scholarly journals Geosensing techniques for mineral exploration and mine planning

1989 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 131
Author(s):  
P.A. Gray ◽  
J.F. Doyle ◽  
P.H. Scaiffe

Geophysical techniques have been applied to petroleum exploration since early in the 20th Century. More recently geophysical methods have been applied in detail to mineral and coal exploration. As a generalisation, geophysical techniques have not been applied in the areas of mine planning, development and production.A variety of geophysical methods have been improved or adapted within BHP to provide accurate, cost effective services to the mine manager on time scales that are realistic for day to day planning and production. Considerable success has been achieved with in-seam seismic, cross-hole seismic and surface seismic techniques. Electrical and magnetic methods have also been beneficial for specific applications.The identification and evaluation of mineral deposits increasingly uses a range of advanced geophysical techniques. Geophysical techniques are now also emerging as key factors in mine planning and production. The purpose of this paper is to show how BHP is developing a variety of geophysical techniques to improve the eSfficiency of exploration, mine planning and production both for minerals and coal. Emphasis is placed on the benefits of these advanced geophysical techniques on day-to-day mine operations. This, of course is only one company's perspective viewpoint, but since BHP has such a wide diversity of operations, this viewpoint may have general applicability.BHP has had a long history of using geo-expertise in a wide range of operations over the past 40 years. This expertise developed in the minerals and coal industries but has subsequently developed into the petroleum industry. In regard to the coal industry alone, several notable geophysics firsts can be attributed to the coal geology groups within BHP. These firsts include: The application of surface seismics to coal exploration; Geophysical logging ? BHP were instrumental in bringing BPB Instruments Ltd to Australia; Radar ? early experiments were undertaken at Cook Colliery; Development and application of high resolution surface seismics in Queensland and New South Wales; Development and routine application of in-seam seismics; Cross-hole seismic/in-seam seismic tomography ? application of a production oriented package to coal and metalliferous mines.In the development of these techniques for the mining industry, a number of common factors are present which have resulted in them being commercially successful. BHP's background as a large resources company has obviously provided the initial impetus to develop smarter geophysical techniques, but this is only one factor which has made them successful. The old adage of a new product or technique being 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration also applies to the development of these techniques.Probably the most important single factor to consider for the successful development of innovative geophysical techniques is that they require a multi-stage team effort over at least two years, (typically 4-5 years for the more complex developments) and that failures can be expected throughout this period. Also the expectations of production personnel are often too great during this developmental stage, which leads to a perception that the technique in question is not useful even after all the 'bugs' in the system have been removed. The onus is on researchers to clearly outline both the potential benefits and possible failures of a new technique during its developmental stage, so that it will subsequently be more readily accepted in the mining production environment.

Geophysics ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 1070-1084 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. R. Espey

This report provides statistics on worldwide use of geophysical methods in 1976. Data were obtained primarily through a survey questionnaire which was mailed out to more than 500 companies, government agencies, and universities that use geophysical techniques for petroleum exploration, oceanography, engineering, mining, geothermal exploration, and groundwater exploration. Response to the survey was excellent, providing detailed information on all types of airborne, land, and marine surveys. Computer processing was utilized in tabulating the statistics to provide detailed information on methods used, line‐miles covered, and average costs. Data not supplied on the questionnaire for costs or line‐mileage were estimated on the basis of worldwide averages to produce a more comprehensive report.


1988 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 344
Author(s):  
M.G. D'Arcy

Changes in the structure of a modern economy are a natural function of altered world and domestic economic circumstances. It is important that the instrument of change be the marketplace. Governments around the world have not demonstrated a superior ability to 'pick winners'. There are many instances where governments have used public funds to foster the development of particular industries only to find that, as a result of economic circumstances, the favoured industries' reliance on public funding becomes chronic. The Government's role should be to ensure that market signals are transmitted and received clearly.In Australia structural change in the economy has been a fairly slow process. This has been brought about by the numerous obstacles that have existed in the marketplace. These have meant that, not only were market signals distorted or delayed, but when received did not motivate appropriate responses. For example, labour market rigidities, inequitable taxation policies, a fixed exchange rate, together with State Government charges, have posed real impediments to implementing the necessary adjustments to the Australian economy.The Australian mining industry and the petroleum industry, in particular, have always been geared to the world market and have increasingly constituted an important component of the nation's export receipts. With regard specifically the petroleum industry, the world price downturn of the past few years and the Government's decision to drop its import parity pricing will result in major changes in the Australian industry, particularly in the exploration sector. These signals suggest a world oversupply of petroleum with the corollary that additional reserves are not needed. A resultant downturn in exploration could develop into an irrevocable reversal and jeopardise the nation's strategically important petroleum industry.In light of the diminished circumstances of the sector it is essential that the petroleum industry receives equal treatment regarding taxation and other Government imposts. Failure to remove the discriminations against petroleum and to impose a uniform structure will result in a misallocation of resources and the possibility of a permanent winding down in exploration.


Author(s):  
Andrea Elekes ◽  
Roland Nagy ◽  
László Bartha ◽  
Árpád Vágó

This paper considers anionic and nonionic surfactants, as candidates for crude oil production by enhancement applications. In this study some colloidal properties of surfactants were tested by conventional and new test methods. The oil in water type emulsions have great importance in the petroleum industry. The stability of crude oil in water emulsions are investigated in a wide range of physical and chemical circumstances. Investigations at 10 bar are needed to get knowledges on the real conditions of the given petroleum exploration processes. A special glass cell was used for the tests of the mixtures various crude oil-water emulsions under hydrocarbon gas atmosphere and for the oil disclapement efficiency. Based on the experimental results it was found that emulsifying capacity was changed significantly by the real process conditions. The decrease of the density of hydrocarbon phase was contributed to the overall reduction in the efficiency of emulsifiers also occurred. Based on the experimented data it is supported to pay more attention to apply the real test conditions or approximate the real values.


Geophysics ◽  
1976 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 780-794 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. R. Espey

This report provides statistics on worldwide use of geophysical methods in 1975. Data were obtained primarily through a survey questionnaire which was mailed out to more than 1500 companies, government agencies, and universities that use geophysical techniques for petroleum exploration, oceanography, engineering, mining, geothermal exploration, and groundwater exploration. Response to the survey was excellent and provided detailed information on more than 2100 geophysical surveys. Data on unit costs, methods used, and line‐miles covered are believed to be more accurate this year as a result of better cooperation from industry in filling out the questionnaires. Computer processing was utilized in tabulating the statistics to provide increased accuracy and detail. Data not supplied on the questionnaire for costs or line mileage were estimated on the basis of worldwide averages to produce a more comprehensive report.


2009 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 463
Author(s):  
John Hartwell

John Hartwell is Head of the Resources Division in the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, Canberra Australia. The Resources Division provides advice to the Australian Government on policy issues, legislative changes and administrative matters related to the petroleum industry, upstream and downstream and the coal and minerals industries. In addition to his divisional responsibilities, he is the Australian Commissioner for the Australia/East Timor Joint Petroleum Development Area and Chairman of the National Oil and Gas Safety Advisory Committee. He also chairs two of the taskforces, Clean Fossil Energy and Aluminium, under the Asia Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate (AP6). He serves on two industry and government leadership groups delivering reports to the Australian Government, strategies for the oil and gas industry and framework for the uranium industry. More recently he led a team charged with responsibility for taking forward the Australian Government’s proposal to establish a global carbon capture and storage institute. He is involved in the implementation of a range of resource related initiatives under the Government’s Industry Action Agenda process, including mining and technology services, minerals exploration and light metals. Previously he served as Deputy Chairman of the Snowy Mountains Council and the Commonwealth representative to the Natural Gas Pipelines Advisory Committee. He has occupied a wide range of positions in the Australian Government dealing with trade, commodity, and energy and resource issues. He has worked in Treasury, the Department of Trade, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of Primary Industries and Energy before the Department of Industry, Science and Resources. From 1992–96 he was a Minister Counsellor in the Australian Embassy, Washington, with responsibility for agriculture and resource issues and also served in the Australian High Commission, London (1981–84) as the Counsellor/senior trade relations officer. He holds a MComm in economics, and Honours in economics from the University of New South Wales, Australia. Prior to joining the Australian Government, worked as a bank economist. He was awarded a public service medal in 2005 for his work on resources issues for the Australian Government.


1992 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 481
Author(s):  
Richard Cottee

For many years the mining industry made its investment decisions safe in the knowledge that petroleum or minerals in the ground belonged to the State but upon severance of such petroleum from the ground the oil was vested in the miner. Commensurate with the ownership changing, a royalty was payable to the government at a fixed rate. With the enactment of the Petroleum (Australia-Indonesia Zone of Co-Operation) Act of 1990 (the 'Act'), serious consideration must now be given as to whether in the future this basic scheme may be dramatically and radically changed to a scheme based on a services contract whereby a certain percentage of the oil is paid in consideration of the miner 'managing the discovery and extraction of petroleum'.An increasing number of countries, including those such as Malaysia which have legal systems based on common law, have adopted petroleum sharing agreements as a basic method by which they 'encourage' petroleum exploitation. This paper:explores the major features of petroleum sharing agreements (which are now in use in the Timor Gap, Indonesia and Malaysia), and compares and contrasts those models with a regulatory scheme based on statutory leases with royalty payments (being the regulatory scheme used in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and elsewhere);reviews both the economic and legal consequences of the two regimes, assuming a constant Income Tax System.It concludes that whilst there are certain merits in both the royalty regulatory type regime and a production sharing regime it appears to the writer that on balance the royalty regulatory regime is much more beneficial to the industry than the alternate. This is particularly true given the fact that Australian governments generally should have sufficient confidence in their regulatory skills and Australian technology that it does not feel it necessary to be given a veto power for each and every decision made in respect of petroleum exploration or production.The major deficiencies of a production sharing arrangement are the fact that the risk taker does not obtain legal tide to the product until after it has either passed the point of tanker loading or been sold to some third party, and the concept of 'cost oil'. If the rates of government 'take' is so high that it is more profitable to obtain 'cost oil' for the company than to receive its 'share' under the production sharing agreement, then the petroleum industry as a whole will suffer gross inefficiency in that area.


Geophysics ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 77 (5) ◽  
pp. WC173-WC190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alireza Malehmir ◽  
Raymond Durrheim ◽  
Gilles Bellefleur ◽  
Milovan Urosevic ◽  
Christopher Juhlin ◽  
...  

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 99 (5) ◽  
pp. 493-497
Author(s):  
M. M. Aslanova ◽  
T. V. Gololobova ◽  
K. Yu. Kuznetsova ◽  
Tamari R. Maniya ◽  
D. V. Rakitina ◽  
...  

Introduction. The purpose of our work was to justify the need to improve the legislative, regulatory and methodological framework and preventative measures in relation to the spread of parasitic infections in the provision of medical care. There is a wide range of pathogens of parasitic infestations that are transmitted to humans through various medical manipulations and interventions carried out in various medical institutions. Contaminated care items and furnishings, medical instruments and equipment, solutions for infusion therapy, medical personnel’s clothing and hands, reusable medical products, drinking water, bedding, suture and dressing materials can serve as a major factor in the spread of parasitic infections in the provision of medical care. Purpose of research is the study of the structure and SMP of parasitic origin, circulating on the objects of the production environment in multi-profile medical and preventive institutions of stationary type in order to prevent the occurrence of their spread within medical institutions. Material and methods. The material for the study was flushes taken from the production environment in 3 multi-profile treatment and prevention institutions of inpatient type: a multi-specialty hospital, a maternity hospital and a hospital specializing in the treatment of patients with intestinal diseases for the eggs of worms and cysts of pathogenic protozoa. Results. During the 2-year monitoring of medical preventive institutions, a landscape of parasitic contamination was found to be obtained from the flushes taken from the production environment objects in the premises surveyed as part of the research work. Discussions. In the course of research, the risk of developing ISMP of parasitic origin was found to be determined by the degree of epidemiological safety of the hospital environment, the number and invasiveness of treatment and diagnostic manipulations and various medical technologies. Conclusion. It is necessary to conduct an expert assessment of regulatory and methodological documents in the field of epidemiological surveillance and sanitary and hygienic measures for the prevention of medical aid related infections of parasitic origin, to optimize the regulatory and methodological base, to develop a number of preventive measures aimed at stopping the spread of parasitic infections in the medical network.


Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Viacheslav Glinskikh ◽  
Oleg Nechaev ◽  
Igor Mikhaylov ◽  
Kirill Danilovskiy ◽  
Vladimir Olenchenko

This paper is dedicated to the topical problem of examining permafrost’s state and the processes of its geocryological changes by means of geophysical methods. To monitor the cryolithozone, we proposed and scientifically substantiated a new technique of pulsed electromagnetic cross-well sounding. Based on the vector finite-element method, we created a mathematical model of the cross-well sounding process with a pulsed source in a three-dimensional spatially heterogeneous medium. A high-performance parallel computing algorithm was developed and verified. Through realistic geoelectric models of permafrost with a talik under a highway, constructed following the results of electrotomography field data interpretation, we numerically simulated the pulsed sounding on the computing resources of the Siberian Supercomputer Center of SB RAS. The simulation results suggest the proposed system of pulsed electromagnetic cross-well monitoring to be characterized by a high sensitivity to the presence and dimensions of the talik. The devised approach can be oriented to addressing a wide range of issues related to monitoring permafrost rocks under civil and industrial facilities, buildings, and constructions.


2005 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 1105-1115 ◽  
Author(s):  
O Meric ◽  
S Garambois ◽  
D Jongmans ◽  
M Wathelet ◽  
J L Chatelain ◽  
...  

Several geophysical techniques (electromagnetic profiling, electrical tomography, seismic refraction tomography, and spontaneous potential and seismic noise measurement) were applied in the investigation of the large gravitational mass movement of Séchilienne. France. The aim of this study was to test the ability of these methods to characterize and delineate the rock mass affected by this complex movement in mica schists, whose lateral and vertical limits are still uncertain. A major observation of this study is that all the zones strongly deformed (previously and at present) by the movement are characterized by high electrical resistivity values (>3 kΩ·m), in contrast to the undisturbed mass, which exhibits resistivity values between a few hundred and 1 kΩ·m. As shown by the surface observations and the seismic results, this resistivity increase is due to a high degree of fracturing associated with the creation of air-filled voids inside the mass. Other geophysical techniques were tested along a horizontal transect through the movement, and an outstanding coherency appeared between the geophysical anomalies and the displacement rate curve. These preliminary results illustrate the benefits of combined geophysical techniques for characterizing the rock mass involved in the movement. Results also suggest that monitoring the evolution of the rock mass movement with time-lapse geophysical surveys could be beneficial.Key words: gravitational movement, geophysical methods, Séchilienne.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document