Multi-source hyperspectral imaging of drill cores for the exploration of critical minerals

Access to primary and secondary raw materials, particularly critical raw materials (CRM), is a prerequisite for a transition to a climate-neutral and circular economy and a successful delivery of the United Nations sustainable development goals (Ali et al., 2017). Resourceand energy-efficient exploration technologies such as hyperspectral imaging will aid discovery and evaluation of ore deposits, and thus contribute to sustaining a supply of CRM. Hyperspectral imaging provides fast, highresolution, spatially continuous, and non-destructive mapping of minerals along drill cores. This spectroscopic technique uses the spectral reflectance and emission measured in hundreds of contiguous spectral bands to provide information about geological materials based on electronic and vibrational processes of bonded elements within minerals. Below we demonstrate the application of hyperspectral drill core scanning for the identification and mapping of CRMs using a case study of Li-bearing pegmatites in Uis, Namibia.