The Mupetrol Expert System For Classifying World Sedimentary Basins

A microcomputer-based expert system with computer models for classifying world sedimentary basins as an aid to assessing petroleum resources.

Applying expert systems and knowledge acquisition techniques to classifying world sedimentary basins and to diagnosing geologic conditions favorable to the occurrence of energy resources in sedimentary basin analyses.

The Gospel-Hump Wilderness lies in central Idaho. A mineral survey of the 206,500 acre area in Idaho County was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines during 1980 to 1983. The study consisted of new geologic mapping, geochemical sampling of the wilderness and vicinity, geophysical surveying, and investigation of claim blocks in or near the wilderness. Fractures in the roof zone of plutons of the Idaho batholith host gold and silver deposits in mining districts that are contiguous with and included in the Gospel- Hump Wilderness. Subeconomic gold and silver resources are indicated and inferred at the War Eagle and Blue Jay mines (southeastern part of the area). Parts of the eastern half of the wilderness area, which are included in mining districts and which are along the trends of known mineralized fractures, have a high potential for gold and silver resources and moderate potential for copper, lead, zinc, and molybdenum resources in quartz fissure-veins. Other parts of the wilderness that have the same geologic setting have a moderate potential for gold and silver resources in undiscovered quartz veins that lie along the trend of or are parallel to known veins. The western third of the wilderness has a moderate potential for tungsten, silver, lead, copper, nickel, and possibly gold resources in skarn or metasomatic replacement deposits along thrust faults adjacent to carbonate units.

This symposium on 'Computerized Basin Analysis for Prognosis of Energy - and Mineral Resources' was organized by Dr. Jan Harff, chairman ofthe Scientific Committee for the meeting, in Giistrowin what was then East Germany. Sponsors ofthis meeting were the International Union of Geological Sciences' Commission on Storage, Automatic Pro cessing and Retrieval of Geologic Data (COGEODATA), Academy of Sciences of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), National Oil and Gas Trustofthe GDR, and the International Association for Mathematical Geology (IAMG). Main topics of the symposium, held from 19-22 June 1990, were application of computer methods to the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas, coal, and other energy and mineral resources. There were computer demonstrations as well as a one-day field trip to the geothermic heating plant in Waren. The Regional Group for Eastern Europe of COG EO DATA also met during the conference. Fifty-one papers were presented including eight poster sessions by authors from 14 countries. As was to be expected, there was a large percentage of papers from the East Bloc of European countries, especially the GDR, USSR, and the CSSR with a fair representation from the FRG and USA and a smattering from the nine others. Most of the papers were application oriented and related to the mineral industries. There was ample time for exchange of ideas and dissemination of material.