MINING GEOLOGY/Exploration 613
Exploration
N C White, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
ß 2005, Elsevier Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Introduction
Mineral exploration aims to discover deposits of min-
erals and rocks that can be used to meet the resource
needs of society. It encompasses the search for indus-
trial raw materials (e.g., clay, limestone, sulphur, salts,
and fertilizer minerals and rocks), ores from which
metals are extracted (e.g., iron, copper, and zinc ores),
and gemstones (diamonds, sapphires, and opals), and
includes the search for solid fuels (coal, oil shale, and
uranium) but not liquid or gaseous fuels (petroleum
and natural gas). Mineral exploration can be as basic
as prospecting, using elementary techniques such as
panning for gold, or it can be very sophisticated,
involving the use of complex technology for data
gathering and interpretation. This article considers
our need for mineral resources, why different groups
explore for minerals and the strategies they adopt and
the tools they employ, what success and failure mean
in the industry, the role of governments, and the future
of exploration.
Our Need for Minerals
Human beings have always been dependent on nat-
ural materials to satisfy the needs of everday life. All
these materials must come from Earth, either grown
as plants or animals or extracted as rocks, minerals,
or fossil fuels. Some of the rocks and minerals that are
important in everyday life are readily available, but
many are not, and we must search for them: that
search is what exploration is about.
The importance of rocks and minerals to humankind
is conveyed by terms such as ‘stone age’, ‘bronze age’,
‘iron age’; the emphasis on stages in the evolution of
technology and civilization is related to our mastery
of different rocks and our understanding of the metals
that can be extracted from them. In modern civiliza-
tion, there is amazing diversity in the rocks and min-
erals we use and in the variety of ways in which we use
them. Some mineral resources are used directly, with
little processing apart from shaping, polishing, crush-
ing, or sizing (e.g., rocks used for building, aggregate
used for road-making, talc used in talcum powder, or
gemstones used in jewellery). Many mineral resources
are consumed in industrial processes that transform
them into new products (e.g., clays used to make
bricks or ceramics, silica sand used for glass-making,
limestone used to make lime or cement, or phosphate
rock used for superphosphate fertilizer). The large
group of rocks we call ores (e.g., iron, copper, and
gold ores) are important because of the metals they
contain. Other rocks and minerals are used in indus-
trial processes because they aid the processing of
other materials, not because anything will be ex-
tracted from them (e.g., many rocks and minerals
are used as flux in smelting).
Who Explores for Minerals, and Why?
The motivation for mineral exploration is the same as
for many other human activities: either we need the
materials we seek or, by satisfying other people’s
needs, we can earn money. Though exploration is ne-
cessary to maintain the supply of essential raw mater-
ials, individuals or corporations undertake exploration
for a variety of reasons, but underlying them all is the
belief that there will be a good commercial return from
what is discovered. The commercial return may come
from selling the deposits that are discovered, from set-
ting up a company based on the discovery and trading
the company’s shares, from starting a mine and selling
the products, or from using the products as feed in some
downstream business based on the commodity, and
profiting from sales of those new products. Companies
of different sizes have different objectives and reasons
for exploring, and target different commodities and
styles of mineralization.
Prospectors, Small Syndicates, and Small
Companies with No Mines
If the small-scale exploration group plan to mine
what they discover, commodities such as gold, gem-
stones, and tin are favoured, because processing of
the ore is simple, capital costs are low, and the unit
value of the commodity produced is high, so small-
scale operations may be viable. Work occurs in pro-
spective areas that are known, typically close to
where the group is based. If the small-scale group
plans to sell the prospects they discover, whatever
the market prefers at the time is favoured, because
those targets are readily marketable. Work is under-
taken in prospective areas that are familiar to them,
or where their financial resources allow operations.
Small Exploration Companies with Mines or
Mineral-Based Businesses
If small groups that own mines or businesses plan
to use the product in their business, they will explore
614 MINING GEOLOGY/Exploration

for the raw materials they need for their current or there is sufficient demand for their services. Large
planned operations. This will typically take place near exploration groups may comprise several hundred
current or planned operations to minimize transport people, with technical specialists including geologists,
costs. If the plan is to produce minerals for sale, geochemists, and geophysicists, and a wide array of
small-scale owners will explore for commodities for technical support staff.
which they believe they have the technical skills The sequence typically followed by explorers is
(mining, processing, marketing) to handle, and that summarized in Figure 1. The first major strategic
can be sold profitably. Typically, work is undertaken issue they face is what to explore for and where to
in known regions, but may expand to other regions. explore for it. There are many possible targets and
commodities for which to search, and the choice can
Large Mining and Exploration Companies be as broad as ‘anything we can make money from’ or
as narrow as one specialist commodity. For com-
Some large companies focus on specific commodities
panies planning to use minerals in their own oper-
or metals for which they perceive they have a tech-
ations, the choice of commodities is already decided
nical and operational advantage, or for which wish to
by what they need. For other explorers, the choice of
appeal to investors wanting commodity focus (e.g.,
targets for exploration can be driven by opportunity
Barrick and Newmont for gold, De Beers for dia-
or by strategy. In either case, the main criteria are the
monds, Cominco for zinc, Alcoa for aluminium, and
perceived likelihood of success and the reward for
INCO for nickel). They explore where they believe
success.
they have the greatest chance of success, based on
geology and legal, commercial, and security criteria.
Other large companies focus on any commodities
meeting their commercial criteria: typically these
will be commodities with very large global markets,
no barriers to entry, low production costs, and major
cash flows. These companies explore where they be-
lieve they have the greatest chance of economic suc-
cess, based on geology and legal, commercial, and
security criteria.

Mega-Mining Houses

This small group of very large mining houses has

emerged only recently as a result of mergers and
acquisitions (e.g., Anglo American, BHP Billiton,
and Rio Tinto). For these corporations, exploration
alone can no longer deliver their growth objectives
because very few individual discoveries can meet their
commercial criteria, and because explorers cannot
reliably predict when they will make their next eco-
nomically viable discovery. Depending on the level of
competition, these companies may reduce their ex-
ploration expenditure and aim instead to acquire
major discoveries made by successful smaller com-
panies. If they acquire a small company that has
grown by exploration success, in many instances
they discard the successful exploration group.

Strategies for Exploration

The strategies and tools applied to exploration vary
with the size of the group’s exploration budget and its
technical capabilities. Prospectors generally work as
individuals or small syndicates. Corporations employ
specialist explorers, mostly geologists, but include in- Figure 1 The sequence of stages from mineral exploration to
house specialist geochemists and geophysicists where mining.

Selecting commodities and targets is probably most
crucial for large companies allocating substantial re-
sources to exploration. They have the opportunity to
explore for whatever they choose, and few restrictions
on where they explore. However, because they spend
a lot of money on exploration, their shareholders
expect to see substantial returns for the investment.
For a very large company, a small discovery that
might seem to be a major success for a small company
has no discernible impact on overall profitability or
net capital worth. To justify large expenditures, large
corporations need to focus on finding deposits that
are very large and that can have a significant impact
on profitability.
Once the exploration targets have been selected, the
next decision is where to explore: locally, regionally,
nationally, or globally. For small players, that decision
is largely dictated by where they can afford to operate.
It is easy to spend a lot of money on travel before any
work is done, so small exploration groups typically
choose a limited area of operations. To increase their
chances of success, every exploration group, regard-
less of size, must balance between trying to be in all
the best places and having as many good prospects as
possible against the risk of spreading their effort too
thinly and spending too much of their budget on
access and support costs. The response of different
explorers to these issues varies widely. At the peak of
the exploration boom of the late 1990s, many explor-
ation groups spread their activities thinly around the
world, while others focused all their resources into a
few priority regions. There is no right way, and either
strategy can lead to success.
Even when decisions such as what to explore for
and where to explore have been decided, there remain
many important issues. Prospective regions may be
very large, so the exploration group needs to select a
region of manageable size on which to focus atten-
tion. The most important factor in making a discov-
ery is favourable geology, but because the aim of
exploration is economic success, not merely technical
success, many other factors come into play. These
factors include having secure title over the land to
be explored, having access to the land, and having
safe operating conditions, favourable legal and tax-
ation laws, certainty of permission to progress from
exploration to mining, availability of infrastructure
and skilled workers, and many other issues. Previous
exploration history must also be considered, because
there is no point in exploring an area where previous
work has been thorough, and new explorers can only
repeat what has been done before. Availability of in-
frastructure has greatest impact for bulk commodities
or industrial minerals, for which transport costs may
be a substantial proportion of the sale price obtained,
MINING GEOLOGY/Exploration 615
and the least impact for small-bulk, high-value com-
modities such as gemstones or precious metals, for
which the product can easily be flown to market in a
small plane.
Once a region has been selected for exploration,
there may be opportunities to gain access to advanced
projects by entering agreements with explorers al-
ready active in the area. Possible arrangements in-
clude outright purchase of an established project,
option agreements (these involve progressive pay-
ments during exploration, with a major payment or
share in profits or production if exploration is suc-
cessful), and joint ventures involving working to-
gether to share costs and benefits. If arrangements
of this kind are not possible, or the best opportunities
are no better than can be obtained alone, then the best
option is to explore alone.
This then raises further questions. Should the com-
pany focus its attention on known deposits and pro-
spects, or get as close as possible to them (known as
brownfields exploration)? Or should it search in
other areas with apparently similar geology, but
lacking known deposits (known as greenfields explor-
ation)? The relative merits of the two approaches are
a contentious issue. In brownfields exploration, it is
easier to justify work and expenditures on the basis of
being close to a known deposit, but how likely is it
that a new deposit will be found close to an old one?
With greenfields exploration, the apparent risk is
higher because it involves stepping out beyond what
is known, in the hope that there are new, unknown
deposits to be found. Success is possible using either
approach. One thing that is certain, however, is that
brownfields opportunities ultimately are limited: new
deposits cannot continue to be found by endlessly
revisiting the same areas.
A major goal of exploration is to get to the point of
testing a potential orebody as quickly and as cheaply
as possible. Identifying a volume of rock that poten-
tially hosts an orebody (the target) is an important
step along that path. Identification of the target may
result from the evaluation of previous work or appli-
cation of a new exploration technique on a brown-
fields site, or from a systematic exploration program
on a greenfields site. Most exploration starts with
identification of a broad target area that has the
potential to contain an orebody: the challenge is
then to narrow the focus to a specific target that can
be tested, hopefully leading to discovery. In system-
atic exploration, the starting region might be as large
as hundreds of thousands of square kilometres,
whereas the target usually has an area of much less
than 1 km2 (commonly 0.003 km2 or less). Explorers
can apply a wide array of tools and exploration
methods to narrow down the area of search and define
616 MINING GEOLOGY/Exploration

targets for drilling. The skill in exploration lies in how
those tools are used to discover an orebody.
Exploration Tools
The wide variety of exploration techniques available
for exploration can be broadly grouped into three
types: geological, geochemical, and geophysical. The
selection of the technique or combination of tech-
niques used varies with the target sought, the area to
be explored, the geological conditions, the stage of
exploration, the weathering regime, and factors such
as location, topography, vegetation cover, climate,
and social and cultural issues. Some techniques can
be applied over large regions, whereas others can be
applied only over small areas. Some require detailed
ground access, whereas others can be flown by air-
craft and require minimal ground access. The fol-
lowing discussion focuses mostly on exploration for
metallic ore deposits, because for them, discovery of
an economic tonnage and grade is typically the cru-
cial step. For many bulk commodities (especially
most industrial minerals), discovery is important,
but the ultimate value of the find relates less to grade
and more to marketability, which involves many
different characteristics, such as physical properties,
amenability for the ultimate application, and pres-
ence or absence of deleterious impurities. Thus, the
relative importance of the early search and discovery
stages, and the later testing and evaluation stages,
changes with the commodity sought.
Geological Techniques
If the geological situation in which mineralization is
likely to occur can be recognized by observation, then
geological mapping of rock types, stratigraphy, or
structure can be used (Table 1; Figure 2). Work on
very prospective areas may involve more detailed
studies, including petrography, fluid inclusion studies,
or alteration mineralogy. Geological techniques are
applicable only where geological observations can
be made (i.e., where there is sufficient outcrop or
where appropriate samples can be collected) or
where geological inferences can be made indirectly
(from aerial geophysical or spectral surveys, aerial
photographs, satellite images, etc.).
Geochemical Techniques
Geochemical techniques involve the chemical analysis
of geological materials such as stream sediment, soil,

Table 1 Main geological tools in mineral exploration

Tool Basis Coverage Applicability Target

Geological Systematic mapping of Regional scale Requires reasonable An important tool in

mapping surface rock types, available distribution of exposure exploration for all deposit
structures, hydrothermal globally; detailed of bedrock, though other types; provides the basis
alteration, etc. coverage very tools can be used to fill in for interpretation of all
limited missing information other datasets
Aerial A stereoscopic view of Global coverage Applicable if the surface is An important aid to
photograph Earth’s surface is available with visible (no cloud cover); geological mapping; can
interpretation provided by overlapping variable best in areas lacking be used to locate
photographs; lineaments, resolution and thick vegetation cover orebodies that are
colour, structures, quality exposed at the surface
weathering patterns, and and show distinctive
vegetation can be used to features
generate a geological
interpretation
Satellite image Satellite-based scanners Global Available everywhere, but An important aid to
interpretation generate detailed images application varies with geological mapping; can
of Earth’s surface density of buildings and seldom be used to locate
agriculture, vegetation, orebodies directly, but in
rainfall, weathering, etc. favourable conditions in
Most useful in arid, remote areas, can
well-exposed regions highlight alteration zones
Spectral data A wide variety of spectral Global for satellite Applicability varies with A useful aid to geological
interpretation information is now systems, large density of buildings and mapping; in favourable
available from satellites, areas from agriculture, vegetation, conditions, can locate
aircraft, and ground aircraft, small rainfall, weathering, etc. hydrothermal alteration
surveys areas with Most useful in arid, well- related to mineralization,
ground exposed regions or, rarely, large
instruments mineralized areas

Figure 2 Geological mapping in the Farallon Negro district, Argentina. All rocks show intense hydrothermal alteration related to a
major porphyry copper–molybdenum–gold deposit called Agua Rica.
rock, and, in some cases, water, vegetation, or air
(Table 2; Figure 3). Analytical results (‘anomalies’)
may suggest prospective areas. Geochemical tech-
niques are applicable only where the rock that hosts
the ore, or material derived directly from it, is access-
ible. Sampling of overlying transported material (e.g.,
glacial debris) is not effective unless the source of the
transported material is known, or unless chemical
elements related to mineralization have migrated up
through the transported cover. In areas of shallow
cover, drilling may be used to collect samples from
beneath the cover. Proper orientation surveys are es-
sential for effective geochemical surveys. These in-
volve testing the response of known mineralization
in a similar nearby area to verify the effectiveness of
the method under the prevailing conditions, before
using it routinely to look for unknown mineralization.
Geophysical Techniques
Geophysical techniques rely on variations in the phys-
ical properties of the mineralized rocks or the rocks
that surround them to indicate the location of miner-
alization directly or indirectly (Table 3; Figure 4). The
physical response may be a direct property of the rock
(e.g., its density, natural radioactivity, magnetic prop-
erties, or resistivity), or an induced response produced
by exposing the rock to a physical stimulus such as an
electrical or magnetic field. Geophysical techniques
may indicate mineralization directly, or may allow
the search area to be reduced to a favourable host
rock or a favourable structural environment. With the
increasing availability of large-scale surveys, often
MINING GEOLOGY/Exploration 617
involving more than one technique, the data from
geophysical surveys can be interpreted to produce
geological maps and to identify favourable settings
for mineralization, exactly as they would be from
conventional geological maps. A major advantage of
geophysical techniques is that they can detect re-
sponses from mineralization buried several hundred
metres below the ground surface, at depths too great
to be reflected in the surface geology or detected by
geochemical surveys.
Recognizing Targets
Sometimes orebodies are exposed and their surface
expression can be recognized by explorers, but as
exploration continues, new surface targets become
fewer and fewer, and increasingly there is a need to
look for more subtle targets. That typically involves
the use of multiple exploration tools. The data from
all the techniques used are compiled onto maps, and
the strength and location of anomalies in each tech-
nique are compared. Areas that stand out with coinci-
dent anomalies from more than one technique are
usually priority targets for drill testing.
One additional geological tool universally used by
modern explorationists is the ore deposit model.
There are models available for a wide range of ore
deposit types, and new ones are regularly developed.
These models summarize all the important geological
characteristics (including spatial relationships) of a
particular deposit type. Models include large-scale
aspects such as the tectonic and structural settings,
618 MINING GEOLOGY/Exploration

Table 2 Main geochemical tools in mineral exploration

Tool Basis Coverage Applicability Target

Soil Systematic sampling of soil, Large to small areas, Areas with residual soils; Most metallic
geochemistry usually of a selected size depending on a very commonly used deposit styles
fraction sampling density method
Rock chip Systematic sampling of Small areas only Requires extensive Most metallic
geochemistry exposed bedrock as exposure of bedrock deposit styles
composites of small chips
Bedrock Systematic sampling of the Large to small areas, Areas of strong near- Most deposit styles
geochemistry upper parts of bedrock, depending on surface leaching, or
usually by drilling through sampling density and covered by transported
shallow cover depth of cover overburden
Stream Systematic sampling of stream Mostly large areas; Widely applicable in Most metallic
sediment sediments, usually of a application to small regional exploration; deposit styles
geochemistry selected size fraction areas may be limited requires bedrock
by the stream pattern outcrop or shallow
density subcrop
Water Sampling of water in streams May be applied over Depends on access to Limited application
geochemistry or wells and bore holes large areas; sample water samples in for base metal
density typically low streams or bores and uranium
deposits
Soil gas Systematic sampling and Mostly small areas; Suitable for areas with Locates structures
geochemistry analysis of gases trapped sampling density is deep soil and and may help find
in soil high transported cover some sulphide-
rich deposit
styles
Plant Sampling of one plant species Mostly over restricted Best in areas with high Most base metal
geochemistry or part of one plant species, areas plant density but low deposit styles
followed by chemical plant diversity (usually
analyses (mostly after temperate to cold
ashing) areas)

Figure 3 Geochemical sampling in eastern Taiwan. Sediments are dug from the creek bed, sieved to remove the largest pieces, and
the finer fraction is bagged and sent to a laboratory for chemical analysis.
Table 3 Main geophysical tools in mineral exploration
Tool Basis
Magnetics Measures spatial variations
in the intensity of Earth’s
natural magnetic field
Radiometrics Measures spatial variations
in the intensity of natural
radiation from potassium,
thorium, and uranium
Gravity Measures spatial variations
in the intensity of Earth’s
natural gravitational
attraction
Electromagnetics Measures the induced
response in the Earth from
an applied
electromagnetic field
Induced Measures the induced
polarization electrical polarization
response in minerals from
an applied electrical field
Resistivity Measures spatial variations
in the resistivity of the
rock mass being surveyed
Seismic Records underground
surface reflections
produced by explosions or
mechanical thumpers at
the surface
Coverage Applicability Target
Very large areas covered Widely used as an aid to geological mapping; also All deposits with a well-defined geological setting
by aerial surveys; a direct detection method for some deposits: in magnetically variable rocks; direct detection
smaller areas by applicable wherever rock magnetic of deposits containing magnetic minerals (e.g.,
ground surveys properties vary iron ore, chromite, diamonds, some volcanic
massive sulphide deposits, some porphyry
copper deposits)
Very large areas covered Widely used as an aid to geological mapping; also All deposits with a well-defined geological setting;
by aerial surveys; aids direct detection of some deposits: direct detection of deposits containing uranium
smaller areas by applicable wherever there are variations in or thorium minerals, or deposits with strong
ground surveys abundance of natural radioactive elements potassium enrichment in alteration zones (e.g.,
some volcanic massive sulphide deposits, some
porphyry copper deposits, some epithermal
gold deposits)
Very large areas covered Huge areas covered by very low-density ground Direct detection of deposits with strong density
by aerial gravity surveys; limited coverage with high-resolution contrast to surrounding rocks (e.g., iron ore,
gradiometer surveys; aerial surveys; detailed ground surveys only in volcanic massive sulphide deposits,
smaller areas by areas of low topographic relief: applicable kimberlites)
ground surveys wherever rock densities vary
Very large areas covered Can be used as an aid to geological mapping; also Direct detection of deposits with high
by aerial aids direct detection of some deposits: concentrations of conductive minerals (e.g.,
electromagnetic applicable wherever there are variations in volcanic massive sulphide deposits,
surveys; smaller areas natural rock conductivities manganese deposits) or where there are
by ground surveys associated anomalous conductivity zones (e.g.,
some porphyry copper deposits, kimberlites)
Ground technique mostly Detects the presence of polarizable minerals Direct detection of deposits with high
applied over small (mainly pyrite, pyrrhotite, galena, chalcopyrite, concentrations of polarizable minerals (e.g.,
MINING GEOLOGY/Exploration 619
areas, but large etc.) volcanic massive sulphide deposits, porphyry
surveys also possible copper deposits)
Mostly applied over Detects variations in resistivity Sulphide-rich mineralization has low resistivity
small areas compared to the surrounding rock; applied to
direct detection of sulphide-rich masses (e.g.,
massive sulphide deposits)
Applied over huge areas Indicates surfaces in the bedrock (e.g., faults, In mineral exploration, mainly used for layered
for petroleum beds, igneous layers) complexes (e.g., Bushveld) or for engineering
exploration; seldom purposes
used in mineral
exploration
620 MINING GEOLOGY/Exploration
Figure 4 A geophysical survey being conducted in western Pakistan. This is an electromagnetic survey, in which electrical pulses
are used to induce a response from conductive rocks in the ground. Photograph by R Irvine, reproduced with permission.
down to small-scale features such as the mineralogy
of the ore, and details such as the chemistry of fluid
inclusions. In most but not all cases they include
genetic models summarizing how geologists believe
the deposits form. They also reflect the kind of geo-
logical, geochemical, and geophysical expressions an
orebody of this type should have, and so they help in
the interpretation of exploration data.
Testing Targets
Once possible mineralization has been located or a
target identified, it is then necessary to test it to
confirm that it is what is sought, and how commer-
cially significant it is (Figure 5). The cheapest ap-
proach in near-surface situations is to dig trenches
across the mineralization to create complete exposure
and to allow detailed sampling. If the target is more
than a few metres below the surface, drilling is needed
(Figure 6). Drilling is the most reliable means to
investigate a target and is used to define the grade
and extent of the mineralization. If testing confirms
that potentially economic mineralization has been
found, then a discovery has been made (Figure 7).
Further work is then required to quantify the full
significance of the discovery.
The assessment stage that follows a discovery in-
volves gathering huge the amounts of data needed
to assess whether the mineralization can be mined
economically. Typically, widely spaced drilling is
used first to assess the overall size of the mineralized
body, and then more detailed infill is used to deter-
mine the shape, distribution, tonnage, grade, and
metallurgical properties. If it is found that the indi-
cated tonnage and grade could potentially justify
starting a mine, a new stage of data-gathering
follows; typically projects pass through several stages,
at each of which it is reassessed to see if another more
detailed stage of expensive assessment work is war-
ranted. These stages typically include prefeasibility,
full feasibility, and, if the outcomes are positive,
finally a decision to go ahead and develop a mine.
Depending on the commodity, the planned scale of
operation, and the location of the deposit, developing
a mine might cost anything from a few million dollars
up to several billions of dollars. (see Mining Geology:
Exploration Boreholes).
Success and Failure in Exploration
Exploration is a technical activity with a commercial
objective. It is common to see these two aspects, the
technical and commercial, confused in claims of suc-
cess. In the case of junior companies, it is important
that any success (not necessarily a commercial suc-
cess) is publicly highlighted, because it is important
for these groups to be seen as successful, to in-
crease their ability to raise further funds for ongoing
 MINING GEOLOGY/Exploration 621

Figure 5 Exploration success! The geologists are standing around the drill hole that discovered the high-grade Cannington silver–
lead–zinc orebody in western Queensland, Australia. A drill rig can be seen on the skyline, where drilling is being done further along
the same orebody. The deposit was brought into production and quickly became the world’s largest producer of silver.

Figure 6 A helicopter being used to move a diamond drilling rig in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The helicopter allows
the drill to be positioned with minimal disturbance and environmental damage.

exploration. By contrast, it is sometimes in the inter-
ests of major mining companies to play down expect-
ations from their exploration, and their successes
often go unmentioned, or are announced only in a
low-key way. Too much publicity can increase the
level of competition for ground near the discovery,
and overly enthusiastic expectations may mean share-
holders are ultimately disappointed if a technical
discovery does not turn into a commercial success.
The most important justification for exploration is
that it supplies society with the mineral products it
needs. This benefit, however, is realized only if the
value of the products is greater than the cost of dis-
covery and production. Real success in exploration
and mining must therefore be judged in commercial,
not technical, terms. In this respect, the role of the
large exploration and mining companies has particu-
lar importance. They have financial and technical
622 MINING GEOLOGY/Exploration
Figure 7 Examining trays of drill core from the Eloise copper–gold deposit in western Queensland, Australia. Diamond drilling
techniques are used, which allows deep holes to be drilled, and the core recovered allows detailed geological examination.
resources that small companies lack, and they are not
so dependent on the day-to-day demands of the share
market. This means they can pursue longer term goals
and are more likely to discover and develop long-life
mines that contribute stability to the long-term supply
of major mineral commodities. Some junior com-
panies are fast and economically efficient explorers
and play an important role by supplying new explor-
ation opportunities to larger companies and by bring-
ing into production deposits that would be too small
for major companies.
The Role of Governments in
Exploration
In most parts of the world, governments regulate
exploration and mining. Governments control the
granting of titles, the conditions that are applied,
and regulations governing safety and environmental
protection. Governments also determine the avail-
ability of regional data and the cost of accessing it,
and they set the levels of taxation and other imposts
and concessions that are applied to the industry.
Direct government involvement in exploration and
mining is not regarded favourably these days, because
having a government acting as both regulator and
competitor involves them in a conflict of interest
that may undermine trust in the regulatory process.
Although favourable geology is by far the most
important determinant of how prospective a region
is for exploration in a purely technical sense, the
potential for commercial success from exploration is
strongly influenced by the regulatory and financial
environment in which it operates, as laid down by
governments. Countries with relatively poor geology
may still be attractive for exploration if the legal,
economic, and regulatory environment is attractive;
conversely, even the best geology does not compensate
for a bad environment, because confidence in the sta-
bility of an operating environment is very important
for explorers and miners.
The Future of Exploration
Mineral exploration is an essential part of the process
of supplying the resource needs of societies: while that
demand continues, so will mining and the exploration
that is needed to sustain it. But exploration faces
many challenges, and is currently undergoing major
changes.
With the rise in environmental awareness in the
second half of the twentieth century, mining was
widely criticized for its environmental impact. Much
of that criticism was justified, and there have been
major changes, such that the modern mining industry
can now operate with minimal environmental impact
in the areas surrounding mines. However, it is in-
escapable that any process that takes material from
one place to another must have an environmental
impact. Mineral exploration has also come under
attack by environmentalists, but most parts of the
exploration process have very little to no environ-
mental impact. Most opposition to exploration is
either misinformed about what is actually done, or
more commonly is based on fear of what might
happen in the unlikely event that a discovery is

made, leading to mining. In fact, most exploration
efforts leave no long-term trace and make no dis-
coveries. Even when targets are identified, on further
testing less than 1% prove to be of economic interest.
The mining industry as a whole, including explor-
ation, has been criticized for not returning a satisfac-
tory profit on money invested, but such analyses can
only be sensibly done on a case-by-case basis. Over the
past decade, major changes have occurred in financial
markets and in how businesses operate, with emphasis
on short-term financial performance. Because explor-
ation cannot guarantee very quick returns, it lost
favour with investors, with the result that in the late
1990s, exploration expenditure dropped drastically,
and investment in mining developments were also
sharply reduced in response to low commodity prices.
If this situation were to continue, there would eventu-
ally be a shortage of some commodities, which should
cause prices to rise, making exploration and mining of
those commodities attractive again.
The last few years of the twentieth century repre-
sented a period of dramatic change for the mining and
exploration industry. These changes are still being
played out, but a new industry structure and way of
operating have to be found. Throughout the world, all
people seek a better life, and to fulfil that desire requires
more and better houses, vehicles, roads, and everyday
things. All those things have to be made from some
material commodity, and most commodities can be
obtained only by mining. Mining will ultimately die
without exploration, so, as long as populations con-
tinue to increase and people strive for a better standard
of living, requiring the use of mineral commodities, the
future of mineral exploration is assured.
See Also
Analytical Methods: Geochemical Analysis (Including X-
Ray). Economic Geology. Geochemical Exploration.
Mineral Reserves
M Vaněček, Charles University, Prague,
Czech Republic
ß 2005, Elsevier Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Introduction
Mineral reserves and mineral resources are terms that
cannot be separated from each other. Their defin-
itions are derived from the grade of geological cer-
tainty of the basic information about the mineral
MINING GEOLOGY/Mineral Reserves 623
Geological Maps and Their Interpretation. Minerals:
Definition and Classification. Mining Geology: Explor-
ation Boreholes; Hydrothermal Ores; Magmatic Ores.
Quarrying.
Further Reading
Boyle RW (ed.) (1971) Geochemical Exploration, CIMM
Special Volume 11. Quebec: Canadian Institute of
Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum.
Dobrin MB and Savit CH (1988) Introduction to Geophys-
ical Prospecting, 4th edn. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Evans AM (1995) Introduction to Mineral Exploration.
London: Blackwell Science Ltd.
Harben PW and Kuzvart M (1997) Industrial Minerals –
Global Geology. Surrey, UK: Industrial Minerals Infor-
mation Ltd.
Levinson AA (1980) Introduction to Exploration
Geochemistry, 2nd edn. Wilmette, Illinois: Applied
Publishing.
Peters WC (1987) Exploration and Mining Geology, 2nd
edn. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Rose AE, Hawkes HE, and Webb JS (1979) Geochemistry
in Mineral Exploration, 2nd edn. New York: Harper and
Row.
Sillitoe RH (1995) Exploration and Discovery of Base- and
Precious-Metal Deposits in the Circum-Pacific Region
during the Last 25 Years, Resource Geology Special
Issue 19. Tokyo: The Society of Resource Geology.
Sillitoe RH (2000) Exploration and Discovery of Base- and
Precious-Metal Deposits in the Circum-Pacific Region –
A Late 1990s Update, Resource Geology Special Issue
21. Tokyo: The Society of Resource Geology.
Telford EM, Geldart LP, Sheriff RE, and Keys DD (1976)
Applied Geophysics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press.
Van Blaricom R (1992) Practical Geophysics II for the
Exploration Geologist. Spokane: Northwest Mining
Association.
Vanecek M (ed.) (1994) Mineral Deposits of the World;
Ores, Industrial Minerals, and Rocks, Developments in
Economic Geology. vol. 28. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
accumulation and from expected profitability of ex-
tracting and marketing the mineral commodity. In all
main classifications (i.e., the United Nations, the
USA, and the Russian classifications) the definitions
of mineral resources and mineral reserves are slightly
different, but in all cases the reserves form only a
better known part of the resources. Procedures for
mineral reserves calculation can be divided into the
scalar-geometrical methods and into geostatistical
methods. For the most part, in mineral statistics,