Geosoft boosts 3D modelling power

by Carmela Burns on MaRCH 7, 2013 technology

Geosoft presented new workflows for geological subsurface modelling at PDAC 2013 in Toronto, adding to its integrated platform for earth exploration. The workflows include 3D wireframing and interpretation tools that make the modelling of subsurface geology faster and more effective for mineral explorers.

The company also introduced advances to its cloud-powered VOXI Earth Modelling, including new techniques for reducing processing time and sharpening 3D inversion results.

Data-driven approach

“Geosoft has taken a data-driven approach to help explorers build 3D models that explain all of their observations, supporting the best possible exploration decisions. Our focus is on simple and useful workflows that integrate drilling information, geophysical modelling and both surface and down-hole geological mapping. This is all done in three dimensions together with important links to 2D sections and maps,” said Ian MacLeod, Geosoft Chief Technologist.

“This approach is evident in VOXI Earth Modelling,” said MacLeod, “which starts with a 3D viewing experience, and includes a simple workflow to get models back out to a 3D working environment where models can be integrated with other data.With the new geological subsurface modelling workflows we’ve introduced 3DV, a new file for containing everything 3D in Geosoft, and improved integration within Geosoft’s 3D geology workbench.”

Geosoft March release

As part of the Geosoft 2013 Release, scheduled for March 2013, the new 3D wireframing and interpretation tools will be included in Geosoft’s Oasis montaj and Target exploration software. Explorers will be able to build 3D subsurface geological models by joining 2D interpretation sections to create 3D wireframe bodies; and they can use the models to represent geology as constraints for their geophysical inversions within VOXI Earth Modelling.

Additionally, VOXI Earth Modelling now includes automated Iterative Reweighting Inversion (IRI) which saves processing time and can be used to model sharper contacts in the inversion result, providing more refined targets. When combined with Magnetic Vector Inversion, IRI improves the geological modelling of unconstrained magnetic data.

Integration across Geosoft and Esri GIS

The new wireframing tools will also be added to Geosoft’s Esri Extension, Target for ArcGIS, later this year, enabling the integration and sharing of wireframing results as 3D geosurface files across both Geosoft and Esri GIS platforms.

Era of power modelling

Worldwide mineral exploration spending has multiplied almost 10-fold to $21.5 billion since 2003, increasing the demand for software technologies to integrate and rapidly extract insight from exploding amounts of complex, diverse data.

While spending has increased, discovery rates have declined partly because of the challenge of finding more deeply buried deposits. This has made the ability to “see” beneath cover increasingly important.

"We are entering the era of power modelling,” said MacLeod “where both the technology and exploration expertise exist to deliver deeper 3D insight into the subsurface for faster discovery.”

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