Automate image analysis of Hylogger drill core data

The NSW Department of Industry is seeking innovative approaches to combine line scan hyperspectral mineralogical data and 3 band RGB imagery to produce a high resolution mineralogical map of a rock surface.

Background

Exploration geologists and metallurgists use mineral maps of rock samples to understand the relationships between ore mineral grains/veins and non-ore (gangue) minerals .

For exploration geologists this provides important information on the formation of ores to assist with the discovery of new ore bodies. For metallurgists the full value of ores can be unlocked by improving the recovery of valuable ore minerals during mineral processing.

HyLogger data consists of red-green-blue (RGB) linescan imagery along with spectral information obtained for three wavelength ranges, namely visible near infrared (VNIR), shortwave infrared (SWIR) and thermal infrared (TIR). This spectral information is obtained along the central part of each drillcore segment.

The challenge is to apply automated image analysis to the RGB bitmap imagery and integrate with the spectral-mineralogical information contained within coregistered .csv formatted tables. The ultimate goal is to produce coloured mineral maps to assist geoscientists with solving mineralogical problems and help the general public with visualising  geological information.

The Opportunity

• The data captured with CSIRO's Hylogger tool contains valuable information about the minerals contained in a core. Can you extract this information from the data provided?

Download the full Challenge Statement here.