First Case: Searching for Indicators
The idea of this search is to get to the selection of areas that will be studied in detail in a following stage, or of making the decision of abandoning each search in the prospected region. The following points are developed:
- Topographic lifting of the itineraries
In the most favorable of cases the itineraries can be directly reported about a topographic map, about an aerial photo or about a hydrographic reticle map designed from the aerial photos. In the areas of the tropical jungle, a hydrographic reticle map is indispensable because the prospecting needs to be done throughout the courses of the water for being the best possibility of finding outcrops. In cases in where these documents do not exist and the aerial photos cannot be used due to the dense covering of the forest, metric tape and altimeter (or with readings of the vertical azimuth of the compass or clinometre). In this case it is good to point out over the land the itinerary with stakes, paint, cards, or plastic borders tied to trees, each hundred meters, indicating the number of the itinerary and the distance that has been run (the important thing is to be able to find the itinerary even after a certain amount of time). These itineraries can be placed directly over the map or, in case of bad climate or environment conditions, on the camp booklet. In the cases of a dense jungle area, a team can be made up of:
- One team chief (who would use the compass)
- One man on the TOPOFIL or two men with metric tape
- Two men with a machete to open up the way
The geologist can pass after for the geological lifting.
Usage of the gamma detector and ultraviolet lamp
In the search for uranium it is recommended to take a gamma detector or a Geiger counter with a loud signal to the field. The gamma detector can also be used in the search of phosphate and sand with zircon. In the cases of the possible presence of fluorescent minerals, such as scheelite in the skarn or uraniferous minerals, the ultraviolet ray lamp can be used over samples or, at night, on outcrops, floors and alluvium.