The 2026 KEGS Symposium recordings are available to KEGS members in the symposium archives section.

The 2025 KEGS Symposium recordings are available to the public.

The latest version of Mineral Exploration Trends and Developments has been posted and available for download.

ETD - Advanced in Geophysical Technology

April KEGS Talks

Details of the KEGS talk happening this month.

Title: Semi-Airborne EM is Transforming Resource Exploration
Speaker: Johannes Stoll, Mobile Geophysical Technologies GmbH
Date: Tuesday, April 14th at 4PM Eastern
Location: Online. Register for the virtual session below.




Abstract:  

Airborne and ground electromagnetic methods have been utilized to explore for minerals, groundwater, and other extractable resources for more than six decades.  Today, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) configured with a lightweight EM sensor is deployed reducing both time and cost of the data collection.  When a ground-based transmitter is utilized, the depth of exploration is increased along with resolution. The net result is a high-definition volumetric map of variations in the surface electrical conductivity. Advances in 3D numerical modeling, data analytics, combined with high-definition geophysical imaging data and AI-concepts have the potential to transform the exploration process from anomaly detection to defining, in significant detail, the geology and geological processes.

Semi-airborne electromagnetics (SAEM) employs a powerful, transmitter to inject electrical current into the subsurface. A drone configured with a lightweight EM receiver is deployed to autonomously map the secondary magnetic field within the area of investigation. SAEM successfully combines the greater depth of investigation achievable with ground-based EM methods with the increased speed of data collection characteristic of airborne geophysical mapping and the reduced per data point cost obtainable with UAVs. Moreover, the higher quality data along with increased spatial data density directly translates to improved, more accurate 3D models.

In this presentation I will show the results of a SAEM survey in a known porphyry copper mining area and a groundwater survey on a volcanic island. Finally, I will discuss concepts to use drone EM to establish 3D array Electromagnetics aiming to enhance the resolution of the subsurface.

Bio
Johannes B. Stoll, PhD., is the founder and CEO of Mobile Geophysical Technologies GmbH, a drone geophysical service company. Educated in physics and electrochemistry, during his 25 year career in exploration geophysics, he has held numerous positions in the Oil & Gas industry and research institutions.

profession.
 

Upcoming KEGS Talks

KEGS Ottawa

Hi KEGS Ottawa

If you have suggestions for a presenter for May, please get back to me.

For those who wish to join our meeting remotely this month, the Teams meeting link can be found below.

Note: In order to enter Harrison Hall, you will have to show some Canadian identification: a passport, permanent resident card, driver license, or health card. If you are a foreign student and have a residency visa, that should work too. Send me an email if you are not Canadian and have some questions about whether your identification will work. The reason for this extra complication is that Harrison Hall is inside the controlled area. Checking everyone's id documents might take time - please try to get on site with some time to spare for the extra security procedure. 

April Presentation

Date: Wednesday April 15 at 4:30pm

Location: GSC, Harrison Hall, Room 177, 601 Booth St., Ottawa

Title: “Improved Workflow for UAV-Gamma Ray Spectrometry: A 3D Spatial Inversion Approach”

Speaker:  Neeraj Nainwal,  Queens University

Bio: Neeraj Nainwal is a final-year PhD candidate at Queen’s University, Canada, supervised by Dr. Alexander Braun. His research focuses on improving UAV-borne radiometric survey workflows and combining radiometric and magnetic data using machine learning to improve mineral targeting. He completed his Master’s degree at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur in 2020, where he worked on groundwater contamination and transport modeling using electrical resistivity methods. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Geoscience Engineering from the University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, India, in 2017. He also has over a year of experience working in the oil and gas industry before returning to academia. His main interests include numerical modeling, inverse theory, and improving survey design to make geophysical studies more efficient and cost-effective. Besides his PhD, he provides consulting support for UAVborne radiometric and magnetic surveys, focusing on optimized survey planning and data 
processing. After completing his PhD, he plans to continue working in this area and develop practical solutions to reduce uncertainty in field data. 

Abstract: Advances in sensor miniaturization and UAV platforms have made gamma-ray spectrometry (GRS) a practical tool for high-resolution radiometric mapping. Unlike traditional helicopter surveys that use large detectors at higher altitudes, UAV surveys operate much closer to the ground with smaller detector systems. This enables more detailed measurements but also makes the observations more sensitive to terrain variations, detector footprint, and the three-dimensional geometry between the source and detector. Most radiometric processing workflows still used today were designed for higher-altitude helicopter surveys and do not explicitly account for these effects. In this study, we evaluate a terrain-aware spatial inversion approach for processing UAV-borne GRS data and compare the results with conventional processing methods. The method accounts for survey geometry, terrain effects, and the overlap of detector footprints between neighbouring measurements. To examine how these factors influence the measurements, we performed a series of synthetic sensitivity tests using simulated survey conditions. We then applied the method to two UAV radiometric datasets collected in Madison County, Montana, and Arizona. The synthetic experiments show that terrain geometry can significantly influence measured gamma-ray signals and should not be ignored during processing. Results from the field datasets indicate that conventional processing produces maps that generally follow the local geology but may contain artefacts related to footprint overlap and terrain effects. In contrast, the inversion approach produces more spatially continuous anomalies and reduces flight-line artefacts while remaining consistent with geological patterns. These results suggest that the proposed approach can improve the interpretation of modern low-altitude UAV-borne radiometric surveys Gorda Ridge.

Upcoming KEGS Ottawa Presentations

• None at this point

• any upcoming KEGS Ottawa presentations
• if you know anyone who might be interested in presenting to our KEGS Ottawa group
• if you know anyone who should be included on the KEGS Ottawa email group
• if you are on the KEGS email group and would like to unsubscribe from it

Luise Sander
Self proclaimed KEGS Ottawa coordinator

PGO's 2026 Virtual Symposium

April 7, 9, 14, 16, 2026

12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET

This four-session virtual event will bring together speakers from across the geoscience community to discuss topics shaping professional geoscience practice today.

Attention PGO Student Members!
This Symposium is free for you. To register, please email info@pgo.ca with your name, PGO student membership number, and the session(s) you wish to attend.

Early bird deadline is March 31, 2026. Register early!

Symposium Sessions

• April 7: Session A | Understanding the Role of a QP Under NI 43-101
• April 9: Session B | Beyond the Surface: Trends and Realities in Complaints
• April 14: Session C | Independent Professional Judgement in the Public Interest
• April 16: Session D | Strengthening the Geoscience Workforce Across Generations

 Click on the link for more information: https://www.pgo.ca/events/2026-Annual-Symposium-Main

EMIW 2026

KEGS - Canadian Exploration Geophysical Society

KEGS February Bulletin

** KEGS February Talk

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Details of the KEGS talk happening this month.

Title: Passive seismic methods and how they can be used for mineral exploration

Speaker: Omid Bagherpur (BHP)

Date: Tuesday, February 13 at 4:00 PM

Location: University of Toronto, Department of Earth Sciences, Room ES2093 (22 Ursula Franklin Street) and online. Register for the virtual session below:

https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/855501847146237022

Abstract:

Passive seismic imaging methods date back to the 1970s with the introduction of local earthquake tomography method. Since then, many new methods have been developed that exploit various natural source seismic phases to extract 3D velocity structure of the subsurface. Thanks to advancements in passive seismology datasets and methodologies, we now know much more than ever about the Earth interior, from the shallow surface to the core. Although the majority of the seismic tomography techniques are mainly used for studying deep solid earth interior, more recently developed surface wave tomography techniques have proved to be highly effective in imaging the top crustal and uppermost mantle structure at a desirable resolution to be used throughout the mineral exploration industry. Particularly, the ambient seismic noise tomography (ANT) technique can provide detailed images of the velocity structure at scales from continents to deposit scale. In this presentation, we review the history and

minimum fundamentals of the passive seismic methods including the ANT method, and then we go through some examples that passive seismic methods have been highly successful across the industry. These examples include several cases where passive seismic methods have significantly improved our current understanding of mineral system frameworks at BHP.

Bio:

Mr. Omid Bagherpur is a Principal Geophysicist at BHP Toronto and has been working with the Metals Exploration team since 2022. He has more than a decade of geophysical experience and has learned and practised various exploration geophysical methods, including passive structural seismology, throughout his PhD and postdoctoral studies, as well as 2D and 3D modeling and analyses of Magnetotellurics datasets In his M.Sc. studies. Omid also has expertise in potential field geophysics, and direct current resistivity and induced polarization methods.

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** Upcoming KEGS Talks and Events

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KEGS is currently looking for speakers for the Spring 2024 meetings. If you are interested to speak at a KEGS monthly talk, please contact any of the Executive.

Upcoming talks and events:

* March Events - 2 March: KEGS PDAC Symposium - Registration is open. Further info here (https://www.kegsonline.org/KEGS-2024-Symposium) .

Find out about more geoscientific events in GTA Geoscience calendar here (https://www.kegsonline.org/GTA-Geoscience-Events) .

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** KEGS PDAC Symposium 2024 - Registration

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The KEGS Symposium is back, in person, on March 2nd, 2024 - the Saturday preceding the 2024 Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention in Toronto, Canada. The Symposium will feature a full day of talks on the topics listed below. A reception will follow the days talks.

Main topics:

* Geophysical Case Studies for Mineral Exploration Under Cover, or at Depth (500m or more)

* Use of Legacy Geophysical Data in Mineral Exploration

* Mineral Systems Analysis using Geophysics

* New Developments (Data Acquisition, Processing, and Interpretation)

* Petrophysical or Geological Data Integration with Geophysics

When: Saturday, March 2, 2024

Breakfast: 8:00 – 9:00

Symposium: 9:00 – 16:50 ​

Reception: 16:50 – 18:00 ​

Where: InterContinental Hotel, 225 Front St W, Toronto, ON M5V 2X3, Ballroom B.

Cost:

* $400.00 CAD for Members

* $450.00 CAD for Non-Members

* $200.00 CAD for Retiree (must be a KEGS member)

* $50.00 CAD for Students

Registration includes breakfast, coffee, lunch and one drink ticket at the reception.

Further information on the KEGS website (https://www.kegsonline.org/KEGS-2024-Symposium) .

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** KEGS Foundation

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All students are encouraged to attend the KEGS Symposium on March 2 and participate in the PDAC Convention from March 3 - 6, 2024. For more details on the convention's student programs and networking, see https://www.pdac.ca/convention/programming/Student-Early-Career-Program

Students who were awarded KEGS Foundation scholarships for 2023-24 can attend the KEGS Symposium at no cost, and have their participation at PDAC subsidized, through the travel bursary program. Contact sreford@kegsfoundation.org (mailto:sreford@kegsfoundation.org) for information

The scholarship application window for the 2024-25 academic year will soon open. Stay tuned for more details and the application form.

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** KEGS Ottawa

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February Talk

Title: Satellite-derived gravity data: from ocean wide bathymetric mapping to crustal scale modelling

Speaker: Chris Galley, Post Doc University of Ottawa and Memorial University

Date: Monday, February 19 at 4:30 PM

Location: GSC, Harrison Hall, Room 177, 601 Booth St., Ottawa

Note: In order to enter Harrison Hall, you will have to show some Canadian identification: a passport, permanent resident card, driver license, or health card. If you are a foreign student and have a residency visa, that should work too. Send me an email if you are not Canadian and have some questions about whether your identification will work. The reason for this extra complication is that Harrison Hall is inside the controlled area. Checking everyone's id documents might take time - please try to get on site with some time to spare for the extra security procedure.

Abstract:

Most of our planet is covered in water, with only 20% of its bathymetric surface having been measured through shipborne acoustic methods (with resolutions of 20-100m). This leaves us to rely on a satellite-derived bathymetric model of the seafloor to fill in the remaining 80%, which boasts a resolution of 1-2 km. But how can a satellite, positioned approximately 800 km above Earth's surface, collect data that can be modelled at that resolution? This talk will outline how satellite altimetry data is collected, and what steps have been taken to turn the altimetry data into free-air anomaly data that in turn is used to produce a bathymetric surface. However, the modelling of this gravity data doesn’t need to stop at the seafloor. Three-dimensional inversion modelling allows us to study petrological changes across the seafloor as well as resolving the depth of the Moho, the boundary between the lithospheric mantle and the crust. The talk will conclude with a case study of the Lau Basin, an

actively forming back-arc basin north of New Zealand. The study’s gravity inversion modelling revealed changes in crustal composition and growth rates throughout the basin and along the volcanic arc.

Bio:

Chris Galley is a geophysicist whose work has focused on the study of ancient and modern hydrothermal systems and their associated mineralization. Through the modelling of magnetic data, he has resolved the geometry of subseafloor hydrothermal convective systems and their near surface alteration and is presently modelling the structure of sediment hosted seafloor massive sulfide deposits off the East coast of the USA. His present studies also include crustal thickness modelling of the Lau Basin (a modern back-arc basin) and the Abitibi Greenstone Belt (an ancient back-arc basin) through gravity data inversion to determine the regional controls on volcanogenic massive sulfide mineralization. Chris presently holds postdoctoral positions at the University of Ottawa and Memorial University of Newfoundland. He received his PhD in Geophysics from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2022, and his BSc. in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Victoria in 2015.

February Canal Skate

We generally try to go for a KEGS Ottawa canal skate after our February meeting, of course 100% dependant on if the canal is open for skating. Please respond to Luise Sander if you think you might like to join us on the canal after the presentation. The option of going to the pub is always there too.

Upcoming KEGS Ottawa Presentations

* Monday, March 18: Dennis Gamble, Notra Inc.,"UXO case history: From initial site assessment of the former Utopia, NB army base (370 km2) using a mineral exploration approach to develop an Unexploded Ordnance Site Model(SUM)"

* Monday, April 15: Bob Grasty, GammaBob, “Experience building a worldwide network of calibration pads for ground and airborne gamma ray surveying"

Please contact Luise Sander, SGL, luise@sgl.com (mailto:luise@sgl.com) , (613) 521 9626 for:

* any upcoming KEGS Ottawa presentations

* if you know anyone who might be interested in presenting to our KEGS Ottawa group

* if you know anyone who should be included on the KEGS Ottawa email group

* if you are on the KEGS email group and would like to unsubscribe from it

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** J. Tuzo Wilson Lecture

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Title: Earthquake Early Warning

Speaker: Prof. Richard Allen, University of California, Berkeley

Date: Tuesday, February 27 at 7:30 - 9:00 PM

Location: Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles Street West, Toronto

Prof. Richard Allen from University of California, Berkeley will be speaking on the subject of Earthquake Early Warning systems and may also share some of the stories behind MyShake, the popular Earthquake Alert System. For more information: https://rallen.berkeley.edu/

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** Seequent Workshop

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Title:Voxi EM & IP In-Person Workshop

Date: Thursday, March 7 at 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM

Location: Seequent Toronto Office, 207 Queens Quay W #810

This course uses hands-on activities to demonstrate key considerations for data preparation, testing acquisition hypotheses with forward modelling, auxiliary parameters for inversion setup, best practices for inversion modelling, and finally exploring the inversion solution space. Participants will have the opportunity to create models during and after the workshop using VOXI TDEM and VOXI IP and Resistivity Modelling.

https://events.seequent.com/voxiemandipworkshop-inperson-toronto

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** SEG Mining and Mineral Exploration Committee

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SEGMIN CHANGES

Earlier this fall, there were security concerns around the SEGMIN list server. Sadly, the list server is not an up-to-date modern way of communication and we have to make a change. We will be moving to an online community through Seequent that has been tested and behaves in a similar manner as the current list server, with some additional features. We will further discuss this change at the RoundUp meeting and tour the new platform. I know many like the emails that come in, and that feature will still be available (whether you like an email for each post, a weekly digest, etc). We expect the change to occur sometime early 2024.

IMAGE24

The call for abstracts will open in January for the IMAGE24 conference in August 2024 in Houston, TX. We have been working on pushing through special sessions and field trips to SEG. More to be shared at the RoundUp meeting.

NEW SEG MME KEY CONTACT

We are looking for a new key technical contact to start in August 2024 at the 2024 IMAGE meeting. Jiajia Sun will become the new SEG MME chair, with Dan Hollis moving into the vice-chair position. Please reach out to Sarah Devriese, Dan, or Jiajia if you are interested or have questions about the role.

AMBIENT SEISMIC WORKSHOP

SEG & AGU will be holding an Ambient Seismic Field Studies Workshop at Colorado School of Mines on July 31 to August 2, 2024. The general technical program will contain content relevant to mineral exploration and develop, including a session focused on case studies using ambient seismic tomography for mineral exploration. The Call for Abstracts opens in mid-January 2024. More information can be found here (https://seg.org/calendar_events/advances-in-ambient-seismic-field-studies-in-monitoring-resources-hazards-and-global-change/) .

It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Mr. Mario Meir Steiner on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. Mario was a pioneer in Geophysics in Canada, including a past president of the Canadian Exploration Geophysical Society (KEGS) and a colleague and friend to many of us. 

KEGS executives express their deepest condolences to Mario's family and friends.

There will be a visitation at Taylor Funeral Home, 524 Davis Drive in Newmarket, 647-951-4194, on Saturday, November 25, 2023 from 2:00pm – 4:00pm.

https://www.newmarkettoday.ca/obituaries/steiner-mario-meir-7848439

https://www.echovita.com/ca/obituaries/on/newmarket/mario-meir-steiner-17219067

Mark your calendars - KEGS is excited to announce the return of the annual Symposium to be held the Saturday preceding the 2024 Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention in Toronto, Canada. The event is planned to be held in person on March 2nd, 2024.

KEGS invites you to submit an abstract on the following suggested topics: 

• Geophysical Case Studies for Mineral Exploration Under Cover, or at Depth (500m or more)
• Use of Legacy Geophysical Data in Mineral Exploration
• Mineral Systems Analysis using Geophysics
• New Developments (Data Acquisition, Processing, and Interpretation)
• Petrophysical or Geological Data Integration with Geophysics

Explore the future of geoscience with the KEGS-SEG Student Symposium! This groundbreaking event has been designed for geoscience students  providing a unique opportunity to acquire valuable insights into the diverseand dynamic world of mining, mineral exploration, and geophysics.

For more information please click here