at different geographical sites to later analyse for mineral or metal content.
When core samples are taken, there is a need to house, organise, transport, catalogue and store the samples. It has been known to use “core trays” (sometimes referred to as “core boxes”) to house, organise, transport, catalogue and store the samples. Core trays are, as the name implies, a tray-like device with a number of elongate slots or channels, each channel being arranged to hold a portion of a core sample.
Generally, such trays are constructed from a wooden, metal or plastic material. The choice of material, in the past, has been largely determined by local resources and skills. For example, in Canada, core trays are commonly made from wood, as wood is generally in abundant supply near the areas where mineral or mining exploration occurs.
In Australia, however, core trays have generally been made from metal (and more recently from plastic).
There is generally no set standard for core trays, other than the requirement to size the channels so that core samples can fit into the channels. The length and width of the trays are generally a function of local requirements. It is quite common for different companies and/or mine sites to have different tray size requirements.
The preceding discussion of the background art is intended to facilitate an understanding of the present invention only. The discussion is not an acknowledgement or admission that any of the material referred to is or was part of the common general knowledge as at the filing date of the application.