Inspiration

As a country we have been an amazing global success. Increasing costs and diminishing grades have meant our resource sector cannot be sustained. Instead, our companies are applying the same exploration template overseas in search of richer soils. As the current approach to exploration becomes uneconomic to apply we desperately need disruptive technology to turn this around. 

In spite our capability, we are at technological breaking point. As Earth scientists we can’t keep operating in our silos and continue doing the same thing and expect results.

When looking at what we produce; standalone unconstrained geophysical inversions yielding smooth, uncertain blobs. It is rare to see structural or petrophysical measurements as constraint, let alone geochemistry. This is criminal.

“Surely, as an industry, we can do better than producing DXF files of blobs.”

 

The Journey Begins

In response,  I started developing Omnium in 2014 with the aim of integrating these constraints to create an algorithm that solves for the elusive ‘unified Earth’.

I thought the answer to this was in the multiphysics space, but this is not the case. Often, petrophysical properties are not linked; structurally, velocity does not have to conform to density or magnetic susceptibility. The minerals, the fluid, and the structures do conform to the petrophysics.

As Earth scientists, we need to branch out, embrace and integrate the strengths of other fields: geochemistry, thermodynamics, metamorphic petrology and structural geology.

 

Omnium

I am proud to present Omnium, which produces stunning visuals whilst remaining a true model of the subsurface geology, measured geophysics, and geochemistry.

A real digital twin.

There are assumptions, like all predictive technologies, but these are based on natural laws which can easily provide the level uncertainty. AI has a role to play in select circumstances, but data and subsurface prediction of properties is not one of them. We should persevere with a more robust method since the natural process can be modelled numerically.

 

The Future

Using our digital unified Earth technology, we have plans to speed up exploration. From chips to an updated unified model in hours, not months.

We should be able to make decisions faster than a drill travelling at 4 inches a minute.

 

Collect ➡️ Predict ➡️ Improve ➡️ Decide

One Continuous Exploration Loop.
Real time exploration decision making.