Cross‐hole seismic tomography for mineral exploration and mine planning

This paper outlines the development of a cross hole seismic tomography package by The Broken Hill Proprietary Co. Ltd. (BHP), as a tool for mineral exploration and mine planning. The methodology of cross hole seismic tomography, field procedures, instrumentation, processing software, and field trials are described.Explosives are principally used as the source of seismic energy. A repetitive source, based on rapid hydrogen-oxygen combustion, has also been developed. Signals are detected by geophone-based detector strings, and recorded by a data acquisition system developed by BHP. Tomographic imaging is conducted by the Algebraic Reconstruction, Back Projection and Simultaneous Iterative Reconstruction techniques.Surveys have been conducted in a number of different geological environments, and include: lead-zinc, iron ore and manganese exploration leases and mines to locate mineralisation and overburden interfaces; underground coal mines to locate regions of mining induced stress; and open cut and underground coal mines to locate coal and overburden contacts. The results of these surveys are discussed.

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IMPLEMENTASI METODE MARR-HILDERTH OPERATOR UNTUK MENDETEKSI TEPI CITRA IKONOS

KOMIK (Konferensi Nasional Teknologi Informasi dan Komputer) ◽

10.30865/komik.v2i1.957 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yusman Zalukhu ◽

Hery Sunandar ◽

Rivalri Kristianto Hondro

Keyword(s):

City Planning ◽

Mineral Exploration ◽

Satellite Image ◽

Mine Planning ◽

Security Evaluation ◽

Work Activities ◽

Testing Method ◽

The Earth ◽

Imaging Results ◽

The Difference

Ikonos imagery is a satellite image that has high spatial resolution with an accuracy of one meter pixels for panchromatic and four meters to multispektral. Ikonos imagery is often used to map the process, view, measure and memoniotring areas of work/activities on the Earth. Ikonos image of Government also often use it for things like national security evaluation against the occurrence of the disaster, city planning, mineral exploration and mine planning monitoring of agriculture, and others. Image digital imaging results over long distances using satellite is often there are disturbances in the form of light distortion, noise or other distractions that cause the object on the image less obvious or obscure. This discussion on the research being done is knowing the process of detection on image by calculating the difference between two dots are bertetanggan, and is in the process of smoothing and thresholding on image ikonos. The methods used in this research is a method of Marr-Hilderth. In addition, a process that is done on this research is conducting a testing method against Marr-Hilderth, which can be implemented to fix the blurry objects on images ikonos. The results of this research is to generate image ikonos with display clear object with the menerapakan method of the Marr-Hilderth and tested using the matlab application version 7.8 (r2009a).Keywords: Ikonos image, image processing, method of Marr-Hilderth, Matlab 7.8

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Mine Planning and the Crucial Role of Geology

SEG Discovery ◽

10.5382/geo-and-mining-04 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 16-27

Author(s):

Ed Holloway ◽

Scott Cowie

Keyword(s):

Best Practice ◽

Corporate Strategy ◽

Planning Process ◽

Mineral Exploration ◽

Mining Operation ◽

Early Career ◽

Mine Planning ◽

Driver Model ◽

Mine Closure ◽

Mining Operations

Editor’s note: The Geology and Mining series, edited by Dan Wood and Jeffrey Hedenquist, is designed to introduce early-career professionals and students to a variety of topics in mineral exploration, development, and mining, in order to provide insight into the many ways in which geoscientists contribute to the mineral industry. Abstract Mine planning is the process that determines the way in which an ore deposit will be mined over the life of a mining operation. It necessarily draws on everything that planning engineers believe will determine the ultimate success of the proposed mine and uses as its foundation all of the geology-related data on the deposit. It is both a strategic and a tactical process that first considers a longer-term horizon based on strategic considerations, followed by more detailed shorter-term planning processes, in this order; the latter are the result of tactical considerations. This structured process may also be referred to as integrated mine planning, and it is driven by a broader corporate strategy or set of objectives. As such, it is much more than the mining engineering section of the mine development process. It has to include inputs from all related disciplines, by combining all of the measured properties of the deposit with mining-associated parameters. This results in the planning process incorporating a significant number of interrelated parameters. If these parameters are not used diligently and accurately or are not well aligned, or if the underlying data are deficient in either quantity or quality, the project or operation is unlikely to achieve its potential, by virtue of failures in the planning process. Best-practice integrated planning incorporates relevant inputs from all mining-related fields: geology, geotechnical, geochemical, hydrogeological, hydrology, mining operations, minerals processing, marketing of product, waste management, tailings, environmental, social science, mine closure, etc. It includes all interfaces in the business-value driver model, from exploration drill holes to the mine closure plan. The planning process cannot be completed successfully by mining engineers working in isolation from professionals in other key disciplines. Because geology provides the foundation on which the mine plan is built, the quality and accuracy of the geologic data provided to planning teams by exploration geoscientists is crucial.

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Minerals and ore deposits exploration using meta-heuristic based optimization on magnetic data

Contributions to Geophysics and Geodesy ◽

10.31577/congeo.2020.50.2.1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 50 (2) ◽

pp. 161-199

Author(s):

Mohamed GOBASHY ◽

Maha ABDELAZEEM ◽

Mohamed ABDRABOU

Keyword(s):

Mineral Exploration ◽

Random Noise ◽

Synthetic Data ◽

Ore Deposits ◽

Mine Planning ◽

Magnetic Data ◽

Real Field ◽

Model Parameters ◽

Tectonic Structures ◽

Whale Optimization

The difficulties in unravelling the tectonic structures, in some cases, prevent the understanding of the ore bodies' geometry, leading to mistakes in mineral exploration, mine planning, evaluation of ore deposits, and even mineral exploitation. For that reason, many geophysical techniques are introduced to reveal the type, dimension, and geometry of these structures. Among them, electric methods, self-potential, electromagnetic, magnetic and gravity methods. Global meta-heuristic technique using Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) has been utilized for assessing model parameters from magnetic anomalies due to a thin dike, a dipping dike, and a vertical fault like/shear zone geological structure. These structures are commonly associated with mineralization. This modern algorithm was firstly applied on a free-noise synthetic data and to a noisy data with three different levels of random noise to simulate natural and artificial anomaly disturbances. Good results obtained through the inversion of such synthetic examples prove the validity and applicability of our algorithm. Thereafter, the method is applied to real case studies taken from different ore mineralization resembling different geologic conditions. Data are taken from Canada, United States, Sweden, Peru, India, and Australia. The obtained results revealed good correlation with previous interpretations of these real field examples.

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Integrated Geological and Geophysical Mapping of a Carbonatite-Hosting Outcrop in Siilinjärvi, Finland, Using Unmanned Aerial Systems

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs12182998 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (18) ◽

pp. 2998

Author(s):

Robert Jackisch ◽

Sandra Lorenz ◽

Moritz Kirsch ◽

Robert Zimmermann ◽

Laura Tusa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hyperspectral Image ◽

Mineral Exploration ◽

Mine Planning ◽

Machine Learning Algorithms ◽

Magnetic Data ◽

Unmanned Aerial Systems ◽

Data Set ◽

Ground Truth Data ◽

Mapping Approach ◽

Aerial Systems

Mapping geological outcrops is a crucial part of mineral exploration, mine planning and ore extraction. With the advent of unmanned aerial systems (UASs) for rapid spatial and spectral mapping, opportunities arise in fields where traditional ground-based approaches are established and trusted, but fail to cover sufficient area or compromise personal safety. Multi-sensor UAS are a technology that change geoscientific research, but they are still not routinely used for geological mapping in exploration and mining due to lack of trust in their added value and missing expertise and guidance in the selection and combination of drones and sensors. To address these limitations and highlight the potential of using UAS in exploration settings, we present an UAS multi-sensor mapping approach based on the integration of drone-borne photography, multi- and hyperspectral imaging and magnetics. Data are processed with conventional methods as well as innovative machine learning algorithms and validated by geological field mapping, yielding a comprehensive and geologically interpretable product. As a case study, we chose the northern extension of the Siilinjärvi apatite mine in Finland, in a brownfield exploration setting with plenty of ground truth data available and a survey area that is partly covered by vegetation. We conducted rapid UAS surveys from which we created a multi-layered data set to investigate properties of the ore-bearing carbonatite-glimmerite body. Our resulting geologic map discriminates between the principal lithologic units and distinguishes ore-bearing from waste rocks. Structural orientations and lithological units are deduced based on high-resolution, hyperspectral image-enhanced point clouds. UAS-based magnetic data allow an insight into their subsurface geometry through modeling based on magnetic interpretation. We validate our results via ground survey including rock specimen sampling, geochemical and mineralogical analysis and spectroscopic point measurements. We are convinced that the presented non-invasive, data-driven mapping approach can complement traditional workflows in mineral exploration as a flexible tool. Mapping products based on UAS data increase efficiency and maximize safety of the resource extraction process, and reduce expenses and incidental wastes.

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dh2loop 1.0: an open-source python library for automated processing and classification of geological logs

10.5194/gmd-2020-391 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ranee Joshi ◽

Kavitha Madaiah ◽

Mark Jessell ◽

Mark Lindsay ◽

Guillaume Pirot

Keyword(s):

Open Source ◽

Mineral Exploration ◽

String Matching ◽

Drill Hole ◽

Mine Planning ◽

Geological Survey ◽

Shallow Subsurface ◽

Database Structure ◽

Automated Processing ◽

Geoscientific Data

Abstract. Exploration and mining companies rely on geological drill core logs to target and obtain initial information on geology of the area to build models for prospectivity mapping or mine planning. A huge amount of legacy drilling data is available in geological survey but cannot be used directly as it is compiled and recorded in an unstructured textural form and using different formats depending on the database structure, company, logging geologist, investigation method, investigated materials and/or drilling campaign. It is subjective and plagued with uncertainty as it is likely to have been conducted by tens to hundreds geologists, all of whom would have their own personal biases. However, this is valuable information that adds value to geoscientific data for research and exploration, specifically in efficiently targeting sustainable new discoveries and providing better shallow subsurface constraints for 3D geological models. dh2loop (https://github.com/Loop3D/dh2loop) is an open-source python library that provides the functionality to extract and standardize geologic drill hole data and export it into readily importable interval tables (collar, survey, lithology). In this contribution, we extract, process and classify lithological logs from the Geological Survey of Western Australia Mineral Exploration Reports Database in the Yalgoo-Singleton Greenstone Belt (YSGB) region. For this study case, the extraction rate for collar, survey and lithology data is respectively 93 %, 865 and 34 %. It also addresses the subjective nature and variability of nomenclature of lithological descriptions within and across different drilling campaigns by using thesauri and fuzzy string matching. 86% of the extracted lithology data is successfully matched to lithologies in the thesauri. Since this process can be tedious, we attempted to test the string matching with the comments, which resulted to a matching rate of 16 % (7,870 successfully matched records out of 47,823 records). The standardized lithological data is then classified into multi-level groupings that can be used to systematically upscale and downscale drill hole data inputs for multiscale 3D geological modelling. dh2loop formats legacy data bridging the gap between utilization and maximization of legacy drill hole data and drill hole analysis functionalities available in existing python libraries (lasio, welly, striplog).

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Geophysics in Australian mineral exploration

Geophysics ◽

10.1190/1.1441888 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 50 (12) ◽

pp. 2637-2665 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Robert J. Smith

Keyword(s):

Gold Deposit ◽

Genetic Model ◽

Mineral Exploration ◽

Mine Planning ◽

Sulfide Deposit ◽

Geologic Mapping ◽

Case Histories ◽

Color Displays ◽

Regional Area ◽

Lead Zinc

I review a variety of recent case histories illustrating the application of geophysics in mineral exploration in Australia. Geophysics is now an integral part of most programs. Examples are given of contributions by geophysics to all stages of mineral exploration, from regional area selection through to mine planning and development. Specific case histories summarized are as follows: (a) Olympic Dam copper‐uranium‐gold deposit, discovered using a conceptual genetic model and regional geophysical data; (b) Ellendale diamondiferous kimberlites, illustrating the use of low level, detailed airborne magnetics; (c) Ranger uranium orebodies, discovered by detailed airborne radiometric surveys; (d) geologic mapping near Mary Kathleen with color displays of airborne radiometric data; (e) mapping of lignite in basement depressions of the Bremer Basin, near Esperance, with INPUT; (f) White Leads, a lead‐zinc sulfide deposit discovered with induced polarization (IP) and TEM, near Broken Hill; (g) Hellyer, a lead‐zinc‐silver‐gold deposit discovered with UTEM; (h) application of geophysical logging near Kanmantoo; (i) Cowla Peak, a subbituminous steaming coal deposit mapped with ground TEM; and (j) Cook Colliery, where high‐resolution seismic reflection methods have successfully increased the workable reserves.

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Seismic methods in mineral exploration and mine planning — Introduction

Geophysics ◽

10.1190/2012-0724-spsein.1 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 77 (5) ◽

pp. WC1-WC2 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Alireza Malehmir ◽

Milovan Urosevic ◽

Gilles Bellefleur ◽

Christopher Juhlin ◽

Bernd Milkereit

Keyword(s):

Mineral Exploration ◽

Mine Planning ◽

Seismic Methods

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Innovating surface and in-mine seismic exploration solutions

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-11129 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Alireza Malehmir ◽

Lars Dynesius ◽

Paul Marsden ◽

Stefan Buske ◽

Nelson Pacheco ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Iron Ore ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Mineral Exploration ◽

Seismic Source ◽

Mine Planning ◽

Seismic Exploration ◽

Technological Advancement ◽

The European Union ◽

Horizon 2020 ◽

Legacy Data

Mineral exploration industry needs to push its technological advancement towards finding the so-called critical raw materials. These materials are fundamental for our green technologies and help accelerate the energy transition towards decarbonisation. While in-mine and near-mine exploration will be more convenient in the short term, providing fresh raw materials and mines in greenfield or brownfield areas must not be forgotten in the longer term. As the chase for mineral deposits becomes deeper, seismic methods play a greater role for exploring at depth. Through a series of experiments conducted within the EU-funded Smart Exploration project, we have innovated a number of hardware and methodological solutions for in-mine as well as brownfield seismic exploration. Along with these, legacy data have also been recovered, reprocessed and their values for mineral exploration illustrated. The legacy data examples are from the Ludvika Mines (Nordic Iron Ore AB) of central Sweden and Neves-Corvo (Somincor-Lundin Mining) of southern Portugal.In particular, through the development of a GPS-time system, we have managed to acquire a globally unique semi3D in-mine and surface seismic dataset at the world-class Neves-Corvo mine. This helped to utilize four exploration tunnels at 600 m depth and two receiver lines on the surface allowing over 1000 recorders to be synchronized for down-tunnel exploration. A broadband electromagnetic-based seismic source (7 kN or 1.5t), developed also in the project, was used as the seismic source.In central Sweden, at an iron-oxide mining site of Nordic Iron Ore company, 2D seismic profiles helped to suggest potential resources in the down-dip continuation of the known deposits but also in their footwall. A follow-up and more recent survey employed over 1250 seismic recorders and a 32t vibrator to acquire a sparse 2 by 2 km seismic dataset. The data show great quality and allow to image lateral extent of the deposits and crosscutting reflections that may be important factors for mine planning and understanding structural evolution of the deposits. The broadband seismic source was also tested at the site along the existing 2D profiles with raw data already showing a number of reflections interpreted to be from the mineralization. This survey further illustrates that the seismic source functions well and has a great potential for hard rock seismic applications.&#160;Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Smart ExplorationTM project.&#160;Smart Exploration&#160;has received funding from the European Union&#8217;s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 775971.

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Seismic methods in mineral exploration and mine planning: A general overview of past and present case histories and a look into the future

Geophysics ◽

10.1190/geo2012-0028.1 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 77 (5) ◽

pp. WC173-WC190 ◽

Cited By ~ 81

Author(s):

Alireza Malehmir ◽

Raymond Durrheim ◽

Gilles Bellefleur ◽

Milovan Urosevic ◽

Christopher Juhlin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mineral Exploration ◽

Mining Industry ◽

Mineral Resources ◽

Great Depth ◽

Mine Planning ◽

Mineral Deposits ◽

Mining Areas ◽

Seismic Methods ◽

Wide Range ◽

Borehole Seismic

Due to high metal prices and increased difficulties in finding shallower deposits, the exploration for and exploitation of mineral resources is expected to move to greater depths. Consequently, seismic methods will become a more important tool to help unravel structures hosting mineral deposits at great depth for mine planning and exploration. These methods also can be used with varying degrees of success to directly target mineral deposits at depth. We review important contributions that have been made in developing these techniques for the mining industry with focus on four main regions: Australia, Europe, Canada, and South Africa. A wide range of case studies are covered, including some that are published in the special issue accompanying this article, from surface to borehole seismic methods, as well as petrophysical data and seismic modeling of mineral deposits. At present, high-resolution 2D surveys mostly are performed in mining areas, but there is a general increasing trend in the use of 3D seismic methods, especially in mature mining camps.

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