The mining industry continues to actively explore for minerals. Gap mainly focuses on defining details of existing geological structures, rather than exploring vast areas of greenfield sites in a search of new deposits.
Gap's ultra-high definition technologies provide important information to drilling crews and mining engineers which significantly improves the efficiency and effectiveness of drilling and also assists the planning of mining operations.
Ultra-High Definition
Conventional Survey
High-definition Survey
Gap's instruments have been designed to provide extremely high resolution when deployed close to the earth's surface or from very low-flying aircraft. Typical Gap ground-based surveys are conducted at about 1 metre above the ground, with airborne surveys as low as 20 metres.
Magnetics
The most mature of Gap's minerals exploration technologies uses a passive total field magnetic sensor to measure minute changes in the Earth's magnetic field. These changes show the potential for discontinuities and anomalies such as faults, shears and igneous intrusions - all of which influence the earth's magnetic field.
Sub-Audio Magnetics
SAM is a patented technique developed by Gap's research scientists. It works by introducing an electrical signal into the Earth with a frequency typically in the range of 0.3 to 30 Hz.
Gap's highly sensitive magnetic detectors are then able to measure the response and can provide important geophysical parameters simultaneously and in perfect registration, including:
- Total field magnetic intensity (TMI)
- Total field magnetometric resistivity (TFMMR)
- Total field magnetometric induced polarisation (TFMMIP)
- Total field electromagnetic response (TFEMI)
These parameters are recorded continuously, not just at large intervals, and provide highly detailed information for use in geological modelling and positioning of drill holes.
SAM has been used extensively in Western Australia for mapping the small geological structures associated with gold deposits and testimonials are available from these clients detailing the outstanding results.
Importantly, SAM can be used to see through highly conductive surface layers, such as salt lakes, which usually stop any form of electrical geophysics and make drilling difficult and expensive.
