Machine Learning for Lithology Analysis using a Multi-Modal Approach of Integrating XRF and XCT data

Abstract

We explore the use of various machine learning (ML) models for classifying lithologies utilizing data from X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray computed tomography (XCT). Typically, lithologies are identified over several meters, which restricts the use of ML models due to limited training data. To address this issue, we augment the original interval dataset, where lithologies are marked over extensive sections, into finer segments of 10cm, to produce a high resolution dataset with vastly increased sample size. Additionally, we examine the impact of adjacent lithologies on building a more generalized ML model. We also demonstrate that combining XRF and XCT data leads to an improved classification accuracy compared to using only XRF data, which is the common practice in current studies, or solely relying on XCT data.