A specialized application for a helicopter-borne magnetometer system

Abstract

Stockdale Prospecting is the Australian exploration division of the De Beers Group, and as such the company's only function is to explore for economic diamond occurrences. The role of the magnetic method in this search is centred on the observation that the two known primary diamond source rocks, kimberlite and lamproite, contain varying amounts of magnetite as an accessory mineral. Given a suitable host rock therefore, a susceptibility contrast may exist which will lead to a magnetic field anomaly (Macnae 1979; Jenke 1983). A helicopter-borne magnetometer system has been developed for rapid and cost effective detailed evaluation of these anomalies.