The impact computers are having in geoscience is distinctly mixed. In the
petroleum industry where much of the data are based on geophysics,
computers have become an integral part of exploration and reservoir
evaluation and simulation. In the minerals industry, the trend to
computerisation is more advanced in some disciplines than others.
Geophysical and remote sensing data are routinely processed and imaged
using state of the art computer techniques. Mine surveying, planning,
design and resource and ore reserve estimation are now all predominantly
reliant on computers. However senior management of many companies,
particularly in the mineral exploration industry, are still reticent to fully
embrace the technology. 3D computer modelling of geology and orebody delineation is still
largely in its infancy. Two current and significant drawbacks to the
routine use of computer modelling of geology in both mining and
exploration are the tedious and time consuming modelling process and the
lack of seamless interaction between 3D computer-aided drafting (CAD)
software and geographical information systems (GIS) which are largely
2D in their data treatment. There is an urgent need for a 3D spatial
information system (eg 3D GIS) with intelligent and rapid modelling
functionality. One of the keys to the successful building of 3D geological computer
models begins with data base structure and design to ensure that there is
no loss of data fidelity through data capture, storage, manipulation and
modelling. Once a model is constructed, the latest generations of
visualisation software provide sophisticated environments over a range of
hardware platforms for visualisation in both mono and stereo viewing. This is demonstrated by the geological models which are presented in
the digital interactive version of this talk whose URL on the World Wide
Web is: http://www.ned.dem.csiro.au/FRACTAL/pubs/talk97AUSIMM/