The 21st century has seen a transformative shift in global economic, technological, and security priorities, with critical minerals playing a foundational role in these developments. These minerals are the backbone of modern technologies, renewable energy systems, national defense, and economic growth. Critical minerals are often found in geologically complex and/or remote locations, posing significant technical and economic challenges. Investment in advanced exploration techniques, such as geophysical surveys, remote sensing, and data analytics, is vital to identifying new resources and optimizing extraction. Equally important is the ability to identify at early stages of their exploration, those critical mineral prospects exhibiting the potential to become top-tier mineral resources. Early identification shall guide further detailed exploration efforts towards highly ranked prospects where resources shall be dedicated for timely and cost-effective critical mineral resources discovery. A novel AI-driven critical minerals target ranking model shall serve as a valuable technological tool in aiding government agencies such as USGS, mineral exploration companies and geoscience researchers rank the various critical minerals prosects into their potential to be developed into mineral resources using basic geological and economic data.
The benefits of using this mineral exploration target ranking model includes identifying areas with high potential for mineralization, guiding exploration efforts and reducing the need for extensive drilling in less promising locations. The use of this model can significantly reduce costs by optimizing the exploration process, minimizing the need for costly drilling and other on-site activities. By focusing exploration efforts on the most promising areas, the model can help minimize environmental impact and promote more sustainable mineral exploration and mining practices. The model also enables faster and more informed decision-making, hence guiding an efficient mineral exploration strategy.