The Australian gold rush of the 1850s attracted people of all stripes – most of whom had never dug for gold before. It was the same in South Africa and the Americas. A single story of success could set off a blitz of unskilled miners who tore into the earth with dreams of striking it rich. Rumours swirled, hand-drawn maps were exchanged, and in some cases, fortunes were made.
The story of minerals exploration is, of course, much broader and older than that. Little is known about the earliest methods of exploration, or the reasoning used by prehistoric prospectors – but we can track how exploration developed from the 19th century onward, as the demand for minerals that would power modern civilisation (e.g. iron ore and coal) began to rise.
Contemporary factors in exploration
Even with today’s modern methods (magnetic surveying, satellite mapping, geochemical testing), exploration is a challenging link in the value chain. As the exploration of a given deposit becomes more detailed and advanced, the cost goes up. That’s why, for every orebody that becomes a mine, hundreds of sites are explored and subjected to feasibility studies.
Exploration is also one of the first areas of the budget to be cut during an economic downturn like this one. Operators tend to pare down exploration efforts and consolidate existing mines in order to maximise value for shareholders. This becomes problematic as those mines approach the later phases of their lifecycle.
An increasing need to find orebodies at depth is another key factor. The total spend on minerals exploration in Australia (and other countries) has increased as accessible surface deposits are tapped out and operators look toward the future. It’s true that increased spending on exploration before coronavirus can be seen as a sign of recovery following the most recent boom-bust cycle, but it also speaks to the decreasing accessibility of viable deposits.
Environmental and social impacts are also critical. Some methods of explanation – particularly in the advanced stages of exploration – disturb natural environments and communities. These realities must be figured in to the operator’s (or contractor’s) risk-reward metrics and overall strategy.
The coronavirus pandemic has underscored the reality that economic and social developments can swiftly impact the mining industry, bringing new considerations to the fore. Much has been said about the next generation of health and safety standards, the acceleration of automation techniques, and the rise of remote mining workers – but what about exploration in particular? How will this vital link in the value chain evolve in the 2020s and beyond?
Emerging technologies
The development of more sophisticated tools for airborne exploration – including airborne gravity gradiometers, which measure changes in the earth’s density – is a major area of interest to mining and METS companies. The technology, first developed by Bell Aerospace and BHP Billiton, has already led to the discovery of several key deposits. Continued development of airborne gradiometry by Lockheed Martin and the University of Western Australia, among other organisations, could increasingly be combined with other sources of data to create cheaper and more reliable methods for exploration. Laser scanning and automated drone flights could also play an important role in revealing viable orebodies, both on the surface and underground.
A prime on partnerships
No small number of mineral deposits have been discovered and mined in Australia since the beginnings of our commercial mining industry, but vast areas of the continent have yet to be explored.
Some experts have a great deal of faith in existing and emerging technologies for exploration. Other leaders are more sceptical. There are some in the industry who stand by the idea that “boot leather and rock hammers” are the most effective tools, and that many exploration efforts suffer from over-analysis and a lack of coherence.
Finding more efficient ways to explore orebodies is critical to the industry’s future, but we shouldn’t expect exploration to become an exact science anytime soon. We’re a lot better off than those early gold prospectors with their hand-drawn maps and pick-axes, to be sure – but as new methods and technologies evolve, the value of strong partnerships across the production chain will be one of our greatest assets.
