Exploration for Natural Resources

Abstract

Exploration for natural resources has followed traditional trial-and-error procedures from the original prospector and burro to the latest airborne detection devices and each kind of resource tends to be associated with an individual type of search program. If the real-world objective of “making a profit” is substituted for the resource as the ultimate target of endeavor then a systems approach, in which the kind of target is immaterial and all targets are equally welcome, appears to be most efficacious. Under these circumstances systematic grid drilling is a financially feasible search program, and this conclusion is borne out by two independent simulation procedures. Drilling on a systematic grid across areas such as Kansas, or Pennsylvania and Ohio, leads to returns that appear ample to pay for both search and development costs, and to include a profit. Similarly, using the “Engel Model” for search and varying the parameter values over ranges such that some “real-world” situations must be included, also indicates that a reasonable profit is assured. Given a systematic search procedure, such as a drilling grid, then the geological information that accrues would form a sound basis for development of all the resources of an area.