Mineral Exploration is the official publication of the Association of Mineral Exploration British Columbia.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/370216
22 F A L L 2 0 1 4 Photographs : Monic a Spisar; Alexander Lerche ; Mose s Dennis and traditional solutions can struggle to obtain a geologically meaningful answer," says Oldenburg. "The rocks in areas host- ing mineral deposits may also be con- taminated with remanence. Recognition of these effects and how to handle them requires new methodologies." Another area of current research is the development of GIFtools, which is a computer environment for carrying out advanced geophysical inversion. "The major challenge with geophysical inversion is the non-uniqueness of data," explains Oldenburg. "GIFtools allows the user to invert his particular data set while adding other types of information, so that the final inversion is compat- ible with the geophysical and geological knowledge that is available." Also located at UBC is the Mineral Deposit Research Unit (MDRU). Monica Spisar, who is in charge of business devel- opment, says MDRU creates knowledge for mineral explorers in the form of data, models and interpretive insights. "MDRU also creates tools to enhance data-driven exploration decisions," Spisar says. "Those tools include exploration techniques, such as footprint techniques for identifying concealed deposits, and devices, including those that expedite sample analysis." Spisar says MDRU is different from other academic-industry partnerships because the initiative to create the orga- nization came from industry, which con- tinues to drive its strategic focus. "MDRU enjoys tremendous support from its industry sponsors. That is a key compo- nent of our success and relevance." MDRU has at least two projects dedi- cated to developing exploration methods to improve the targeting of concealed deposits. "For example, MDRU's explo- ration geochemistry initiative and por- phyry indicator minerals projects iden- tify signatures for concealed deposits and develop methods to apply these sig- natures," says Spisar. Monica Spisar Business Development, Mineral Deposit Research Unit, University of British Columbia Westcoast.indd MDRU