Seismic methods in mineral exploration and mine planning — Introduction

Abstract

Across the globe, the mineral industry is seeking technology to improve exploration efficiency at depth and to help design safer and more productive mines. Seismic methods are increasingly used by this industry for a wide range of commodities including base metals, uranium, diamonds, and precious metals. Seismic methods provide high-resolution images of geologic structures hosting mineral deposits and, in a few cases, can be used for direct targeting of mineral deposits. Applications are not limited to only surface seismic surveys, but also include borehole seismic methods such as VSP and crosshole imaging. To date, tens of 2D and 3D surface seismic surveys have been acquired in Canada, Europe, Australia, and South Africa (see Malehmir et al., 2012) to help in targeting mineral deposits at depth or for designing deep mines. The steadily increasing usage of reflection seismic methods demonstrates that they are finally becoming recognized and established within the mining sector. This brings new opportunities for geophysicists, but also new challenges. Some of these challenges and opportunities are presented and discussed in the special section. This special issue contains a wide range of topics, from petrophysical studies to data acquisition, processing and imaging, as well as 2D and 3D seismic modeling of mineral deposits and their host-rock structures. Papers from both industry and academia are presented, which illustrate the importance of seismic methods not only in the hydrocarbon industry, but also in the mineral industry. Malehmir et al. review important contributions that have been made in developing seismic techniques for the mining industry with focus on four main regions: Australia, Europe, Canada, and South …