The French government has selected geoscience technology services company CGG as a technical partner to support the LiMongolia project, a critical mineral exploration initiative in Mongolia.
A joint initiative by the National Geological Survey of Mongolia (NGS) and the French geological survey BRGM, the LiMongolia project will assess the regional prospectivity of Mongolia for critical minerals, specifically uranium and lithium.
The geological insight from the project will serve as a foundation for future strategic decision-making by local and global stakeholders, including mining companies, international financing agencies and geological surveys.
CGG’s mineral exploration geologists will implement their proprietary integrated source-to-sink evaluation workflows as part of an initial six-month pilot project starting in the first half of this year.
Leveraging advanced machine learning-driven satellite imagery, the geologists will create a mineral systems-driven lithium prospectivity model of a salar-type basin in central Mongolia.
According to CGG, the primary focus will be the continued development of technology-driven solutions to increase exploration efficiency.
The company will also use advanced data science and artificial intelligence (AI) tools to make sure that current and historic data is utilised to its full potential for improved exploration targeting.
CGG Geoscience executive vice president Peter Whiting said: “With its rich mining heritage and vast untapped mineral potential, Mongolia is a high-potential region for frontier exploration that will aid the search for critical minerals to support the energy transition.
“Our participation in this exciting lithium mapping project follows on from the success of our South American salar studies and confirms our standing as a world-class regional prospectivity evaluation partner whose capabilities are valued by the NGS and the BRGM.”
