Industry
Figure 1
Noranda Minerals has successfully deployed the technology in a broad range of mineral focused environments (Arctic, Canadian Shield-Boreal Forest, desert regions in northern Chile) and in each environment was able to define exposed geology, alteration and mineralization (gossans). Costs for these programs was highly influenced by location (Mobilization and Demobilization), weather, and access to suitable aircraft; however, under the right conditions it was possible to acquire in excess of 3500 km2 /per day at 10 meter pixel resolution which greatly reduced the unit costs for gathering exploration data.
The technology had the unique advantage of mapping large regions (e.g. Chile-Peru porphyry belt 75km x 1000 km) within months, (see detail in Figure 1); at a detail unachievable through traditional methods (mapping, geochemistry). This advanced level of geologic information improved the project/target selection, the rate discovery and ultimately lowered the cost of exploration.