This is a paper from (Gandhi & Sarkar, 2016).
Geophysics is becoming an increasingly important discovery tool as exploration moves deeper into subsurface. The ability to rapidly iterate and combine data and constrain odels within project timelines is essential for making geophysical modeling a more practical and reliable aid. As explorationists are compelled to look deeper into the subsurface for minerals, geophysical inversion is emerging as a powerful tool for improving exploration success.
Over the decade passed by, the technique has evolved from a complex, timeconsuming process into a rapid and integrated approach for visualizing what lies beneath the surface. Today inversion is being applied at every stage of the exploration programme, from prospect generation to resource definition.
Inversion is a process whereby explorationists use geophysical data, what they know about a region or project and other existing data, to construct the most likely distribution of physical properties under the surface. The technique can extract more insight from geophysical data than traditional approaches, because geophysical measurements are converted into 3D images of the subsurface that can be integrated with geological observations.
The process of 3D geophysical inversion aims to produce the most likely distribution of physical rock properties that validates what is observed. Advances in cloud computing and software technology over the years have made the technique accessible to any explorationist with an understanding of geophysics.
Geosoft has developed cloud-based geological inversion software (“VOXI Earth Modeling”) that helps to generate 3D voxel models from ground or airborne gravity and magnetic data. VOXI has made large, multiparameter geophysical inversion modeling faster, more responsive and effective as an exploration tool to assist with predictive modeling for project generation and target delineation, as well as more advanced exploration.
As exploration progresses to the advanced stage, the inversion process provides an increasingly accurate picture of subsurface geology and structural controls on mineraliza[1]tion. Whether generating new projects or finding new ore deposits around existing operations, geophysical inversion can save time and money by enhancing then 3D image of the subsurface and providing more insight into potential targets for follow-up and dril[1]ling. Inversion also helps to prove a geological concept that can be taken to another area that appears to have the same geological setting. It is a valuable tool for the geologist to have at every stage of exploration from grassroots to resource definition.
Reference
Gandhi, S. M., & Sarkar, B. C. (2016). Chapter 5—Geophysical Exploration. In S. M. Gandhi & B. C. Sarkar (Eds.), Essentials of Mineral Exploration and Evaluation (pp. 97–123). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-805329-4.00012-0
