Emerging Trends in Geological and Mineral Exploration
A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Earth Sciences".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2026
Special Issue Editors
Interests: metallogenic prediction; mineral prospectivity mapping; 3D modeling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: mineral resource exploration; remote sensing and gis applications; lunar geological research; geological big data
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
(1) Introduction, including scientific background and highlighting the importance of this research area.
We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue, "Emerging Trends in Geological and Mineral Exploration." It aims to explore cutting-edge advancements in geological and mineral exploration, focusing on how big data and 3D modeling techniques are reshaping mineral exploration methods. As the demand for minerals grows, innovative approaches in geospatial analysis, predictive modeling, and data integration are essential for more efficient and sustainable resource discovery. The use of large-scale geological datasets and advanced computational techniques has revolutionized the way mineral deposits are identified and predicted, opening new frontiers in exploration.
(2) Suggested themes and article types for submissions
This Special Issue welcomes original research articles and reviews. Topics of interest may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- The role of big data in mineral exploration and predictive modeling.
- 3D geological modeling and its applications in mineral prediction.
- The integration of geophysical, geochemical, and geological data for resource estimation.
- Machine learning and AI techniques in exploration.
- studies on successful applications of big data and 3D models in mineral exploration.
We look forward to receiving your contributions to this rapidly evolving field.
Prof. Dr. Keyan Xiao
Prof. Dr. Jianping Chen
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- big data
- 3D geological modeling
- mineral exploration
- predictive modeling
- machine learning
- sustainable mining
- resource discovery
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