Synthesizing Time-Domain Electromagnetic Data for Graphitic Fault Zones and Associated Uranium Deposits in the Athabasca Basin, Canada

摘要

Uranium exploration in the Athabasca Basin, Canada, has been compared to finding a needle in a haystack as the typical targets are thin, near-vertical graphitic faults buried under thick sedimentary cover. A method of using many three-dimensional (3D) frequency-domain electromagnetic (EM) forward responses, computed over a wide range of frequencies, to construct an accurate 3D time-domain forward response is presented. The application of 3D forward modeling using unstructured tetrahedral meshes provides a more precise means of replicating EM responses of targets like those in the Athabasca Basin with complicated, challenging geometries. Results for synthetic and real-world scenarios demonstrate the accuracy of the approach as well as current developments in modeling uranium related conductors in 3D.