Abstract

Lithoprobe (1984 – 2005), Canada’s national, collaborative, multidisciplinary, Earth science research project, investigated the structure and evolution of the Canadian landmass and its margins. One of its many contributions was the demonstration that scientists from geophysics and geology must work together to achieve thorough and comprehensive interpretations of all available data sets. In my talk, this point is exemplified by summarizing data and interpretations from five exploration-related studies derived from journal publications: 1) Guichon Creek batholith (porphyry copper/molybdenum) in south-central B.C.; 2) Matagami region (volcanogenic massive sulfides) of Quebec; (3) Sudbury structure (nickel deposits) in Ontario; 4) Athabasca basin (uranium) in NW Saskatchewan; and 5) Snap Lake kimberlite dyke (diamonds) in the NWT.

Bio

Ron Clowes, Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, UBC

A native of Calgary, AB, Ron received BSc (1964), MSc (1966) and PhD (1969) degrees from the U. of Alberta. In 1970, he joined the then Dept. of Geophysics & Astronomy (now EOAS), “retired” in 2007 and is currently Professor Emeritus. In 1987, he was appointed Director of Lithoprobe, Canada’s national geoscience project, a position he held until the project’s conclusion in 2005. His personal research centered on multichannel seismic reflection, seismic refraction/wide-angle reflection and other geophysical studies of the Earth’s lithosphere on land and at sea; and relation of the geophysical results to geology and tectonics. For nearly 30 years, tis research was associated with Lithoprobe. As Director of Lithoprobe, he was instrumental in both its success as a project and its international acclaim. Through his research and Lithoprobe activities, Ron has received numerous awards, including the Order of Canada (1998), Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (1994), Logan Medal of GAC (2005), Honorary membership in the CSEG (1995), among many others.

Recording

Abstract

Discovered in 2010, a full 22 years after the previous discovery at Lombador, Semblana is the sixth of seven known deposits within the greater Neves-Corvo mining concession. Located in a mature terrain less than 3 km from the operation’s headframe, the lengthy time it took to discover Semblana was affected by macroeconomics, multiple changes in company management, and technological advances in equipment, inversion methods and visualisation tools. The fact that Semblana lies 800 m below surface and has neither a strong gravity anomaly nor a stellar EM response didn’t help.

The story of Semblana was first presented at Exploration ’17 by West and Penney (2017). Had modern exploration tools been available earlier, history would have likely been different. The story of Semblana is therefore worth upgrading and repeating, not to re-write history, but to re-run the discovery playbook using newer data and modern inversion methods. Two stories will be presented: Semblana as it happened, and Semblana as it might be discovered today.

Recording

Abstract

Muon tomography-derived density models can be used in a wide variety of settings from exploration and resource characterisation to void mapping and monitoring. Where density is correlated with mineralization, muon tomography can complement existing exploration techniques in both near-mine and early-stage settings.

Ideon Technologies has successfully deployed muon tomography to precisely identify and map a variety of exploration targets on greenfield sites and in the complex operational environment of active brownfield mine sites. The output delivered is a high-resolution Earth model that can improve the accuracy of tonnage estimates and drill targeting, expedite geological modelling, and directly inform mine planning.

Ideon has now imaged the Earth’s subsurface at resolutions ranging on the order of 5 m to 50 m. By advancing simulation and modelling methods such as Bayesian inference and hybrid geometry inversions, Ideon is reducing geological uncertainty and giving mining companies greater confidence to move earlier, faster, and with less downstream risk.

This presentation will share the latest developments in cosmic-ray muon tomography with case studies, detailing the resolution that can be recovered and the meaningful uncertainty that can be obtained.

Bio

Nigel began his career in geology, transitioning to geophysical fieldwork, and has since accumulated over 25 years of experience in the mining industry. His work has included roles with major companies such as Newmont and Rio Tinto. He earned a master’s degree at the Geophysical Inversion Facility and served as a research associate at the Mineral Deposit Research Unit at the University of British Columbia.

Nigel’s leadership in the industry includes heading a consulting group at Mira Geoscience, where he also conducted training in geophysics and earth modelling for exploration and mining firms. He later worked at Computational Geosciences, specializing in electromagnetic modelling, joint inversion, and machine learning techniques.

Currently, Nigel is the Director of Geosciences at Ideon Technologies. In this role, he oversees data simulation, analysis, and earth modelling, with a focus on 4D data integration, stochastic inversion modelling, uncertainty quantification, and geostatistics. His current work involves advancing high-resolution geophysics to innovative applications throughout the mining cycle, from exploration to resource estimation, to geotechnical block-cave monitoring.

Recording

The BCGS executive are pleased to announce our upcoming BCGS 2025 Roundup Breakfast.

Breakfast will be served buffet style and consist of scrambled eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, broiled tomatos, freshly baked muffins/scones/croissants, fruit preserves, juice, and coffee/tea/water.

Please register and pay via Paypal below.
Registration will close on Fri, Jan 17 @ 12pm. Space is limited so register early!

Thank you for your support. We have fully sold out!
Registration is now closed.
(as of Jan 16 @ 11:15 am PST)

Geologic hydrogen and an emerging role of mining geophysics
Yaoguo Li * & Mengli Zhang
Center for Gravity, Electrical, and Magnetic Studies,Department of Geophysics, Colorado School of Mines

Geologic hydrogen has emerged as a potentially transformational new energy resource in the quest to transition to net-zero emission energy supplies. If realized, this new form of energy resource could circumvent the insurmountable challenge of finding and producing enough metals and critical minerals to meet the demands of clean energy. Addressing the technical challenges to finding geologic hydrogen requires the reconfiguration and recombination of two major branches of exploration geophysics, namely, the mineral exploration and oil & gas exploration. In this presentation, we will review geologic hydrogen as a primary energy source, the current understanding of the serpentinization-driven geologic hydrogen systems, and the need for integrated exploration strategies to find geologic hydrogen. We will also discuss a source rock-centered strategy for geologic hydrogen exploration, which spans from source-rock delineation to reservoir de-risking. The crucial role of mineral exploration geophysics in the source-rock centered exploration approach for the geologic hydrogen could provide mining geophysicists with a new cycle of opportunities and the new space of applying our expertise.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Yaoguo Li is a Professor in the Department of Geophysics at the Colorado School of Mines, where he has been leading the Center for Gravity, Electrical, and Magnetic Studies (CGEM), co-leading the Geo-Multiphysics Research Consortium (GMRC), and co-leading a newly formed consortium on the Potential of Geologic Hydrogen Gas Resources. He holds a PhD in geophysics from the University of British Columbia. Dr. Li’s research interests include inverse theory, and inversion of gravity, magnetic, electrical, and electromagnetic geophysical data, joint inversion and geology differentiation. Geologic hydrogen exploration, efficient data acquisition in resource exploration, and machine learning-assisted inversion methods are among his newest pursuits. His research covers a broad range of geoscientific problems in geologic hydrogen exploration, mineral exploration, and carbon storage monitoring. He is the instructor of the 11^th EAGE Education Tour. He is a co-recipient of the 1999 Gerald W. Hohmann Award, and Honorary Member of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG).

Sponsors:

Thank you to our sponsors for enabling us to subsidize the cost of students attending the breakfast.