Groundwater is a vital renewable natural resource that largely supports the agriculture sector, especially in semi-arid climate of hard rock. However, the over-exploitation and inadequate recharge of groundwater in crystalline granitic terrains have depleted the shallow aquifer systems constraining the groundwater to be sporadically distributed in deep fractures. Therefore, tracing bedrock fractures

In the context of mining exploration, local earthquake tomography serves as a valuable complementary tool, applicable across varying scales from greenfield to brownfield projects. Nevertheless, interpreting body-wave velocity anomalies within tomographies poses a significant challenge, which largely depends on the expertise of the analyst and the availability of information. Addressing this challenge

As mining depth increases, the temperature of coal seams increases gradually, which increases the risk of spontaneous coal combustion in goaf areas. This paper uses a programmed temperature rise experiment to analyze the oxidation combustion characteristics of high ground temperature coal and calculates the oxidation kinetic parameters and limit characteristic parameters. The results show that, above

The pore–fracture structure of deep coal deposits is highly important for the potential evaluation, investigation, and utilization of deep coalbed methane resources. This study used methods such as low-pressure CO2 adsorption, low-temperature N2 adsorption, high-pressure mercury intrusion porosimetry, scanning electron microscopy, and optical microscopy to describe the pore–fracture structure of deep

Witwatersrand-type gold deposits in South Africa are generally amenable to cyanidation due to their free-milling nature. However, the relatively easy-to-process gold ores have been mostly depleted, and the remaining ores are of low-grade combined with semi-refractory properties. Here, we use an integrated approach to understand the mineralogical and textural characteristics of the Witwatersrand-type

Accurate assessment of in situ fluid occurrence and content in complex shale reservoirs is crucial for effective resource evaluation and shale oil extraction. Laboratory tests on placed samples often lead to misestimations due to movable fluid loss. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology, which eliminates the need to crush cores for pyrolysis experiments, is emerging as a vital tool

Lithological mapping is an effective tool for geological surveys and mineral exploration. However, it faces challenges in identifying complex rock types and improving classification accuracy. We mapped lithological units in the Karamaili ophiolite-mélange belt of Xinjiang using integrated machine learning algorithms, including artificial neural network (ANN), Mahalanobis distance (MD), support vector

Geophysical exploration for disseminated chromite deposits has always been challenging because the ore body does not exhibit significant geophysical anomalies. An understanding of petrophysical rock parameters can make the interpretation of geophysical data more accurate. The spectral induced polarization (SIP) method emerged as a promising technique to understand the electrical and petrophysical properties

The Pokiok Plutonic Suite (PPS) lies within the southern segment of New Brunswick's Central Plutonic Belt, Canada. The PPS exhibits significant Devonian intrusive events, including four main phases, namely the Hartfield Tonalite, the Hawkshaw Granite, the Skiff Lake Granite, and the Allandale Granite, hosting notable intrusion-related W–Mo–Sb–Au deposits. This study aimed to identify potential exploration

Coalbed methane primarily exists as adsorbed gas within the microscopic pores and fractures of coal. However, the complex pore structure of deep coal seams and its quantitative relationship with methane adsorption capacity remain unclear. This study investigated nine samples from a coal seam in the Ningwu Basin, representing different burial depths, including five middle-shallow and four deep burials

Predicting flyrock is key to safety and efficiency in open pit mining. In this study, we developed and tested four hybrid models utilizing an adaptive neuro–fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) integrated with metaheuristic optimization techniques: Lévy-enhanced Jaya (ANFIS–LJ), bat algorithm (ANFIS–BA), firefly algorithm (ANFIS–FA) and social spider optimization (ANFIS–SSO). Remarkably, the Lévy technique

The overmature Lower Cambrian shale in southern China typically exhibits underdeveloped organic matter (OM) pores, with low porosity, and it is commonly believed that both of them have a causal linkage. However, there remains a lack of in-depth study on the characteristics of OM pores and their controlling factors for this shale. In this study, a suite of Lower Cambrian shale samples was taken from

The discovery of new lithium resources is essential because lithium plays a vital role in the manufacturing of green technology. Along with brines and volcano–sedimentary deposits, approximately a one-third share of global lithium resources is associated with lithium-cesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites, with Canada hosting numerous examples. This research applied generative adversarial networks, natural

In geochemical exploration, a small number of positive samples and a large number of unlabeled samples can be defined according to the geochemical exploration data and the mineral deposits (occurrences) found in the exploration area. The positive samples usually comprise multiple types of mineral deposits (occurrences) while the unlabeled samples usually comprise a large number of background samples

The goaf residual coal is more susceptible to oxidation after long-term soaking that raises the spontaneous combustion risk level. This paper investigates the oxidation thermodynamic mechanism and the active functional group proliferation trend in soaked coal. A coal macromolecular model C217H171O44N3S2 is constructed to evaluate the oxygen adsorption effectiveness via molecular dynamics simulation

Machine learning is becoming a popular and appealing tool in mineral prospectivity mapping (MPM); however, it has always been challenged by some essential limitations, such as scarcity of training samples, overfitting, and uncertainties. Data augmentation has been proven to be effective in addressing these issues and improving the performance of artificial intelligence models, but its mechanism regarding

The Sousse governorate (Tunisian Sahel) is an important socio-economic pole with a strong need for water. Intense drought during the last years has harmed the governorate’s activities. Therefore, groundwater exploitation is increasingly becoming necessary for ensuring sustainable development. It takes in-depth knowledge of aquifers to create an appropriate exploitation plan. In this context, the present

Determination of reservoir production schemes has always been a difficult problem during the close-loop management of waterflooding reservoir. Different well control results in significant influence on production, water breakthrough time and recovery rate of producing wells, especially in heterogeneous reservoirs. To optimize well controls, a new method using transpose convolution neural network (TCNN)

In petroleum and natural gas exploration, lithology identification—analyzing rock types beneath the Earth’s surface—is crucial for assessing hydrocarbon reservoirs and optimizing drilling strategies. Traditionally, this process relies on logging data such as gamma rays and resistivity, which often require manual interpretation, making it labor-intensive and prone to errors. To address these challenges

In the realm of mineral prospectivity mapping, a novel hybrid approach for optimizing hyperparameters of the support vector machine (SVM) algorithm is proposed here. The concept of ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm, inspired by collective intelligence of ant colonies, and grid search (GS) that systematically evaluate all hyperparameter combinations to find the optimal model configuration are

In surface deformation monitoring for mining areas, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technology has become a popular research topic due to its efficiency and high accuracy. However, transforming temporal monitoring data into surface deformation predictions remains challenging. In practical applications, InSAR data often face limitations like low acquisition frequency and insufficient

Acid fracturing technology is one of the most effective methods for resolving mineral plugging and for improving the pore structure of coal reservoirs. To investigate the characteristics of shallow and deep coal nanopore structures under the influence of acidic fracturing fluids, experiments using synchrotron radiation small-angle X-ray scattering were conducted on shallow and deep coal samples soaked

The simultaneous interpretation of multiple geophysical data through their inverted models of various physical properties of subsurface geological structures and formations related to mineral deposits is a challenging task in mineral exploration. In this paper, a three-dimensional fusion algorithm based on the use of a two-dimensional contourlet transform for concurrent interpretation of multiple geophysical

Accurately analysis of the multifractal characteristics of geochemical element distribution is crucial for identifying geochemical anomalies and meaningful element associations. However, the most commonly used multifractal method, i.e., the method of moments, may generate different multifractal spectra for a single element distribution due to variations in the range of moment orders. This is because

Liquid nitrogen fracturing is an efficient stimulation technique for exploiting hot dry rock geothermal energy. Understanding the physical and mechanical damage characteristics of high-temperature reservoir rocks under liquid nitrogen cooling is crucial for the application of liquid nitrogen fracturing technology. Therefore, nuclear magnetic resonance technology, acoustic wave velocity measurement

As natural gas exploration and research progress, the Yinggehai Basin has achieved notable advancements and discoveries regarding middle-deep strata in recent years. Due to insufficient exploration in the Northern Yinggehai Basin, the previous studies primarily concentrated on the Miocene reservoirs with lack of research attention on the Oligocene Yacheng Formation (E3y) source rocks. A comprehensive

The production of coalbed methane (CBM) wells is positively correlated with their production performance, and key features of typical production performance can be applied to determine the high production exploration targets. However, accurately classifying the production types of CBM wells and rationally identifying the key controlling factors among them are challenging due to the strong heterogeneity

The complex geological architecture, complicated dynamics processes and nonlinear association in mineral systems are the major intrinsic hindrances to predictive mineral exploration. For effectively overcoming such difficulties to achieve credible prediction, 3D geological modeling, numerical dynamics simulation (NDS) and machine learning (ML) were applied to characterize the complex geological architecture

With increasing mining depth, coal is more affected by ground and mining stresses. In order to study the characteristics and activation features of coal spontaneous combustion (CSC) under different stress conditions, experiments on low-temperature oxidation under six different stress conditions were conducted using a newly developed multi-field loading and permeability experimental device for stress-loaded

Mineral prospectivity maps were produced for gold in two greenstone belts in the Superior geological province in Ontario, Canada, as part of the Metal Earth Project in the Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario. These maps, created using the random forest machine learning algorithm, cover the well-endowed Matheson area, which is in the Abitibi sub-province, and the less fertile Dryden area, which

Flyrock from blasting in open-pit mining is one of the most dangerous occurrences that can cause accidents to workers, damage to machinery and equipment and even fatalities. Therefore, quick and reliable prediction of blast-induced flyrock distance (BIFRD) in open-pit mines is very crucial to ensure the safety of the surrounding environment. In this study, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology combined

Flyrock, the unintended projection of rocks during mining blasts, poses significant safety risks and potential damage. Predicting flyrock is essential for implementing safety measures, minimizing injuries, preventing equipment and structural damage, optimizing blast plans, reducing downtime, and saving costs. Accurate predictions mitigate hazards, improve operational efficiency, and ensure the safety

The flow of shale oil in nano-scale rock pores follows the slip flow regime, in which the flow velocity at the nanopore walls is not zero. The nano-scale effect of the boundary layer renders the slip flow effect in the nanopores non-negligible. In this study, the slip flow mechanism of shale oil in nanopores was reviewed. The nano-scale effect of the boundary layer renders the slip flow effect in the

An energy criterion model of coal and gas outbursts was established to study the energy conversion mechanism. Ideal gas law was utilized to establish a correlation between dissipated energy (i.e., energy dissipated during outbursts) and accumulated energy (potential energy leading to outbursts) in gas-containing briquettes. This relationship, along with the expression for the energy criterion, was

The Han River-to-Wei River Water Transfer (HWWT) Project not only brings evident economic benefits to the water-receiving areas but it also generates ecological flow value (EFV) by indirectly supplementing river flows. However, the EFV resulting from water transfer is often overlooked due to its indirect nature, and traditional methods tend to overestimate it due to a lack of consideration of value

The identification and mapping of geochemical anomaly patterns have emerged as a more precise and efficient approach for mineral exploration, with deep learning algorithms being extensively employed in this realm. However, existing methodologies require further investigation regarding model interpretability and correlation with established mineral control factors. This paper proposes a regional geochemical

Copper price forecasting is crucial for both investors and governments due to its significant economic impact. Recently, machine learning techniques have been widely employed to construct copper price forecasting models, demonstrating high forecasting accuracy. However, there are two main limitations in these models: (1) the lack of ability to capture the non-Euclidean relationships among numerous

Productivity in opencast mining, particularly in drill-blast (DB) and surface miner (SM) operations, is crucial for optimizing efficiency and reducing costs. These operations are directly affected by fragmentation, which in turn impacts equipment utilization, loading cycle times, and downstream operations. This study analyzed field data such as rock properties, machine parameters, blast design results

Low-permeability coal seams are widely distributed in China, with significant differences in coal ranks and properties. Identifying an effective method for nitrogen fracturing is an urgent challenge. To study the impact of coal ranks on fracturing, lignite, bituminous coal, and anthracite were used in liquid nitrogen freeze–thaw experiments. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance was used to measure

Research on the effects of acidic and alkaline solutions and stress on coal’s pore structure has traditionally focused on larger scales, leaving a gap in understanding nanoscale impacts. This study utilized a self-developed small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) miniature loading system and in situ synchrotron SAXS to investigate nanopore evolution under varying pH conditions and external stress. By analyzing

This work evaluated the hydrocarbon potentiality and petrophysical properties of the Paleocene Zelten Formation in the Libyan Sirte Basin. It aimed to delineate the influence of the microfacies composition of the studied sequence on the reservoir characteristics. The study was based on petrographical and petrophysical data derived from six wells. The petrophysical data included well-logging data (gamma-ray

Coalbed methane (CBM) storage and transport are facilitated by an intricate multi-scale pore structure. It is of great significance to study the characteristics of the pore structure and its role in CBM storage and transport in order to enhance CBM extraction, prevent CBM disasters, and improve the efficiency of CO2 geological storage. Here, we review the current progress in coal reservoir pore structure

Dig-limits optimization is one of the most important steps in the grade control process at open-pit mines. It aims to send blasted materials to their optimal destinations to maximize the profitability of mining projects. Grade and blast movement are key uncertainties that affect the optimal determination of dig-limits. This paper presents an integrated workflow for optimizing dig-limits under grade

Coal and gas desorption, as a major form of gas energy release, is a key factor in triggering coal and gas outbursts. Therefore, studying the physical characteristics during coal and gas desorption is essential for understanding the development process of coal and gas outbursts. Based on gas dynamics during coal particle gas desorption, this study established a connection between gas desorption and

The surging demand for Ni and Co, driven by the acceleration of clean energy transitions, has sparked interest in the Lachlan Orogen of New South Wales for its potential lateritic Ni–Co resources. Despite recent discoveries, a substantial knowledge gap exists in understanding the full scope of these critical metals in this geological province. This study employed a machine learning-based framework

Deep coalbed methane (CBM) extraction shows that coal body structure (CBS) influences the original pore and permeability conditions of a coal reservoir and that it has a significant effect on CBM production. CBS prediction by using logging curves has become an important aspect in CBM reservoir engineering. In this study, we identified vertical development of CBS in coal seam 8 of the Benxi Formation