矿床研究的主要目的在于就以下两个问题(或其中之一)寻求答案;这两个问题是(1)矿床是如何形成的,(2)当它们未出露地表时如何能发现.要回答这两个问题都要求我们对矿床的分布、形状、规模、化学成分以及物理性质具备一定的知识.矿床的形成包括在经济地质科学范畴之内.寻找矿床的问题属于勘探技术的范围. 因此,勘探技术包括探寻隐伏矿床的所有地质、地球化学和地球物理等方法.当然,还应加上挖槽,钻孔等纯机械方面的功能. 地球物理方法勘探最初出现在大约上世纪末和本世纪初.Thomas Edison在美国东部寻找磁铁 The main purpose of a deposit study is to seek answers to one or both of (1) how the deposit was formed, and (2) how they were found when they were not exposed to the surface. Both of these issues require that we have some knowledge of the distribution, shape, scale, chemical composition and physical properties of the deposit, and the formation of the deposit is included within the scope of economic and geological sciences. The problem of finding a deposit belongs to the scope of exploration technology, Exploration techniques include all geological, geochemical, and geophysical methods to explore the hidden deposits, but of course purely mechanical functions like grooving, drilling, etc. Geophysical prospecting first appeared at the end of the last century and at the beginning of this century Thomas Edison looks for a magnet in the eastern United States