prospect

1. Something expected; a possibility.
2. prospects
   1. Chances.
   2. Financial expectations, especially of success.
3. 1. A potential customer, client, or purchaser.
   2. A candidate deemed likely to succeed.
4. The direction in which an object, such as a building, faces; an outlook.
5. Something presented to the eye; a scene: a pleasant prospect.
6. The act of surveying or examining.
7. 1. The location or probable location of a mineral deposit.
   2. An actual or probable mineral deposit.
   3. The mineral yield obtained by working an ore.

To search for or explore (a region) for mineral deposits or oil.

To explore for mineral deposits or oil.

[Middle English prospecte, from Latin prōspectus, distant view, from past participle of prōspicere, to look out : prō-, forward; see pro–¹ + specere, to look at.]

Exploration for mineral deposits. The result of prospecting is the discovery of potentially economic mineralization, that is, the prospect. Mineral exploration continues beyond prospecting to include the delineation and evaluation of the prospect to determine its minability as an orebody or economic mineral deposit. A successful prospect is developed into a mine. See also Mining.

Prospecting generally pertains to the search for deposits of metallic ore minerals, but it also includes the search for nonmetallic or industrial minerals and rocks such as sulfur, potash, and limestone, and mineral fuels such as petroleum, coal, and oil shale.

With much of the Earth's readily accessible surface having been investigated for minerals, prospecting is increasingly directed toward the discovery of deeper mineralization in recognized mining districts; mineralization hidden beneath overlying rocks, sediments, and soils; and mineralization in the less-known jungle, arctic, and offshore parts of the world. See also Marine mining; Oil and gas, offshore.

Prospecting is done on the basis of the guides to ore associated with a conceptual image of the anticipated orebody. The image is referred to as an exploration model, and it is drawn from the characteristics of known orebodies in similar terrain. The exploration model and its guides to ore are expressed in terms of the regional and local geologic pattern; it has a certain diagnostic mineralogical character, it will commonly have a halo or envelope of associated guide minerals, and it will be expected to have a recognizable geochemical and geophysical expression. See also Ore and mineral deposits.

The topography itself may give evidence of abrupt depressions related to the leaching and collapse of sulfide ore minerals, or it may show boldly exposed silicified zones associated with ore. Some of the latter expressions of ore mineralization represent outcrops of siliceous iron formation host rocks, quartz-filled breccia pipes, and the prospector's classic quartz reefs that indicate vein deposits. Aerial photography and satellite imagery are valuable in searching for the topographic expression of potential ore mineralization.

Outcrops of gossan (the residue of red, brown, and yellow iron oxides and silica that remains from the weathering and near-surface leaching of sulfide ore minerals) are examined in the field for evidence of underlying ore mineralization, and trains of float (fragments of ore and gossan) are traced toward their apparent topographic origin. In glaciated terrain, trains of ore boulders are mapped and traced systematically toward their apparent sources.

Placer gold and placer accumulations of other minerals such as platinum, cassiterite, rutile, and diamonds are sought as economic deposits in themselves and are used as guides to upstream deposits of associated minerals. In addition, resistant and relatively dense minerals in stream gravels and residual heavy minerals in soil are collected by the long-established prospector's method of panning the loose material, and these are traced to a source area.

Geochemical prospecting is based on two characteristics of orebodies: an association with anomalous concentrations of chemical elements within primary halos in the surrounding rock, and an association with secondary dispersal patterns of chemical elements in the surficial products of their weathering and erosion. Geochemical methods involve the field and laboratory analysis of sampled rock, soil, vegetation, and other natural materials for trace amounts (in parts per million or billion) of the principal indicator elements of an orebody and of the related pathfinder elements that provide more recognizable or farther-reaching anomalies. See also Geochemical prospecting.

Imagery provided by remote sensing from aircraft and orbiting satellites is of fundamental importance in prospecting and in the patterns of exploration data associated with geographical information systems. Aerial photography in spectral bands of the near-infrared and near-ultraviolet frequencies is also used in photogeology for discriminating between types of exposed rock and soil and for emphasizing the appearance of bleached and stained areas as well as geobotanical anomalies. Airborne remote-sensing systems have provided radar imagery of terrain in the prospecting of cloud-covered jungle regions, and they have furnished thermal-band infrared surveys for recognizing anomalously warm areas that may be associated with mineralization. Airborne multispectral sensors with the capability of identifying some of the specific kinds of minerals in altered zones have been tested for use in prospecting. See also Aerial photograph; Geographic information systems; Remote sensing.

Geophysical exploration is based on the measurement of physical properties associated with geologic features. As a means of both airborne and ground prospecting for mineral deposits, it involves the recognition of contrasts in properties between the deposit and the adjacent rock, generally to depths on the order of 330–660 ft (100–200 m), and the definition of deeper structural and lithologic features to be used as guides to ore mineralization. Magnetic, electrical, electromagnetic, and radioactive methods are the most widely used in prospecting for ore and industrial minerals deposits. Geophysical surveys are often made by several methods, so that more than one physical property can be taken into account. See also Geomagnetism; Geophysical exploration; Rock, electrical properties of.

Drilling is the principal method of subsurface prospecting where evidence of ore mineralization and geophysical or geochemical anomalies indicates a target for prospecting at a depth of more than a few feet. Geophysical information is obtained by the probing or logging of drill holes. Electrical and electromagnetic logging is done in holes drilled in search of metallic orebodies; with these methods, the radius of search is extended considerably beyond that of the small-diameter cylinder of sampled rock. Gamma-ray methods of geophysical drill-hole logging have become standard practice in prospecting for uranium ore. See also Engineering geology; Well logging.

Potential buyer of a product or service (who has not previously been a purchaser of that product or service). For example, a name on a mailing list is considered to be a prospect for the goods or services to be advertised by a mailing.

1. To seek customers.

2. Person considered likely to buy; prospective purchaser. See also Cold Canvass.

3. Potential employee, particularly in professional sports.

4. see Qualified Prospect.

A Person considered likely to buy. A prospective purchaser.
Example: All of the persons who request further information about the advertised property are considered prospects.

noun

1. Something expected: anticipation, expectancy, expectation. See surprise/expect.
2. The likeliness of a given event occurring. chance, likelihood, odds, possibility, probability. See likely/unlikely.
3. Chance of success or advancement. future, outlook. See hope/despair.
4. That which is or can be seen: lookout, outlook, panorama, perspective, scene, sight, view, vista. See see/not see.

Definition: look for; seek
Antonyms: miss, overlook

A scenic view, usually from an elevated position.

n.

An outlook, usually forbidding. An expectation, usually forbidden.

    Blow, blow, ye spicy breezes --
        O'er Ceylon blow your breath,
    Where every prospect pleases,
        Save only that of death.
                                                         Bishop Sheber

Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.

Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which latter is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore deposits.

Prospecting is physical labor, involving traversing (traditionally on foot or on horseback), panning, sifting and outcrop investigation, looking for signs of mineralisation. A prospector must also make claims, meaning they must erect posts with the appropriate placards on all four corners of a desired land they wish to prospect and register this claim before they may take samples.

Contents 1 Historical methods 2 The Gold Rushes 3 Modern prospecting 3.1 Metal detecting 4 See also 5 External links

Historical methods

The traditional methods of prospecting involved combing through the countryside, often through creek beds and along ridgelines and hilltops, often on hands and knees looking for signs of mineralisation in the outcrop. In the case of gold, all streams in an area would be panned at the appropriate trap sites looking for a show of 'colour' or gold in the tail.

Once a small occurrence or show was found, it was then necessary to intensively work the area with pick and shovel, and often via the addition of some simple machinery such as a sluice box, races and winnows, to work the loose soil and rock looking for the appropriate materials (in this case, gold). For most base metal shows, the rock would have been mined by hand and crushed on site, the ore separated from the gangue by hand.

Often, these shows were short-lived, exhausted and abandoned quite soon, requiring the prospector to move onwards to the next and hopefully bigger and better show. Occasionally, though, the prospector would strike it rich and be joined by other prospectors and larger-scale mining would take place. Although these are referred thought of as "old" prospecting methods, these techniques are still used today but usually coupled with more advanced techniques such as magnetic surveying and gravimetric analysis.

In most countries in the 19th and early 20th century, it was very unlikely that a prospector would retire rich even if he was the one who found the greatest of lodes. For instance Patrick (Paddy) Hannan, who discovered the Golden Mile, Kalgoorlie, died without receiving anywhere near a fraction of the value of the gold contained in the lodes, the same story repeated at Bendigo, Ballarat, Klondike and California.

The Gold Rushes

Prospector and burro, western Colorado, USA circa 1900?

Main article: Gold rush

In the United States and Canada prospectors were lured by the promise of gold, silver, and other precious metals. They travelled across the mountains of the American West, carrying picks, shovels and gold pans. The majority of early prospectors had no training and relied mainly on luck to discover deposits.

Other gold rushes occurred in Papua New Guinea, Australia at least four times, and in South Africa and South America. In all cases, the gold rush was sparked by idle prospecting for gold and minerals which, when the prospector was successful, generated 'gold fever' and saw a wave of prospectors comb the countryside.

Modern prospecting

Modern prospectors today rely on training, the study of geology, and prospecting technology.

Knowledge of previous prospecting in an area helps in determining location of new prospective areas. Prospecting includes geological mapping, rock assay analysis, and sometimes the intuition of the prospector.

Metal detecting

Metal detectors are invaluable for gold prospectors, as they are quite effective at detecting gold nuggets within the soil down to perhaps 3 feet, depending on the acuity of the operator's hearing and skill.^{[citation needed]}

Magnetic separators may be useful in separating the magnetic fraction of a heavy mineral sand from the nonmagnetic fraction, which may assist in the panning or sieving of gold from the soil or stream.

See also

• Geobotanical prospecting
• Gold prospecting
• Gold Prospectors Association of America
• Gold Rush
• Mineral exploration
• Mining
• Oil exploration
• United States Geological Survey

External links

• Prospecting in Northwestern Ontario
• Historical pictures of prospectors and the Gold Rush
• Prospecting in the West

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - udsigt, mulighed, kundeemne
v. tr. - undersøge, gennemsøge
v. intr. - søge

Nederlands (Dutch)
(voor)uitzicht, verwachting, kandidaat, mogelijkheid, exploreren voor mineralen

Français (French)
n. - espoir, chance, perspective, recrue potentielle, (Comm) client potentiel, vue (sur) (littér), perspectives d'avenir (npl)
v. tr. - prospecter
v. intr. - prospecter, chercher

Deutsch (German)
n. - Aussicht, Anblick, Kandidat, potentieller Kunde, Erwartung
v. - suchen nach, erkunden

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - προοπτική, δυνατότητα, άποψη, θέα, ελπίδα, πιθανός πελάτης, συνδρομητής κ.λπ., υποψήφιος (γαμπρός, κλπ)
v. - διεξάγω μεταλλευτικές έρευνες

Italiano (Italian)
panorama, veduta, vista, aspettativa, speranza, prospettiva, possibilità

Português (Portuguese)
n. - prospecto (m), esperança (f), panorama (m)
v. - explorar, prometer, prospectar, sondar, pesquisar

Русский (Russian)
вид, перспектива, разведка, производить изыскания

Español (Spanish)
n. - perspectiva, vista, panorama, esperanza, expectativa
v. tr. - prospectar, catear
v. intr. - prometer, dar buenas esperanzas, andar en busca de

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - utsikt, vy, sceneri, prospekt, fyndighet, eventuell köpare, kandidat
v. - leta efter, forska, genomsöka, granska

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
景色, 展望, 希望, 勘探, 寻找, 有前途

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 景色, 展望, 希望
v. tr. - 勘探, 尋找
v. intr. - 勘探, 有前途

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 조망, 전망
v. tr. - 답사[조사] 하다
v. intr. - (금광, 석유 등을 찾아) 답사하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 可能性, 見込み, 期待, 将来性, 見込みのある人, 見晴らし, 眺め, 顧客になりそうな人, 客, 見通し, 観察, 予想, 展望
v. - 踏査する, 試掘する, 調査する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مشهد, منظر طبيعي, مطمح, احتمال, امكانيه, زبون محتمل (فعل) نقب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮ציפיה להצלחה בקריירה, לקוח אפשרי, נוף, מראה, סיכוי, תקווה, אפשרות סבירה, דוגמת חומר-גלם, מקום שצופים בו מציאות מרבצים‬
v. tr. - ‮חיפש (זהב או נפט), הפעיל (מכרה) באופן ניסיוני, נראה כבעל סיכוי טוב (מכרה)‬
v. intr. - ‮חיפש דבר כלשהו, חיפש זהב‬

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