Sam Scher 
Senior Geochemist
Corescan
Sam is the senior geochemist for Corescan, a hyperspectral core imaging service provider based in Perth, Australia. She received her B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Earth and Planetary Sciences with an emphasis in geochemistry and volcanology from McGill University (Montreal, Canada). In the past eight years she has worked in the mineral resource sector as a geochemist, most recently exploring the linkages between geochemistry and mineral spectroscopy, including their integration in 3D-models and big data programs in exploration and mining.
Applying Hyperspectal Core Imaging To See Vms Alteration Zonation In A New Light
Fundamentally, exploration geologists require more detailed documentation of geologic relationships in mineral deposits at all scales, from thin sections to the entire mineral system. Hyperspectral core imaging (HCI) captures mineralogical data at half millimeter pixels continuously over the drillhole scale. This data shows what the alteration of mineral deposits actually looks like by eliminating inconsistent empirical observations. Conventional schematic exploration models provide general guidelines to exploration, however, the real-world complexities elucidated by the precise mineralogy and mineral compositional parameters (e.g. chemistry and crystallinity) from HCI provide precise vectors to mineralization. Furthermore, the combination of HCI data and project geoscientists can illuminate additional deposit-specific information about mineral assemblages, textures, alteration boundaries, and mineral paragenesis.