New exploration technology will find the mineral resources of the future
SGU is participating in the new EU project Smart Exploration, which aims to develop technologies for finding deep and sustainable mineral resources.
The hunt for the metals and minerals of the future is gaining momentum in the EU where there is a great need and demand for new technologies such as electric cars, batteries, solar cells and wind turbines. Today we are searching for these minerals in deeper levels of the subsurface, and especially within existing mining areas, which poses challenges for today's technology. At larger depths it is more difficult to collect data for, while noise and vibration from ongoing mining operations can interfere with measurements. There is a need to develop the existing exploration methods and to develop new technologies that are cost effective and have a low impact on our environment.
The project Smart Exploration brings together 27 different research institutes, universities, mining companies, technology companies and authorities to jointly develop smart solutions for exploration in mining areas, but also for new areas. Methods and technologies will be tested actively in six different locations across Europe - in Sweden, Finland, Portugal, Greece and Kosovo. SGU takes part in two work packages. In one work package, two geophysical data acquisition systems are developed, one to be used on board a drone and the other one on the land. In the other work package, 3D modelling of existing data including geological, geochemical, borehole, geophysical etc. is carried out to build a conceptual model for target generation. The model is then used to evaluate the new developed methods and instruments.
Smart Exploration is funded through the EU Horizon 2020 research program.
Read more about Smart Exploration (new window)
Contact persons:
Martiya Sadeghi: martiya.sadeghi@sgu.se
Mehrdad Bastani: mehrdad.bastani@sgu.se
Henrik Johansson: henrik.johansson@sgu.se
Last reviewed 2019-01-07