PACIFIC EXPECTED IMPACT
PACIFIC: WHAT FOR?
The PACIFIC project intends to transfer the fruits of cutting-edge scientific research to industry and to develop new mineral exploration methods.
This will thus enhance the competitiveness of the European mineral exploration industry, contribute to the discovery of new European ore deposits and decrease the dependence of European industry on imported mineral products.
PACIFIC is expected to impact at different levels:
Planning with the pilot, Marathon test site.
Helicopter carrying nodes, Marathon test site.
Environmental impact
PACIFIC develops an innovative technology that has the potential to decrease the environmental footprint of mineral exploration.
The passive seismic method to be developed by PACIFIC has two significant advantages over competing techniques:
1) it uses ambient, natural seismic noise and requires no active source;
2) it employs wireless nodes to collect the seismic signals.
Bear in the surroundings of Marathon test site in Canada.
Industrial impact
From an industrial perspective, the PACIFIC technique will have a cost advantage.
A typical conventional seismic survey costs about 300k€, of which a third is for the active source, with additional costs for road construction and related logistics. A comparable passive seismic survey would cost less than a third of this amount.
Economic impact
Europe currently imports almost all the metals it consumes. The total annual cost of these imports is estimated to be about 40 billion €. Only a very small fraction of global expenditure on mineral exploration is invested in Europe.
The successful deployment of PACIFIC could have a significant impact on the economics of mineral exploration.
Dan Hollis, Nick Arndt in discussion with a Hi-Seis geophysicist at the Prospector and Developers Assocation of Canada meeting in Toronto (2018).
Societal impact, risk perception and communication
The results from the public perception surveys will be used to inform how government, industry and academic experts provide information to the public. Understanding how individuals assimilate information and make decisions will improve how we communicate with the public.
This will in turn lead to more informed decisions and greater exclusion of false or misleading information.
