Application examples of high-density electrical method in different types of mineral exploration

1) Metallic mineral exploration

In the exploration of metallic minerals, such as copper, lead, zinc and other polymetallic ores. Taking a copper mining area as an example, through high-density electrical exploration, the electrodes were arranged in a Wenner arrangement. During the measurement process, a low resistivity abnormal area was found. After subsequent drilling verification, the abnormal area was highly consistent with the copper mineralization zone. High-density electrical method not only determined the location of the copper mineralization zone, but also roughly delineated its range, providing an important basis for further mining design.

(II) Non-metallic mineral exploration

For non-metallic minerals, such as coal mines. In a coal mine exploration area, the dipole-dipole arrangement of high-density electrical method was used for measurement. Due to the obvious difference in resistivity between coal seams and surrounding rocks, the analysis and processing of the measurement data clearly showed the occurrence depth and thickness change trend of coal seams. This information is of great significance for coal mining planning and reserve calculation.

Working principle

1 High-density resistivity method High-density resistivity method is a new resistivity method developed in the 1980s. It integrates electrical profile and electrical depth measurement, and uses high-density points for two-dimensional geoelectric section measurement. The physical premise is the difference in conductivity between underground media. According to the distribution law of underground conductive current under the action of an applied electric field, the occurrence of geological bodies with different resistivities in the ground can be inferred. According to the measured apparent resistivity profile, calculation and analysis can be performed to obtain the resistivity distribution in the stratum, so that the stratum can be divided and anomalies can be determined [4]. Due to the large amount of data provided, rich information, high observation accuracy, fast speed, and flexible detection, it has broad application prospects in engineering geological surveys and hydrogeological surveys, and its application in mineral areas is one of them.

Classic Case

Application of high-density electrical method in the southwest of Tasmania

Nearly 200,000 km of work has been carried out in the southwestern part of the Tarim Basin. Combining known geological data with the fault structure, hydrocarbon source and migration laws, and local closure structure types and distribution inferred by the WGMD-9 high-density electrical method, a total of 11 favorable structural areas for oil and gas ac

cumulation have been identified, including 2 most promising oil and gas accumulation structural areas, 4 promising oil and gas accumulation structural areas, and 5 possible oil and gas prospective structural areas.

Gold mining in western Sichuan

High-density electrical technology is applied to geochemical exploration of gold mines in alpine grassland areas and sandstone-type uranium mines in the north. It has supported the discovery of a number of large and super-large gold mines in Gannan-Sichuan and other areas, as well as many uranium mines in Inner Mongolia, creating huge economic benefits.

Heilongjiang Copper Mine

By using the theory of multi-dimensional anomaly system, the amount of mineralization and associated elements and mineralizer elements brought in and out was quantitatively calculated, and a 90m thick PbZn mineralization body was discovered at a depth of 500-600 meters in a copper mining area in Heilongjiang Province, which serves the prospecting of new mineral species deep in old mining areas.