Sunday, December 16, 2018

How Modern Technology And Science Help In Mineral Exploration

By Christine Cook


The world economy today is carried on the back of one natural resource. Oftentimes called the black gold, in its various forms it powers the bulk of all equipment and machinery. From small power tools to huge heavy equipment this substance provides the main source of energy. All the vehicles that travel on roads use this to power the engine. This is a limited resource and industrialists engage scientist to study the sources through micro paleontology.

One business that is often associated with tycoons is the oil business. Since its discovery, fossil fuels have been used as the main substance for all sorts of engines. In its pure form, it is extracted from beneath the ground and under the deepest of oceans. Mineral exploration companies invest billions of dollars to find the spot where deposits are found. Once it is found, then the drilling begins.

One business sector that gobbles up this resource in large quantities is the transportation industry. Large segments of the economic activities involve the use of vehicles for pick up and delivery of products, people and services. Rare it would be to find a business that does not own one. Families are also in love with cars. All these vehicles consume fossil fuel to feed the engines.

Petroleum is based mainly on hydrocarbons. These are mostly present in rock layers and is the result of microorganism decomposition that existed eons ago. Its study is mostly done by geologists and paleontologists. These scientists are now being tapped by large corporations to identify more areas where possible deposits are located.

The study of elements that comprise the earth is the science of geology. The element may solid, liquid, or gas in form. This scientific study also includes the process of how these elements came about and the process involved in it. Geologists are now being employed by large companies engaged in gas exploration and mining.

Paleontology is the science that focuses on the study of living organisms before the Holocene period. It also includes the scientific study of microorganism fossils like foraminifera. These organisms are found in very deep waters. When these die they usually leave behind shells that accumulate at the bottom of oceans as sediments which become embedded in rocks.

In modern times, exploration companies hire experts from these two fields of science to find more deposits and develop existing ones. Advance drilling technology backed up by powerful computers have made deep ocean drilling and exploration possible. These are capable of getting samples from great depths and different strata of the earth surface.

These extracted materials are called core samples and these are extensively studied for their chemical and biological composition using modern analytical tools and methods. Micro paleontology makes use of the procedure that isolates some layers of the earth called biological zones. Each layer is identified by the fossils contained in them.

Wealthy industrialists engaged in the business of petroleum mineral exploration lead the charge in this large undertakings. They are fully aware that there is a constant increase in demand and that the current production will no longer be able to keep up with it. This is the reason why they invest billions of dollars to find more deposits.




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