Ground electrical and electromagnetic methods for deep mineral exploration -- results from the SEEMS DEEP project

Abstract: The transition towards carbon neutral transportation and energy sources increases the global demand for mineral raw materials while easy-to-find near-surface (< 200 m) ore deposits are unlikely discovered in well-explored areas such as Europe. In order to increase the mineral exploration success rate, the project SEEMS DEEP (SEismic and ElectroMagnetic methodS for DEEP mineral exploration) develops geophysical deep exploration workflow capable of imaging the bedrock from the surface down to several kilometres depth. In this paper, we present first results from ground electrical and electromagnetic surveys conducted at the SEEM DEEP geological test site, namely the Koillismaa Layered Intrusion Complex in north-eastern Finland. Here, a 1.7 km long hole drilled by GTK intersected mafic-ultramafic rocks with anomalous electrical and chargeability properties at ~1400 m depth, making it an interesting case study to test the ability of such technologies for imaging resistivity and chargeability contrasts at several kilometre depth.