Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are being increasingly used by the
mineral exploration industry in the search for new ore deposits. A mineral
exploration GIS links geological and geophysical data by virtue of their
geographic location in a digital map setting. Geological and geophysical data
are categorised into a number of themes or layers within a mineral exploration
GIS. These layers may include polygonal information such as rock type and
tenements, line information such as faults and fold axes, point information such
as mines and mineral occurences, and images such as gridded geochemistry and
aeromagnetics.
A mineral exploration GIS is a powerful tool to help the explorationist
comprehend the spatial associations and interrelationships of his/her data.
These spatial associations can be integrated with a mineral genesis model, to
create a mineral prospectivity map to more effectively target exploration.
Arguably a competent geologist who has a good understanding of the genesis of
the local ore deposit types and knows their local geology backwards could
intuitively derive a mineral prospectivity map. However, in an era of rapid data
accumulation from many different disciplines, the ability to assimilate and
understand is a huge task for any individual. A mineral exploration GIS enables
the explorationist to spend more time analysing data and testing ideas, rather
than finding and manipulating data into compatible formats.