After the spectacular successes of the 1960's and 1970's, the mineral exploration business is at a crossroads, facing uncertain t:imes in the decades ahead. This situation requires a re-thinking of the philosophy guiding mineral exploration if it is to emulate its recent performance. The ma:i. n argument of a previous volume titled "Designing Opt:lmal Strategies for Mineral Exploration", published in 1985 by Plenum Publishing Corporation of New York, is that a possible answer to the challenge facing mineral explorationists lies in the philosophy of opt:irn1zation. This new approach should help exploration staff make the best achievable use of the sophisticated and costly technology which is presently available for the detection of ore deposits. The main emphasis of the present volume is placed on the mathematical and computational aspects of the opt:irn1zation of mineral exploration. The seven chapters making up the ma:i. n body of the book are devoted to the description and application of various types of computerized geomathematical models which underpin the optimization of the mineral exploration sequence. The topics covered include: (a) the opt:lmal selection of ore deposit types and regions of search, as well as prospecting areas within the regions (Chapters 2, 3, 4, 6), (b) the designing of airborne and ground field programs for the opt:lmal coverage of prospecting areas (Chapters 2, 3, 4), (c) delineation and evaluation of exploration targets within prospecting areas by means of opt:irn1zed models (Chapter 5).

Mineral Exploration: Principles and Applications, Second Edition, presents an interdisciplinary approach on the full scope of mineral exploration. Everything from grass root discovery, objective base sequential exploration, mining, beneficiation, extraction, economic evaluation, policies and acts, rules and regulations, sustainability, and environmental impacts is covered. Each topic is presented using theoretical approaches that are followed by specific applications that can be used in the field. This new edition features updated references, changes to rules and regulations, and new sections on oil and gas exploration and classification, air-core drilling, and smelting and refining techniques. This book is a key resource for both academics and professionals, offering both practical and applied knowledge in mineral exploration. Offers important updates to the previous edition, including sections on the cyclical nature of mineral industry, exploration for oil and gas, CHIM-electro-geochemical survey, air-core drilling, classification of oil and gas resources, smelting, and refining technologies Presents global case studies that allow readers to quickly apply exploration concepts to real-world scenarios Includes 385 illustrations and photographs to aid the reader in understanding key procedures and applications

This special volume offers a snapshot of the latest developments in mineral exploration, in particular, geophysical, geochemical, and computational methods. It reflects the cutting-edge applications of geophysics and geochemistry, as well as novel technologies, such as in artificial intelligence and hyperspectral exploration, methods that have profoundly changed how exploration is conducted. This special volume is a representation of these cutting-edge and pioneering methods to consider and conduct exploration, and should serve both as a valuable compendium of the most innovative exploration methodologies available and as a foreshadowing of the form of future exploration. As such, this volume is of significant importance and would be useful to any exploration geologist and company

Presents an applied approach to the estimation of mineral resources/reserves. It is suitable for any university or mining school that offers courses on mineral resource/reserve estimation. It will also be valuable for professional mining and geological engineers and geologists working with mineral exploration companies.

Risk and reliability analysis is an area of growing importance in geotechnical engineering, where many variables have to be considered. Statistics, reliability modeling and engineering judgement are employed together to develop risk and decision analyses for civil engineering systems. The resulting engineering models are used to make probabilistic predictions, which are applied to geotechnical problems. Reliability & Statistics in Geotechnical Engineering comprehensively covers the subject of risk and reliability in both practical and research terms * Includes extensive use of case studies * Presents topics not covered elsewhere--spatial variability and stochastic properties of geological materials * No comparable texts available Practicing engineers will find this an essential resource as will graduates in geotechnical engineering programmes.

Mineral exploration is an economic activity of worldwide importance. This volume, originally published in 1988, makes a substantial contribution to the understanding of mineral exploration and the major economic, political, and geologic forces that govern it. Some chapters examine the behaviour and performance of particular participants in the exploration process while others focus on specific countries. This is a valuable title for any student interested in environmental studies and the global impact of econonmics.

Few knowledgeable people would deny that the field of mineral exploration is facing some difficult times in the foreseeable future. Among the woes, we can cite a worldwide economic uneasiness reflected by sluggish and at times widely fluctuating metal prices, global financial uncertainties, and relentless pressures on costs despite a substantial slowing down of the rate of inflation. Furthermore, management is forced to tum to more sophisticated and expensive technologies and to look farther afield to more remote regions, as the better quality and more easily accessible ore deposits have now been revealed. This rather gloomy outlook should persuade explorationists to cast about for a new philosophy with which to guide mineral exploration through the challenging decades ahead. Once already, in the early 1960s, a call for change had been heard (Ref. 30 in Chapter 1), when it became obvious that the prospecting methods of yesteryear, so successful in the past, could not keep up with the rapidly growing demand for minerals of the postwar period. The answer, a massive introduction of sophisticated geophysical and geochemical technologies backed by new geo logical models, proved spectacularly successful throughout the 1960s and the 1970s. But for both economic and technological reasons, the brisk pace of the last two decades has considerably slowed down in the early 1980s, as if a new threshold has been reached.

Fuzzy Modeling and Genetic Algorithms for Data Mining and Exploration is a handbook for analysts, engineers, and managers involved in developing data mining models in business and government. As you'll discover, fuzzy systems are extraordinarily valuable tools for representing and manipulating all kinds of data, and genetic algorithms and evolutionary programming techniques drawn from biology provide the most effective means for designing and tuning these systems. You don't need a background in fuzzy modeling or genetic algorithms to benefit, for this book provides it, along with detailed instruction in methods that you can immediately put to work in your own projects. The author provides many diverse examples and also an extended example in which evolutionary strategies are used to create a complex scheduling system. - Written to provide analysts, engineers, and managers with the background and specific instruction needed to develop and implement more effective data mining systems - Helps you to understand the trade-offs implicit in various models and model architectures - Provides extensive coverage of fuzzy SQL querying, fuzzy clustering, and fuzzy rule induction - Lays out a roadmap for exploring data, selecting model system measures, organizing adaptive feedback loops, selecting a model configuration, implementing a working model, and validating the final model - In an extended example, applies evolutionary programming techniques to solve a complicated scheduling problem - Presents examples in C, C++, Java, and easy-to-understand pseudo-code - Extensive online component, including sample code and a complete data mining workbench

This book gathers selected papers from the 8th International Field Exploration and Development Conference (IFEDC 2019) and addresses a broad range of topics, including: Low Permeability Reservoir, Unconventional Tight & Shale Oil Reservoir, Unconventional Heavy Oil and Coal Bed Gas, Digital and Intelligent Oilfield, Reservoir Dynamic Analysis, Oil and Gas Reservoir Surveillance and Management, Oil and Gas Reservoir Evaluation and Modeling, Drilling and Production Operation, Enhancement of Recovery, Oil and Gas Reservoir Exploration. The conference not only provided a platform to exchange experiences, but also promoted the advancement of scientific research in oil & gas exploration and production. The book is chiefly intended for industry experts, professors, researchers, senior engineers, and enterprise managers.