Scribd
Upload
36 views

Exploration Plan

Mineral exploration involves regional and mine-scale exploration using exploration models and strategies. Regional exploration involves commodity selection based on economics and politics, then developing and refining an exploration model to design an exploration strategy. Common geophysical tools used are gravity, radiometrics, electrical, magnetics, and seismic surveys. Geochemical surveys of soils, rocks, sediments, water, vegetation and air are also used, with over 1 million samples collected annually in Canada and the US. Soil formation and weathering can impact metal concentration profiles in soils of different types. Drilling methods like reverse circulation and core drilling are then used to gather samples.

Uploaded by

Fadlin Idrus
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
36 views

Exploration Plan

Mineral exploration involves regional and mine-scale exploration using exploration models and strategies. Regional exploration involves commodity selection based on economics and politics, then developing and refining an exploration model to design an exploration strategy. Common geophysical tools used are gravity, radiometrics, electrical, magnetics, and seismic surveys. Geochemical surveys of soils, rocks, sediments, water, vegetation and air are also used, with over 1 million samples collected annually in Canada and the US. Soil formation and weathering can impact metal concentration profiles in soils of different types. Drilling methods like reverse circulation and core drilling are then used to gather samples.

Uploaded by

Fadlin Idrus
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 9

Mineral exploration

Mine-scale exploration

Regional-scale exploration, Step 1:


Commodity selection
Economics
Politics

Step 2: Develop exploration model

Step 3: Refine the model

Step 4: Develop exploration strategy

Geophysical tools:
Gravity

Radiometrics

Electrical

Geophysical tools:
Magnetics

Seismic

Geochemical surveys

Types of geochemical surveys


Soils
Rocks
Sediments
Water
Vegetation
Air
Other
No. of samples
(1973)

Canada
56.7
14.6
23.4
2.7
1.9
0.2
0.4
812,000

USA
19.0
44.0
23.0
8.3
4.3
0.9
0.5
337,000

Weathering & soil formation

Arctic
Podzolic
Grassland
Desert
Tropical
Mountain
Podzol

Chernozerm Chestnut

Lat
A horizon

ppm Ag

A
B

B horizon

C
D

Cu profiles in different soil types

vein

Typical soil profile


A00

Loose leaves & organic debris

A0

Partially decomposed organic matter

AH

Fully decomposed organic matter

A1

Dark, mixed organic & mineral

A2

Light colored clay, Feox, organic

A2/B1

Transitional between A & B horizons

B2

Maximum accumulation of clays or Feox + organic

B3

Some secondary minerals; transitional to C

Accumulation of soluble salts; broken bedrock

Bedrock

Drilling

Reverse
circulation
drilling

Core drilling

You might also like