Getting Started with Orebit GeoSuite — From CSV to First Chart in 5 Minutes

Orebit GeoSuite is a single self-contained tool. You load your collar/survey/assay CSVs. You get strip logs, sections, EDA charts, and resource estimates. That’s the whole pitch.

This post walks through getting from “I just opened it” to “I’m looking at my first cross-section” in under five minutes. You don’t need a CSV of your own to follow along.

Three ways to run it

• Web — nothing to download. Open Orebit Core and start. No signup, no account, no email.
• Installed app — Mac, Windows, Linux, ChromeOS. In Safari (macOS 14+): File → Add to Dock. In Chrome or Edge: Install app. All three modules then open from your Dock or app list and work with no connection.
• Desktop Edition — Windows. The same three modules as a downloadable app, from the releases page.

All three are the same free, open-source code (GNU GPL v3), published at github.com/ghoziankarami/geosuite.

Both come with real drillhole sample data already built in (the Thalanga VMS dataset from Queensland Government open data), so the whole walkthrough below works before you have prepared a single file. The modules are Orebit Core (data validation), Orebit Assay (statistics and compositing), and Orebit Resource (variography and kriging).

System requirements

• Web or installed app: a current Chrome, Edge or Safari (Firefox runs the web version but cannot install it)
• Desktop Edition: a Windows laptop
• 4 GB RAM (8+ recommended for large datasets)
• That’s it. No install, no account.

The desktop app needs no internet once it is on your machine. Your data never gets uploaded anywhere — there’s no server to upload it to.

The 5-minute walkthrough

Minute 1: Open Orebit Core

Open Orebit Core (or launch it from the Desktop Edition). You’ll see:

• Top header: “Orebit · Orebit Core” with a Phase 01 badge
• Left sidebar: 12 numbered workflow steps (01 Tutorial → 12 Export)
• Main area: a welcome modal with a “Take the 6-step tour” button

Click “Take the tour” if it’s your first time. Six guided callouts explain the layout in 60 seconds. Or click “Skip” to jump in.

Minute 2: Look at the import step

The sample dataset is already loaded when Core opens, so you can skip ahead to validation if you just want to see the flow. To see how your own data would go in, click “02 Import” in the sidebar. You’ll see four upload boxes:

1. Collar CSV
2. Survey CSV
3. Assay CSV
4. Geology CSV (optional)

Drag your own four files into the boxes. Each upload triggers an auto-detection of column mappings, along these lines:

collar.csv: detected columns
  hole_id     → HoleID ✓
  east        → Easting (m) ✓
  north       → Northing (m) ✓
  rl          → Elevation (m) ✓
  total_depth → FinalDepth (m) ✓

If auto-detection misses a column, use the dropdown to map it manually.

Click “Continue to validation →” at the bottom of the page.

Minute 3: Run validation

Click “03 Collar” in the sidebar. The validation runs automatically. It checks things like:

• Duplicate hole IDs
• Coordinates that fall outside the project’s bounding box
• Elevations that don’t fit the rest of the collars
• Hole types and depths

Click through “04 Survey”, “05 Assay”, “06 Geology”, “07 Validation” — each runs quickly on the sample dataset. You’ll see green checkmarks on the sidebar as each tab passes.

If you load your own data and a check fails, you’ll get a yellow warning row showing exactly which hole/sample is the problem. Click the row to jump to the offending record.

Minute 4: Generate strip logs

Click “08 Strip Log”. Pick a hole from the dropdown — try TRRC014. You’ll see:

• A multi-track strip log: Lithology, Weathering (Wx), AU, CU, PB, ZN, AS, FE, Sample intervals
• Depth axis on the left (0 – 100m, increasing downward — industry standard)
• Hover any track for tooltip with depth + value
• Dotted orange line on each grade track = P99 cap suggestion

Switch holes from the dropdown to compare. Multi-track strip logs are the fastest way to spot lithology-grade correlations and outlier intervals.

Minute 5: Generate a cross-section

Click “09 Section”. The sidebar lets you:

• Pick an azimuth (default: 0° = north-south projection)
• Pick a corridor width (default: 50m)
• Pick which holes to include

Click “Render section”. You get a 2D cross-section with:

• All holes within the corridor projected onto the section plane
• Lithology bands colored per code
• Grade highlights (configurable threshold)
• Topo line at top, hole traces inclined per dip

Change the azimuth slider — the section updates in real-time. This is where multi-hole correlation happens.

What’s next after Phase 01

Once you’re done with Orebit Core:

1. Click “12 Export” to dump your validated dataset as CSV (composited if needed)
2. Open Orebit Assay (Phase 02) to run bivariate/multivariate analysis on the same data
3. Open Orebit Resource (Phase 03) for variography + kriging

Each phase reads the previous phase’s export, so the workflow chains end-to-end without manual reformatting.

Loading your own data

Replace the sample CSVs with your project data. The required columns are minimal:

• Collar: hole ID, easting, northing, elevation, total depth, hole type (optional)
• Survey: hole ID, depth, azimuth, dip
• Assay: hole ID, from, to, value (one column per element)
• Geology: hole ID, from, to, lithology code

Column names can be anything — the auto-detector handles common aliases (HoleID / BHID / hole_id all work). If detection fails, use the manual mapping dropdown.

Common first-time questions

Does it work offline? Yes, once installed (Safari: Add to Dock; Chrome/Edge: Install app) or in the Windows Desktop Edition — everything is stored on your machine and runs with no network at all. The plain web version needs a connection to load the page.

Where does my data go? Nowhere. The tool processes everything locally on your computer. No server, no upload, no analytics. You can run it on an air-gapped machine.

Can I share my project? Yes — export the validated CSV from Phase 01, send it to a colleague who has the same toolkit. They re-import and continue.

What if I have 10,000 holes? The toolkit handles up to ~50,000 sample records comfortably on 8 GB RAM. Beyond that, performance degrades. For mega-projects, split by domain or subset.

Browser compatibility? Chrome and Edge are fastest. Safari works and can install GeoSuite on a Mac. Firefox runs the web version but cannot install it as an app.

What about commercial software?

Orebit is designed to complement, not replace, commercial 3D mining packages. The 80% of geology that happens before you fire up the workstation — data validation, EDA, top-cuts, compositing, basic kriging — is what Orebit handles. You can hand off the cleaned, composited dataset to your 3D package for final block modeling, mine planning, and reserves.

That said, for early-stage exploration, due diligence reviews, or quick scoping studies, Orebit’s three phases are often enough on their own.

What it costs

• Nothing. All three modules are free and open source (GNU GPL v3) — online, installed, and as a Desktop Edition. Commercial use included.
• No trial period, no email gate, no feature locked behind payment.
• No subscription. No DRM. No licence server. Once you have it, it is yours.
• If it saves you time, support is welcome at any amount you choose — never a fixed price.

Try Core free → · Explore all 3 modules → — free and open source (GPL-3.0), no trial, no paywall. Find it useful? Support Orebit, any amount.

Bottom line

Five minutes from opening it to your first cross-section. No signup, no friction, and your data stays on your laptop. That’s the entire point of the toolkit.

If you hit a snag, email [email protected] with your CSV (or a redacted version) and I’ll usually have a fix within a day. The toolkit is built by a working geologist and supported directly by them. Start with the drillhole validation checklist to make sure your data is clean before you estimate, then work through the compositing guide to pick the right composite length for your deposit.

Get started →

Next up in this series: Drillhole validation checklist — the full 6-step QA process Phase 01 automates.