SSE Renewables has proposed a pumped hydro storage scheme at Coire Glas on the shores of Loch Lochy, near South Laggan.
The core was drilled in 2023 when the project began and was delivered to BGS premises in Edinburgh at the end of 2024, where geologists have since been analysing it.
Tremors and minor earthquakes are sometimes reported in the area, though rocks associated with the fault zone generally remain mostly hidden to the human eye by the waters of Loch Ness, Loch Oich and Loch Lochy.
Geologists were able to study 10m (32ft) of the rocks in an attempt to better understand how such fault systems work and how fluids emerging from deep within the Earth’s crust change the properties of the rock.