Machine learning as a tool for geologists

Abstract

Machine learning is becoming an appealing tool in various fields of earth sciences, especially in resources estimation. Six machine learning algorithms have been used to predict the presence of gold mineralization in drill core from geophysical logs acquired at the Lalor deposit, Manitoba, Canada. Results show that the integration of a set of rock physical properties — measured at closely spaced intervals along the drill core — with ensemble machine learning algorithms allows the detection of gold-bearing intervals with an adequate rate of success. Since the resulting prediction is continuous along the drill core, the use of this type of tool in the future will help geologists in selecting sound intervals for assay sampling and in modeling more continuous ore bodies during the entire life of a mine.