Welcome

Specialised Geological Mapping provides cost-effective geological mapping and modelling to mining, hydrocarbon and engineering companies. In a world of increasing specialization, where map-making skills are disappearing, we believe that making an objective map has also become a specialism.

We offer a mapping service backed up by geologists with considerable experience. Increasingly, we contribute to geological and resource models by integrating mapping and core logging into sophisticated 3D models. These models develop by integrating careful surface and underground observations with drill data. Structurally complex ore deposits, modelled using Mapinfo-Discover 3D and Leapfrog, are a speciality (see video example from Laiva gold mine in Finland)

Our maps and models provide a solid foundation for exploration, regardless of whether the properties are grassroots or relatively advanced. A well-made geological map, when combined with surface geochemistry, geophysics or seismic, guides drilling and ultimately saves exploration dollars. Likewise, engineering projects will benefit from maps of superficial deposits and geological hazards, such as compressible soils, abandoned mine workings and landslips.

MAY 2025. SEG-SPONSORED OROGENIC GOLD COURSE, PORTUGAL

Specialised Geological Mapping Ltd (‘SGM’) ran the third edition of this training course in May 2025. Warren Pratt and Luca Smeraglia led the trip, which is run every two years. In intervening years we run a porphyry-skarn mapping course in Turkey.

Eleven students from Industry and Academia, traveling from Sweden, Portugal, Austria, Turkey, UK, France and Brazil joined us in glorious Spring warmth in Portugal. Vast quantities of food were consumed, washed down with Portuguese wine. The LNEG (Zelia Pereira) kindly threw open their core shack for one day, giving us the opportunity to admire not just drill core, but classic field transport. We visited famous Roman workings at Castromil and Boticas in Northern Portugal to carry out mapping training. The vegetation stymied us at a few places, causing last minute adjustments to the mapping program. Must be global warming. And it was a wonderfully international group of enthusiastic geologists. Thank you fellow geos for making it a success. And sorry about the post-dinner presentations. Next time I will do them before dinner, to avoid nodding off.

MULES – PART 2

Regular readers, all two of you, know I am a big fan of mules (see ‘The Mule Traverse, 1995’; https://sitreps.wordpress.com/). The Latin American equivalent of camels in the Arabian desert, mules are dependable, sturdy and surefooted. And they won’t spit in your eye.

My latest run-in with mules was in January 2022. The job was tent-based, exploring for copper in the mountainous Atacama desert of Chile. Naturally, before committing, I asked the key questions……Read More