Dr John McLellan and Dr Paul Pearson (Team Per-Oz) were triumphant in winning the Gawler Challenge set out by the South Australian Government Department of Mining & Energy. The Challenge was to utilise all the known datasets and geological knowledge of the region and find innovative ways to predict target areas for mineralised zones and future mines. There were 2,227 participants from over 100 countries worldwide and Team Per-Oz won first prize. The judges’ comments were full of praise for the approach they took to solving the exploration problem…"Well rounded approach combining a multitude of datasets grounded in a mineral system and geology approach. Inclusion of structure and fluid flow consideration into conclusions was great". "Epic level of detail" "Good for starters to follow. Extremely thorough"
The approach they took was to used Supervised Machine Learning (strongly focused on the geology and a mineral systems analysis approach) and then use Geomechanical Modelling techniques as an upper crustal ore localiser. The overlap of target areas from the two techniques was incredible and this approach managed to identify many of the known deposits and provided high quality targets for the rest of the Gawler region. The South Australian Government has since pledged $5 Million to develop, validate and deliver Next Generation Mineral Systems maps for explorers. Due to this fantastic result Dr John McLellan and Dr Paul Pearson have endeavoured to continue this collaboration and provide this ongoing service to the exploration and mining industry. Feel free to contact GMEX for further information.
