Review on 3D electromagnetic modeling and inversion for Mineral Exploration

Abstract

Many mineral deposits demonstrate low-resistivity characteristics. This property makes the electromagnetic (EM) method a very useful tool for mineral exploration. In the past decades, the application of EM exploration technologies has been reviewed in many case studies. However, most reviews focused on EM exploration methods, the development of equipment, or their applications. The three-dimensional (3D) forward modeling and inversions are high-accuracy EM interpretation techniques that have made great progress in recent years in mineral explorations. In this paper, we make a review on the development of EM technology for mineral exploration with focus on 3D EM forward modeling, inversion technology, and its applications. We will first briefly introduce the EM methods for mineral explorations from the methodology. After that, we will give a comprehensive review of 3D EM forward modeling, inversions, and data interpretations, with special attention paid to the development of EM theory and applications in mineral explorations. We hope this review can promote the application of 3D EM numerical simulation and inversion in mineral explorations.