Targeting 2: Mine to Camp Scale

Paper 25

Mineral Exploration Using Natural EM Fields

Jansen, J.C. [1], Cristall, J.A. [1]
_________________________
1. Anglo American plc

ABSTRACT

The understanding of the geological processes behind the formation of mineral systems has advanced remarkably over the past two
decades and has initiated a re-think with respect to the optimal geophysical methods required to both target and delineate economic ore
bodies. The mineral system concept of McCuaig and Hronsky (2014) proposes four critical elements that must combine in various scales
over space and time: whole lithosphere architecture, transient favourable geodynamics, fertility, and preservation of the primary
depositional zone. They conclude that “[the mineral system concept] focuses mineral exploration strategies on incorporating primary
datasets that can map the critical elements of mineral systems at a variety of scales, and particularly the regional to camp scales needed to
make exploration decisions.”

With exploration evolving to take a holistic view of the complete mineral system in targeting, geophysics has adapted to making greater use
of techniques that can explore scales ranging from deposit to lithospheric. While the geophysical toolbox is filled with many techniques,
only a few of them are capable of the depth investigation required to expand our view past the deposit scale: active- and passive-seismics,
and methods that make use of Earth’s natural gravitational, magnetic, and electromagnetic (EM) fields. Gravity and magnetics are
ubiquitous in datasets ranging from continental to prospect scales and the use of seismic techniques in mineral exploration is growing. But
nothing compares to natural field EM methods if the goal is 3D conductivity imaging to kilometres depth combined with ease of data
collection. Over the past decade, these have become mainstream in mineral exploration, and recent advances in the joint inversion of
ground and airborne data are making natural field EM methods an even more powerful tool for resolving complete mineral systems.

Examples of natural field EM techniques applied to a variety of mineral systems over the past decade are presented, beginning with a
crustal scale magnetotelluric transect across the Gawler Craton and the super-giant Olympic Dam IOCG deposit of South Australia, and
followed by illustrations from porphyry systems (Collahuasi, Pebble, El Salvador, Los Bronces, Cobre Panama, Resolution, Santa Cecilia,
and Morrison) that dominate this paper owing to the economic significance of porphyry copper-gold deposits globally and because of their
amenability to large-scale conductivity imaging. Further applications to sedimentary copper (Frontier and Kansanshi), magmatic
polymetallic sulphide (Voisey’s Bay), and unconformity-related uranium (McArthur River) deposits are also presented. Together these
examples demonstrate the value that natural field EM geophysics can bring to the exploration decision making process when interpreted in
context of mineral systems.

INTRODUCTION
For minerals, the Audio-Magnetotelluric (AMT) method is still
In parallel with a general deepening of the exploration search-
the main approach at the deposit scale, but there is growing
space over the past decade have come advances in geophysical
interest in broadband Magnetotellurics (MT) for deep crustal
hardware, processing, and inversion software. Besides the
imaging, and long-period MT for imaging through to the upper
magnetic and gravity methods, with their inherent weaknesses
mantle. Combined, these methods provide information across
being potential fields, the only other geophysical tools capable
multiple scales, down to sub-continental lithospheric
of imaging to depths on the order of kilometres are seismics,
architecture. Although AMT and MT surveys were once clearly
both active and passive, and natural field electromagnetic (EM)
distinguished by different sets of equipment, with MT also often
methods. Seismic reflection has seen use in mineral exploration,
viewed as purely an academic pursuit, this distinction is now
but the cost of mobilizing crews to remote environments vis-à-
blurred by readily available commercial systems using
vis the probability of success is still considered too great for
broadband induction coils commonly acquiring data from
many exploration budgets. Instead, many companies are
0.0001 Hz up to 10,000 Hz. Surveys designed to exploit this
beginning to utilize less-costly passive seismic methods to
broadband capability can form a more complete picture of the
image the deep mineral-systems beneath their operations, but
deep mineral system. In this paper AMT is still used for
because relatively little of this work has been published it will
historical continuity, although it is applied interchangeably with
not be discussed further herein. That leaves natural source EM,
the more general MT in accordance with the less band-limited
the subject of this paper. However, the idea of using natural EM
state of modern practice.
fields in mineral exploration is not new, with Morrison and
Nichols (1997) having published a paper with a similar name for
The biggest development in the past decade is undoubtedly the
Exploration '97: Geophysics and Geochemistry at the
rapid advancement and uptake of Geotech Ltd.’s Z-Axis Tipper
Millennium. This paper thus can be considered a sequel, 20
Electromagnetic (ZTEM), an airborne natural field EM system.
years on.

In “Proceedings of Exploration 17: Sixth Decennial International Conference on Mineral Exploration” edited by V. Tschirhart and M.D. Thomas, 2017,
p. 349–377
350 Targeting 2: Mine to Camp Scale

Geotech acquired a total of 33,706 line-km of commercial from which can be calculated an apparent resistivity that
surveys prior to Exploration '07 and surveyed over 373,000 line- represents the bulk resistivity of the volume sampled by the
km since, suggesting that ZTEM is now a mature-technology. polarized current flow as measured by the associated impedance
tensor component (𝒁𝑥𝑦 ):
This paper reviews the principles of MT, Magnetovariational 1 2
𝜌𝑥𝑦 = |𝒁 | (3)
Soundings, and ZTEM; highlights significant advances in those 2𝜋𝑓𝜇0 𝑥𝑦
methods over the past 10 years; provides specific examples from
iron-oxide-copper-gold, porphyry and sedimentary copper, A corresponding phase is also defined as:
magmatic polymetallic sulphide, and uranium deposit types; and 𝐼𝑚(𝒁𝑥𝑦 )
ends with a summary discussion and a look to the future. 𝜑𝑥𝑦 = tan−1 ( )
𝑅𝑒(𝒁𝑥𝑦 ) (4)

THEORY where 𝑅𝑒 and 𝐼𝑚 denote the real and imaginary parts of 𝒁𝑥𝑦 .
Intuitively, phase can be thought of a leading indicator to the
Magnetotellurics apparent resistivity curve: phase less than 45° indicates apparent
The theory behind MT has been reviewed by many authors, and resistivity is increasing with depth (towards lower frequencies),
interested readers are directed to Simpson and Bahr (2005), while phase greater than 45° indicates it is decreasing with
Unsworth (2007), Chave and Jones (2012), or Jones’ (2017) depth.
paper in this volume, and references therein. A brief
introduction follows regardless. The name magnetotelluric Magnetotelluric waves diffuse downward with a characteristic
derives from magneto, ascribed to magnetic fields, and telluric attenuation called skin depth (𝛿), which relates a given
referring to electric fields in the ground (tellus being the Latin frequency and resistivity to a length scale (or depth) over which
word for Earth). MT therefore measures both the natural electric the strength of the wave decays to 1/e (~36%) of its initial
⃑ ) and magnetic (𝑯
(𝑬 ⃑⃑⃑ ) components of EM waves to image the amplitude:
earth’s electrical-conductivity structure.
𝛿 ≈ 500√𝜌/𝑓 (5)
The method was independently discovered by Tikhonov (1950),
Rikitake (1950), and Cagniard (1953), who developed equations Skin depth explains the greater depth-of-investigation that can
relating the ratio of orthogonal, horizontally-polarized electric- be achieved with natural field EM methods as compared to
and magnetic- fields associated with tellurics (currents) to the active-source EM methods. For a half-space of resistivity 50
resistivity profile beneath the measurement. By taking the ratio, Ωm, this would suggest a depth-of-investigation of ~650 m for a
they solved the problem of not knowing the source amplitude. survey with a minimum frequency of 30 Hz, or ~35 km for a
survey acquiring down to 0.01 Hz. The skin depth concept is
Magnetotelluric signals for frequencies <1 Hz originate in the also important at the high frequency end in resistive areas,
magnetosphere and are termed micropulsations, while signals >1 where it is favourable to acquire high frequency data to skin
Hz come from distant lightning strikes and are known as sferics. depths less than the target depth in order to provide inversion
Together, these allow MT surveys to acquire broadband data, codes with the data needed for accurate depth imaging.
thereby providing an inherent depth-imaging capability
otherwise lacking in potential field methods that do not contain The use of a time-synchronised remote-reference station to
multiple-frequency information at each point in space. The improve noise rejection in MT data dates back to Gamble et al.
sources of the EM signals are ideally far away, which produce (1979). The basic premise behind remote referencing is that
near-planar waves that refract vertically downward when they events recorded simultaneously at both the remote and roving
impinge upon Earth’s surface, such that only horizontally- MT sites are probably real signal while events that do not cross-
polarized fields exist in a 1D (layered) Earth. The resistivity (𝜌) correlate are probably noise. The realistic implementation of
of a half-space is given by: remote reference robust processing is an extremely sophisticated
1 form of advanced statistical signal processing and there are
𝜌= |𝒁|2 (1)
2𝜋𝑓𝜇0 several good options to choose from (e.g. Larsen, 1996; Egbert,
1997; Chave, 2004). Chave and Jones (2012) suggest always
where 𝑓 is frequency, 𝜇0 is the magnetic permeability of free
using a remote reference station because any noise contained in
space, and 𝒁 is a 2×2 tensor or transfer function known as the
the auto-power terms for self-referenced sites will produce
characteristic impedance, itself derived from ⃑𝑬 = 𝒁𝑯
⃑⃑⃑ . Here, the
biased impedance estimates that typically lower the calculated
term transfer function refers to an Earth model that describes a apparent resistivity.
linear system with an input and a predictable output (Simpson
and Bahr, 2005). For non-half-spaces (i.e. 1D = layered, 2D = A perennial bane to those who interpret MT data is near-surface
infinite strike, or 3D), 𝒁 becomes a generalised, frequency- galvanic distortion. Galvanic distortions are caused by the
dependent tensor: buildup of electric charge on conductivity gradients at the
𝐸𝑥 (𝑓) 𝑍𝑥𝑥 (𝑓) 𝑍𝑥𝑦 (𝑓) 𝐻𝑥 (𝑓) boundaries of near-surface heterogeneities that are below the
[ ]=[ ][ ] (2) spatial resolution of the MT survey (Chave and Jones, 2012).
𝐸𝑦 (𝑓) 𝑍𝑦𝑥 (𝑓) 𝑍𝑦𝑦 (𝑓) 𝐻𝑦 (𝑓)
They change the amplitude of the measured electric field,
shifting the apparent resistivity curves equally at all frequencies
 Jansen, J.C., and Cristall, J.A. Mineral Exploration Using Natural EM Fields 351

in a concept known as “static shift” (Jones, 1988). Galvanic Magnetovariational Soundings - Tippers
distortions can make a 1D or 2D impedance tensors appear 3D Conductivity imaging is significantly augmented by acquiring
(Groom and Bailey, 1989) and for 3D impedance tensors can the vertical magnetic-field component (𝐻𝑧 ) in addition to the
cause complex mixing of differently polarized data, affecting
four horizontal EM-field components (𝐸𝑥 , 𝐸𝑦 , 𝐻𝑥 , 𝐻𝑦 ) related
both apparent resistivities and phases of all elements (Jones,
by the MT transfer-function 𝒁. The link between the horizontal
2011).
and vertical components of the magnetic field is given by the
Individual MT measurements have traditionally been classified vertical-magnetic transfer-function 𝑻:
𝐻
according to their 1D, 2D, or 3D dimensionality by calculating 𝐻𝑧 = 𝑻𝑯 ⃑⃑⃑ = (𝑇𝑧𝑥 𝑇𝑧𝑦 ) ( 𝑥 ) (6)
the Swift skew or by analyzing polar diagrams of the impedance 𝐻𝑦
tensor. Dimensionality analysis has historically been very
important because until recently modelling was only practical In the academic community, ground surveys that make use of
for 1D and 2D data; 3D data often being modelled using 1D or vertical-magnetic transfer-functions are known as
2D approaches because that was all that was possible. Magnetovariational Soundings (MVS) or Geomagnetic Depth
Unfortunately, skew, polar diagrams, and all other forms of Soundings (GDS). 𝑇𝑧𝑥 and 𝑇𝑧𝑦 data are commonly known as
dimensionality analysis that directly utilize impedances are tippers because they “tip” the magnetic field from being purely
susceptible to galvanic distortions. Considering that phases are horizontal to having a non-zero vertical component in response
unaffected by galvanic distortions for 1D and 2D (but not 3D) to 3D conductivity variations or to 2D E-polarization. For 2D
data, phase-tensor analysis (Caldwell et al., 2004) is now B-polarization or in 1D geology for a plane-wave source, no
becoming a standard technique to assess dimensionality, with vertical magnetic field is generated and the tippers are zero.
the added utility that it identifies the geoelectric strike direction
for 2D data, thus defining the optimal data rotation for 2D By Ampère’s Law, current flow along geological strike in the x-
modelling. direction (perpendicular to the profile) will produce magnetic
fields circulating in the y-z plane, yielding a positive 𝑇𝑧𝑦 value
Regardless of advances in 3D inversion capabilities, on one side of the conductor and a negative 𝑇𝑧𝑦 value on the
dimensionality will always have an important role to play in opposite side. This characteristic cross-over, similar to a
understanding MT responses. It is still the case, and will likely controlled-source remote transmitter Very-Low Frequency
remain so, that data with 1D characteristics are analyzed most (VLF) response, yields a powerful capability to infer the
effectively with 1D codes and data with 2D characteristics are presence of a conductor between two widely-spaced tipper sites.
analyzed most effectively with 2D codes. In the 2D situation the However, tipper responses are considerably diminished for
measured data can be decomposed into Transverse Magnetic compact 3D bodies where the build-up of charge on the contacts
(TM) and Transverse Electric (TE) modes (Unsworth, 2007), ensures continuity of current across boundaries (Wannamaker et
transverse meaning “perpendicular to the profile,” given the al., 1984).
profile is perpendicular to geoelectric strike. Perhaps less
confusingly, TE and TM are now commonly referred to as E- A major benefit of tipper data being magnetovariational (H-field
and B-polarization respectively. only) is they are unaffected by the galvanic distortions that
complicate telluric (E-field) data, which in turn affect the MT
No such simplifying assumptions can be made in 3D because the impedance tensor. Moreover, unlike for E-field sensors, there is
structure of Earth is complicated and a consistent strike direction no requirement for magnetic sensors to directly contact the
at all scales is not defined. The impedance tensor elements all ground. Perhaps the most interesting characteristic of tipper
have different magnitudes and Maxwell’s equations cannot be data is that because 𝐻𝑧 = 0 in 1D geology for a plane-wave
decoupled into two orthogonal polarizations.
source, they can be uniquely sensitive to basement targets where
MT data are swamped by a conductive-layering response.
E-polarization is sensitive to thin strike-extensive conductors
(e.g. graphitic faults) and varies smoothly across geological
In contrast to MT impedance data, tippers are dimensionless
boundaries, while B-polarization has moderate sensitivity to thin
ratios of magnetic fields, which leaves them in an awkward spot:
strike-extensive resistors (e.g. dykes) that block current flow
sensitive to current density variations caused by conductivity
across them and exhibits extreme sensitivity to geological
contrasts, but not to the absolute conductivities themselves.
contacts because of the buildup of charges on the boundaries.
However, a survey that combines both MT and tipper transfer-
This ability to resolve geological contacts is both a blessing and
functions forms a more complete picture where the strengths of
a curse for MT. High resolution is obviously desirable but too
each data type compensates for the weaknesses of the other, thus
high resolution can be problematic when heterogeneous
enabling superior imaging.
overburden affects a sparsely sampled MT survey to create an
aliased dataset that complicates the imaging of deeper features.
This was a major motivation in the development of the ZTEM
continuous E-field profiling method coined Electromagnetic ZTEM is a particular type of magnetovariational (tipper) survey
Array Profiling or EMAP (Bostick, 1986; Morrison and Nichols, where the vertical magnetic field is measured from an airborne
1997). platform (most commonly a helicopter) with a towed loop and
the horizontal magnetic fields are measured at a fixed ground-
reference station.
352 Targeting 2: Mine to Camp Scale

First flown in 2006 (Lo et al., 2009) and briefly mentioned at enough away that any cultural noise on the survey grid is
Exploration '07 (Thomson et al., 2007), ZTEM is a modern uncorrelated.
variant of the Audio Frequency Magnetic (AFMAG) method
initially proposed by Ward (1959, 1960). In Ward’s initial Because the natural plane-wave source utilized by ZTEM has no
AFMAG variant, the tilt-component of the magnetic field was (or only minimal) geometric decay, the only geometric decay it
measured only along the flight direction, which proved to be is subjected to is the fall off of the secondary-field, as opposed
limiting. Key to the evolution of AFMAG was a paper to an active-source system with a small dipole receiver (relative
published by Vozoff (1972) that demonstrated that the tipper to the total distance to and the dimensions of the target) where
needed to be computed with respect to both components of the both the primary and secondary magnetic fields fall off
horizontal field. geometrically. For this reason, ZTEM data are much less
affected by changes in terrain clearance that occur in
However, despite the theoretical understanding at the time, mountainous regions where a low and consistent drape cannot
designing a system with analog components proved impractical practically be achieved. The lack of geometric decay in the
and the AFMAG idea remained dormant for another 15 years, source field also gives ZTEM the best depth-of-investigation
until Geotech Ltd. revisited it in 2000 using digital technology amongst airborne EM systems in resistive areas, while in
and modern digital-signal processing tools (Kuzmin et al., conductive regions ZTEM’s depth-of-investigation is
2005). Commercial ZTEM surveys began in 2006, and while the comparable to that of the more powerful airborne active-source
system has continued to evolve, the best descriptions of the TEM systems (Sattel and Witherly, 2012).
systems are provided in some earlier publications, namely
Kuzmin et al. (2005) and Lo et al. (2006). ZTEM has typically collected data between 30–720 Hz,
depending on the signal strength measured by the airborne
For ZTEM, Equation 6 is re-written to take into account that the receiver. The low frequency limit of ZTEM is primarily related
horizontal component magnetic fields (𝐻𝑥 and 𝐻𝑦 ) are always to motion-induced noise in the coil, the speed of the aircraft and
being measured at a stationary base station position (𝑟0 ) while the amount of data stacking. The natural EM field amplitudes
the vertical component magnetic field is measured from the are strongest at the mid frequencies measured by ZTEM, while
mobile airborne platform (𝑟): the upper frequency of 720 Hz lies close to the AMT dead band,
where between 1 5 kHz signal levels are typically reduced by
𝐻𝑧 (𝑟) = 𝑇𝑧𝑥 (𝑟, 𝑟0 )𝐻𝑥 (𝑟0 ) + 𝑇𝑧𝑦 (𝑟, 𝑟0 )𝐻𝑦 (𝑟0 ) (7) one to two orders of magnitude (Chave and Jones, 2012). As
such, processing and extraction of 720 Hz tipper data can be
𝑇𝑧𝑥 and 𝑇𝑧𝑦 are two unknowns in one equation, so solving for challenging. Recent upgrades to ferrite-cored base-station coils
them requires measuring the magnetic fields for at least two and improved time-series processing has lowered the bottom end
independent signal event polarisations, as denoted with to ~20 Hz under favourable flying conditions.
superscripts (1) and (2) below (Holtham and Oldenburg, 2010):
(2) (1) (1) (2)
𝐻𝑦 𝐻𝑧 − 𝐻𝑦 𝐻𝑧 Despite its drawbacks, namely the lack of an intrinsic apparent-
𝑇𝑧𝑥 = (1) (2) (2) (1)
(8a) resistivity measurement, lack of ability to image layered
𝐻𝑥 𝐻𝑦 − 𝐻𝑥 𝐻𝑦 geology, and a reduced bandwidth with respect to MT and
and ground tipper data, ZTEM offers a unique capability to collect
(2) (1) (1) (2) large swaths of dense data, often in remote areas, more rapidly
−𝐻𝑥 𝐻𝑧 + 𝐻𝑥 𝐻𝑧
𝑇𝑧𝑦 = (1) (2) (2) (1) (8b) and at lower cost as compared to ground surveys.
𝐻𝑥 𝐻𝑦 − 𝐻𝑥 𝐻𝑦
In practice, to reduce the effects of noise, multiple signal events THE LAST 10 YEARS
from sliding time-series windows are combined to estimate each
[𝑇𝑧𝑥 , 𝑇𝑧𝑦 ] pair by minimising the least-squared error. Technological developments more often follow an evolutionary
path with incremental advances occurring throughout time,
although from time-to-time there are step changes and the
Equations 7 and 8 explain the major breakthrough for ZTEM as
implementation of completely innovative ideas. With respect to
compared to previous attempts to develop an airborne AFMAG
natural field EM geophysics, the closest it has come to a true
system: by measuring the horizontal fields 𝐻𝑥 (𝑟0 ) and 𝐻𝑦 (𝑟0 ) at
step-change in the last decade is the introduction of ZTEM,
a base station on the ground, motion noise in the airborne although technical development of this system began slightly
vertical field 𝐻𝑧 (𝑟) data is uncorrelated and hence can be largely more than 10 years ago and was itself seeded by ideas stemming
removed. Note that the ZTEM base station is undertaking the from earlier AFMAG systems. Other innovations, like 3D
role of the local horizontal magnetic field reference, as would inversion, clearly follow from earlier 2D work that followed
normally be employed by a pair of coils at each site for ground upon initial 1D codes. Regardless, there have been significant
magnetovariational soundings. ZTEM surveys do not currently improvements in our ability to collect, process, and invert
utilize a remote reference station to de-noise the data, as is natural field EM data, all leading towards better and more
standard for MT surveys. Although this would reduce the risk interpretable products.
of noise in the base station data causing biased tipper estimates
(Labson, 1985), it has not been implemented at present. Thus, To document the top developments since Exploration '07 we
ZTEM surveys are faced with a dilemma in competing solicited the opinions of several experts, which we combined
requirements to place the base station close to the survey grid, to with our own knowledge to produce the following list. Jones’
accurately represent the local 𝐻𝑥 , 𝐻𝑦 , and to position it far
 Jansen, J.C., and Cristall, J.A. Mineral Exploration Using Natural EM Fields 353

(2017) paper in this volume provides further background on With respect to computing MT transfer functions, Campaynà
these and other developments in MT. et al. (2014) proposed a new methodology called Estimation of
Local transfer-functions by Combining Interstation Transfer-
Advances in Survey Design functions (ELICIT) whereby the MT tensor relationships of the
local site are derived using only interstation transfer functions.
Multiparameter surveys collecting conventional resistivity and
The main property of the ELICIT method is that the employed
chargeability data or Controlled Source Electromagetic (CSEM)
interstation transfer functions are independently constrained,
data have seen incremental improvements in the last 10 years,
without the need to acquire the electric and the magnetic fields
mostly through cheaper electronics that has allowed for the
at two stations simultaneously to recover the local MT tensor
deployment of more receivers in both 2D and 3D Distributed
relationships, offering new possibilities for MT data acquisition
Array Systems, which provide the additional data modern
and processing when the magnetic time-series at the local site
inversion codes require (T. Ritchie, pers. comm.). The use of
are affected by local noise or are truncated.
2D EMAP-style surveys (Kingman et al., 2007) with their
excellent along-line resolution and efficient use of equipment
has also progressed with the incorporation of additional 𝐸𝑦 Advances in Data Inversion
dipoles and 𝐻𝑥 and 𝐻𝑦 coils throughout the array. Over the last decade, there has been a move from 2D to 3D
modelling and interpretation, mostly in academia but more-
Surveys are also getting larger, with site collection increasing and-more in industry. Although MT inversions are still mostly
from tens to hundreds to thousands of stations for the largest unconstrained (G. Heinson, pers. comm.), the trend to interpret
surveys over the past decade (G. Heinson, pers. comm.). The the full impedance tensor is a big step forward. The use of 3D
added data density provides redundancy and increased spatial inversions is also making dimensionality arguments moot—the
resolution that assists with modelling. codes simply deal with it. But more data and larger meshes has
also brought about the need for faster computers with more
memory, with some organizations moving their inversions to the
Advances in Data Acquisition
cloud (Theil et al., 2012).
24-bit signal processing has greatly improved the ability to
measure the electric field (Bernard Friedrichs, pers. comm.). Four principal codes were developed in the last decade:
Although the signal itself may contain only 8–10 bits of signal, MARE2DEM (Key and Ovall, 2011; Key, 2012) at the
the drift in the electric field and sferic spikes requires this University of California at San Diego, ModEM (Egbert and
increased fidelity to properly extract the signal from the noise. Kelbert, 2012; Kelbert et al., 2014) at Oregon State University,
Additionally, with MT data acquisition evolving away from EMVision-MT3D (Gribenko and Zhdanov, 2015) from the
research and into industry, manufacturers are also beginning to University of Utah, and MTZ3D (Holtham and Oldenburg,
construct equipment that is simpler to operate. 2010) at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

The development of broadband coils, from DC - 10 kHz now MARE2DEM is a freely available, open source, adaptive 2D
permits the simultaneous collection of both high-frequency forward and inverse finite-element code for EM geophysics.
AMT and low-frequency MT data in a single run for a Originally designed with marine-CSEM and -MT applications in
broadband MT sounding without mode switching and without mind, it can also be applied to onshore EM modelling problems
operator intervention (Killeen, 2017; Y. Avram, pers. comm.). using both active and passive sources simultaneously. A
Since measurements are typically made overnight when the distinguishing feature of this code is that rather than using
signal is strongest, the amount of AMT data collected is much rectangular voxels defined in advance by the user, it generates
larger, thus minimizing the impact of the AMT dead band. an unstructured finite element mesh that is adaptively refined
Broadband data allows for better resolution of the near-surface automatically as required according to the complexity of the
and assists with the recognition of galvanic distortions. model. A key benefit of the tessellated mesh is that topographic
slopes can be modelled continuously, rather than being broken
Capacitive line-antennas (Hibbs et al., 2012) offer the up into discrete blocks at the pre-ordained resolution of a regular
possibility of improved measurement of the electric field by grid. For many marine environments and petroleum exploration
eliminating contact-resistance distortions, which are difficult to scenarios the 2D approximation is sufficient to model the data
avoid, especially above 1–3 kHz (D. Goldak, pers. comm.). very accurately. However, this is less often the case for mineral
exploration where ore systems are more discrete and topography
Advances in Data Processing can be highly variable in both the in-line and cross-line
Real-time remote-reference data monitoring (T. Ritchie, pers. directions.
comm.) allows for data Quality Control (QC) during acquisition,
made possible by 3G mobile phone networks even in remote ModEM (Modular EM) is a 3D MT inversion program based on
locations. In-field QC enables operators to adjust gains and object-oriented design principles that allow for different
replace faulty sensors, improving productivity and reducing inversion algorithms to be seamlessly interchanged and for new
cost. Advances in computing power also allow multiple stations capabilities to be rapidly implemented. Publications citing
to be reviewed in parallel along the lines of Egbert (1997), in ModEM for regional- and continental-scale 3D inversions
real time, to rapidly identify QC issues. include Piña-Varas and Dentith (2016) and Thiel et al. (2016)
for surveys in Australia and Meqbel et al. (2014) in the USA.
Freeware for non-commercial use, ModEM is largely
354 Targeting 2: Mine to Camp Scale

supplanting the use of 2D inversion codes. Perhaps most Advances in Related Fields
importantly, by making a usable and effective 3D MT inversion Although not a natural field method, the use of CSEM,
code available in academia, ModEM is training the next especially by the petroleum industry in the marine environment
generation of users familiar with 3D EM inversion methods, has produced numerous advances in signal process and in
who will ultimately contribute to the ongoing use of 3D EM inversion methods, such as the freeware Occam 1D inversion
inversion in exploration. code (Constable et al., 1986). CSEM is itself a modern variant
of the Controlled Source AMT (CSAMT) method popularized in
An integral equation code, EMVision-MT3D includes a data- the 1980s and 1990s by Zonge Engineering, amongst others
space formulation with variable-sensitivity domains and (Zonge and Hughes, 1991).
distortion correction for efficient implementation at different
scales. Input data types include: standard MT impedances with
or without tippers, ZTEM data, and controlled-source data from Advances in ZTEM Interpretation
grounded wires or loops. The code has been successfully The first ZTEM survey-deliverables included up to 24 channels
applied to a number of mining and geothermal exploration data of data and an equal number of grids, namely the in-phase (real)
sets, as well as continental-scale lithosphere studies (e.g. Paré et and quadrature (imaginary) parts (2) for each frequency (usually
al., 2012; Zhdanov et al., 2011; and Zhdanov et al., 2012). 6, spanning roughly 30–720 Hz) for both the in-line (𝑇𝑧𝑥 ) and
cross-line (𝑇𝑧𝑦 ) orthogonal components (2). This proved to be
MTZ3D is the commercial version of UBC’s MT+ZTEM intractable because tipper responses bear little resemblance to
inversion software, which uses standard rectilinear cells the known geology. Note that for ZTEM, 𝑇𝑧𝑥 refers to the in-
(Holtham and Oldenburg, 2010). Additionally, sponsors of the line tipper, whereas for MT it can be either 𝑇𝑧𝑥 or 𝑇𝑧𝑦 ,
UBC Industrial Research Chair (IRC) in Computational depending on whether x or y is the line direction.
Geophysics have access to E3DMT that uses an OcTree mesh to
discretize the earth (Haber et al., 2012). Although still Advanced map-based products were devised at various times in
rectilinear, the OcTree implementation allows for changes in attempts to improve both the quality and utility of the
both the horizontal and vertical cell dimensions throughout the deliverables. These “filters” all had the common objective of
voxel mesh to accommodate for high spatial gradients. Small transforming cross-over style tipper responses into peaks, and as
cells near-surface better account for statics and accommodate such they are analogous to the Fraser filter (Fraser, 1969). The
rough topography while large cells at depth correspond to the output was a plan-view image, not dissimilar to the Reduction to
lower frequencies that sample them, thereby reducing Pole (RTP) filter that places peaks on top of magnetic sources.
computational overhead.
The first advanced-interpretation product employed was the 90-
The past 10 years has also witnessed a burgeoning number of degree Phase Rotation (PR) filter, which converts along-line and
companies offering 3D inversion services for ZTEM data. across-line cross-over anomalies into peaks. The challenge with
Computational Geosciences Inc., Condor Consulting Inc., Mira PR was that it could only look at one component at a time, so
Geoscience Ltd., and Geotech Ltd. all use the UBC codes, while the subsequent inclusion of both 𝑇𝑧𝑥 and 𝑇𝑧𝑦 components into a
ModEM and TechnoImaging use their own proprietary software. single “resultant phase” or Total Phase Rotation (TPR) map-
product (see Lo et al., 2009) was a worthy advancement in
A final major development of late, whose significance will interpretation, often producing reasonable-looking, if broad,
continue to unfold over the next 10 years, is the advent of joint positive and negative anomalies for both components/directions
inversion techniques that combine airborne ZTEM data with combined (J. Legault, pers. comm.).
ground MT sites, the latter of which provide the critical electric
field information to produce robust 3D conductivity images to Following the TPR filter, the next step towards more robust
kilometres depths. This is discussed in detail in a subsequent interpretation was the Total Divergence (DT) filter. The
section. rotationally-invariant DT (Kuzmin et al., 2005), which itself is
analogous to the Peaker parameter of Pedersen (1998), sums the
Advances in Handling Galvanic Distortion horizontal derivatives ∂𝑇𝑧𝑥 / ∂𝑥 and ∂𝑇𝑧𝑦 / ∂𝑦 to obtain peak
Galvanic distortion has traditionally been addressed by responses over conductors (Legault et al., 2009), but
acquiring other data at the measurement site to provide an unfortunately also over topographic highs (especially in the
independent estimate of the near-surface resistivity, such as higher frequencies). The nature of the derivative function helped
from an IP/resistivity survey or a TEM sounding. These other highlight shallow, discrete linear-targets and regional
methods indicate where problems may exist and the interpreter lineaments; however, long wavelength, low amplitude deeper
must then decide how to handle them. Modern 3D inversions targets are generally too noisy to produce coherent DT
provide another option: model them. This can be accomplished responses. Ultimately this susceptibility to noise limited the
by increasing the resolution of the MT experiment by measuring usefulness of the DT filter.
higher frequencies and then increasing the resolution of the
mesh in the near-surface and near the electrodes. Regardless, no Beginning in 2008, another attempt to display the survey results
substitute exists for an experienced interpreter who understands in plan view used the Karous-Hjelt (KH) filter (Karous and
how to recognize and address distortions. Hjelt, 1983) in 2008. However, like the PR, KH filters could
only be applied to single-component directions (x or y) and to
single frequencies at a time, thus resulting in a similarly
 Jansen, J.C., and Cristall, J.A. Mineral Exploration Using Natural EM Fields 355

Figure 1: Regional MT transect 2D inversion over Olympic Dam (modified from Heinson et al., 2016).

substantial number of map products. Later, Sattel et al. (2010) the in-line (𝑇𝑧𝑥 ) but still they proved to be the first instance of
introduced the apparent conductivity (AppCon) transform of combining both the in-phase and quadrature components of all
Becken and Pedersen (2003) from VLF–EM, with the intent of six frequencies into a single result. 3D inversions able to include
combining both the 𝑇𝑧𝑥 and 𝑇𝑧𝑦 components into a single map both 𝑇𝑧𝑥 and 𝑇𝑧𝑦 remained in the domain of academics and their
for each frequency. major-company sponsors until 2012 when the non-OcTree
version of MT3D became commercially available.
The advantage of the TPR, DT, and AppCon filters was to
reduce the number of map products from two to one per
frequency. However, a common failing amongst them was that
they only extracted information from the in-phase (real)
component. Prior to the introduction of inversion in 2008,
interpretations were focussed on in-phase cross-overs because of
the non-intuitive relationships between the in-phase and out-of-
phase (quadrature) amplitudes versus frequency, as well as the
confusing relationship of sign flips, with the quadrature
component often being opposite in sign to the in-phase. As a
result, the quadrature maps were largely ignored or omitted
entirely. Perhaps the most significant failing of all the grid
filters is their inability to deal with rugged topography.

Therefore, the greatest advancement in ZTEM interpretation was

certainly inversion-modelling, with oddly enough, 3D coming
before 2D inversion. Indeed, from the outset, ZTEM tipper
behaviour had been studied and predicted with 3D forward
modelling using Petros Eikon Incorporated’s EMigma code
(based on the method of Habashy et al., 1993) and the UBC
MT3D code (see Lo and Zang, 2008). However, the inspiration Figure 2: South Australia AusLAMP 3D MT inversion
for 2D inversion was Persson et al.’s (2008) presentation on the resistivity depth slice at 20 km (after Thiel et al., 2016). The
inversion of VLF data at AEM2008 as well as Holtham and yellow dots indicate the position of the regional transect over
Oldenburg’s (2008) presentation of the ongoing work at UBC at OD in Figure 1, the black dots the inversion grid notes, and the
the SEG meeting later that year. Both the 2D and 3D codes black triangles the survey sites. The model is best constrained
utilized were able to account for topography along the flight beneath the stations.
lines.
Regardless, the trick with all ZTEM inversions is the starting
As UBC’s MTZ3D inversion code was only available to model half-space resistivity. As explained earlier, ZTEM
consortium sponsors in 2008, Geotech contracted Phil measurements are not direct proxies for resistivity like MT
Wannamaker to provide a 2D code that he based on de Lugao measurements are, and so obtaining reliable conductivity-depth
and Wannamaker (1996), as described in Legault et al. (2009). distributions from either 2D or 3D ZTEM inversions is
By 2009, their code was being used to invert all ZTEM survey dependent on a reasonably accurate resistivity starting model.
data. Sattel and Witherly (2010) would later introduce an One method to determine the resistivity is to analyse profiles
adapted version of the Occam 2D code of deGroot-Hedlin and over topographic peaks. Both the resistivity and topography
Constable (1990). Being 2D, these codes only used component play a role in the response but the topography is known, so a
356 Targeting 2: Mine to Camp Scale

best-fit resistivity can be identified by modelling different values

in an analogous manner to Nettleton’s method in gravity.
Otherwise, Holtham and Oldenburg (2010) showed that trial
forward calculations can help determine a suitable starting
model.

APPLICATIONS TO MINERAL SYSTEMS

IOCG
As stated at the outset, the exploration search-space is expanding Figure 3: Generalized spatial relationships between porphyry
to depth in concert with an emerging understanding of mineral Cu stocks, underlying pluton, overlying comagmatic volcanic
systems (McCuaig and Hronsky, 2014). Heinson et al. (2006) rocks in a porphyry mineral system (after Sillitoe, 2010).
offer a thought provoking example of using MT to illuminate
deep aspects of the ore-forming system at Olympic Dam (OD).
Emplaced at the margin of the Proterozoic Gawler Craton in
South Australia, Olympic Dam is the world’s sixth largest
copper deposit and its largest uranium deposit. Low frequency
(0.0001–0.1 Hz) MT sites were acquired along a regional
transect across the deposit, coincident to a deep-crustal seismic
reflection profile, first at 5–10 km station spacing in 2005 and
then infilled to 1–2 km stations with additional sites lengthening
the profile in 2014–2016 (Heinson et al., 2016).

Figure 1 presents a 2D inversion of their 200 km-long MT

transect that traverses the Moho to 50 km depth and suggests the
altered remnants of a fluid pathway connecting Olympic Dam to
a deep mineralizing reservoir, along with secondary conduits
linking to other known IOCG mineralized zones. The
geoelectric section is strikingly similar to the porphyry mineral
system schematic of Sillitoe (2010), shown in Figure 3,
reinforcing the mineral systems concept of large-scale
commonalities of ore-forming processes over disparate deposit
models. Figure 4: Generalized hydrothermal alteration model for a
porphyry system footprint (after Halley et al., 2015).
Recent results from the Australian Lithospheric Architecture
Magnetotelluric Project (AusLAMP), a government-sponsored Porphyry Deposits
long-period MT survey aiming to cover the entire Australian
Accounting for ~70% of the global Cu inventory (Sillitoe,
continent with 55 km spaced sites, have substantiated this work
2012), porphyry deposits are also the world’s largest source of
and reaffirmed its significance. Depth slices through the
Mo and are among the largest sources of gold production
ModEM 3D inversion of the Gawler region AusLAMP data
(Sillitoe, 2010). As described by Holliday and Cooke (2007) at
shown in Figure 2 suggest that the craton is largely resistive but
Exploration ′07, the porphyry deposit model in Figures 3 and 4
has a prominent deep conductive feature wrapping around its
is recognized as one of the crowning achievements of economic
eastern margin. The major IOCG deposits of Prominent Hill,
geology, beginning with Lowell and Guilbert’s (1970) seminal
Olympic Dam, and Carapateena sit on the gradient of this
paper.
feature while the Moonta and Hillside deposits are on similar
boundaries.
Induced polarization (IP) and airborne magnetics (AMAG) have
historically been the most common geophysical methods applied
The AusLAMP 3D depth slices correlate well with the higher-
to the exploration for porphyry-copper deposits (PCDs)
resolution 2D MT model of Heinson et al. (2016), together
(Holliday and Cooke, 2007). AMAG is ubiquitous in PCD
revealing both the lateral continuity of the conductive feature
exploration programs because of its low cost relative to its value
and its vertical extent from the upper mantle through to the
as an aid to geological and structural mapping together with its
brittle-ductile transition (Soeffky et al., 2015). These results
ability to target some classes of PCDs directly (Hoschke, 2011).
support the conclusions of Griffen et al. (2013), in the context of
Similarly, IP has been used extensively for its ability to map
magmatic deposits, by linking the fertile sub-continental
chargeable minerals associated with the broad-scale alteration
lithospheric mantle to the upper crust through large-scale fluid
footprint of porphyry systems. The method usually responds
pathways formed at craton margins. Moreover, they offer a
more strongly to the outer pyrite shell than to the inner core of
tangible and compelling demonstration of the technical
copper-sulphide mineralization.
capability to incorporate the entire lithosphere in regional
targeting using a combination of MT surveys tuned to various
scales.
 Jansen, J.C., and Cristall, J.A. Mineral Exploration Using Natural EM Fields 357

Figure 5: Plan image produced from 1990s era Collahuasi dipole-dipole DC Resistivity data (modified from Hoschke, 2001).

Collahuasi, Chile
The Ujina deposit in Chile’s Collahuasi district is likely the most
famous example of a major PCD directly discovered by
targeting a geophysically-defined conductor. Ironically, the story
is often remembered for the initial holes targeting the strongest
dipole-dipole IP response, which found a halo of barren pyrite,
rather than the discovery-hole targeting the DC resistivity-low
that returned 62 m at >2% Cu (Watts, 2002) (see Figure 5).

Subsequent drilling at Ujina identified a 127 Mt supergene

resource grading 1.8% Cu in addition to the main 0.8% Cu,
1.2 Bt hypogene deposit, establishing the merit of targeting
geophysical conductors in a porphyry setting. Attention then
shifted to the larger and lower resistivity zone outlined by the
DC Resistivity survey in proximity to the historical Rosario vein
system, termed the Collahuasi anomaly. Drilling into this
conductive target lead to the discovery of an extensive network
of vein-hosted to semi-massive high-grade Cu mineralization
that ultimately proved to be one of the world’s greatest mineral
deposits. Among the top-five copper producers in operation, the
Collahuasi mine is owned by Anglo American plc and Glencore
plc (44% each) and a consortium of Japanese companies led by
Mitsui (12%).

The high conductivity associated with the very-high grades of

the stockwork and veining ore types at Collahuasi is not an Figure 6: Relation between electrical resistivity and weight
isolated case. Nelson and Van Voorhis (1983) took 109 in-situ percent total sulphides based on 109 in-situ measurements by
measurements at open-pit copper mines in the southwestern Nelson and Van Voorhis (1983) in four southwestern USA
USA and demonstrated a consistent relation between resistivity open-pit porphyry copper mines (after Lee et al., 2017).
and total sulphides abundance (Figure 6). When the sulphide
distribution is truly disseminated with <3% total sulphides, connectivity between sulphide grains and veinlets. Resistivity
resistivity is relatively high and variable, and bulk resistivity is drops dramatically above 7% as continuous sulphide veins form.
primarily a function of porosity, saturation, and pore fluid Finally, towards 20% sulphides, bulk conductivity approaches
salinity (Hoschke, 2011). But from 3 to 7% total sulphides, that of massive sulphides. Nelson and Van Voorhis point out
despite textures oft-described as disseminated, a consistent that classifying rocks within porphyry deposits based solely on
inverse relation between resistivity and weight percent total their sulphide abundance neglects other resistivity-influencing
sulphides is observed due to a developed network of electrical parameters such as porosity, pore fluid composition, and
alteration. Regardless, since brecciation and alteration intensity
358 Targeting 2: Mine to Camp Scale

are often intimately associated with sulphide abundance, it is not

surprising such a consistent empirical correlation exists.

The idea to target PCDs with EM methods is not a new one.

Witherly (2002) chronicled the rapid progression following the
1993 presentation of ground TEM results at Ujina that clearly
imaged the high-grade supergene enrichment blanket (Dick,
1993) to an aggressive program shortly thereafter by then BHP
Minerals to target the Conductive Blanket Model (CBM) with
airborne TEM. Although the premise that chalcocite blankets are
conductive proved to be correct, unfortunately the initiative did
not result in the development of a new mine. Witherly attributed
this to three factors: the difficulty for airborne EM to resolve
“stacked” conductors, an under-appreciation for the number of
false positives that would be generated, and an inability to gain
access to prospective ground identified as hosting favourable
anomalies.
Figure 7: Pebble ZTEM 3D inversion model comparison with
Three major differences between recent uses of natural field EM CuEqn mineralization shells [top] and with alteration zones
for PCD targeting and the wave of enthusiasm for TEM in the [bottom] (after Paré et al., 2012, courtesy Anglo American).
1990s are:

1. Natural field EM methods are sensitive to a broader range of larger granodiorite pluton and associated sills that intrude the
conductivity contrasts, allowing more subtle variations country rocks (Lang and Gregory, 2012).
between altered and unaltered host rock to be distinguished;
A ZTEM survey acquired at 200 m line spacing across the
2. Natural field EM methods can achieve greater depths of deposit area in 2009 collected in-line (𝑇𝑧𝑥 ) and cross-line (𝑇𝑧𝑦 )
investigation; and tipper data at five frequencies from 30–360 Hz. Initial
interpretations utilizing the basic map images (TPR, DT, etc.)
3. With respect to airborne surveys in mountainous regions from the lower frequencies broadly outlined the extensive illite-
where a low and consistent terrain clearance cannot be pyrite alteration surrounding Pebble West as a zone of elevated
maintained, the slower attenuation of the natural field signal response, while early 2D ZTEM inversion sections displayed an
compared to active source systems makes it advantageous to overall correlation with the conductive alteration system but
acquire natural field data, as previously discussed. were very limited in terms of resolution (Paré and Legault,
2010). An early application of 3D ZTEM inversion technology,
These characteristics shift the geophysical paradigm from one of in this case the method of Zhdanov et al. (2011), served to
enrichment blanket “bump hunting” to a means of imaging greatly improve the imaging results (Paré et al., 2012).
entire mineral systems.
Figure 7 shows the correspondence between mineralization,
Like the early oil explorers who successfully applied new alteration zonation, and the recovered conductivity model from
developments in 3D seismic technology to their knowledge of the 3D ZTEM inversion. It is apparent that the highest
the petroleum system, the potential of 3D imaging with natural conductivity relates to the illite-pyrite and advanced argillic
EM fields rests in the ability of modern explorers to apply their parts of the system. The ore mineralization itself is, at most, a
understanding of mineral systems in the context of subsurface secondary influence upon the bulk conductivity at the spatial
conductivity expressions. The following examples provide a scale resolved by ZTEM. In terms of imaging the overall
foundation to develop this understanding and previews its system, the ZTEM result would surely have drawn great
potential over the next 10 years. attention to the potential at Pebble East and possibly accelerated
its discovery had it been flown earlier. Regardless, in terms of
Pebble, Alaska targeting grade within a porphyry prospect, this early case study
demonstrates the importance of integrating petrophysical
Containing over 10 Bt of mineralized rock with an enormous
knowledge into the exploration process.
alteration footprint extending for kilometres (Witherly, 2014),
the Pebble calc-alkalic Cu-Au-Mo porphyry deposit ranks
among the world’s largest Au and Cu deposits. It is comprised El Salvador, Chile
of two coeval 89.5–90.4 Ma hydrothermal mineralizing centres, Located in central Chile, the El Salvador deposit occurs in the
with the shallower West zone discovered in 1989 followed by classic structural setting of the great porphyry deposits of the
the East zone in 2005. The West zone extends from surface to Atacama, at the intersection between the arc-parallel Domeyko
approximately 500 m depth and is itself centred on four small fault system and a transverse lineament (Sillitoe, 2010). The
granodiorite plugs, while the higher grade but deeper East zone, essential elements of the genetic model for El Salvador, as
down-dropped 600–900m by a graben structure, occurs within a developed by Gustafson and Hunt (1975), are variations on a
common theme for deposits of the central Andean middle
 Jansen, J.C., and Cristall, J.A. Mineral Exploration Using Natural EM Fields 359

infrastructure. The initial 3D inversion model was computed

using the 2011 UBC MTZ3D code on a standard rectangular
mesh with coarse topography. This model identified the known
major features of interest but suffered from the previously
mentioned complications.

Figure 9: An example correlating total sulphur in exploration

drill holes near the Los Bronces pit with a 3D ZTEM inversion
Figure 8: Sections correlating the ZTEM data inversion resistivity model computed in-house by Anglo American. The
recovered resistivity (hot colours are lower resistivity) with resistivity model is cut to a realistic depth of investigation based
different mineralized zones within the El Salvador deposit, Chile on the integrated conductivity of the overlying cells.
(after Cifuentes, 2014, courtesy CODELCO).
Eocene to early Oligocene porphyry Cu belt, and among Following an initiative to invigorate exploration in the Los
porphyry systems in general. Bronces district in 2015, the ZTEM data were re-examined with
a focus on reducing the impact of cultural noise and topography.
A 2D inversion presented at the inaugural Chile Explore The 2016 version of the UBC E3DMT code, proprietary to IRC
Congress in 2014 (Figure 8) illustrates a prominent low- sponsors, was run on Anglo American’s in-house computing
resistivity zone associated with various sulphide assemblages cluster using a new technique developed to mitigate cultural
within El Salvador, which is consistently imaged at variable noise and OcTree meshing capability to finely discretize
depth beneath mountainous topography. An important topography based on a high-accuracy DTM.
observation is that no correlation between sulphide species and
relative resistivity is apparent. It can only be said that resistivity Substantially improved conductivity-image results were
is generally lower towards the core of the deposit than towards obtained that have since proved to be a core component of an
its fringes. The intrinsic resistivity of the various sulphide integrated district-scale targeting program. Figure 9 illustrates
species is likely playing an insignificant role in controlling the the typical imaging quality from an area near the Los Bronces
overall resistivity variations within the deposit as compared to open-pit. More recent work following re-processing the raw
the major influence of total-sulphide abundance. time-series by Geotech with better designed notch filters has
offered further improvements.
Los Bronces, Chile
The Late Miocene to Early Pliocene magmatic arc of central Cobre Panama, Panama
Chile ranks as the world’s largest Cu district by contained metal Cobre Panama comprises a cluster of six porphyry deposits
and includes the Río Blanco-Los Bronces porphyry Cu-Mo being developed as a multi-pit operation by Minera Panamá S.A.
district, endowed with >200 Mt copper (Toro et al., 2012). (MPSA), in which First Quantum Minerals Limited (FQML)
Deposits currently being mined in the district include Río holds an 80% equity interest. Measured and indicated resources
Blanco and La Americana, operated by CODELCO, and Los total approximately 4.2 Bt at 0.35% Cu with additional Au, Ag,
Bronces, operated by Anglo American Sur S.A. More recent and Mo credits (FQML, 2017). The 28 Ma porphyries forming
discoveries by Anglo American in the district at San Enrique- the deposits intrude andesite volcanics at the southern margin of
Monolito and at Los Sulfatos contribute over 65 Mt Cu to the a large Oligocene batholith. A tropical saprolite profile up to 30
inventory (Toro et al., 2012). Making these deposits unique m thick covers much of the area, only allowing rare outcrop
among Chilean porphyries is the extent to which mineralization glimpses through incised drainage valleys (Legault et al.,
is associated with hydrothermal breccias that developed in 2016a).
association with porphyry phases.
Modern exploration at Cobre Panama was initiated by a UN
In 2014, both Anglo American and CODELCO acquired ZTEM program in the 1960s that used mapping, stream sediment
data spanning the corridor from La Paloma–Los Sulfatos to Río geochemistry, and drilling to discover the Botija, Colina and
Blanco–Los Bronces. Initial results over the Los Bronces Valle Grande deposits. Further work by the Adrian/Inmet/Teck
tenements were encouraging, although complicated by a high consortium in the 1990s, at the then-named Petaquilla, utilized
degree of cultural noise associated with power lines and mine airborne magnetics to reveal the association between the known
360 Targeting 2: Mine to Camp Scale

Figure 10: ZTEM survey results over the Cobre Panama deposits area; in-phase total divergence 360 Hz image with hot colours
corresponding to greater ZTEM response [left], RTP mag with hot colours corresponding to higher mag response [right]. Drill hole collars
shown are prior to the Balboa discovery (after Legault et al., 2016a).

alteration at the higher frequencies and with the known deep

sulphides of Botija in the lower frequencies. A large ZTEM
anomaly northwest of the Cuatra Crestas prospect (Figure 10)
was also detected in an area that had evaded previous drilling
because of a thick leached-cap that rendered soil geochemistry
less effective and an RTP mag response that appeared
inconsistent with the signature of the other deposits (Burge,
2014), although subsequent higher-resolution AMAG did
identify an RTP low at the centre of what would become the
Balboa pit outline, just like the other deposits (C. Wijns, pers.
comm.).

The first hole targeting a ZTEM anomaly returned 209 m at

Figure 11: ZTEM 2D inversion (after Legault et al., 2016a)
0.28% Cu plus a deeper intersection with 2.9% Cu and 2.0 g/t
[above] and 3D inversion (after Legault et al., 2016b) [below]
Au in sheeted quartz-chalcopyrite-bornite veins over 6.4 m. The
across the Balboa–Colina deposits. Note the offset between the
second drill hole then intersected 240 m at 0.60% Cu and 0.21
two profiles.
g/t Au, including 114 m at 0.92% Cu and 0.42 g/t Au, to confirm
discovery of the Balboa deposit (Burge, 2014). A resource
drilling program over the next 18 months proved the
significance of the Balboa discovery by increasing Cobre
Panama’s indicated and inferred Cu and Au resources by 19%
and 29% respectively (Legault et al., 2016b). Figures 11 and 12
illustrate the correspondence between the low recovered
resistivity of the Balboa deposit in the ZTEM inversion sections
and the drill defined sulphide shells.

Resolution, Arizona
With a resource of over 1.6 Bt at 1.47% Cu and 0.037% Mo
Figure 12: Balboa deposit sulphide shells (after Burge, 2014). (Hehnke et al., 2012), Resolution is truly a world class deposit.
Located within the historical Superior mining district less than
deposits and RTP magnetic lows, possibly related to magnetite- 100 km east of Phoenix, Arizona, being buried beneath ~1 km of
destructive phyllic alteration of the variably magnetized post-mineral cover meant that this giant ore deposit evaded
andesites. Integrating the AMAG with soil geochemistry proved detection despite an 86-year period of nearby mining. Figure 13
to be an effective targeting strategy that resulted in discovery of shows the surface projection of Resolution’s 1% Cu shell with
the Botija West starter pit in addition to further upside at Valle respect to the locations of the historical mining operations in its
Grande and Brazo–Botija Abajo (Burge, 2014). immediate vicinity, beginning with the Silver Queen mine in
1875, later reopened as the Magma mine in 1910. The
MPSA acquired ZTEM data in 2010 with the objective of Resolution discovery-holes were drilled in 1998 based on a
rapidly screening difficult terrain for higher-grade targets. progression of geological reasoning that began with deep targets
Initial results examining the in-phase TPR images suggested a first postulated by Magma geologists in the 1960s (Hehnke et
correlation with mapped near-surface sulphides and/or sericitic al., 2012).
 Jansen, J.C., and Cristall, J.A. Mineral Exploration Using Natural EM Fields 361

Figure 13: Aerial view showing the surface projection of the

deep Resolution deposit 1% Cu shell with respect to the
locations of the historical mining operations in its immediate
vicinity (after Hehnke et al., 2012).

Figure 15: Resolution simplified geological section and

unconstrained 2D MT inversion section (McMonnies and
Gerrie, 2007).

presented depth of investigation through the conductive

Whitetail conglomerate and well into the conductive deposit.
Figure 14: Resolution copper and pyrite block model shells The intensely-altered pyritic shell overlying the Resolution
(after Hehnke et al., 2012). copper sulphides, in accordance with Nelson and Van Voorhis
(1983), is likely to be the major source of the deep conductive
Resolution is hosted by a sequence of Proterozoic and Paleozoic response in the MT data. Given the MT method’s decreasing
clastic and carbonate sedimentary rocks and diabase sills. A ability to resolve features with depth and that the sensitivity to a
swarm of Late Cretaceous quartz porphyry dikes intrudes this deep target is reduced by the presence of an overlying
reactive host to produce a very high grade inner shell of conductive layer, the indistinct portrayal of Resolution as a
chalcopyrite-dominated Cu mineralization, which is itself seemingly continuous conductive-tube spanning from the base
surrounded by an intensely pyritic outer shell that in some of the overlying conductive layer to beyond 1000 m below sea
locales exceeds 14% by weight (Figure 14). The alteration level is not surprising. However, despite the underwhelming
system is concealed by at least 1 km of post-mineral cover imaging quality of this section, it suffices to say that giant
comprised of the Tertiary Whitetail conglomerate and Apache conductive tubes beneath historical mining areas with well-
Leap tuff that unconformably overly the Mesozoic basement reasoned geological potential to host superior grades at depth are
(Hehnke et al., 2012). justifiably attractive drill targets.

Figure 15 shows an unconstrained 2D inversion of MT data Freeport Exploration carried out a ZTEM survey across the
across Resolution, first presented by McMonnies and Gerrie Superior district in 2013, which covered the Resolution deposit
(2007) at Exploration ′07. The survey’s specifications are (Witherly et al., 2016). Much of the data were deemed unusable
unknown, but from Equation 5 it can be inferred that a minimum because of excessive power line interference; fortunately
frequency of about 1 Hz would be required to achieve the however, enough data over Resolution and its immediate
surrounds were of sufficient quality to carry out a 3D inversion.
362 Targeting 2: Mine to Camp Scale

Figure 16a: ZTEM 3D inversion 15 and 30 mS/m (33 and 67 Ωm) conductivity isosurface shells from Figure 16b floating in front of the
geological section from Resolution appears to display a reasonable correspondence between the elevated ZTEM recovered conductivity and
the intensely pyritic zone between the 1% Cu shell and the overlying conductive sediments (after Witherly et al., 2016).

exhibits surprisingly good results considering the amount of

cultural noise affecting the data. By the skin depth rule, the 30
Hz minimum ZTEM frequency is clearly struggling to see
through the conductive Whitetail conglomerate. Possibly a local
thinning and/or less conductive facies of the Whitetail
conglomerate is allowing the ZTEM response to poke through it,
and could explain why only the southern end of Resolution
appears to respond to ZTEM (Figures 16a and 16b). The
shallower conductive blob, sneaking out of the deposit outline,
appears to have some correlation to the overlying conductive
sediments and structure, but the actual geological cause is
unclear.

That ZTEM managed to pick up any hint of Resolution at ~1 km

depth through conductive cover is in itself quite impressive. But
this example also illustrates the limitations of the system as
imposed by its 20–30 Hz minimum frequency and the
fundamental inability for tipper data to distinguish the complete
geological picture in layered geology.

Santa Cecilia, Chile

Santa Cecilia is a gold-rich porphyry deposit of Chile’s
Figure 16b: Plan view of ZTEM 3D inversion 15 and 30 mS/m Maricunga belt. The 24–22 Ma vertically elongated system is
(33 and 67 Ωm) conductivity isosurface shells and Figure 16a related to quartz diorite multiphase stocks that intrude into
geological section location (modified from Witherly et al., Oligocene to Miocene volcanics of the Aguas Blancas and Rio
2016). Nevado Formations (Moreno and Gibbons, 2007).
Mineralization is hosted primarily in gold-bearing stockwork
The ZTEM 3D inversion performed by Witherly et al. (2016)
 Jansen, J.C., and Cristall, J.A. Mineral Exploration Using Natural EM Fields 363

and sheeted-vein ores. Sulphides are dominated by pyrite, with

minor chalcopyrite and traces of bornite and molybdenite.

A CSAMT survey carried out in 2010 acquired data across a 2–

9000 Hz bandwidth but only those frequencies >24 Hz were
deemed usable because the proximity of the transmitter negated
the plane-wave assumption for the lowest frequencies.
Although the far-field limitation only allowed for a 750 m depth
of investigation, this proved sufficient to illuminate a horseshoe
shaped conductor that was subsequently drilled in 2011 to return
approximately 0.2 g/t Au, 0.25% Cu, and 80 ppm Mo over 1000
m (Bournas and Thomson, 2013).

This exploration success prompted the commissioning of a more

extensive and sophisticated survey in 2012. The 3D DCIP/MT
survey utilized 50 “Orion 3D” Distributed Acquisition Units
(DAUs) developed by Quantic Geoscience Ltd. to log time-
series voltage data from 300 receiver dipoles and used 539
current-injection points to acquire over 150,000 DC resistivity
and IP data from the distributed array. A further advantage of
such systems is that during quiescent periods between current
transmits and at night, the DAU continues logging the natural
field data “for free”, if one charges the survey set-up cost to the
DCIP survey. At Santa Cecilia, the survey acquired 100 MT
sites with a bandwidth of 0.0001–50 Hz utilizing the same IP
receiver dipoles, although with a sparser set of horizontal
magnetic induction-coil positions (Bournas and Thomson,
2013).

Figure 17 compares a DC Resistivity section model, whose

depth of investigation is confined to the top kilometre, with the
Figure 17: DC Resistivity 3D inversion model from Santa
3D MT model, as constructed from data whose lowest
Cecilia [above], and the resitivity combined with a vertical slice
frequencies probe down to many kilometres and for which the
from the 3D MT model [below] (after Bournas and Thomson,
model depth cut-off is limited only by the survey extents. The
2013).
2012 DC conductor matches with the 2010 CSAMT conductor
that was tested to return the encouraging mineralization.
Although DC resistivity was adequate to locate the Santa Cecilia Sattel and Witherly (2015) compared 2D E- and B-polarization
target, in hindsight MT showed the bigger picture. Therefore, if inversions with results from the 3D inversion code described in
the goal is to discover mineral systems rather than to bump hunt Holtham and Oldenburg (2010) from an area with both ZTEM
for anomalies, the merit in using natural field EM methods to and MT surveys, inverting each data set individually and jointly.
illuminate the deep-seated mineral system footpath is clear. They concluded that “…joint inversions can [successfully
extract] the combined subsurface conductivity information from
the two data sets.” Most recently, Alembaugh et al. (2016) used
Joint MT-ZTEM Inversion Key’s (2012) code to produce 2D inversions over a potential
With the ability of airborne ZTEM measurements to sample CO2 reservoir in the northern Raton Basin of southern Colorado,
large areas quickly and cost effectively, and of ground MT to USA. The challenges they encountered in reconciling 3D
accurately measure the resistivity structure of the ground to structure with a 2D inversion code are discussed in their text.
greater depth, an obvious next step is to jointly invert ZTEM and
MT data simultaneously. Recent publications discussing this are However, the most detailed discussion of the benefits and
Sasaki et al. (2014), Sattel and Witherly (2015), Alembaugh et challenges of jointly inverting MT and ZTEM data is provided
al. (2016) and Lee et al. (2017). in Lee (2015) and Lee et al. (2017) using data collected over the
Morrison porphyry-Cu deposit in British Columbia, Canada. In
Sasaki et al. (2014) present the results of a detailed synthetic particular, the unpublished M.Sc. thesis documents five major
modelling study and concluded that “…inversion of sparse AMT challenges that need to be tackled when jointly inverting data:
data was shown to be effective in providing a good initial model
for ZTEM inversion. Moreover, simultaneously inverting both 1. Data rotation: ZTEM is collected using an XYU convention
data sets led to better results than the sequential approach by where X is along the flight line in the direction of travel
enabling [the identification of] structural features that were with Y orthogonal to X in the horizontal plane such that Z
difficult to resolve from the individual data sets.” is up, while MT has historically been collected in an NED
(north, east, down) convention. It is imperative to reconcile
both data to the convention of the code being used;
364 Targeting 2: Mine to Camp Scale

2. Data down-sampling: A ZTEM survey may contain Morrison, British Columbia

thousands of data that will swamp the results of the tens of Although not nearly as well-endowed as most of the other
MT stations typically collected. Holtham (2012) introduced porphyry deposits discussed herein, Morrison is included
a weighting function to account for this discrepancy based because it represents the best documented example of a joint
on the number of stations 𝑁 of each data type acquired: MT-ZTEM inversion for porphyry-Cu exploration.
𝛾 = 𝑁𝑍𝑇𝐸𝑀 / 𝑁𝑀𝑇 (9) Lee (2015) and Lee et al. (2017) examined ZTEM and MT data
collected over the Morrison Cu-Au-Mo deposit in the northern
3. Mesh generation: The final model-space discretization must
Babine Lake region of British Columbia. Morrison is genetically
combine the resolution of both surveys, which is especially
and spatially related to an Eocene plagioclase–hornblende–
challenging in areas with significant topographic relief; biotite porphyry stock that intruded into the Middle-Late
Jurassic Bowser Lake Group sediments (Liu et al., 2016) and
4. Galvanic distortion: Affected data must be appropriately
represents a typical example of a calc-alkaline porphyry system
addressed; and lastly,
in British Columbia. The advanced stage project proposes an
open-pit mining operation to develop proven and probable
5. Model reconciliation: The MT-derived resistivity should reserves of 224 Mt with an average grade of 0.330% Cu, 0.163
agree with the best-fit starting-model of the ZTEM data.
g/t Au and 0.004% Mo (Wardrop, 2009).

The ZTEM data over Morrison were acquired in 2010 at a line

spacing of 250 m with six frequencies from 30–720 Hz, while
the MT survey comprised 37 stations collected in 2013 with a
nominal station spacing of 500 m over the deposit, expanded to
~1 km further afield. The bandwidth of the MT data was 0.001–
300 Hz and the acquisition included ground tipper data allowing
for a direct comparison with the ZTEM tipper data (Lee et al.,
2017).

Figure 18 shows five common vertical sections through

Morrison testing different weightings between the ZTEM and
MT data in the joint inversion. The input data consisted of
13,480 ZTEM data and 2,208 MT data. The ZTEM was given a
constant error of 2.5% while error on the MT data varied
between 50% (low influence) and 2% (high influence). At 50%,
the ground data have little effect on the inversion and the result
is essentially the same as the ZTEM only inversion, while at 2%
the joint inversion is unable to fit both data sets simultaneously.
Lee et al. (2017) concluded that, in this case, 10% error was the
most reasonable.

Sediment Hosted Copper

Following porphyry deposits, sediment hosted copper deposits
are the world’s second most important source of copper,
accounting for ~15% of the global copper inventory (Sillitoe,
2012). The Central African Copperbelt, stretching across
Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and
into Angola, is the world’s largest and highest grade
sedimentary copper district and also contains the world’s largest
reserves of cobalt (Hitzman et al., 2012). For the greater part of
the past century, rigid acceptance of a syngenetic model largely
constrained Copperbelt exploration to certain stratigraphic units,
the Zambian Lower Roan and the Congolese Série des Mines,
which were believed to be the sole ore bearing strata of
economic significance (Mendelsohn, 1961).

That constraining hypothesis was spectacularly disproven in

2006 by the discovery of the giant Kamoa deposit outside of the
generally accepted Copperbelt margins and far above the
Figure 18: Morrison joint inversion results (modified by Lee traditional ore bearing stratigraphy (Broughton and Rogers,
from Lee, 2015). From top to bottom the panels show the effect 2010). Other modern discoveries in Zambia’s North-Western
of gradually increasing the weighting of the MT data. Province, as well as Frontier in DRC, add to the tally of major
 Jansen, J.C., and Cristall, J.A. Mineral Exploration Using Natural EM Fields 365

Figure 19: AMT 2D inversion section near Frontier Mine in DRC (modified from Wijns, 2013).
resources outside the traditional Copperbelt pay-zones and form deposit is located in North-Western Province, far outside the
a mounting body of evidence that the potential of any stratum to historical Zambian Copperbelt, and its ore is hosted by
host ore lies only in its position relative to basement and its Mwashya–Grand Conglomérat intervals far above the traditional
capacity to serve as a redox trap, either as a red bed host to Copperbelt ore-bearing stratigraphy (Hitzman et al., 2012). As
mobile paleo-hydrocarbons or as an in-situ carbonaceous Figure 20 illustrates, the high-grade Kansanshi mineralization
reductant. occurs predominantly as undeformed high-angle vein swarms
along the crest of the Kansanshi antiform (Broughton and
Copperbelt exploration-geophysics has been revitalized by this Hitzman, 2002). The high-grade veins are most abundant near
realization that any reducing unit can potentially host parasitic domes that bestow extra flexure on the main Kansanshi
mineralization and geophysics is being applied to map the fluid dome, making the targeting of “domes-on-domes” an apt tagline
pathways and the reducing traps that comprise sedimentary for an effective exploration strategy (Wijns, 2013).
copper mineral systems. In particular, natural field EM methods
are proving to be a powerful tool due to their ability to
illuminate the stratigraphic and chemical architecture conducive
to forming giant deposits across scales ranging from entire
basins to drill targets. Hitzman et al. (2012) concluded that,
“exploration for Central African Copperbelt-type bodies shares
many similarities with the search for petroleum. Given this fact,
seismic and/or the inversion of potential fields and electrical
data to constrain subsurface geology may become common
exploration techniques in the coming decades.” In 2017, that
decade has arrived.

Frontier, DRC
The 2D AMT section of Figure 19 illustrates the premise of
using AMT to target the lowermost reducing horizon above the
basement, which is in this case the Mwashya shale, at potential
structural trap sites for mineralizing fluids focussed towards the
dome apices. It is important to note that the AMT data was only
acquired after a substantial amount of drilling had already
occurred along this section. Unfortunately, the drill hole assay
results have not been released for comparison, but had the AMT
Figure 20: Geology and mineralization of the Kansanshi deposit
survey been collected beforehand the drill pattern would surely
(after Hitzman et al., (2012), Gregory et al. (2012); and sources
be different (C. Wijns, pers. comm.).
cited therein).

Kansanshi, Zambia Figure 21 shows the results of an AMT traverse across

FQML’s interest in structural domes can be well understood by Kansanshi where the conductive layer of the 2D inversion model
looking at their flagship Kansanshi asset, which in partnership corresponds to the carbonaceous phyllites of the Mwashya
with ZCCM International Holdings PLC is one of Africa’s group, which hosts much of the mineralization, and illustrates
largest and most productive high-grade copper mines. The the doming geometry thought critical to focusing the high-grade
366 Targeting 2: Mine to Camp Scale

veins. As with porphyries, Kansanshi illustrates the ability of

natural field EM methods to guide subsurface targeting based on
an understanding of the mineral system.

Figure 22: Voisey’s Bay Main Block geology showing main

mafic intrusive bodies (after King, 2007, courtesy Vale Canada
Limited).

Figure 21: Kansanshi geological section [above] and AMT 2D Figure 23: Plan view of the three Voisey’s Bay deposits (Balch
inversion resistivity model [below] (after Wijns, 2014). et al., 1998).
Correlation between the AMT conductive layer and the
carbonaceous phyllite is evident despite the sections are not All the deposits are hosted by troctolite dikes thought to be
exactly collinear and there is some difference in their scaling. feeder conduits for the Reid Brook intrusion of the Nain
Plutonic Suite (Balch et al., 1998). In typical magmatic sulphide
fashion, the Eastern Deeps mineralization settled into
Magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE
topographic lows in the magma chamber, while brittle host rocks
of the Ovoid and Reid Brook Zones created the space required
Voisey’s Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador to host the ore. In 2003, the total reserve plus resource estimate
The Voisey’s Bay deposits (Ovoid, Eastern Deeps, and Reid by then-Inco for the three deposits was about 141 Mt grading
Brook Zone or Western Extension) are the result of a discovery 1.63% Ni, 0.85% Cu and 0.09% Co (Kerr, 2003). The orebodies
made by two prospectors in 1993, who fortuitously deployed a range in depth from under ~20 m of cover for the Ovoid to 800
heavier geological-hammer on the Discovery Hill gossan than m deep for the Eastern Deeps Zone. Figures 22 and 23 present
government geologists had utilized some years prior, thereby the local geology and a plan view of the deposits respectively.
breaking off a larger sample that contained visible sulphide
mineralization. Voisey’s Bay is thus an EM-discovery story, The first active source geophysical survey employed was
beginning with those two prospectors who used high-frequency, horizontal loop EM (HLEM), whose frequency is a full 12
visible spectrum EM radiation to identify the gossan (King, orders of magnitude lower than that of visible light, delineated
2007), followed by a variety of ground and airborne EM the conductive zone corresponding to the Ovoid. Subsequently,
systems. And between an MT surveys acquired in 1996 and other active-source EM systems were employed, including
1997 followed by ZTEM in 2007, Voisey's Bay provides a distant-source (VLF), frequency-domain helicopter EM
natural field EM example of an extremely high conductivity- (DIGHEM), time-domain fixed-wing (GeoTEM), time-domain
thickness orebody. large-loop step-response (UTEM), time-domain large-loop
impulse-response (Crone and EM-37) plus both time-domain
impulse- and step-response borehole surveys (Crone and
 Jansen, J.C., and Cristall, J.A. Mineral Exploration Using Natural EM Fields 367

UTEM), all of which displayed significant responses owing to inversion over the Eastern Deeps because of artifacts that appear
the orebody (Balch et al., 1988). at contacts, as shown in Figure 25: is the anomaly related to the
deposit or simply a geological contact? However, the combined
2D TE+TM inversions shown in Figure 26 do a much better job
imaging the Eastern Deeps deposit (Watts and Balch, 2000).

Apparent Resistivity Freq Section - RhoTE hs

3
001
|
002
| 003
|
004
| 005
|
006
| 007
|
008
| 009
|
010
| 011
|
012
| 013
|
014
| 015
|
016
| 017
|
018
| 019
|
020
| TE
Ohm-M

3.98

LOG Frequency (Hz)

2 4.94
6.12
7.59
9.4
1
11.7
14.5
17.9
0 22.2
27.5
34.1
-1 42.3
52.5
65.1
80.7
-2

W E
METERS
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
E-W

Apparent Resistivity Freq Section - RhoTM hs

3
001
|
002
| 003
|
004
| 005
|
006
| 007
|
008
| 009
|
010
| 011
|
012
| 013
|
014
| 015
|
016
| 017
|
018
| 019
|
020
|
TM
Ohm-M

0.56

LOG Frequency (Hz)

2 0.79
1.12
1.58
2.24
1
3.16

Figure 24a: HEM CP 900 Hz (after Balch, 1999). 0

4.47
6.31
8.91
12.6
17.8
25.1
-1 35.5
50.1
70.8

W E
METERS
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
E-W

2-D Model hs
001 002 003 004 005 006 007 008 009 010 011 012 013 014 015 016 017 018 019 020 021
0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

Ohm-M
1000
0.1
Depth (METERS) 2000 0.2
0.5
3000 1
2
4000 5
10
5000 20
50
6000
100
200
7000
500
8000 1000
2000
9000 5000
10000
10000
W E
METERS
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
E-W

Figure 25: A simple 2D geoelectric model (below) with its TE

(top) and TM (middle) response versus frequency. The 100 Hz
is highlighted with the black line. The TE response does a
reasonable job in recovering the starting model, while the TM
Figure 24b: AMT TM-mode (B-polarization) impedance phase
mode shows a spurious response at the location of the vertical
(after Balch, 1999).
contact, and below at the lower frequencies mapping the lower
conductive layer (courtesy B-Field Geophysics Ltd.).
Natural field EM data were first collected regionally in 1997
along 14 × 13 km long north-south lines spaced 800 m apart
using a 4-channel EMI receiver over a frequency range of 10–
10,000 Hz. The 100 m spaced stations consisted of two
horizontal B-field coils and two horizontal 50 m long E-field
field dipoles. The AMT profiles over the deepest portion of the
Eastern Deeps deposit clearly showed a marked drop in apparent
resistivity to <1 Ωm. Even farther to the east over the Far East
Zone, the AMT profiles exhibited zones of low apparent-
resistivity that were subsequently confirmed to be sulphide
mineralization at depths near 1.5 km (Balch et al., 1998). The
location of Voisey’s Bay between two fjords presented
processing challenges because the background conductivity
changed from 3.3 S/m conductive seawater flanking the lines to
>10,000 Ωm country rocks cropping out in the centre. Figure 26: Constrained (above) and unconstrained 2D AMT
inversions along line 572 (Watts and Balch, 2000).
Figures 24a and 24b compare plan-view representations of the
lowest-frequency co-planar DIGHEM HEM data and the AMT The unconstrained inversion used a uniform half-space starting
TM-mode impedance phase data for an unknown frequency. As model with no topography and approximately indicates the
expected, the near-surface Ovoid deposit only shows up in the position of the conductor associated with Eastern Deeps
HEM data, while not unsurprisingly the deeper Eastern Deeps mineralization while also showing possibly spurious structures
deposit is only apparent in the AMT data. The difference is in areas with data gaps (e.g. at 8 km). By using HEM data to fix
mainly related to the relatively low-power of the DIGHEM the near-surface conductivity of some elements in the starting
system, rather than a skin-depth argument. Some skepticism has model, including sea water on the edges, the constrained
been directed towards the interpretation of the 2D TM-mode inversion presents a more compact and realistic Eastern Deeps
368 Targeting 2: Mine to Camp Scale

deposit. But although the geometry of the deposit is better, its

modelled resistivity is only <5 Ωm, far too resistive based on the
107 S conductance of the Ovoid (King, 2007). This poor
resolution of the magnitude of the physical property is typical
for all band limited EM surveys over extremely high
conductance targets.

Theoretically, the inductive limit of a step-response system like

UTEM is 𝑉𝑆𝑇𝐸𝑃 (𝑡) ∝ 𝑒 −𝑡/𝜏 , where 𝑉(𝑡) is the secondary
voltage due to a discrete conductor with time-constant 𝜏 at time
𝑡 after the transmitter is turned off. Correspondingly, the
response of an impulse-response system is the time-derivative of
the above and is thus scaled by a factor of 1/ 𝜏, such that
𝑉𝐼𝑀𝑃 (𝑡) ∝ 1/𝜏 𝑒 −(𝑡/𝜏) . A time-domain impulse-response
airborne system will thus have problems determining the true
value of high-conductance targets. Broadband natural field
systems should theoretically not suffer from that problem, but
ZTEM is not broadband. Regardless, a trial ZTEM survey was
commissioned in 2007, one of the earliest. Selected results are
Figure 27a: ZTEM profile over the Reid Brook Zone. Panels shown in Figure 27 over the Reid Brook and Eastern Deeps
from top to bottom are: in-phase response, modelled in-phase zones. Unfortunately, data collected over the Ovoid were
response, quadrature response, modelled quadrature response, unusable because of power line noise.
and the 2D inversion using only T_zx (the in-line component),
which assumes TE mode or E-polarization, an important concept The Reid Brook profile highlights a text book crossover from
to understand. The dashed line in the bottom shows the depth- the induced field of the highly-conductive vertical plate that is
of-investigation (DOI) limit. The clear cross-over in the tipper the deposit. The lack of decay in the in-phase profiles from 360
with limited in-phase amplitude change between the frequencies Hz down to 30 Hz is a testament to the quality of the main
shows that the Reid Brook Zone is an excellent conductor, but conductor that lies at 400 m depth, while the quadrature
the response is mainly sampling the mildly conductive dyke response is seeing the less conductive portions of the dyke that
outcropping on surface. The highly-conductive main deposit at extend from the deposit to the surface. In contrast, the profiles
depth is below the DOI (courtesy Vale Canada Limited). over the Eastern Deeps display at best a subtle anomaly that
would be difficult to convincingly interpret as a target, and yet
the 2D 𝑇𝑧𝑥 inversion is very focussed and located at the correct
depth. What is likely is that the Eastern Deeps response is due
mainly to current channeling while the conductive vertical-plate
at Reid Brook may have an induced component as well.

Unconformity-Associated Uranium
With average grades of ~2% U and large deposits of exceptional
grade like McArthur River at over 22% U, the Athabasca Basin
of northern Saskatchewan, Canada is the world’s most exciting
uranium play. The Athabasca uranium story began in the late
1960s when the Dynamic Group of Calgary-based oil and gas
companies recognized its similarity to other Proterozoic
quartzarenite basins where sandstone-hosted U deposits had
been discovered. They proceeded to apply the highest frequency
natural EM field, gamma rays, to survey the entire basin with an
airborne total-count natural-gamma detector. A radioactive
boulder train was traced back to Rabbit Lake, where drilling
soon intersected a new type of deposit with U grades far
Figure 27b: ZTEM profile over the Eastern Deeps. Here the surpassing anything ever yet seen (Schiller, 1978).
cross-over is much less pronounced, and is perhaps greater in
the quadrature component. Although difficult to envisage an Natural-gamma surveying to map boulder trains proved
anomaly, the 2D T_zx inversion does an excellent job in effective for finding shallow, <200 m, deposits eroded by
positioning the Eastern Deeps in the correct location and at the glaciers, which lead directly to the discovery of the Key Lake
correct depth (courtesy Vale Canada Limited). deposits in 1975–76 (Kirchner and Tan, 1994). The Key Lake
deposits were very influential to subsequent exploration in the
Basin because this is where the relation between uranium
mineralization and post-sandstone reactivated graphitic faults
was first recognized (Schiller, 1978), and with advances in
 Jansen, J.C., and Cristall, J.A. Mineral Exploration Using Natural EM Fields 369

developments in deep 3D geophysical imaging and modern,

integrated targeting practices centred on predicting geology
from geophysics bodes well for future Athabasca Basin
discoveries.

Various deposit styles can arise depending on the particular

fault-architecture that focussed mixing between ingressing
uranium-laden hypersaline sandstone fluids and egressing
hydrothermal basement fluids (Fayek and Kyser, 1997) in
proximity to the uniformity that separates the oxidized sandstone
and reduced basement environments. Figure 29 illustrates styles
ranging from the classic sub-horizontal cigar shaped orebody
sitting on the unconformity at a post-sandstone reactivated
Figure 28: Progression of deepening deposit discoveries in the basement graphitic fault with a huge argillic-alteration plume
Athabasca Basin (modified from Thomas, 2015). Note the extending into the sandstone (e.g. Cigar Lake), to the basement-
vertical scale change at 200 m. hosted, vertically-elongated, tabular ore bodies occurring in
hanging wall faults (e.g. Eagle Point). While each deposit style
has its own unique characteristics, in general they share
commonalities in terms of close associations with post-
sandstone reactivated basement graphitic fault networks and
varying degrees of hydrothermal alteration, which commonly
include sizable zones of de-silicified and clay-altered sandstone
(Thomas, 2015).

McArthur River, Saskatchewan

As part of the EXTECH-IV research project (Craven et al.,
2002), an AMT survey was collected in 2000 and 2001 at
McArthur River, the world’s richest uranium mine with ore
zones at depths between 500–650 m. The survey objective was
to evaluate the capability of AMT to map deep-basement
Figure 29: Generalized model for an unconformity-associated graphitic fault-conductors as well as alteration-related resistivity
uranium system footprint with various deposit styles and main variations in the overlying sandstone. The survey comprised 135
features that can be targeted at a distance by geophysics pointed stations acquired along 11 profiles oriented perpendicular to the
out (modified from Thomas, 2015). P2 fault structure on which the deposit is situated. The nominal
line- and station- spacing was 800 m and 300 m respectively.
large-loop TEM systems, these structures could be mapped to Post-processing included the application of digital comb-filters
depths exceeding 600 m. Faced with diminishing prospects for tuned to remove harmonic noise from the mine and robust
finding deposits with any form of surface expression, the remote-reference techniques (Larsen et al., 1996) to recover
geophysically-driven strategy that Key Lake inspired to minimally-biased transfer functions from which smoothly
systematically drill to the unconformity along conductor subcrop varying apparent resistivity and phase curves covering the
axes mapped with controlled-source EM methods soon led to frequency range from 3–10,200 Hz were derived (Craven et al.,
discovery of both the giant and incredibly high grade Cigar Lake 2002).
and McArthur River deposits in 1981 and 1988 respectively, and
cemented that strategy as the general recipe for subsurface Tuncer et al. (2006) applied the Non-Linear Conjugate Gradient
exploration of the basin in decades following (Gandhi, 1995). (NLCG) algorithm of Rodi and Mackie (2001) to invert the data
in 2D and used Siripunvaraporn et al.’s (2005) code to invert the
More recently, explorers have come to realize that significant data in 3D. Comparing the models to five available borehole
uranium mineralization does not have to occur immediately at resistivity logs (not presented herein) showed the best agreement
the unconformity on the basement conductor subcrop. The with the combined TE-TM-𝑇𝑧𝑦 2D inversion model of Unsworth
Millennium discovery of 2000 proved that sizable high-grade et al. (2006) (see Figure 30), a result supported by
deposits can occur within the basement and several hundred dimensionality analyses indicating the data were largely 2D.
metres off the conductor axis as well. This realization has The figure provides a relevant overall summary of the work,
prompted companies to take a more integrated approach, where which succeeds in imaging the P2 conductor at a resolution
geophysics is utilized more generally to image subsurface proportional to the imaging depth. More generally, it provides
geology, rather than exclusively as a tool to hunt for anomalies an excellent illustration of the superior imaging that can be
(Cristall and Brisbin, 2006). The progression of exploration achieved by combining data that measure five components of
towards deeper parts of the Athabasca Basin, as illustrated in the natural EM field (𝐸𝑥 , 𝐸𝑦 , 𝐻𝑥 , 𝐻𝑦 , 𝐻𝑧 ) and utilizing the
Figure 28, is a trend that is expected to continue. Fortunately, a inherently higher resolution E-field data that can only be
continually improving understanding of the unconformity- acquired on the ground, as opposed to surveying only for tipper
associated uranium mineral system, together with technological (𝑇𝑧𝑦 ) data.
370 Targeting 2: Mine to Camp Scale

Figure 30: 2D inversions of various components of the McArthur River AMT data, individually and together, showing that superior
imaging is achieved when both TE and TM modes, or E- and B-polarizations, are combined with tipper (T_zy) magnetovariational
sounding data (after Unsworth at al., 2006).

Farquharson and Craven (2009) expanded on this work, taking a

purposefully direct approach of inputting the complete
impedance tensor, in its un-rotated acquisition coordinates,
directly into a 3D inversion without any form of statics shifting
or other pre-processing. The 3D inversion program utilized was
that of Farquharson et al. (2002), a minimum-structure Gauss-
Newton algorithm that formed the prototype to all the later UBC
natural fields EM 3D inversion codes as discussed earlier. With
the computational resources of the time, a subset of 11
frequencies ranging from 3.8–1280 Hz were inverted on a 3D
mesh with x-y cell dimensions of 200 m × 200 m in the core
mesh region. Figure 31 illustrates the 3D inversion result.

Although not fully appreciated at the time, this pioneering work

offered an early glimpse of the potential for 3D inversion of
natural fields EM data and helped influence a paradigm shift in
subsurface exploration in the Athabasca Basin from chasing
geophysical anomalies to imaging the complete unconformity-
associated uranium mineral system, as per McCuaig and
Hronsky (2014). Moreover, it foresaw that with ever increasing
availability of affordable computer hardware, 3D MT inversions
would become tractable in mineral exploration, thus eliminating
the dimensionality limitations of 1D and 2D inversions and their
associated interpretation challenges. Figure 31: Vertical slices through McArthur River 3D AMT
inversion model (after Farquharson and Craven, 2009).
Greenfield and Blue Sky
The Transient AMT (TAMT) approach using adaptive statics effects arising when E-field dipoles span conductive bog
polarisation stacking, as described by Goldak and Goldak and resistive till, which can have resistivities differing by as
(2001), is well suited to acquiring natural field EM data through much as five orders of magnitude. In turn, this improves depth
frequencies ranging between the ELF band (3 – 30 Hz) through imaging in parts of the basin where both the glacial-till
to the VLF band (3–30 kHz). The high frequency data, typically overburden and underlying Athabasca Group quartzarenite are
up to 32 kHz for TAMT as compared to 10 kHz for conventional very resistive (~10,000 Ωm). Surveys at Virgin River (Leppin
AMT systems, is a key advantage for resolving and Goldak, 2005), Millennium, and La Rocque Lake (Powell et
al., 2007) have consistently demonstrated, with results
confirmed by drilling, that TAMT successfully images both
 Jansen, J.C., and Cristall, J.A. Mineral Exploration Using Natural EM Fields 371

basement graphitic conductors and hydrothermal alteration systems, like the ones presented, are also blessed with cubic
chimneys in the Athabasca Group sediments, albeit at kilometres of alteration (i.e. broad mineral-system footprints),
resolutions limited by the wide station- spacing of these surveys. such that even though the contrast between the altered and
unaltered rock may be low, the sheer volume ensures that
The value of an airborne system capable of simultaneously tellurics get channelled into those features. Further published
mapping deep, strike-extensive basement conductors and work over alkalic systems will contribute greatly to this atlas of
potential alteration zones in the overlying thick sandstone natural field responses.
package is well appreciated and explains the rapid uptake of
ZTEM in the Basin. The example shown in Figure 32 illustrates However, with respect to ZTEM and MT, the reality is the two
the complementary information contained in the lower methods are not equivalent. By incorporating E-field
frequency ZTEM data, which can trace the basement graphitic information, MT is effectively an ohm-meter that is sensitive to
faults in good agreement to the conductor axes historically the absolute conductivity of a variable background host
mapped using ground TEM, and the high frequency ZTEM data, including layered geology, while also adding tremendous
which identifies cross-cutting structures and possible sensitivity and resolution in the imaging of lateral contacts. Add
hydrothermal alteration zones in the Athabasca Group the much lower frequencies it collects, typically down to ~0.001
sediments. The idea of consistent spatial coverage across such a Hz for sites left to record overnight, and there is no comparison
broad area is highly appealing to those who have tried to to ZTEM’s 20 Hz limit. Low-frequency data are compulsory for
traverse such distances on foot in the basin. deep imaging in conductive hosts or overburden. Still, the
significant benefit that ZTEM provides with its lower cost, high-
density spatial sampling of the vertical magnetic component of
the natural EM field to map lateral conductivity contrasts is
impressive. The theoretical merit is clear, and 3D inversion
workflows are increasingly being applied that combine ZTEM
with MT to utilize all five components of the natural EM field:
𝐸𝑥 , 𝐸𝑦 , 𝐻𝑥 , and 𝐻𝑦 from ground surveys and 𝐻𝑧 from ZTEM.
These have already and will continue to demonstrate that the
whole is far greater than the sum of its parts.

The Morrison example both highlights the benefits of jointly

inverting dense tipper data collected from an airborne platform
with sparse ground sites and prefaces the work that still needs to
Figure 32: Conventional ZTEM DT images from the Athabasca
be done, being further technical research and exploration buy-in
Basin with 30 Hz data [left] showing good correspondence to
to collecting both data sets. To produce robust 3D resistivity
basement conductor traces as mapped historically with ground
images that span entire properties to kilometres depth is a major
TEM, and 720 Hz data [right] indicating cross-structures and
development in mineral exploration geophysics that may one
possible argillic alteration zones in the Athabasca Group
day well prove to be on par with the advent of 3D seismics for
sediments (courtesy Cameco Corporation and AREVA
oil and gas. Combined ZTEM/MT surveys are especially
Resources Canada Inc.).
applicable in the Athabasca Basin, with its favourably resistive-
background, where utilizing the lower frequencies of the natural
DISCUSSION EM spectrum to image the subsurface mineral-system footprint
Many successful exploration teams have applied their skills in may one day rival the use of the high frequency, natural gamma,
observational geoscience and knowledge of porphyry mineral end of the spectrum that was used to explore its surface.
deposits to great commercial success, inspiring a generation of
field geologists to prospect outcrops throughout the world’s The progress from the initial near-surface discoveries in the
porphyry belts in the search for the next economic deposit. Athabasca Basin to a rewarding period of undercover
While the success of generations of boots-and-hammer exploration presents an optimistic case for mineral exploration
geologists has provided most of the world’s currently producing globally. Each new discovery utilized advancements in
copper mines, they have also left a considerable opportunity for geophysical technologies that enabled successful integrated-
a new generation of explorers empowered with an evolving targeting approaches, not dissimilar to the development of
understanding of the mineralogical, geochemical, and integrated targeting-culture in the petroleum industry. Similarly,
geophysical signatures of the porphyry mineral system and who through more than a century of prospecting in the Superior
have at their disposal the modern technologies required to porphyry copper district in Arizona, the natural field EM signal
expand the search space deep beneath the surface. from the deep Resolution deposit has always been present, only
waiting for someone with the right equipment and know-how to
The porphyry case studies presented herein with airborne ZTEM listen for it. This and other case studies from Australia, Canada,
data outnumber ground MT examples simply because the former Chile, USA, and Zambia serve to illustrate the vast opportunity
have been more widely publicized over the past decade. that lays beneath our feet in greenfield areas and at depth within
Mineral explorers take great interest in methods that can cover historical mining districts where we have only scratched the
large areas quickly at relatively low cost and tend to view surface.
airborne methods as the logical technological progression from
equivalent ground methods. Calc-alkaline porphyry-copper
372 Targeting 2: Mine to Camp Scale

PREDICTIONS FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS however, very little is understood about why the lower crust can
be a conductive as seawater, and there has been virtually no
The success of Geotech’s ZTEM system suggests that other
research in this area for the last 20 years, which indeed suggests
players will enter this space. This will not only spur innovation
additional work is long overdue. This together with more large-
in both hardware and software (signal processing and data
scale airborne natural field surveys complementing sparser
inversion), but the increased competition may drive down costs,
ground stations, along the lines of USArray (Meqbel et al.,
benefiting explorers enormously. A ZTEM-variant called
2014) or AusLAMP being undertaken by governments or
Airborne Magnetic Tensor (despite the confusing acronym) that
industry consortia will help close the loop.
measures the three-component H-field from an airborne bird was
introduced by Geotech in 2009, to limited commercial success.
Augmenting this system with ground remote referencing CONCLUSIONS
capabilities would be of great benefit to eliminate the current That future exploration is going to take a mineral systems
shortcomings inherent to using a single base station for both the approach is reasonably assured as this framework provides
competing requirements of local and remote referencing. structure to exploration in new areas and under cover, something
Improved three-component receiver systems will most likely be that has perhaps been lacking in the past decade. McCuaig and
developed, which if oriented would provide vector data, or if not Hronsky (2014) discuss the scale dependency of mineral
would provide a total-field measurement, although that would systems, highlighting a natural and requisite change in focus
need to be accompanied by new inversion capabilities. from continental to province, camp, deposit, and finally down to
the ore-shoot.
Capacitive antennas have already been used by some companies
(EMpulse Geophysics Ltd., and GroundMetrics, Inc., amongst As is to be expected with the advent of new technologies like
others) and will continue to gain traction because of their ability ZTEM and MT (at least relatively “new” to mineral
to mitigate galvanic distortions in horizontal-component electric exploration), both methods were “trialed” over numerous
fields, in addition to even measuring the vertical component of deposits in the past 10 years to confirm their effectiveness. The
the electric field at surface. Capacitive contacts also greatly examples presented in this paper show the utility of natural field
simplify the practical challenges faced by traditional galvanic EM methods in IOCG, porphyry and sediment-hosted copper,
contacts in very rocky, dry, or ice- and snow-covered areas. Athabasca-style uranium, and magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE mineral
systems. Given that natural field EM methods can image the
Of course, incremental improvements will continue to be made: crust’s geoelectric structure across a variety of scales, which
less expensive hardware and a better understanding of the explorers can interpret to locate mineral systems and vector to
sampling density required to image an ore system will continue deposits, these techniques can now confidently be included in
to encourage the acquisition of optimised survey data. The the exploration toolbox. In mineral exploration, the future will
kinds of data will also change. In the future, more surveys will belong to those with skills to use all the tools in the box to map
include a mix of multiple E-field only stations surrounding a few mineral systems, and knowledge of how best to use natural field
“common” offset H-field sites, full MT sites, and H-field only EM methods will be key.
sites, the latter of which are acquired both on the ground and
from the air. Optimizing the relative amounts of each data type
will require modelling. Some groups have been thinking about
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
using drones to ferry induction coils to magneto-only sites to Firstly, we would like to acknowledge our employer, Anglo
generate tipper data (G. Heinson, pers. comm.). American plc, for supporting the writing and presentation of this
paper. We would like to acknowledge the organising committee
Combining offset E-field and H-field sites will require of DMEC Exploration'17, and especially the leadership of Alan
modifying the inversion codes to allow for arbitrary positioning King, Chair of the Near-Mine and Camp-Scale Exploration
of coils and potential electrodes. Modelling the actual location session, who invited us to prepare this review. Data and figures
of the H-field coil rather than simply transcribing it to each were willingly provided by Anglo American plc, Cameco
associated E-field measurement, as is typically done with Corporation and AREVA Resources Canada Inc., CODELCO,
EMAP-style surveys, will be a big improvement, especially in FQML, Geotech Ltd., and Vale Canada Limited. We greatly
topographically challenging areas. acknowledge the huge contribution their data has made to this
paper, because it is through their examples that mineral
Rather than simply searching the smooth-model space, MT exploration will continue to evolve. Therefore, the entire
inversion codes will also continue to develop the functionalities mining fraternity is indebted to them. And finally, we
required to include both hard- and soft-constraints. Hard acknowledge the highly enlightening conversations we had with
constraints like overburden thickness, sedimentary basin the following experts who provided knowledge, guidance,
thickness, ocean depth, and coastline definition, etc., are and/or manuscript reviews, namely: Yann Avram, Brian
geological, while soft constraints focus on data- and model- Bengert, Lief Cox, Shane Evans, David Goldak, Bernhard
norms. Friedrichs, Graham Heinson, Alan Jones, Benjamin Lee, Jean
Legault, Frank Morrison, Ransom Reddig, Naser Meqbel,
Graham Heinson (pers. comm.) has suggested that more Geoffrey Plastow, Terry Ritchie, Martyn Unsworth, John Vann,
fundamental petrophysical research is required on the causes of Ken Witherly, Chris Wijns, and Garnet Wood.
conductivity variations in the deep crust. Some formations are
obviously conductive (melt, shear zones from fluids, etc.);
 Jansen, J.C., and Cristall, J.A. Mineral Exploration Using Natural EM Fields 373

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