{"id":12136,"date":"2026-03-17T20:53:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T20:53:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/?p=12136"},"modified":"2026-03-17T20:54:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T20:54:24","slug":"ai-could-reduce-drilling-by-up-to-five-times-says-stanfords-jef-caers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/17\/ai-could-reduce-drilling-by-up-to-five-times-says-stanfords-jef-caers\/","title":{"rendered":"AI could reduce drilling by up to five times, says Stanford\u2019s Jef Caers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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by Mayra Flores
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Artificial intelligence applied to mineral exploration could reduce drilling by up to five times, generating substantial savings in time and capital, and allowing for more informed decisions to continue or discard projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was the central message of Jef Caers, professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Stanford University and one of the world\u2019s leading experts in applied geosciences and decision-making under uncertainty, during a webinar held as part of the World Mining Congress 2026 series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Caers, this AI-based approach can significantly decrease drilling requirements by changing the traditional logic of exploration. Instead of drilling according to a fixed grid to estimate grades, the system plans drilling campaigns aimed at refuting human-generated geological hypotheses and strategically reducing uncertainty until the company can make an informed decision to \u201ccontinue or abandon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From autonomous vehicles to the smart prospector To explain the concept, Caers referred to the autonomous vehicles currently operating in San Francisco: \u201cThese systems work extremely well. They are very sophisticated. We call this type of AI an intelligent agent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This \u201cintelligent agent\u201d is not simply a predictive tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAn intelligent agent is an AI for sequential planning under uncertainty. It is not just a tool; it is an AI that makes decisions while acquiring data,\u201d explained Caers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exploration: drilling to refute hypotheses<\/strong>
Caers applied this framework directly to mineral exploration, noting that \u201call critical challenges in the mineral supply chain can be understood as sequential planning problems under uncertainty, starting with exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In conventional practice, companies typically build a single deterministic model of the subsurface and drill systematically. \u201cAn intelligent agent will plan the drilling to refute human-generated hypotheses and then drill only to define ore grades and tonnages,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf your hypothesis about the subsurface is completely incorrect, the drilling will be extremely inefficient,\u201d Caers explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of completing a grid independently of emerging information, the system dynamically adjusts drilling locations to reduce geological uncertainty as efficiently as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technological transformation in decision-making under uncertainty will be a central theme of the upcoming World Mining Congress 2026. Jef Caers is a member of the WMC 2026 Program Committee. The event will take place from June 24-26 at the Lima Convention Center in Peru. It will bring together global leaders from mining, technology, and academia to discuss the future of critical minerals and innovation in the sector. Early bird registration fees are available until March 31 on the official website: https:\/\/wmc2026.org.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Information provided by Mineria-Pan Americana<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Mayra FloresArtificial intelligence applied to mineral exploration could reduce drilling by up to five times, generating substantial savings in time and capital, and allowing for more informed decisions to continue or discard projects. This was the central message of Jef Caers, professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Stanford University and one of the world\u2019s leading experts in applied…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":12137,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[196],"tags":[1027,1250,4420],"coauthors":[4421],"class_list":["post-12136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-final-word","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-mineral-exploration","tag-mineria-pan-americana-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t