Mineral Exploration is the official publication of the Association of Mineral Exploration British Columbia.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/370216
Photograph : iStock F A L L 2 0 1 4 9 O ne of my favourite movies of all time is Stanley Kubrick's epic Full Metal Jacket. Among his numerous memorable quotes, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman states that, "the world's most dangerous weapon is a marine and his rifle." In the world of mineral exploration, the most powerful mine-finding technology is a creative geologist with his hammer and hand lens! But just as rapid advances in computing power and technology have made the military more efficiently lethal since the Vietnam War, the new and evolved technological tools at the dis- posal of the modern explorationist have dramatically increased their efficiency and effectiveness. Since I started in mineral explora- tion as a student in 1990, the impact of technology has been tremendous and has surely changed the process of discovery. Here is my top-10 list of the most impor- tant technological advancements I've seen over the course of my career. 1. GIS Easily the most powerf ul techno- logical tool at a geologist's disposal is a geographic information system. Industry-standard software packages such as MapInfo and ArcGIS integrate geological, geochemical, geophysical, physical and cultural geography, drill- ing and any other geospatial data rel- evant to mining and mineral explora- tion. Prior to the integration of GIS into mineral exploration, all of this data was plotted by hand using armies of drafts- men with their stencils and ink pens, on layers upon layers of maps and over- lays. Modern geologists can now carry gigabytes of information into the field with them on handheld PDAs integrated with GPS technology. 2. GPS Handheld GPS units help field person- nel collect and record accurate data sites for samples, drill holes and any other point features required on an explora- tion project. Gone are the days of often- inaccurate, manually measured grids, particularly in steep, heavily vegetated or featureless areas of B.C. (As a junior geologist working in Alaska, I spent a day mapping the wrong ridge on the wrong mountain; my helicopter pilot was just as confused as to our location as I! ) The GPS has joined the geological compass, rock hammer, hand lens and field note- book as a standard component of every geologist's field vest. Innovation retrospective THE TOP 10 TECHNOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES IN THE LAST 25 YEARS By RoB McLeod Satellite technology – between GPS and phones – has reduced the potential for explorers to be lost and alone.