Review of progress in seismic exploration in metallic deposits

With the exhaustion of near-surface metal mineral resources, exploration in the second space (500～2 000 m) is an inevitable trend in the future. The conventional gravity, magnetic and electrical signals are severely attenuated with depth and cannot meet the requirements of deep exploration. However, the seismic signal has great penetration and sufficient resolution in deep strata, which is very suitable for deep mineral prospecting. Therefore, the potential of using seismicity tools for mineral exploration has been accepted by many experts and scholars globally, and a lot of related research work has been carried out. This paper analyzes the geological features of five typical metallic deposits and discusses the applicability of conventional reflection seismic in mineral exploration. We believe that the lithology, deposit size, and reflection interface characteristics are the key factors for the seismic reflection exploration in metallic deposits. Furthermore, by reviewing the research progress in seismic acquisition,processing, interpretation, and passive source detection technology for mineral exploration, we summarize the key points to be solved and look forward to the development prospect of the seismic method for metallic deposits in the future. Finaly, according to the weakness of the seismic method, here we propose three suggestions for prospecting metallic deposits: (1) At present, the reflection seismic is the mainstream exploration method used in mineral exploration, so we should focus on interpretation and inversion to tap the potential of seismic data. (2) We should carry out related Petrophysics research, which is the efficient way to analyze the relationship between metal ore mineralization and seismic attributes. (3) In the future, seismic scattering theory and passive source detection technology are the important development direction of the seismic method for mineral exploration.