Drilling instead of trenching is a technical method that utilizes shallow drilling to replace trenching engineering and improve the level of green exploration. Previous researchers have mainly demonstrated the practicability of this method from the perspective of drilling equipment and sampling technology， and obtained the occurrence data such as the tendency of the planar structure in the hole through the identification and comparison of marker layers in multiple boreholes. However， multiple drilling holes will inevitably increase the disturbance to the environment. Facing the complex rock formations and tectonic deformation areas， the occurrence cannot be calculated because the marker layers can not be accurately identified and compared. Structural analysis and borehole imaging technology can improve the green exploration effect of drilling instead of trenching. In the Xinjiazui gold exploration area of the Western Qinling Mountains， the proportion characteristics of different axial lengths of quartz lenses related to mineralization were identified using structural analysis methods， providing guidance for drilling deployment； In the drilling process， borehole imaging technology was implemented to identify the lithology of the borehole wall and measure the occurrence of the strata and quartz veins. The data were consistent with the adjacent exposed bedrock. The experimental results show that the new method can obtain more accurate and abundant data with less drilling work，improving the level of green exploration compared with the previous method which relies more on drilling engineering. In addition， portable shallow drilling rigs powered by lithium batteries exhibit green characteristics with lighter， safer and more user-friendly performance， and have the value of promotion and application.