Geologists have found a way to use the same theories, backed by troves of big data and mapping, to uncover previously unknown locations of valuable minerals. Pictured is an open pit at the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in Mongolia.
Striking gold used to be a matter of luck, but tools used to track criminals, diseases and social networks could soon uncover vast troves of valuable minerals, researchers said Tuesday.
Whether in gold or gemstones, bricks or steel, laptops or iPhones, or the soil in which we grow crops, minerals form the basis of the world’s material wealth.
