Emerging downhole sensing technologies for mineral exploration.
- 1Critical Minerals Challenge Centre, Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE UK.
- 2Geolorn Limited, Stirling, FK8 1NE Scotland, UK.
Abstract
Recent advancements in spectroscopic, imaging, and geophysical sensors present new opportunities to gather geological information directly during drilling, potentially reducing reliance on physical core samples. These technologies have the potential to reduce drilling costs, shorten exploration timelines, and improve decision-making in early-stage mineral exploration. This review evaluates the principles, capabilities, and limitations of emerging sensing technologies applied to mineral exploration, including hyperspectral imaging, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), gamma-ray spectrometry (GRS), borehole radar (GPR), borehole transient electromagnetic method (BTEM), muon tomography, and seismic-while-drilling (SWD). Key metrics considered include detection limits, spatial resolution, and technology readiness level. Although many of these tools are well established, their integration into drilling systems is constrained by the challenging operating conditions, including narrow borehole dimensions, high vibration, high temperatures and difficulties in maintaining reliable telemetry. By comparing the technological maturity, environmental resilience, and engineering requirements of these sensors, this review identifies GRS, and SWD as having strong potential for near-term deployment during drilling, while XRF, GPR and BTEM are likely to have a transformative impact in the longer term. Realising the full potential of downhole sensing will require substantive advances and investment in sensor miniaturization, ruggedisation for high-pressure and high-temperature environments, along with the development of reliable telemetry systems for real-time data transmission. Additionally large-scale field demonstrations will also be critical for validating system performance and enabling broader industry adoption. These advancements have the potential to transform mineral exploration by improving targeting efficiency, reducing geological uncertainty, and accelerating the transition from discovery to resource development.
Related
- Recent Advances and Future Perspectives of AI-Based Mineral Exploration: A Review of Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Geologically Informed Approaches
- Joint 3D resistivity inversion of ground-based MT and CSEM data to improve resolution for deep mineral exploration
- Applications and prospects of geophysical exploration technologies in large-scale oil and gas engineering construction
- Artificial intelligence-enabled monitoring of pesticide contamination in agricultural water systems: a comprehensive review of intelligent sensing technologies for water quality surveillance and environmental risk assessment
- Controversy and consensus: common ground and best practices for life cycle assessment of emerging technologies
BibTeX
@article{senjoba2026emerging,
title = {{Emerging downhole sensing technologies for mineral exploration.}},
author = {Lesego Senjoba and Matthew Eyre and Rich Crane and Matthew Tonkins and Frances Wall and Kevin Mallin},
journal = {Discover minerals},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1007/s44346-026-00023-w},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42999660},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Emerging downhole sensing technologies for mineral exploration.
AU - Lesego Senjoba
AU - Matthew Eyre
AU - Rich Crane
AU - Matthew Tonkins
AU - Frances Wall
AU - Kevin Mallin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/06
JO - Discover minerals
DO - 10.1007/s44346-026-00023-w
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42999660
AB - Recent advancements in spectroscopic, imaging, and geophysical sensors present new opportunities to gather geological information directly during drilling, potentially reducing reliance on physical core samples. These technologies have the potential to reduce drilling costs, shorten exploration timelines, and improve decision-making in early-stage mineral exploration. This review evaluates the principles, capabilities, and limitations of emerging sensing technologies applied to mineral exploration, including hyperspectral imaging, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), gamma-ray spectrometry (GRS), borehole radar (GPR), borehole transient electromagnetic method (BTEM), muon tomography, and seismic-while-drilling (SWD). Key metrics considered include detection limits, spatial resolution, and technology readiness level. Although many of these tools are well established, their integration into drilling systems is constrained by the challenging operating conditions, including narrow borehole dimensions, high vibration, high temperatures and difficulties in maintaining reliable telemetry. By comparing the technological maturity, environmental resilience, and engineering requirements of these sensors, this review identifies GRS, and SWD as having strong potential for near-term deployment during drilling, while XRF, GPR and BTEM are likely to have a transformative impact in the longer term. Realising the full potential of downhole sensing will require substantive advances and investment in sensor miniaturization, ruggedisation for high-pressure and high-temperature environments, along with the development of reliable telemetry systems for real-time data transmission. Additionally large-scale field demonstrations will also be critical for validating system performance and enabling broader industry adoption. These advancements have the potential to transform mineral exploration by improving targeting efficiency, reducing geological uncertainty, and accelerating the transition from discovery to resource development.
SN - 3004-9369
ER -