Exploration must locate
promising mineral deposits and, once identified, provide sufficient information
about the geology of a deposit; in particular, its geometry and grade
must be measured in order to determine whether a deposit is economic to mine
and extract the mineral(s), and upgrade to an orebody.
Deposit
A natural occurrence of a
useful mineral in sufficient quantity to invite further exploration.
There is a continuing need to discover new mineral deposits as an economic deposit
(one that is being mined) is a depleting resource.