Chapter 4.
3
GEOLOGIC PROSPECTING AND EXPLORATION
WILLIAM C . P E T E R S
4.3.1 INTRODUCTION
Geology provides the framework in which mineral explora-
tion and the integrated procedures of remote sensing, geophysics,
and geochemistry are planned and interpreted.
A systematic exploration program is directed toward a min-
eral discovery that will be evaluated as a prospect. “Prospect”
may carry several connotations. A geophysicist or geochemist
may apply the term to an encouraging anomaly that bears addi-
tional investigation. In this discussion, a prospect is a site of
recognized and potentially economic mineralization that has not
yet come into production as a mine.
The evaluation of a new prospect may be done by the discov-
erer’s own organization, by joint venturers in mine development,
and by purchasers of the mineral property. Prospect evaluation
and the ensuing feasibility studies are heavily geologic, but they
are directed toward the specific economic and engineering con-
siderations of mine development and production. As such, they
are discussed most fully in Sections 5 and 6.
4.3.2 GEOLOGY IN THE EXPLORATION
SEQUENCE
An initial requirement in exploration is to have a mental
image of the target—the deposit being sought. Throughout his-
tory, prospectors have used a knowledge of known deposits as
guidelines in their search for new deposits; in modern explora-
tion, this is identified as the building of an exploration model.
The exploration model applies to a favorable geological environ-
ment and a target with an expected response to the methods and
techniques of exploration. The model will necessarily be revised
and redirected during exploration. An exploration objective that
allows for a discovery among several kinds of deposits will make
use of several models.
Exploration may be done as a comprehensive “grassroots”
program in a large and geologically attractive region. It may be
done within the narrower limits of a specific district having a
particular need for a new ore body or a recognized potential for
ore discovery.
4.3.2.1 Grassroots Exploration
Grassroots or regional exploration follows a sequence of
reconnaissance, target selection, target investigation, and prospect
evaluation, as generalized in Fig. 4.3.1. In a preliminary design
or generative stage, a strategic plan is made in relation to an
economically acceptable objective, a cost and time budget, one
or more exploration models, and the geologic nature of a selected
region. The region itself may be selected in regard to uninvesti-
gated terrain within a discernible association between geology
and existing mineral deposits. This can amount to a recognized
metallogenic province such as the Colorado Mineral Belt (Fig.
4.3.2), the Carlin Trend of gold deposits in Nevada, or the
Mother Lode system of quartz-gold veins in California. The
region may also encompass a large area with few known deposits
but with potentially favorable geologic conditions involving
221
lithologic and structural sequences or even plate tectonics fea-
tures.
The reconnaissance stages provide for a stepwise screening
by geological, geophysical, and geochemical methods in which
areas of little or no apparent promise are rejected and the re-
maining work is focused on progressively smaller and more sig-
nificant areas of manageable size. Primary reconnaissance, the
coarsest stage in screening, amounts to an examination of the
entire region for areas with some combination of exposed or
indicated geologic attributes that relate to the exploration model.
These are selected as favorable areas for further reconnaissance.
Secondary or detailed reconnaissance is a process of finer screen-
ing for target areas that fit, or have the capability to fit, the
exploration model. The reconnaissance stages, beginning with a
selected region of several thousand to more than 40,000 mi2
(100,000 km2), may reduce the terrain under consideration to
something on the order of 40 mi2 (100 km2) in a favorable area.
A favorable area may then be reduced to less than 20 mi2 (50
km2) in a selected target area.
In the target selection stage, detailed surface studies in the
target areas provide for the identification of specific targets on
the order of a few square miles (square kilometers) or less. Dur-
ing the subsequent target investigation stage, work converges on
the target with the highest priority, and the target is explored in
its subsurface extent by drilling and sampling. The aim is to
discover a body of ore mineralization. In the prospect evaluation
stage, the discovery is appraised as a potential ore body, and
an acceptable prospect is then approved for feasibility studies,
environmental baseline data collection, and eventual develop-
ment into a mine.
Reality seldom mirrors this neat scheme. A grassroots explo-
ration sequence may be telescoped in various ways. With a
stratigraphy-associated exploration model or within a region
having considerable postore cover, subsurface work with drill-
holes may begin much earlier, even as a part of reconnaissance.
The discovery of a potential ore body, considered as taking place
during the target investigation stage, may actually happen at
some point along the way, perhaps during a target area investiga-
tion. In the idealized sequence, the region reduces to a single
target. In actuality, no target of sufficient interest may be found.
Conversely, a number of targets may be selected, and these
are investigated in an order of priority based on their relative
strength.
As shown in the “data” path in Fig. 4.3.1, data from rejected
targets and areas amount to exploration experience; these are
collected for use in planning subsequent exploration. New infor-
mation that can affect the geologic assumptions and interpreta-
tions made in prior stages, or even in the exploration model
itself, may also come to light; this, shown in the “revisions” path,
is used in a reconsideration of earlier decisions that were made
and areas that were selected or rejected.
4.3.2.2 District Exploration
In district exploration, as opposed to grassroots exploration,
a more limited area of 400 mi2 (1000 km2) or less will have been
preselected for detailed reconnaissance and a search for targets.
There may be a need for a specific kind of new ore body in
222 MINING ENGINEERING HANDBOOK
Fig. 4.3.1. Regional geologic exploration sequence.
relation to a mineral-using industry or a near-depleted mine.
There may be a newly recognized potential for a significant
discovery within an established mining district. This can derive
from improved economic and technologic conditions for the
mining of a particular commodity, from a perceived application
for new exploration technology, or from the identification of
important geologic ore controls in similar deposits and analogous
terrain.
A district hitherto characterized as having small-scale mines
may now be prospected once more in search of larger scale
mineralization or for stratigraphically as well as structurally
controlled ore bodies. The district may also be “elephant coun-
try” where major ore bodies have been mined. Here the search
is directed to the discovery of less-apparent and “blind” ore
bodies that may have formed at some depth beneath the present
surface or that lie beneath unrelated postore lithologic units.
District exploration may take on an intense “gold rush”
aspect when it follows the discovery of a new ore body—essen-
tially a new exploration model—in the immediate area. In some
instances, such exploration may be overly thorough. It then
amounts to what has been termed “saturation prospecting”
where an entire district is explored in detail as though it were
actually a target area.
District exploration, discoveries, and the identification of
potential ore bodies are commonly repeated by several groups
and over long periods of time. With newer economic situations
and geologic interpretations, information from the rejected tar-
gets, uneconomic discoveries, and mines of a prior cycle of explo-
ration will then provide guidelines for the next cycle.
Geologic exploration, whether done in a grassroots or dis-
trict sequence, relates field observations to the geologic condi-
tions provided in the exploration model and to its expected
signatures of geological, geophysical, and geochemical anoma-
lies. Conditions and anomalies are tested in accordance with the
model in successive areas and targets until one or more signifi-
cant discoveries are made, or until the program is abandoned.
4.3.3 EXPLORATION MODELS
Mineral deposits can be expressed in terms of descriptive
empirical models, genetic conceptual models, and more compre-
 GEOLOGIC PROSPECTING AND EXPLORATION
Fig. 4.3.2. Colorado Mineral Belt. Principal mines and mining dis-
tricts associated with Laramide Tertiary intrusive porphyries and
northeasterly shear zones.
hensive exploration models. An exploration model is a body of
geologic information taken from known deposits and used as
target-recognition criteria in a particular program and a particu-
lar terrain.
Traditional prospectors have long used direct and indirect
knowledge of known ore deposits as guides to new ore bodies.
When formally assembled, this amounts to an empirical model
describing the target ore body. An empirical model is a thorough
compilation of data and observations taken from a group of
similar mineral deposits. Empirical modeling relates the type of
deposit to a range of geological characteristics, but it does not
make specific use of genetic interpretations or concepts. The
models are commonly named in relation to deposits such as an
alluvial gold placer, a beryllium-lithium-bearing pegmatite, a
polymetallic massive sulfide, a volcanic-hosted gold-silver ore
body, or a copper skarn ore body (Fig. 4.3.3). Simplification
and generalization are inherent; otherwise there would be an
inordinate number of separate models, one for each of the indi-
vidual deposits considered.
Summarized empirical and descriptive models for major
types of mineral deposits have been compiled as guidelines to
prospectors by the US Geological Survey (Cox and Singer, 1986)
and the Geological Survey of Canada (Eckstrand, 1984). In
these, examples are cited for each type of deposit, and each
model is described in relation to its geological setting, character-
istics, and typical conditions of tonnage and grade. The geologic
setting is directed to the type, texture, and age of the host rock
and associated rocks, to the tectonic situation, and to the associa-
tion with other kinds of deposits. Deposit characteristics are
given in reference to the form of the deposit, to its mineralogy,
structural associations, attendant mineral zoning and wall rock
alteration patterns, and to its weathering features and geochemi-
cal signature.
Taken with concepts on the genesis of a certain type of
deposit, an empirical model evolves into a genetic or conceptual
223
Fig. 4.3.3. Empirical model, illustration: copper skarn. (Cox and
Singer, 1986, p. 87).
model in which the geologic processes associated with the depos-
it’s attributes are identified. A conceptual model is designated
according to a deposit prototype such as “Mississippi Valley
lead-zinc” or according to group classifications such as “volca-
nogenic massive sulfide deposits” or “hot spring gold deposits”
(Fig 4.3.4).
A conceptual model, accepted with the detailed empirical
criteria for recognizing its attributes and associations, provides
the fundamentals for an exploration model. An exploration
model is formulated in respect to a specific target, or family of
targets, that fit the overall geology of the region, an acceptable
size and grade of deposit, and the capabilities of the organization.
It relates the directly compelling and indirectly permissive char-
acteristics of the expected target to the most appropriate geologi-
cal, geophysical, and geochemical detection methods, and it pro-
vides a basis for designing a sequence of exploration steps and
decisions.
Exploration models have an acknowledged limitation. They
are drawn from ore bodies that have already been discovered
rather than from those that are yet to be found in new terrain.
Thus a model will be too restrictive unless it is open to modifica-
tion as information is gathered during the exploration program.
Some of the geological relationships in the model may depend on
several alternative genetic concepts; the model must be flexible
enough to accommodate the multiple working hypotheses. As-
sumptions about the area’s geology and styles of ore mineraliza-
tion will change as well. All of this requires feedback to the
224 MINING ENGINEERING HANDBOOK
Fig. 4.3.4. Genetic model, schematic illustration: volcanic-hosted,
alkalic gold-silver deposit (Bonham, 1988, p. 267). Conversion factor:
1 ft = 0.3048 m
model, with a provision for revising the choice of appropriate
recognition criteria.
Mineralization found during the investigation of a specific
target may be in an appropriate regional and local pattern but
in a different geologic association from that expected on the
basis of the guiding model. The remaining and more definitive
exploration will then be guided by a model that has been changed
to account for another or entirely new type of ore body. This
was done in the exploration program that led to the discovery
of the Olympic Dam copper-uranium-gold deposit in South Aus-
tralia. The target investigation was based on an effective series
of regional and area investigations, but the initial drillhole inter-
sected significant mineralization associated with sedimentary
breccias rather than with an anticipated basalt. Additional dril-
ling and the discovery of economic mineralization in the princi-
pal ore body was then guided by a new model.
The format taken by exploration models does not follow a
particular standard. It may involve descriptive text, tables and
matrices of geologic characteristics, diagrams, and mathematical
expressions of correlation between geologic character, tonnage,
and grade. A deposit targeted for detection is also expressed in
terms of its expected geophysical and geochemical signatures.
As models in themselves, these are taken in geologic context and
included in the exploration model.
The mass of data that must be processed and displayed in
an exploration model is commonly handled by computer. In this
regard, another family of models can also be used in selecting
areas and designing programs for prospecting. These are
computer-processed mathematical models that deal with the
probability for certain types of ore deposit to occur as a geostatis-
tical “mineral endowment” within a selected area (Harris, 1990)
or to be recognized in a given search pattern (De Geoffroy and
Wignall, 1985). One form of computerized exploration modeling,
that of “Prospector” and related systems, uses the procedures of
artificial intelligence. It accepts a series of actual and simulated
data that would be obtained in prospecting, relates this to a
network of exploration models for a chosen kind of deposit, and
imitates the decision process of a geologist in evaluating the
favorability for ore occurrence within a specific target area
(Johnson and Keravnou, 1985).
In addition to the geologic models used in exploration, there
are models for related purposes. A detailed geologic model of
the specific ore body is fundamental to the evaluation and devel-
opment of a mining project (Chapter 5.5), and models are basic
to geostatistical ore reserve estimation (Chapter 5.6).
4.3.4 METHODS OF GEOLOGIC EXPLORATION
Methods of geologic exploration comprise the techniques
and procedures of conventional prospecting, interpretation of
airborne and satellite imagery, field geologic mapping, and sub-
surface investigation. Geochemical and geophysical exploration
methods and laboratory analytical support are integrated with
geologic methods throughout an exploration program.
Exploration is first a matter of using broad-scale geologic
reconnaissance to find areas that could reasonably contain a
suitable target, then of using more detailed geology to find the
target itself (if one exists) and finally a matter of zeroing-in on
the bull’s eye—an ore body. Whether in extensive grassroots
exploration or in more restricted district exploration, the step-
wise coarse-to-fine screening provides for the work to be concen-
trated in the specific areas with a geological identity that most
closely fits the exploration model. An initial investigation of an
entire region or district in uniform detail would be inordinately
costly; the need for time and money increase markedly during
subsequent target investigation and delineation.
Geologic maps and geologic mapping are fundamental to
exploration. They provide the framework for conventional pros-
pecting, the basis for recognizing geologic target conditions, and
the context for designing and interpreting geophysical and geo-
chemical surveys in the stepwise sequence from reconnaissance
to detail.
4.3.4.1 Conventional Prospecting
The procedures of conventional prospecting—looking for
direct indications of ore mineralization in outcrops and in sedi-
ments and soil—are those of the traditional prospector. They
remain a part of systematic exploration, and they are now carried
out with the support of newer field and laboratory techniques.
Conventional prospecting has a spatial aspect that relates to
mapping; thus much of the field traversing used in geologic
mapping during exploration can also be categorized as “conven-
tional prospecting.”
Some of the most direct indications of ore mineralization are
associated with prior prospecting and mining, as shown in the
character and pattern of old workings. An array of pits and
caved adits on a hillside can reflect the trend of an unexposed
vein or a bedded zone of mineralization. The succession of mate-
rial in an old mine dump can indicate the nature of deeper ore
mineralization and its lithologic associations. Relative sizes and
mineral compositions in a series of mine dumps can give evidence
of an ore body’s structural attitude, depth of oxidation, and
zoning sequence. Old placer workings may have a distribution
that relates to undiscovered primary mineralization.
Conventional prospectors have long been aware of the colors
and textures shown at the surface by weathered ore mineraliza-
tion. They have made use of gossan and capping, the characteris-
tic red, brown, and yellow accumulations of cellular limonitic
material derived from the leaching of sulfide-bearing veins and
disseminated ore bodies. Other guides to ore mineralization in
 GEOLOGIC PROSPECTING AND EXPLORATION
weathered outcrops relate to such colors as the greens and blues
of oxidized copper minerals, the black of oxidized manganese
minerals, and the yellows and greens of silver halides. These
traditional guides to ore have an expanded modern aspect in the
applications of geochemistry and laboratory mineralogy to the
identification and interpretation of gossans and weathered out-
crops.
Prospectors have been drawn to topographic “ledges,” the
ridges and knobs that may be associated with vein quartz and
silicification, and to aligned depressions made by collapse and
slumping during the oxidation of ore bodies. Coalbeds that have
oxidized and burned in the zone of weathering will also be re-
flected in a thinner remnant exposure and a surficial zone of
slumping. With aerial photography, these geomorphic features,
however subtle, continue to be used in ore search.
The tracing of mineralized “float,” fragments of ore, gossan,
and ore-associated rock that have been eroded and transported
from a source area, is a long-recognized conventional practice
in prospecting. It is now done with the support of geochemical
rock sampling, definitive mineral identification, and the color
patterns apparent on aerial photographs. Geomorphic and paleo-
geographic studies can be involved. A dispersal train or fan of
rock and mineral fragments is generally from a source “uphill,”
but it may also relate to the more recent erosion of an earlier
accumulation in ancestral drainages and divides. Even patterns
of human occupancy have a place in the tracing of mineralized
float; stones in farm walls would have come from less than half
way to the next wall. This served as a guide to the discovery of
the Tynagh zinc-lead ore body beneath several feet (meters) of
glacial drift in Ireland.
The tracing of ore boulders in glaciated terrain served as a
guide to the discovery of the Outokumpu copper deposit in
Finland, and it is a longstanding practice of conventional pros-
pecting in Scandinavia and Canada. It can now be associated
with geochemical prospecting in glacial till, the sampling of the
till-bedrock zone in shallow drillholes, and the recognition of
specific patterns in glacial drift.
Panning for gold and other heavy minerals in alluvium is a
longstanding and still-valid way of collecting geological informa-
tion and of tracing relatively stable ore minerals to a placer
deposit or to an exposed source in a specific drainage basin
(Chapter 15.1.1). In modern practice, the sites, such as stream
junctions and former stream channels, are selected and mapped
on aerial photographs. Heavy mineral panning is now supported
by mechanical, electromagnetic, and electrostatic separation
techniques and by microscopic examination and instrumental
mineralogical analysis. In geochemical exploration, panning is a
technique associated with stream sediment and heavy mineral
sampling, as described in Chapter 4.5.
The age-old practice of digging pits and trenches into placer
deposits and through soil and weathered zones to obtain geologic
information and samples is as valid as ever, but it is now done
with bulldozers, backhoes, and lightweight drilling machinery.
Stream channel depths can be outlined in advance by geophysical
methods, and the sites for trenching and drilling are sometimes
determined by using hammer-activated seismic equipment to
indicate shallow bedrock.
4.3.4.2 Logistics
Four-wheel-drive vehicles are the standard means of field
access for conventional prospecting and systematic exploration
in relatively open desert and brush country. In remote and less
accessible terrain, air transportation is applicable. Even though
the cost of operating fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters is high,
the alternative of slow surface travel from a distant base camp
225
would often be more costly and would lessen the time spent in
actual field geologic work. A common procedure is to establish
a base camp at a site that can be serviced by ground transport
or by a fixed-wing aircraft and then use a helicopter for access
to field sites, cleared landing areas, and temporary “fly camps.”
In an extended exploration program, a base camp can also be
the site of a mobile geochemical laboratory and a micro-
computer-equipped workstation in a network that provides field
geologists with maps, sample data, and information in direct
contact by telephone line with other computers in laboratories,
data-handling services, and principal offices.
Helicopters serve conventional prospecting and systematic
exploration by providing “fly-over” confirmation for photogeo-
logic interpretation and by giving views of minor but significant
terrain features, hydrothermal alteration zones, and old prospect
workings in a varied perspective that most aerial photography
could not match. Helicopter-borne methods of geophysical pros-
pecting can be incorporated as well. Throughout an exploration
program in all but the most densely wooded terrain, a helicopter
pilot can place geologists and equipment on sites and near signifi-
cant outcrops for sampling and field traversing.
4.3.4.3 Scale of Exploration Work
The scale chosen for the recording and study of conventional
prospecting data, geologic information, geologic field mapping,
and geophysical and geochemical work depends on the extent of
the exploration model and its associated features. In reconnais-
sance, the scale must be large enough to show the relevant geol-
ogy without too much exaggeration, and yet it must be small
enough to give a synopsis of regional patterns in preference to
the more intricate geologic detail that comes with larger-scale
mapping in target areas.
Primary reconnaissance is done at 1:100,000 (USGS interme-
diate scale maps) or smaller. In North America, primary recon-
naissance in a grassroots exploration program often begins with
geologic maps, photogeologic studies, and field mapping at a
scale of 1:250,000 (1 in. = 4 mi). A government topographic
map sheet at this scale covers an area on the order of 7000 mi2
(18,000 km2). Field observation sites can be plotted within a
spacing of 0.6 mi (1 km) and related to enough topographic and
cultural detail to be located again.
After primary reconnaissance has reduced the area to
smaller areas of further interest, the appropriate data for second-
ary reconnaissance are transferred to a more detailed set of
topographic and geologic maps, aerial photographs, and overlay
sheets at a scale of 1:24,000 (1 in. = 2000 ft), 1:25,000 or, in some
instances, 1:50,000 or 1:62,500 (USGS 15-min quadrangles). The
increase in scale from that of primary reconnaissance is on the
order of five to ten times; a lesser increase in scale would not be
likely to bring out more detail. At 1:25,000, additional observa-
tions can be recorded at intervals of 170 ft (50 m); traverse lines
for geology, geochemistry, and geophysics can be shown; and
individual mine workings, local stratigraphic changes, and local
structure can be discriminated well enough to proceed from
reconnaissance investigations into more detailed investigation of
the target areas.
The scale of geologic work in target areas is likely to be in
the range from 1:5000 or 1:6000 (1 in. = 500 ft) to 1:10,000 or
1:12,000 (1 in. = 1000 ft). At this level, prospect pits 30 to 60
ft (10 to 20 m) apart can be shown by separate symbols, and a
dike or fault zone several feet (meters) in width can be shown
without exaggeration as a single fine line. The succeeding step
in mapping within a more closely defined target will often be at
1:1000 to 1:2400 (1 in. = 200 ft) or 1:2500; at this scale, the
226 MINING ENGINEERING HANDBOOK
smaller significant features associated with individual deposits
can be shown.
Once a specific site for drilling and trenching has been desig-
nated, it may be mapped at a still larger scale such as 1:500 or
1:600 (1 in. = 50 ft) so that the results of sampling as well as
the stratigraphic and structural detail can be plotted in their
exact locations on maps and cross sections. In the trenches and
pits themselves, there may be a need to plot the sample data in
even more detail at a scale such as 1:100.
4.3.4.4 Airborne and Satellite Imagery
Because reconnaissance work begins with a synoptic view, it
can begin at the scale of satellite and airborne imagery. Imagery
includes direct photography and the images derived from other
remote sensing data obtained from spectroradiometric channels
or bands in the visible and infrared spectral wavelengths and
in the wavelengths of microwave and radar systems. Geologic
methods in remote sensing are related to geophysical prospecting
(Chapter 4.4.) The response is, however, more from the land
surface than from depth. Remote sensing has an additional rela-
tion to geobotanical patterns, a consideration in geochemical
prospecting (Chapter 4.5.) The geologic exploration procedures
are essentially those of image analysis, interpretation, and photo-
geologic mapping.
Satellite Imagery: The most widely used sources of satellite
remote sensing imagery have been from the Landsat series of the
Earth Observation Satellite Co. (EOSAT) and from the French
SPOT series of spacecraft. Both have worldwide coverage from
which spectral radiance data in individual scenes can be obtained
in computer-compatible tape (CCT) and photographic form.
In the Landsat series, multispectral scanner (MSS) and the-
matic mapper (TM) data are obtained for ground scenes of 115
× 115 mi (185 × 185 km). MSS provides imagery at a ground
resolution of 260 ft (80 m) from two spectral bands in the visible
spectrum and two bands with wavelengths that correspond to
the infrared portion of the spectrum just beyond the visible zone
(Fig. 4.3.5). The thematic mapper on Landsat 4 and 5 provides
additional imagery at a ground resolution of 100 ft (30 m) and
a higher sensitivity from reflectance in six spectral bands, four
in the visible and near infrared range and two in the short wave
or middle infrared range. The thematic mapper also provides
imagery at a ground resolution of 400 ft (120 m) in a thermal
infrared band. Further Landsat missions are planned to have a
stereocoverage capability, with a ground resolution of 33 ft (10
m) in the visible and near infrared spectral region, and a ground
resolution of 200 ft (60 m) in several thermal infrared bands.
In addition to providing a thorough view of landscape pat-
terns reflecting geologic structure, multispectral scanner imagery
displays variations in the radiance given by rocks, soils, and
vegetation in each spectral band. By comparing the data from a
number of bands at their different wavelengths, types of land
surface cover and lithology can be recognized.
The difference in reflectance between two MSS wavelength
bands can also indicate a strong spectral absorption associated
with ferric iron oxide staining in hydrothermally altered areas.
The thematic mapper has the increased capability of differentiat-
ing between carbonate and silicate rock assemblages and identi-
fying hydrothermally altered areas characterized by the presence
of hydroxl-bearing minerals such as kaolinite, sericite, montmo-
rillonite, and alunite.
Landsat data can be previewed on microfiche cards and can
be obtained from EOSAT as computer-compatible tapes or disks
and as derived photographic images. Landsat tapes and disks
have a higher resolution than the derived images because they
are a direct record of the sensor data; they can be processed into
images, enhanced to highlight specific data, and enlarged to
scales of 1:50,000 for accurate map making or 1:24,000 for geo-
logic field work. Photographic products are 1:1,000,000-scale
black and white film negatives and positives from single bands
and 1:1,000,000 and 1:500,000-scale film positives composited
from several bands in “false color.” Paper prints can also be
obtained as enlargements at 1:500,000 and 1:250,000 scale.
SPOT is a commercial French satellite system that obtains
data for ground scenes of 38 × 38 mi (60 × 60 km) with
a capability of stereoscopic viewing. A high-resolution sensor
operates in two modes. One mode provides a ground resolution
of 66 ft (20 m) for three spectral bands in the visible and near
infrared wavelengths. A panchromatic mode provides black-
and-white imagery with a ground resolution of 33 ft (10 m) in a
single broad band.
SPOT products are available as computer-compatible tapes
and derived photographic images. Precision processing of the
tape data can provide accurate topographic maps at a scale of
1:50,000 and a field mapping base at a scale of 1:12,000. The
photographic products are black and white or color composite
transparencies and prints at scales of 1:400,000, 1:200,000, and
1:100,000.
For geologic reconnaissance study, the most widely used
Landsat and SPOT products have been black and white prints
of specific band imagery and color (false color) composites of
three bands. In most color composites, vegetation appears in
shades of orange and red, water in black, and soil and rocks in
shades of green, gray, red, orange, and brown.
Geologic features can be accented in several ways. Imagery
with minimal cloud cover can be selected for times of year when
partial snow or vegetation conditions bring out subtle differences
in structure or lithology. The data from tapes and disks can also
be processed by photographic darkroom techniques, by optical
diffraction techniques, or by computer in order to emphasize
certain features having geologic context. Computer-aided pro-
cessing of Landsat and SPOT data makes use of smoothing,
filtering, and sharpening techniques. The resulting enhanced im-
ages are provided by contrast stretch, by edge detection, and by
ratioing– showing the difference in spectral reflectance values
between two wavelength bands.
In additional techniques, high resolution black-and-white
SPOT imagery is merged with thematic mapper imagery, and
topographic or geophysical data are merged with satellite imag-
ery. The display of processed data can range from a computer-
drafted isoline map or a sheet of superimposed characters in
various densities for each pixel (resolution-size picture element)
to a color-photographic rendition of images created and modified
in a video display. A certain amount of preprocessing involving
geometric correction, scene shifting, and map gridding (geocod-
ing) can be obtained from EOSAT and SPOT. Additional pro-
cessing can be done by a user with an adequate computer facility
or can be obtained from one of several dozen service companies
that deal specifically with the custom handling and interpreta-
tion of remote sensing data for mineral exploration.
Although Landsat and SPOT multispectral data provide the
most widely used satellite imagery for reconnaissance, there are
other sources of useful satellite imagery. These involve remote
sensing data from other American and foreign satellites and also
photography from manned spacecraft.
Shuttle multispectral infrared radiometer (SMIRR) and
shuttle imaging radar (SIR) have applications to geologic recon-
naissance. Satellite-borne radar is able to penetrate the persistent
cloud cover and forest cover of areas such as in the tropics, and
it can obtain signals with 80 to 130 ft (25 to 40 m) ground
resolution relating to bedrock and its structural patterns beneath
several meters of desert sand cover. Limitations exist, however,
 GEOLOGIC PROSPECTING AND EXPLORATION
Fig. 4.3.5. Spectral zones and band designations, Landsat and
SPOT. TM band 6 is at 10.4 to 12.5 µm in the thermal infrared zone.
in its discontinuous geographic coverage in relatively narrow
swaths. Additional satellite-borne radar coverage is represented
in Japan’s marine observation satellite (MOS), which also fur-
nishes stereo imagery in the visible wavelengths and imagery in
the thermal infrared band. The ERS-1 satellite (1992) of the
European Space Agency and Canada’s Radarsat (1994) are de-
signed with sensors to include radar imagery at 80 to 100 ft (25
to 30 m) ground resolution.
Geologic reconnaissance can make use of the spectacular
and high-quality photography of some large areas on the earth
provided by the Skylab and the later space shuttle missions. In
these photographs, ground resolution is on the order of 30 ft (10
m) with black-and-white film and 60 ft (20 m) with color film.
Satellite imagery is of demonstrated value in reconnaissance
work, but there are, as with all exploration tools, some limita-
tions. Cloud cover and vegetation hide a great deal of terrain,
and there are expanses of soil and sediment that mask geologic
features. Still, vegetation responds in discernible ways to geo-
chemical patterns, large structural features sometimes appear as
“ghosts” through overburden, and satellite radar can penetrate
some of the cloud cover. One of the most useful features of
satellite imagery in comparison with aerial photography and
aircraft-based remote sensing is its broader synoptic view of
227
surface patterns and alignments in large areas—just what is
needed in the early stages of reconnaissance.
The comparatively low resolution of satellite data, even in
camera photography and in high-quality SPOT panchromatic
images, prevents it from competing with middle to low altitude
aerial photography and airborne remote sensing in detailed geo-
logic mapping at a scale larger than that of reconnaissance.
Vertical aerial photography in stereo coverage is the established
“workhorse” of geologic mapping.
Aerial Photography: With aerial photography as with satel-
lite imagery, we can obtain synoptic views that would not be
possible on the ground. Photogeologic mapping is an established
technique in reconnaissance; it provides for an economical and
effective map in which geology is keyed to a certain amount of
surface observation and “ground truth.” Air photos also provide
the base for more detailed field mapping. In target areas, geologic
features are plotted on stereopairs of contact prints and on single
photograph enlargements that are keyed to topographic maps.
There is hardly any upper limit to the scale at which aerial
photographs can serve in geologic exploration. Government
stereo pairs are provided in black-and-white contact prints and
transparencies and to a lesser extent in color photographs at
reconnaissance scales ranging from 1:120,000 to 1:20,000. For
228 MINING ENGINEERING HANDBOOK
more detailed geologic mapping, enlargements of single photo-
graphs to several times the original scale can provide additional
nonstereo prints without losing too much clarity for field work.
Larger-scale photography, with stereopairs at a scale on the
order of 1:6000 or 1:3000, is furnished for selected areas from
new flying by air-photo contractors; these photographs can also
be enlarged to provide high-resolution and corrected (or-
thophoto) prints at a scale on the order of 1:1000 or 1:500.
Whatever the scale of photography, there are certain places
in which its use in geologic mapping is limited. Cloud cover
may seldom, or never, permit good photography in some areas.
Photography can be planned for the right season in areas of
deciduous trees, but there are areas in which evergreen vegeta-
tion may be too dense in all seasons for an effective look at the
ground. Topographic relief in some locales may be so great
that the photographs are badly distorted for photogrammetric
mapping unless taken from a very high altitude and therefore at
a small scale.
Photogeologic work is done by interpreting contrasts and
textures in tones and shades of gray and tints of color. Landforms
are commonly quite distinct, and the stereoscopic view provided
by adjacent photographs emphasizes even the most subtle varia-
tions in terrain. Quartzite, limestone, and felsic igneous rocks
reflect a higher percentage of the incident light and have light
tones; shale and slate show darker tones. A basalt flow or an
amphibolite dike absorbs most of the incident light and appears
very dark, as would be expected.
Geomorphic relationships, the shape, size, and distribution
of topographic features, are the mainstay of photogeologic inter-
pretation for exploration work. Linear and arclike alignments in
stream courses, ridges, and vegetation can be related to known
or suspected patterns of volcanic caldera features, intrusive
boundaries, fault zones, folded beds, and unconformities. Most
linear features are, however, labeled as “photo linears” until a
field investigation can be made. A photo linear cutting across
several tonal and textural zones may turn out to be a vein, a
fault, a dike, the faint expression of a structural feature beneath
alluvium or soil, or perhaps a fence line or an old road. A “hash”
of linears in several directions may afford a significant geologic
interpretation as a jointing pattern. It could also relate simply
to livestock trails.
Most photogeology is done by direct study of the photo-
graphic prints. Aerial photography data can also be enhanced
by some of the photographic, optical, and computer techniques
mentioned for satellite imagery. These include selective filtering,
contrast stretching, and edge enhancement. The final photogeo-
logic map may also be integrated with other data such as topo-
graphic contours and geophysical and geochemical trends.
Color infrared (near infrared) aerial photographs provide
additional coverage with considerable detail. They are widely
available at 1:58,000 scale in the United States through the USGS
National High Altitude Photography Program.
Airborne Scanning Systems: Side-looking airborne radar
(SLAR) has poorer resolution than photography, but it is used
in exploration, especially in areas where forest and cloud cover
limit the effectiveness of aerial photography. Geologic features
are not seen as such, but faint linear patterns may show up better
at 30 to 60 ft (10 to 20 m) ground resolution in SLAR than with
aerial photography. SLAR imagery of some one-third of the
United States is available from the US Geological Survey as
digital data and as 1:250,000 and 1:100,000 photographic im-
agery.
Airborne remote-sensing imagery has multispectral capabili-
ties similar to those of the thematic mapper, but with data from
additional spectroradiometric channels and at a closer resolu-
tion. Geographic coverage is still limited, but it is becoming
available in mining regions. A system that has been tested over
an extensive greenstone region in Western Australia scans a
2.5-mi (4-km) swath in the visible, near infrared, and thermal
wavelengths to provide a 30-ft (10-m) ground resolution.
4.3.4.5 Geologic Field Mapping
Geologic mapping is fundamental to exploration, but the
making of maps in uniform detail is not an objective. The level
of geologic detail relates to the screening process in going from
reconnaissance to target investigation. Areas of minimal interest,
those that are to be rejected in screening, are mapped only in
enough detail to support their designation as such. Areas mapped
in considerably more detail are those with enough potential inter-
est to warrant closer examination before deciding on their accept-
ance or rejection as target areas or targets.
Reconnaissance: The typical mapping base in reconnaissance
field geology is a topographic map or an enlarged aerial photo-
graph cut into sheets of manageable size. Working overlay sheets
provide initial photogeologic information for “ground truth”
checking in the field on apparent geologic unit boundaries, linear
features, and known prospects and mines. Other overlay sheets
may be used in the field to key-in the indications of available
regional geophysical and geochemical data. Widely spaced tra-
verse lines, commonly along ridges and drainages, are often
plotted in such a way that information taken from actual out-
crops can be differentiated from that which was projected or
observed from a distance. Most of the geologic contact and
boundary features in reconnaissance mapping will of necessity
be designated as “approximate” or “inferred.”
In reconnaissance geologic mapping and in the more detailed
mapping that follows reconnaissance, field notes with additional
information and sample locations are taken in notebook or in a
prepared computer-oriented form. Fig. 4.3.6 shows a portion of a
reconnaissance field sheet with numbered locations of additional
notes.
Target Areas: Temporary control surveys and base maps in
target areas are generally made by the geologist, operating with
a plane table or with a combination of compass triangulation
and altimetry supported by traverses with tape, threaded “hip
chain,” optical range finder, or pace. The traverses are related
to patterns of outcrop or to a field grid. Field observations
are recorded on enlarged topographic base maps with aerial
photographs for reference or recorded directly on aerial photo-
graphs for transfer to a map.
In field mapping on aerial photographs, the data are trans-
ferred to topographic maps where they can be related to grid
lines and survey monuments. Transfer is done with radial line
plotting or with the use of camera lucida equipment in which
the photo and map can be viewed together. Where the aerial
photographs have been processed as orthophotographs to correct
for topographic distortion, the geologic data can be transferred
directly without further adjustment.
The ideal geologic mapping base would be a series of accurate
and distinct contact prints of color aerial photographs in stereo
pair with a supporting map at the same scale. In a more attain-
able situation, mapping is done on photographic enlargements
cut to field sheet-holder size. Because enlargements cannot be
viewed with a pocket stereoscope, a set of the original stereo
pairs of photographs should also be taken into the field for
concurrent study.
Mapping is sometimes done directly on the surface of the
photo, with inked lines for geologic features and with needle
holes through the photo for control stations. A more common
practice is to draw the geologic lines and features on an overlay
sheet of polyester drafting film that is keyed to reference points
 GEOLOGIC PROSPECTING AND EXPLORATION
on the photo. Additional overlay sheets are used to permit more
information to be registered to the photo in the field.
In most practice with overlays, the photograph is left un-
marked, and the geologic data are plotted on overlay sheets, as
shown in Fig. 4.3.7.
Overlay 1. Outcrop boundaries; lithologic identifications;
geologic contacts, notes on texture, color, and weathering; and
the numbered location of additional notes.
Overlay 2. Structural data, including bedding attitudes, with
notes on cleavage, schistosity, and rock fabric.
Overlay 3. Mineralization and alteration, with notes on geo-
chemical sampling and with the locations of supporting field
photographs of outcrops.
The boundaries of outcrops are drawn on the first overlay,
and the rock types are identified by their field appearance rather
than by their interpreted origin. This is a part of “outcrop map-
ping” or “multiple-exposure mapping,” common practice in
large-scale geologic work. Areas of abundant float or of a charac-
teristic soil are outlined as well. Interpretation of the geologic
conditions between outcrops is also done in the field, but it
is distinguished from the directly observed outcrop data. The
interpreted geology will evolve in critical areas with additional
mapping, trenching, drilling, and sampling.
Geologic work provides the context for geophysical and geo-
chemical exploration, but geophysical and geochemical surveys
are often integrated with geologic field mapping as well. Litho-
229
Fig. 4.3.6. Portion of a reconnaissance map
field sheet.
logic units will commonly have a certain signature that can be
interpreted and used for mapping in soil and alluvial cover be-
tween outcrops. A dike or an igneous contact may be traced
by its magnetic or radiometric response in ground or airborne
geophysics. A sedimentary formation with carbonaceous mate-
rial or disseminated pyrite may have a characteristic response to
induced polarization surveys. A key limestone bed may have a
significantly higher resistivity than the surrounding beds. Soil
samples taken across a projected lithologic zone will sometimes
have a measurable higher trace-element background than those
taken in surrounding terrain. Faintly visible areas of hydrother-
mal alteration may have a geochemical identity that can be
incorporated into more detailed mapping.
4.3.4.6 Subsurface Methods
Pits, trenches, and shallow drillholes are common to conven-
tional prospecting, geologic mapping, and geochemical explora-
tion in areas of soil and alluvium. Deeper drillholes are ordinarily
associated with the testing of indicated mineralization in the
target investigation stage of exploration. Drilling is the charac-
teristic step to discovery. Drillhole information is even more
thoroughly associated with the delineation and sampling of ore
bodies during prospect evaluation; as such, the specific methods
of drilling and drillhole sampling are described in detail in Chap-
ter 5.3.
230 MINING ENGINEERING HANDBOOK
In systematic exploration programs, drillholes may also be
appropriate to reconnaissance and to target area selection. In
situations involving sediment-hosted mineralization concealed
by younger rocks, “scout” drillholes at intervals of a few miles
(several kilometers to tens of kilometers) are often a part of
the search for indications of mineralization. In searching for
Mississippi Valley-type deposits, for example, reconnaissance
holes are drilled for stratigraphic information and for the recog-
nition of significant facies changes and regional reef structures,
as shown in Fig. 4.3.8.
4.3.4.7 Laboratory Support
Throughout an exploration program, laboratory work is in-
tegrated with the succession of field and interpretive geology.
The analysis of geochemical samples (Chapter 4.5) and the
assaying of ore mineralization (Chapter 5.4) are of such specific
importance that they are treated in special chapters of this hand-
book. Mineralogical studies begin during reconnaissance, and
they have an increasing role toward the stage of target investi-
gation.
Fig. 4.3.7. Three overlay levels, geologic
mapping field sheets. Lithology, alteration,
and mineralization would be color-coded.
The field identification of minerals and rocks is done by
hand lens at a magnification of 10 to 20 power and with a
binocular microscope at magnifications on the order of 20 to 80
power. In this range, grain size, approximate mineral distribu-
tion, and texture can be determined. Laboratory study of mineral
fragments and sections of rock and ore with the petrographic
microscope provides for a closer determination of mineral associ-
ations and textures. Thin section petrography and polished sec-
tion mineragraphy afford the determination of paragenetic se-
quences in ore mineralization and the identification of broader
halos in mineralization and wall rock alteration. In these studies,
microscopic characteristics are related to the geologic context
of field observations—to the apparent sequence in lithogenesis,
structural stages of folding and faulting, and stages of mineral-
ization.
Laboratory petrographic work includes the study of fluid
inclusions, bubbles or vacuoles of fluid, vapor, and solids in
transparent and translucent minerals that can be observed in
connection with a heating and freezing microscope stage. Geo-
chemical (Chapter 4.5) and thermal studies of fluid inclusions
 GEOLOGIC PROSPECTING AND EXPLORATION
are used as indicators of the source of ore mineralization and the
relative temperature of ore deposition. In the exploration of a
mining district, fluid inclusion studies in rock, soil, and gossan
samples can provide vectors that point toward a thermal center
from which the ore solutions migrated, differentiated, and depos-
ited a sequence of ore minerals.
Combined mineralogical studies and instrumental analysis
have a relation to field geology. Whole rock geochemical analyses
are used in identifying the particular lithologic compositions
associated with the targeted deposits and the accepted explora-
tion model. X-ray diffraction analysis is especially applicable to
the identification of fine-grained minerals in zones of alteration.
Microprobe and scanning electron microscopy can be used to
determine the composition and distribution of minute mineral
grains and inclusions.
Some of the laboratory mineralogy and geochemistry relates
to age dating and to the pattern of mineralization shown by
radiogenic and stable isotopes. Radiogenic lead isotope patterns
or signatures can be used to distinguish between a barren “iron-
stone” false gossan and the actual gossan derived from a sulfide-
bearing ore deposit. Lead isotope studies can be used to deter-
mine whether the age and style of mineralization in a sample of
bedrock or soil belongs to the principal target stage or to a less
important stage. In the Coeur d’Alene District, for example, lead
isotope signatures provide a basis for differentiating the principal
ore mineralization of late Precambrian age from minor ore min-
eralization of Tertiary age.
4.3.5 EXPLORATION PROGRAM DESIGN
In the design stage of systematic exploration, a sequence of
activities is set forth in relation to an exploration model and a
designated region, both of which are taken from a compilation
and study of existing geological information. The data and infor-
mation involve regional and local studies and maps, airborne-
satellite imagery, and the results of earlier exploration. Sources
will range from company files-the in-house data bank-to the
published literature and unpublished but available data.
The compilation of published geologic information in respect
to the mineral deposits within a region begins with a search for
titles and topics dealing entirely or in part with the specific
geographic area, its type of geologic setting, and its expected
association of mineral commodities. This job is commonly as-
231
Fig. 4.3.8. Cross section with projected and interpreted
data from reconnaissance drilling, Southeast Missouri
(Gerdemann and Myers, 1972, p. 430). Conversion
factor: 1 mi = 1.609 km.
sisted by computerized information retrieval from extensive na-
tional and international databases devoted to geology and min-
ing. By using a succession of geographical and topical key words,
these can be accessed directly by personal computer, through
libraries with search services, or by telephone and mail search
centers such as the American Geological Institute’s GeoRef In-
formation Services and Research on Demand, Berkeley, CA,
which has access to several databases. A reference book by Stark
(1988) on sources of information for the mineral industries in-
cludes a listing of the principal geological bibliographies, indexes,
and international databases.
Regional geologic information, databases, geologic maps,
and metallogenic, geophysical, and geochemical maps are obtain-
able from national and state geological surveys and bureaus of
mines. In addition to published information, these organizations
can provide access to appropriate open-file reports, field investi-
gation notes, and collections of drill core and cuttings.
Where an exploration program involves older and once-
active mining districts, sources of geologic data-including some
considerable detail on inaccessible workings-can be found in
the archives of state historical societies. The American Heritage
Center at the University of Wyoming, Laramie, provides access
to an especially large collection of historic mining and geological
archives; it holds a number of older mining company’s explora-
tion data banks, including the Anaconda Co.’s exploration col-
lection of 1.8 million documents.
The compilation of geologic data for an extensive exploration
program necessitates a painstaking evaluation of the material.
Older maps may have been superseded by newer ones. Some data
will involve projections and interpretations that are inconsistent
with other data. Some geologic reports on earlier mined or “pro-
moted” mineral deposits will be more subjective than factual.
Faulty data that creep into the design stage can wreak havoc on
an entire exploration program.
Aerial photography and remote sensing imagery can be ob-
tained from governmental and commercial sources. In the
United States, aerial photographs and NASA satellite and air-
borne imagery are primarily available from the US Geological
Survey EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, SD. Landsat space-
craft imagery is available from EOSAT, the Earth Observation
Satellite Co. in Lanham, MD. Worldwide SPOT spacecraft im-
agery may be obtained from the SPOT Image Corp. in Reston,
VA.
232 MINING ENGINEERING HANDBOOK
In designing a grassroots exploration program and preparing
a format to be used in reconnaissance, the regional data will
often be placed in a set of transparent overlay maps that can
be studied in various combinations. A reconnaissance scale of
1:250,000 provides a suitable format in which topographic maps,
satellite imagery, geologic maps, and a considerable number of
government maps with gravity geophysics and airborne magnetic
and radioactivity geophysics are available. Information from
maps at other scales can then be photographically enlarged or
reduced, and maps can also be digitized or obtained in digital
form on tape and disk for computer-assisted drafting and plotting
at the desired scale. The completed overlay maps can be arranged
and studied as such. With maps that are stored and correlated
in a computer, several levels of overlay data can also be displayed
simultaneously on screen for study at various scales.
The set of maps will commonly have a topographic base
sheet. Additional reference information may also be given on a
property sheet showing existing mining claims and permit areas,
and on an index sheet showing the location and scale of coverage
available in more detailed geologic, geophysical, and geochemi-
cal surveys. Overlay sheets will include such information as:
1. Geology, simplified for clarity, with emphasis on metallo-
genic features such as structural zones, intrusions, and selected
volcanic or sedimentary formations that can be related to the
exploration model. Areas of “cover” by postore rocks and sedi-
ments may be shown on the same or another overlay sheet.
2. Satellite and airphoto information, showing significant
linear features and remote sensing data on bleached and anoma-
lous color zones.
3. Geophysical and geochemical information, with data
points and interpretive isolines.
4. Mines, prospects, and ore mineral occurrences, with rela-
tive production and kind of ore.
Finally, a working overlay is used for developing interpreta-
tions and outlining areas for specific reconnaissance efforts. In
the areas of further interest, the map sheets can then be enlarged
for subsequent use in reconnaissance and follow-up detail.
The design stage in an exploration program serves its funda-
mental purpose of initiating a systematic sequence of tasks, but
it carries an inherent load of geologic assumptions. The program
and its guiding exploration model must be capable of revision as
geologic information is gathered during reconnaissance, target
identification, and target investigation.
The objective is a discovery of ore mineralization, a prospect
that can be developed into a mine. Section 5 addresses the evalua-
tion of prospects and the succeeding steps in feasibility studies
and mine making.
REFERENCES
Bonham, H. F. Jr., 1988, “Models for Volcanic-Hosted Epithermal Pre-
cious Metal Deposits,” Bulk Mineable Precious Metal Deposits of
the Western United States, R. W. Shafer, J. J. Cooper., and P. G.
Vikre, eds., Geological Society of Nevada, Reno, NV, pp. 259-269.
Compton, R. R., 1985, Geology in the Field, Wiley, New York, 387 pp.
Cox, D. P., And Singer, D. A., eds., 1986, “Mineral Deposit Models,”
Bulletin 1693, US Geological Survey, 397 pp.
De Geoffroy, J. G., and Wignall, T. K., 1985, Designing Optimal Strate-
gies for Mineral Exploration, Plenum, New York, 364 pp.
Ekstrand, 0. R., 1984, “Canadian Mineral Deposit Types: a Geological
Synopsis,” Economic Geology Report 36, Geological Survey, Can-
ada, 86 pp.
Gerdemann, P. E., and Myers, H. E., 1972, “Relationship of Carbonate
Facies Patterns to Ore Distribution and Ore Genesis in the Southeast
Missouri Lead District,” Economic Geology, Vol. 67, p. 430.
Harris, D. P., 1990, Mineral Exploration Decisions, Wiley, New York,
335 pp.
Johnson, L., and Keravnou, E. T., 1985, Expert Systems Technology,
Abacus, Cambridge, MA, 184 pp.
Stark, M. A., 1988, Mining and Mineral Industries: An Information
Sourcebook, Onyx Press, Phoenix, AZ, 124 pp.