Frequently
Asked Questions

Core logging software replaces the paper-and-Excel workflows that have plagued drill programs for decades. It gives exploration teams a structured database for capturing lithology, assay results, geotechnical data, alteration, and survey information — with validation rules that prevent the coding errors, duplicate records, and version conflicts that corrupt data before it ever reaches your resource model. Good core logging software reduces the time between the drill rig and your Leapfrog import to nearly zero.

At minimum: collar (location, azimuth, dip, total depth), survey (downhole deviation measurements), lithology (rock type and texture by depth interval), and assay results (geochemical data from lab analysis). Depending on your program, you may also need tables for alteration, mineralisation, geotechnical data (RQD, core recovery, fracture frequency), structure, samples, and photography. Blue Butterfly lets you define any combination of these tables — with custom columns and validation rules — before your first hole is collared.

A strip log (also called a drill log or borehole log) is a graphical representation of drill hole data at depth — lithology intervals, sample results, alteration zones, and structural measurements rendered on a single depth-scaled diagram. Strip logs are standard deliverables for NI 43-101 technical reports, government regulatory filings, and project presentations. In most legacy software, generating one requires exporting data, reformatting it, and running it through a separate application. In Blue Butterfly, strip logs render directly from your logged data — no export step, no additional licence required.

NI 43-101 (and equivalent standards like JORC and SAMREC) requires that a Qualified Person can verify the source data behind any disclosed mineral resource. In practice: a documented data collection methodology, consistent geological codes and terminology, a QA/QC program (blanks, standards, field duplicates), an audit trail showing who entered what data and when, and the ability to produce supporting data tables and drill logs. Blue Butterfly enforces consistent vocabulary through dropdown validation, timestamps every record, and produces strip logs and formatted data exports that support 43-101 reporting without additional software.

RQD (Rock Quality Designation) is a standard measure of rock mass quality, calculated as the percentage of intact core pieces longer than 100 mm as a fraction of total core run length. It is a required input for geotechnical classification and NI 43-101 reporting on structural and geomechanical data. Blue Butterfly supports a dedicated geotechnical data table where RQD, core recovery percentage, fracture frequency per metre, and other geomechanical fields can be logged alongside your lithology and assay data — all depth-referenced and validated against the same interval logic as every other table.

QAQC (Quality Assurance / Quality Control) for drill hole assay data involves the systematic insertion of certified reference materials (CRMs), blanks, and field duplicates into the sample stream to detect contamination, bias, and precision errors in laboratory results. In Blue Butterfly, you configure a samples or assay table with a dropdown column for sample type (Unknown, CRM, Blank, Duplicate) and record assay results alongside regular samples. Validation rules enforce expected value ranges for standards. When the field season is done, your complete QAQC dataset exports with the rest of your data — ready for review by your resource geologist or Qualified Person, with no separate spreadsheet required.

Yes. While NI 43-101 is the Canadian standard most referenced on this site, Blue Butterfly's data management approach supports the underlying requirements of JORC (Australia and international) and SAMREC (South Africa) as well. All three standards require consistent geological terminology, a documented collection methodology, an audit trail, QA/QC data, and the ability to produce supporting tables and drill logs. Blue Butterfly's dropdown validation, timestamped records, and formatted exports satisfy these requirements regardless of which reporting code your Competent or Qualified Person is working under.

Blue Butterfly is geological core logging and database management software built for exploration geologists at junior and mid-tier mining companies. If you're managing drill hole data in Excel, dealing with version conflicts in legacy geo-software, or spending hours reformatting data before every Leapfrog import — Blue Butterfly gives you a proper relational database with an interface that geologists can actually use, in the field and the office.

Yes — and it should. Excel has no data validation, no single source of truth, no audit trail, and no structured schema. Coordinating drill hole data across a team in Excel means version conflicts, duplicate files, and formatting errors that propagate into your resource model. Blue Butterfly gives you the database structure of enterprise geological software without the enterprise setup complexity. Your team logs directly into a shared, validated database — one current version, always accessible.

Most teams are logging data the same day. Industry-standard presets for common data structures mean you can configure collar fields, interval tables, and validation rules to match your project without starting from scratch. Templates export as JSON and can be copied across projects — so your company's standard structure sets up in minutes, not days.

No. Blue Butterfly is designed so geologists can configure and manage it themselves. No SQL knowledge required, no server to provision, no IT ticket, no consulting retainer. If you can set up a project in Leapfrog, you can set up Blue Butterfly. The same specialist who would spend a week configuring enterprise geo-software can have a working project in Blue Butterfly before lunch.

Yes. Blue Butterfly is a browser-based application — it runs on any device with a modern browser, including iPad, Android tablets, and laptops. No installation required. The interface is built for core logging workflows that work well on a tablet screen in the core shed: Tab and Enter navigation, a spreadsheet layout that doesn't require a mouse, and an offline mode that keeps your data safe when the satellite connection drops. For teams who want an app-like experience, Blue Butterfly can also be installed as a Progressive Web App (PWA) directly from the browser.

Yes. Blue Butterfly supports installation as a Progressive Web App (PWA) on desktop and mobile. In Chrome or Edge, an install icon appears in the address bar — clicking it adds Blue Butterfly to your desktop or home screen as a standalone app that opens without a browser tab. On iOS Safari, use the Share menu and select Add to Home Screen. The PWA runs the same application with the same offline capability; it is a convenience wrapper, not a separate codebase.

Data is written to local browser storage first, then synced to the cloud database automatically every 30 seconds — no save button, no manual upload. If you lose connectivity at a remote site, your data stays in local storage and syncs the moment you're back online. Every record carries a sync status (Synced, Pending, or Conflict) so the state of your data is always visible. There is no scenario in which a connectivity interruption causes data loss.

Multiple users can log simultaneously without conflict. Each session writes locally first, and changes are merged into the shared cloud database in real time. If a genuine conflict occurs — two users modifying the same record — it surfaces explicitly with a Conflict status rather than silently overwriting either version. You review and resolve it. Nothing is lost. This is a direct fix for the version collision problem that teams using file-based workflows hit constantly.

Validation rules fire at the point of entry — before data is written to the database. Dropdown columns constrain values to a predefined list, eliminating mismatching lithology codes and inconsistent terminology across your team. Numeric fields enforce min/max bounds. Depth from/to logic prevents overlapping or inverted intervals. Required fields block record submission if critical data is missing. Errors surface in red, warnings in yellow — immediately, not six months later when they surface in your resource model.

Yes. The app stores data locally in the browser and syncs to the cloud automatically in the background. You can log full days of data with no internet connection — the sync queue processes the moment connectivity returns. This is designed specifically for remote exploration sites where satellite connectivity is intermittent. Note: the initial app load requires an internet connection; after that, it runs offline.

There is no limit. Any number of geologists, field technicians, and project managers can be active on the same project at the same time. Each session writes to local browser storage first and syncs to the shared cloud database continuously. If two users edit the exact same record, the conflict surfaces explicitly with a Conflict badge rather than silently overwriting either version. In practice, conflicts are rare — different geologists typically work on different drill holes or different depth intervals at the same time.

Your data lives in a cloud-hosted PostgreSQL database — a managed, production-grade relational database with automatic backups. You're not depending on a shared network drive, a USB stick, or a contractor's laptop disappearing at the end of the field season. You can also download a complete project backup as a ZIP archive at any time from project settings.

You do. Your geological data is proprietary to you and your company. Blue Butterfly never claims ownership over it, never uses it for any purpose beyond operating the application, and never restricts your access to it. You can download a complete backup of your project at any time — including after cancellation. This is your data. We're just the infrastructure that keeps it safe.

Nothing. Your data remains in the database and you can export it at any time, even after cancelling. You are never locked out of your own geological records. We've heard too many stories of exploration teams losing years of drill data because they cancelled a software subscription and discovered, too late, that their records were held in a proprietary format with no export path. That does not happen here.

The underlying database is PostgreSQL. Direct SQL access via tools like DBeaver, TablePlus, or pgAdmin is available for teams that need it — contact us to discuss your requirements. For most use cases, the export wizard and backup download provide full data portability without needing a direct database connection. The schema is non-proprietary and documented, so your data is never a black box.

Yes. When you invite a collaborator to a project, you assign them a role. The Viewer role provides read-only access to all project data, strip logs, and exports — they can see everything but cannot edit, import, or modify templates. This is useful for giving a Qualified Person access to verify source data for an NI 43-101 report, sharing a live project view with a joint venture partner, or providing an investor or auditor with a read-only window into current drill results. Viewer access can be revoked at any time from project settings.

Leapfrog Geo is the primary configured integration target. Export workflows pre-format your collar, survey, and interval tables exactly as Leapfrog expects — define the mapping once and rerun it on demand. CSV and XLSX exports work with ArcGIS, QGIS, Datamine, Micromine, and any other tool that accepts standard tabular data. If your downstream tool accepts CSV, Blue Butterfly can feed it.

Leapfrog imports drill holes as separate CSV files — collar, survey, and one file per interval table (lithology, assay, geotechnical, etc.). Blue Butterfly's export wizard lets you define exactly which columns go into each file, how they're named, and which drill holes to include. Save this as a named export workflow and rerun it whenever your data updates — Leapfrog receives fresh, correctly formatted files with no reformatting step and no Excel in the middle.

Yes. The import wizard supports CSV files and multi-sheet Excel workbooks. A visual column-mapping step links your source file columns to the destination table columns in Blue Butterfly, with auto-detection of hole ID and depth fields. Validation runs on import — errors are flagged before anything hits the database. Most legacy datasets from MX Deposit, Excel, or Access import cleanly with a few column remaps.

CSV, XLSX (multi-sheet output configurable per workflow), and ZIP archive for bulk exports. Export configurations save as named workflows and can be rerun at any time. For full data portability, you can also download a complete project backup from project settings — a ZIP archive containing all drillholes, tables, columns, and records in a portable JSON format that can be used to migrate to another platform with zero data loss.

Yes. If your current software can export to CSV or Excel — which MX Deposit, Acquire, and most legacy geological databases can — Blue Butterfly's import wizard can ingest it. A visual column-mapping step links your source file columns to the destination table, with auto-detection of hole ID and depth fields. Validation runs on import, flagging errors before anything hits the database. Most legacy datasets import cleanly with a few column remaps; complex multi-sheet workbooks map sheet-by-sheet. If you're migrating a large historical dataset, contact us.

Yes. The built-in 3D viewer renders all drill holes in a project as three-dimensional trajectories, calculated from collar coordinates (easting, northing, elevation), dip, azimuth, and total depth using the minimum curvature method. Drill hole segments can be coloured by any interval data column — lithology codes, assay grades, RQD values — with a configurable colour legend. The viewer is interactive: orbit by click-drag, pan by right-click drag, zoom by scroll wheel. No separate licence required and no export to a third-party 3D application needed.

The core difference is architecture. MX Deposit is a file-based system that requires careful manual management of exports, version control, and data transfers to downstream tools — teams routinely end up with multiple copies of the same dataset and no clear source of truth. Blue Butterfly is a cloud database: every user works against the same live record at all times. MX Deposit's strip log output requires a separate application; Blue Butterfly generates strip logs directly. MX Deposit licensing is per-seat, which forces teams to coordinate who is logged in; Blue Butterfly gives every team member their own account. Blue Butterfly's import wizard can ingest MX Deposit CSV exports directly.

Leapfrog Geo is a 3D geological modelling platform — it is downstream of your data, not a replacement for a logging or database tool. It consumes data from one. Blue Butterfly sits at the logging and database stage: geologists capture data, validate it at entry, and export it in the exact format Leapfrog expects. Blue Butterfly's export wizard is configured specifically for Leapfrog's required CSV structure — collar, survey, and interval tables — and can be saved as a named workflow and rerun on demand. The two tools are complementary. Blue Butterfly feeds Leapfrog; Leapfrog models the result.

We're currently in beta and access is free. Pricing will be announced before general availability. Beta users get preferential rates locked in before public launch. Pricing is designed to work for junior and mid-tier exploration programs — not structured around the enterprise per-seat licensing model that prices out smaller teams.

No. Every geologist, reviewer, project manager, and read-only stakeholder gets their own account. Pricing is based on your program, not headcount — adding a new team member doesn't trigger a new licensing negotiation or require you to coordinate who is 'logged in'. This is a direct response to the per-seat licensing model used by most competing platforms, where teams with only a few licences end up manually coordinating access.

Enter your email in the signup form on this site. We're onboarding teams on a rolling basis, with priority given to active exploration projects.

Early access to all features, a direct line to the product team, and real input on the roadmap. We treat beta testers as partners — your feedback shapes what gets built next. Beta users also get preferential rates locked in before general availability pricing is announced.