What is it about?
Airborne geophysics is a fast, non-invasive way to explore the Earth’s depths and discover valuable mineral deposits. We use a special mobile technology that listens to natural electromagnetic signals activated mostly by ongoing thunderstorm activity on the planet, known as 'audio frequency magnetotellurics'. This technology functions like a magical listening device, capable of hearing deep underground, ranging from the surface to depths of 1-2 km or even deeper under certain geoelectrical conditions. It's like harnessing nature's superpower to uncover hidden treasures within the Earth. This paper discusses how we deploy and use this airborne listening system to find critical minerals buried deep in the Earth. We provide examples where we found uranium, gold, and polymetallic important minerals using this method.
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Why is it important?
Our development expands the capabilities of mineral exploration to exhibit geological structures with mineralization in a wide range of depths and their geoelectrical properties. The airborne electromagnetic technology overcomes many operational and exploration limitations of other airborne EM systems but with controlled field sources.
Perspectives
As a geophysicist with nearly 40 years of experience in mineral exploration, I can affirm that the technology described in the paper marks a significant advancement in airborne geophysics. It holds the potential to lead to new and groundbreaking discoveries for the mining industry. The paper details a passive field method that greatly enhances depth and resistivity detection, delivering geologically meaningful results compared to other methods and systems.
Alexander Prikhodko
Expert Geophysics Limited
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: DETECTING AND RECOVERING CRITICAL MINERAL RESOURCE SYSTEMS USING BROADBAND TOTAL-FIELD AIRBORNE NATURAL SOURCE AUDIO FREQUENCY MAGNETOTELLURICS (AFMAG) MEASUREMENTS, Geophysics, September 2023, Society of Exploration Geophysicists,
DOI: 10.1190/geo2023-0224.1.
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MobileMT - the new generation of airborne EM and its application to mineral exploration
Recent advances in the airborne electromagnetic technologies based on naturally occurring audio-frequency magnetic fields (AFMAG) are discussed. The technical solutions applied in the MobileMT platform allow it to detect targets of any shape and structures of any orientation, provide a depth of investigation that exceeds any airborne EM method with controlled field sources, and make the system sensitive in both conductive and resistive environments. Field examples are presented which demonstrate the exceptional exploration capabilities of the MobileMT technology in conditions usually considered problematic for airborne EM due to industrial noise, conductive overburden, differentiations in resistive environments, or rough terrain.
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