Sunday, 26 April, 2026
Energy & Mining Exploration Module
The Exploration module assists field geochemists in the rapid interpretation of isotopic signatures. From just a few measured values, it identifies the maturity stage of organic matter, evaluates distality to hydrothermal sources, and estimates critical metal potential, while automatically comparing your data against global reference deposits.
Licensing and Options
Use of this module requires an active IsoFind Pro license, supplemented by the Energy & Mining option.
If you see the message Energy & Mining Option Required in the results panel, it means your current license does not cover the exploration algorithms. Please contact support to activate the extension on your workstation.
Accessing the Module
IsoFind Sidebar
→
Exploration
Figure 1: Overview of the Exploration interface. Configuration panel (left), thematic tabs (center), results panel (right).
Interface Structure
| Zone | Role |
|---|---|
| Configuration Panel | Input for isotopic measurements, kerogen type, and δ34S reference region. Updates in real-time. |
| Central Zone - 4 Tabs | Organic Maturity, Distality Vectors, Critical Metals, Drilling Log. |
| Results Panel | Global score, maturity datasheet, color-coded deposit matches, and fractionation factors at estimated Tmax. |
Supported Isotopic Systems
The module utilizes 9 isotopic systems, including 7 stable light systems and 3 radiogenic Pb ratios:
| Domain | System | Interface | DB/API ID | Precision | Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural Gas | Carbon-13 | δ¹³C | delta13C | ± 0.1 ‰ | V-PDB |
| Deuterium | δD | deltaD | ± 1.0 ‰ | V-SMOW | |
| Critical Metals | Lithium-7 | δ⁷Li | delta7Li | ± 0.2 ‰ | L-SVEC |
| Boron-11 | δ¹¹B | delta11B | ± 0.2 ‰ | NIST-951 | |
| Hydrothermal | Sulfur-34 | δ³⁴S | delta34S | ± 0.2 ‰ | V-CDT |
| Oxygen-18 | δ¹⁸O | delta18O | ± 0.1 ‰ | V-SMOW | |
| Radiogenic | Lead-206 | ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb | pb206_204 | ± 0.05 % | NIST-981 |
| Lead-207 | ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb | pb207_204 | |||
| Lead-208 | ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb | pb208_204 |
The Four Sub-Modules
- Organic Maturity: δ13C CH₄, δD CH₄, and Ro. Identifies maturity stages (18 stages covered for types I, II, IIS, III, IV) and the generation window.
- Hydrothermal Distality: δ34S and isotopic Pb. Measures deviation from regional baseline (13 regions with documented δ34S) and identifies the crustal Pb fraction using SK75 and ZD81 models.
- Critical Metals & Lithium: δ7Li, [Li], and δ11B. Evaluates potential for salar, pegmatite, or geothermal brine types by comparison to 25 named deposits in the database.
- Drilling Log: CSV import for core profiles. Detects vertical isotopic anomalies (> 2σ between consecutive points).
You can start with a single isotopic system and progressively enrich your analysis. The global score and matches refine with each added measurement. If only Pb ratios are entered, only the distality sub-module will be active, which is perfectly valid and useful.
Typical Workflow
- Enter available values in the Configuration Panel.
- Check the thematic charts for an initial visual reading; they recalculate immediately in the browser.
- Click Update Analysis to query the reference database on the server side.
- Review the Results Panel: global score, maturity stage, and best deposit matches.
- The session is automatically saved to workflows.db upon each successful analysis.