At the time of writing this blog post, over 70% of economists are forecasting an economic recession within the next 1-3 years. This forecast is due to all sorts of geopolitical happenings right now. At this point, we’ve probably all have seen the articles on Forbes, the Washington Post, and elsewhere. Now you may be thinking, “AGI, what does this have to do with geoscience?” Well, no industry lives in a bubble; so certain market downturns can cause an uptick in other markets. And when troubled economic times are suspected to come, no industry gets more popular than gold mining.

(XAUUSD Chart Source: tradingview.com)

Gold is a safe bet that investors turn to during times of economic uncertainty so demand is likely to increase even more if economists' projections are realized. And even though gold is the key seller, other precious metals and minerals could also see an uptick in the market. This of course, means prospectors and juniors alike are all gearing up for an influx of work. Geophysical methods such as Electrical Resistivity, Induced Polarization, and even Streaming Potential are used for gold exploration—but that's not all. These methods are also used for monitoring heap leach pads, determining if the subsurface is safe for exploration, and more. You can learn more about how Electrical Resistivity can be used in gold exploration by reading this case history about an exploration project in the Yukon.