Mining and geophysics
The Centre developed and owns electromagnetic surface impedance technology (TSIM) which is used routinely by Geoconsult Pty Ltd (Brisbane, Australia) in the mining and exploration industries around the world. The technique provides information which can be interpreted in terms of the depth conductivity profile of the earth where the strata is layered and approximately parallel to the earth’s surface, and a more complex three dimensional analysis is required for non-uniform earth structured which are laterally discontinuous. Of particular interest has been the precision mapping of faults, dislocations and terminations in coal seams. Current research seeks to further develop the instrumentation and the data inversion techniques for in-field interpretation. In particular, numerical techniques such as the finite-difference time-domain method, the impedance method and various optimisation methods are under development.
The Centre is in the process of designing robust wireless sensor networks for the mining industry through a variety of commercial partners.