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Publication in Australian Journal of Earth Sciences

Potential of hyperspectral-based geochemical predictions with neural networks for strategic and regional exploration improvement

This paper summarises an evaluation of the application of artificial intelligence to hyperspectral drill-core scans for more effective mineral exploration. The dataset used was based on publicly available core scans and related geochemical analysis from Australia. Prior to unification, a detailed quality assessment of the geochemical data was undertaken. Special focus was paid to gold, silver, copper, iron, uranium, nickel, lead, tin, antimony, arsenic and bismuth contents. The dataset was labelled with defined ore grades related to economic cutoff values. The impact on predictions of different setups is related to the amounts of data used for learning, data design and implementation of the geological domains. Based on 1-metre bins, the results from more than 700 km of drill cores were used and analysed with the potential for geological exploration in different scenarios discussed. The results indicate the enormous potential of the use of hyperspectral scans in combination with artificial intelligence for the development of exploration scenarios and to provide support for exploration geologists and target detection. The application of predictors on scanned drill cores from Australia also indicates mineralised zones that have not been analysed chemically for all metals above economic cutoffs. This result shows the enormous potential of the approach for strategic exploration but also mining operations. Prediction of geochemical concentrations for gold, copper and iron based on a neural network in drill cores is possible. Using mineral abundances from hyperspectral core scans as learning records, and existing elemental geochemical analyses as labels, the predictions are given with an accuracy of better than 80–90%.