Modern seismic is illuminating the depths

Authors: van Buren, R; Turner, G; Hird, G Download Paper

DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_rep/1952_27_van_Buren

Cite As:
van Buren, R, Turner, G & Hird, G 2019, 'Modern seismic is illuminating the depths', in W Joughin (ed.), Deep Mining 2019: Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Deep and High Stress Mining, The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Johannesburg, pp. 363-374, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_rep/1952_27_van_Buren



Abstract:
Minerals exploration is at a point when many targets are increasingly deeper than before and often blind to the surface. Geochemistry, magnetics and many other geophysical methods are valuable and remain key tools in regional targeting. However, since they rapidly lose resolution with depth, they are still essentially 2D exploration methods. Reflection seismic provides at least an order of magnitude with greater resolution in depth than other remote sensing techniques we use to map the third dimension – the primary subsurface imaging method in the oil and gas (O&G) sector. While 3D surveys have dominated since the 1990s, seismic in hard-rock environments is now being widely accepted as a revolutionary tool, unlocking potential for both regional and detailed mine-scale projects.

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