OIL, GAS, MINING
GIS With a Mission
Mineral exploration project updates Mongolia's
entire mapping data base
By Peter Goodwin

The ability to quickly assess and make a recommendation on mineral development opportunities in Mongolia is leading two companies into the world of high-tech exploits best suited to an Indiana Jones adventure sequel.
    In a corporate move that combines remote sensing and geographic information system technologies with the high-risk business of natural resource exploration, financier Mohamed Al Fayed, internationally famous for his ownership of Harrods department store in London and the Paris Ritz Hotel, was impressed by what he saw on a television broadcast about new advancements in airborne and satellite technology applications. He turned his understanding of the problems confronting the mineral exploration industry into a vision. The genesis of this is a highly specialized team that can use the newest and best remote sensing technology and integrate the imagery with existing knowledge of mineral exploration via an integration with GIS technology.
    Through an investigation of who was doing the best advanced applications work, how they were using the remote sensing/GIS technology, and what was needed to become a serious player, Fayed's American legal counsel, Douglas Marvin, contacted Donn Walklet, formerly with Lockheed Martin's Commercial Remote Sensing System. Based on a business plan that Walklet had developed, The MapFactory, Inc., was formed to focus on products and services that are custom built for business. To successfully achieve Fayed's challenging vision, the company hired six Chevron remote sensing/GIS employees and built a robust technological base that supports natural resource exploration with leading-edge remote sensing/GIS solutions.
    Within a month, Fayed's second company, Harrods Natural Resources, Inc. (HNRI), was formed with the mission to develop integrated mineral and energy opportunities worldwide. Through its strategic alliance with The MapFactory, Inc., HNRI is able to quickly evaluate and act on mineral exploration opportunities throughout the world. Walklet observed, "The alliance with Mr. Al Fayed and Harrods Natural Resources is an extraordinary opportunity for us to demonstrate the power of digital mapping technology. The Harrods' name is associated worldwide with quality of product and service, and we anticipate bringing digital mapping to an unparalleled level of excellence as a result of this collaboration."
    Two months after the founding of The MapFactory, Inc., Fayed had HNRI geologist Peter Goodwin attend a natural resources investors conference sponsored by the World Bank in Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia. Following that conference, the commitment was made that led directly to the decision to create a countrywide GIS/remote sensing investigation. What makes this quick commitment so extraordinary is that Mongolia is the world's 10th largest nation in terms of geographical area.
    The first step in the country-wide evaluation was to convert tens of pages of mineral tables in Russian, Mongolian, German and English, hand-drafted Mongolian maps, and maps from the former USSR, East Germany and other Eastern Block countries to a common geographic projection and scale. While some of the Russian, Mongolian, and East German maps were in the known Guass Kruger projection, Kraskowski Datum, many were hand drawn or drafted in unrecorded projections.
    The MapFactory decided the countrywide GIS would best be assembled in WGS84, UTM Zone 47. Once processed, the extensive Landsat TM data were georeferenced for inclusion into the growing GIS regional database. Normally Landsat TM data are not used to map at scales larger than 1:100,000, but the high-altitude desert conditions of Mongolia supported 1:50,000 scale mapping.

50+ GIS Layers and 2 Million Acres
Following the GIS tenant that new information content is created when multiple layers are combined, a custom built, high-resolution, multi-layer product was created. From an entire country focus, regions were identified for more in-depth study. Next sub-regions were defined. Finally, two million acres were chosen for license block application. By February of this year, the first of the applications had been approved by the Mongolian Government.
    The Mongolian exploration database to date has surpassed 50 GIS layers. The database includes an extensive collection of Landsat TM imagery enhanced for hydrothermal alteration and structural mapping. All the imagery, maps, and tabular data are integrated into a common datum and projection, and can be queried at consistent scales. As additional data are acquired, including field mapping, rock sampling and more remote sensing work, a new layer is added to the GIS. Aerial photography may subsequently be used to provide an environmental baseline. This information building process will continue in an iterative fashion throughout the duration of the exploration process.

Indiana Jones and GIS
Because of the extensive information available at his fingertips via the image, map and tabular database contained within the GIS, Keith Laskowski, vice president of Harrod's Natural Resources, Inc., was able to quickly negotiate for acreage. After successful negotiations, Laskowski organized a field survey of the leases. The field survey was used to determine the correlation between the "remote" raster and vector GIS analyses made by The MapFactory team in Northern California and the field observations and rock samples collected by an on-site geologist.
    Using the combination of newly created and printed GIS image maps and GPS, and with the successful completion of obtaining the leases behind him, Laskowski was able to direct his Mongolian driver around the huge leases to predefined target areas. The two leases are in such a remote area of Mongolia that "even the Mongolians don't go there." The nearest civilization to each of the leases are very small, mountain villages.
    The closer of the two leases, Bor Hairhan (Brown Mountain) can be reached on the ground after 22 hours of driving from Ulaan Bataar. Laskowski's tenuous communications link via satellite telephone calls from Bor Hairhan in subzero temperatures and 40 mile per hour winds confirmed that having imagery, maps and GPS loaded into a GIS in a remote location is essential for safety and cost-effective field work.
    Field observations thus far indicate an excellent correlation between the targets defined using the advanced GIS/remote sensing approach and what a very dedicated field geologist team might have discovered if they had the time and the resources to comb the entire million acres by foot.
    The next steps are to begin investing in the Mongolian economy. Airstrips might need to be constructed, fuel caches established, roads improved or created, supply lines established and local tradesmen and laborers hired. With the right investment in infrastructure, Laskowski will be able to launch a summer field program. The field season is brief in Mongolia; with luck it lasts from early June through mid September. This year the field crews will collect stream, soil, and rock samples while noting the locations of each collection with their GPS units. This data will provide additional information layers within the GIS that in turn will help HNRI reduce the extent of the huge licenses into smaller, more manageable exploration targets.
    Long-term, Fayed wants to invest in a nation's people through the exploration and development of that nation's natural resources, while demonstrating environmental awareness and reclamation at the completion of the development cycle. A project of this nature could take as long as 20 years from initial exploration to final reclamation. The GIS will be a part of the effort for the entire time. By utilizing GIS at the start of this project, throughout the duration, and well into the conclusion, Fayed, Harrods Natural Resources, Inc., and The MapFactory, Inc. have a GIS both with a mission and with a heart.

About the Author:
Peter Goodwin is regional manager, project development for The Map Factory. In his current position, Goodwin works full time with Harrods Natural Resources, Inc., minerals division. Prior to joining The Map Factory in 1997, Goodwin worked for Chevron Overseas Petroleum, Inc. doing filed geologic exploration and extensive remote sensing and GIS work. He may be reached at [email protected] or 925-280-8765.

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