Geocomputation of mineral exploration targets

[Extract] Mineral exploration endeavors to find ore deposits (i.e., economically viable concentrations of minerals or metals) for mining purposes. Delineation of targets for mineral exploration is the crucial initial stage in a series of mapping activities that may result in ore deposit discovery. That is because mineral deposits are 'freaks' of nature and, thus, vectoring towards ore deposits based on multi-source and multi-scale geoscience exploration data sets is a multi-faceted spatial problem. Therefore, applications of geocomputation, which is "the art and science of solving complex spatial problems with computers" (Xue et al., 2004), and applications of geological concepts of ore genesis are essential in mineral exploration target delineation.