Method and apparatus for underground deposit detection

Abstract

A method and apparatus for collecting gas samples associated with underground minerals. A plurality of small gas sample containers are planted in an inverted position in shallow holes in the surface of the earth in a predetermined pattern, and upwardly migrating gases associated with the underground minerals being sought are collected in the containers for a predetermined time period, to obtain a time-integrated representation of the amount of one or more gases of interest migrating to the surface over that time period. Two types of containers are alternately employed: A total gas sample container in which all upwardly migrating gases are admitted into a sealed compartment at a preselected flow rate; and a specific gas sampler container in which strips of detector material which are sensitive to predetermined specific gaseous substances are mounted within the inverted container and exposed to the upwardly migrating gases over the predetermined time interval. The containers are removed from the shallow holes after the lapse of the predetermined time interval, and the detector material alone, or the containers with the detector material still mounted, are subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis. The gas collection period is maintained substantially constant for all containers.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.