As the world shifts to clean energy, we urgently need more minerals like copper and nickel for batteries and other technologies. However, discovering new mineral deposits is getting harder, especially as we look deeper underground.

Electromagnetic (EM) geophysics is a helpful tool that uses electric and magnetic signals to map what’s beneath the surface. It works well for detecting conductive materials like sulfide minerals. Traditional EM surveys use a single transmitter and one or a few receivers, which limits data coverage and makes it harder to find complex or deep targets.

Recent advances in sensor technology and computing allow for distributed EM surveys, which use one transmitter and many receivers (sometimes hundreds). This setup can collect far more data at a similar cost, but we don’t yet fully understand how much better it performs in real-world scenarios.

This study explores a new survey design using a model based on the Raglan nickel-copper deposit in Quebec. I will test a combination of traditional and newer, more sensitive sensors to detect deep, conductive ore bodies more accurately. The goal is to find an efficient setup that improves imaging quality while keeping costs manageable—ultimately helping geoscientists locate critical minerals more effectively.