Geological Interpretation of Geophysical Data for Mineral Exploration

By: Prof. Michael Dentith



Instructor

Prof. Michael Dentith
(The University of Western Australia)

Duration

19-22 June 2023:
9:00AM - 1:00PM CEST
4 hours/day

Disciplines

Geophysics - Mineral Exploration

Level

Intermediate

Language

English

EurGeol

8 CPD points



Keywords

ELECTROMAGNETISM GRAVITY INDUCED SEISMICITY MAGNETICS MINERALS POLARISATION RADIOMETRICS RESISTIVITY


Course Format

The EAGE Interactive online short courses bring carefully selected courses of experienced instructors from industry and academia online to give participants the possibility to follow the latest education in geoscience and engineering remotely. The courses are designed to be easily digested over the course of two or three days. Participants will have the possibility to interact live with the instructor and ask questions. 

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Course Description

The purpose of this course is to provide training in how to use geophysical methods in mineral exploration. Designed for industry, government and student geologists seeking to understand how to use geophysical datasets to explore and map, and geophysicists seeking to include more geology in to their interpretations, this course teaches participants to integrate geological and geophysical data in a mineral exploration context.

Core topics include the basic principles of the main geophysical exploration methods used in mineral exploration including the importance of optimal processing and display of these data and the strengths and limitations of the various methods. Particular attention is paid to extracting the maximum amount of geological information from the data, recognising noise-related artifacts in interpretation products and how to deal with the ambiguity when interpreting geophysical datasets. The course includes practical exploration exercises involving real exploration data.



Course Objectives

On completion of the course participants will:
• Understand how to integrate geological and geophysical information during mineral exploration
• Have the ability to solve exploration challenges using geophysical methods
• Be familiar with state-of-the-methods for analysing petrophysical data
• Understand the capabilities and limitations of the various geophysical data types
• Be aware of the importance of geophysics in the future of mineral exploration



Course Outline

1. Introduction to geophysics
a)  Geophysical methods used in mineral exploration 
b) Geophysical anomalies and their sources;
c) Ambiguity
d) Geophysical exploration practice
e) Cost of geophysics

2. Acquisition to display
a) Signal and noise 
b) Sampling and survey design
c) Data display

3. Data enhancement 
a) Wavelength-based enhancement 
b) gradient-based enhancements;
c) Amplitude-based enhancements

4. Gravity and magnetic methods
a) Basic principles of gravity and magnetism 
b) Reduction of gravity data – the influence of terrain
c) Reduction of magnetic data – the importance of levelling
d) Enhancing gravity and magnetic data (derivative-based enhancements, continuation, reduction to the pole)

5. Qualitative interpretation
a) Understanding petrophysics

b) Beyond ‘geological pattern recognition’ in image interpretation
c) Geophysical expressions of common geological features
d) Common pitfalls

6.  Quantitative interpretation
a)  Representing the sub-surface with a geophysical mode
b)  Forward modelling
c)  Inverse modelling
d)  Analysing a modelling result

7.  Electrical and electromagnetic methods
a) Basic principles of electricity
b) Electrical properties of rocks
c)  Resistivity method
d)  Induced polarisation method
e) Basic principles of electromagnetism
f) Electromagnetic data acquisition and interpretation




Participants' Profile

The course is designed for:
• Industry, government and student geologists seeking to understand how to use geophysical datasets to explore for minerals
• Geophysicists seeking to improve the integration of geology in to their interpretations. 



Prerequisites

Participants should have a basic understanding of the geology of mineral deposits and mineral exploration practice. They should also be familiar with MS Excel. 



About the Instructor

Prof. Michael Dentith

PROFESSOR MIKE DENTITH is Professor of Geophysics at The University of Western Australia, located in Perth, Western Australia. He has more than 25 years experience in teaching, research and consulting in petroleum and mineral exploration geophysics. Professor Dentith is a senior and foundation researcher at the Centre for Exploration Targeting, a minerals industry-funded research centre developing new exploration methods for the mining sector, where he leads the geophysical research theme. Current research projects include geophysical signatures of mineral deposits, hard-rock petrophysics, magnetotelluric and seismic methods applied to mineral exploration and using geophysical methods for assessing regional-scale prospectivity. This research is funded by industry and government. Professor Dentith is co-author of the award winning textbook, Geophysics for the Mineral Exploration Geoscientist, and editor of two case study volumes on the geophysical signatures of Australian mineral deposits. He has run numerous professional courses for industry, government and professional societies in Australia, South American, Asia, Europe and Africa. 





EAGE supports its members and the Geoscience community in general by offering a 35% discount on the regular prices for our Interactive online short courses during these difficult times.

Registration Fees

Registered and Paid Until 15 April 2023 From 16th April 2023
Education Package1 Credit1 Credit
EAGE Member Price € 195 € 245
Non-Member Price € 320 € 370
*Non-Member price for this product does include EAGE Membership




Cancellation and Changes Policy

Registration fees will be refunded as follows:
  • Cancellation received before 31 March 2023: Refund will be processed after the event had ended. Amount will minus an administration fee of € 35 per person.
  • Cancellation received on or after 31 March 2023: No refund will be made. 
  • Transferring of your registration to another participant will cost  € 35, as administration fee, plus any differences in delegate types, where applicable (for instance when changing a registration from a member to a non-member). 
  • For an overview of all EAGE Registration Terms and Conditions please click here to download.