Recent Advances and Field Trial Results Integrating Cosmic Ray Muon Tomography with Other Data Sources for Mineral Exploration

Abstract:

CRM GeoTomography Technologies, Inc. is leading the way in applying muon tomography to discovery and definition of dense ore bodies for mineral exploration and resource estimation. We have successfully imaged volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits at mines in North America using our suite of field-proven muon tracking detectors, and are at various stages of development for other applications. Recently we developed in-house inversion software that integrates data from assays, surface and borehole gravity, and underground muon flux measurements. We have found that the differing geophysical data sources provide complementary information and that dramatic improvements in inversion results are attained using various inversion performance metrics related to the excess tonnage of the mineral deposits, as well as their spatial extents and locations. This presentation will outline field tests of muon tomography performed by CRM Geotomography in some real world examples, and will demonstrate the effectiveness of joint muon tomography, assay and gravity inversion techniques in field tests (where data are available) and in simulations.