JAWAHARLAL NEHRU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY HYDERABAD B.Tech III Year MINERAL EXPLORATION Previous Question Paper (February/March - 2022 - R16)

Mineral prospecting and exploration follow a systematic progression from regional reconnaissance to detailed deposit evaluation. The stages are as follows:

1. Reconnaissance: The initial stage involving large-scale regional surveys to identify favorable geological provinces or target areas using satellite imagery, aerial photography, and literature review.
2. Prospecting: Focused field investigation of identified targets to locate specific mineral occurrences. This involves surface mapping, geochemical sampling, and preliminary geophysical surveys.
3. General Exploration: Involves systematic grid-based sampling, trenching, and initial drilling to determine the shape, size, and grade of the mineralized zone.
4. Detailed Exploration: High-density drilling and sampling to define the ore body's geometry, continuity, and mineralogical characteristics with high confidence, allowing for resource estimation.
5. Evaluation/Feasibility: The final stage where economic, metallurgical, and environmental studies are conducted to determine if the deposit can be mined profitably.

Solifluction is a form of mass wasting characterized by the slow, downslope movement of water-saturated soil or regolith. It occurs primarily in periglacial environments where the ground is subject to freeze-thaw cycles. During the summer, the active layer of soil above the permafrost thaws and becomes saturated with meltwater; because the underlying permafrost acts as an impermeable barrier, the saturated soil loses shear strength and flows downslope over the frozen substrate.

Striations are linear grooves, scratches, or gouges carved into the surface of bedrock by debris-laden glaciers. As a glacier moves, rock fragments and boulders embedded in the basal ice act like a cutting tool, abrading the underlying rock surface. These features provide critical evidence for the direction of past glacial flow, as the orientation of the striations aligns with the movement of the ice sheet.