Bell Geospace, a world leader in gravity gradiometry, has completed a FTG survey for GTK, an agency of Finland’s Ministry of Employment and Economy. The survey was conducted in the municipality of Inari, Finland and has provided GTK with a solid basis for geological research and mineral potential evaluation.

Work was completed ahead of time and with both environmental and livestock issues to overcome, the service provided by Bell Geospace was sensitive to local factors.

Use of Bell Geo’s Basler Turbo aircraft ensured extremely low noise emissions during the project, which minimised disruption for reindeer husbandry, a vital part of the culture and livelihood in northern Finland.

The outcomes will now be modelled with interpretation for the agency to facilitate evaluation and modelling of ore and mineral deposits.

John Macfarlane, executive vice president of Bell Geospace, comments: “This is the second survey we have undertaken for GTK and it has been successful in producing high quality results. FTG is a valuable source of information for the agency and having observed the logistical demands required, it is a good demonstration of how we work in partnership with our clients.

“Bell Geospace has been providing Gravity Gradiometry datasets to the industry for 20 years and benefits from the most sophisticated acquisition technology and refined data processing methodology available worldwide. Our data continually exceeds the specification set by our clients with exceptional productivity, proprietary processing and interpretation techniques exclusive to us.”

Heikki Salmirinne, geophysicist at GTK, comments: “Regional gravity data together with other regional geophysical data sets are playing an important role in geological mapping and mineral potential evaluation. Airborne FTG survey is an extremely quick way to measure gravity information compared with traditional ground gravity surveys. It is also important that FTG data can be used to generate stable vertical gravity, which furthermore can be merged with existing conventional ground gravity databases.”

GTK produces and disseminates geological information for industry and society to promote systematic and sustainable use of crustal resource and the national geological endowment. GTK serves as Finland’s national geo-scientific information centre and participates actively in international research and project work.