Good News | The Institute of Geophysical Exploration has won the First Prize of the “National Green Mine Science and Technology Progress Award.”

On January 21, the highly anticipated “First China Green Mining International Conference 2023” was grandly held in Beijing. At this international academic event, hosted by the Zhongguancun Green Mining Industry Alliance, numerous outstanding technological innovations and exceptional talents were showcased and recognized. Among them, the project titled “Innovative Technologies and Applications for Multi-Scale Electromagnetic Exploration of Deep Mineral Resources,” submitted by the Institute of Geophysical Exploration, stood out from the crowd and won the First Prize of the “National 2023 Green Mining Science and Technology Progress Award.”

Project Overview

“Deep Mineral Resource Exploration” is an important component of China’s Deep Earth Exploration Program, and it is closely linked to China’s Western Development Strategy and the nation’s resource and energy security. The deep structural and dynamic characteristics are the primary controlling factors and core scientific issues underlying the end effects of deep mineral resources, energy, and geological environments. As such, the Deep Earth Exploration Program faces significant challenges.

With funding from major national science and technology projects, the National Natural Science Foundation, and national public-interest basic geological surveys, the project team spent over 10 years developing an innovative multi-scale electromagnetic exploration technology system for deep-seated mineral resources. This system has been effectively promoted and applied in areas such as deep structures and dynamics, deep-layer energy resources, mineral resource exploration, and engineering investigation.

Major Research Achievements

● A multi-scale methodological framework has been proposed, tailored for studying the electrical structures at depth as well as the dynamics of mineralization and hydrocarbon accumulation. In large-scale exploration of deep crustal structures, a domestically developed distributed long-period magnetotelluric (MT) data acquisition system has been designed. Methodologically, a three-dimensional MT inversion technique based on corridor-data constraints and a new electromagnetic multi-parameter inversion technique leveraging constraints such as resistivity equipotentiality have been developed.

● In the field of small- and medium-scale exploration, a combination of various exploration methods and technologies—including wide-field electromagnetic methods, transient electromagnetic methods, audio-frequency magnetotelluric methods, and airborne electromagnetic methods—has effectively addressed technical challenges in areas such as characterizing fluid properties in deep oil and gas reservoirs, exploring for mineral resources in deep peripheral regions, and ensuring the safety of oil and gas drilling operations.

● A comprehensive geophysical and geological research methodology has been established for the evaluation of deep oil and gas reservoirs and deep brines. By developing a macro-micro electrical coupling mechanism, an interpretation model for the electrical properties of high-quality shale lithofacies has been created, and a “geological-geophysical integrated” green exploration technology framework for potash and lithium salts has been proposed.

● In the area of risk prediction for complex oil and gas drilling projects, a series of geological risk prediction technologies combining electromagnetic methods with seismic logging have been developed. These technologies enable accurate detection and identification of underground geological anomalies at multiple scales and involving multiple parameters, providing crucial and stable geological basis for the careful selection of shale gas well locations and supporting safe drilling and development operations.

The project’s achievements have been successfully applied to areas including research on the deep structure and dynamics along the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, exploration of typical copper-nickel-iron polymetallic deposits in Xinjiang and the Sanjiang metallogenic belt, collaborative geophysical exploration and detection of shale gas at multiple scales in southern Sichuan, and exploration of deep, potassium-rich lithium brines in Sichuan—making outstanding contributions to breakthroughs in China’s deep-exploration technologies.

The project has been granted 33 invention patents and 37 software copyrights. It has also trained over 60 master’s and doctoral students. The project’s achievements have been widely adopted and promoted across the industry, generating direct economic benefits of 3.033 billion yuan and indirect economic benefits exceeding 60 billion yuan.

Going forward, the Institute of Geophysical Exploration will continue to deeply implement an innovation-driven development strategy, increase investment in scientific and technological research and development, and accelerate breakthroughs in core technologies as well as their industrial application. With an even more vigorous spirit, we will propel our enterprise toward transformation and upgrading toward high-end, intelligent, and green operations, thereby contributing more wisdom and strength to the sustained and healthy development of China’s oil, gas, and mineral exploration industry.

Executive Producer | Zhang Guangda
Reviewed by | Zou Zhongping
Editor-in-charge | Zhou Huiying
Text | Yang Yuning
Editor | Wen Han