In the hunt for gold, Goldcorp Inc. said it successfully tested artificial intelligence using IBM Canada Ltd.'s Watson to predict gold mineralization at its Red Lake gold operations.

The company said Nov. 26 that IBM Exploration with Watson had provided independent support to planned drill targets and also proposed new targets which were verified. Drilling on the first target yielded mineralization as expected, with efforts ongoing.

Maura Kolb, Goldcorp's exploration manager at Red Lake, said the results were "impressive" and that the tools can help the company to consider data in "totally new ways."

Goldcorp, which could not be reached for comment as of press time, did not outline specific results in the news release, but framed them as a potential "step-change" in the pursuit of growth. It said it planned to test more targets next year.

Gold discoveries down

Gold discoveries have been on the decline in the past decade or so despite high levels of spending, according to research by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

"Only 215.5 million ounces of gold has been defined in 41 discoveries over the most recent 10 years, compared with 1,726 Moz in 222 discoveries in the preceding 18 years," S&P Global Market Intelligence analyst Kevin Murphy said in a recent overview of the data.

"Even after adjusting for more recently identified deposits that might eventually surpass our threshold for a major discovery, and for major discoveries with potential to expand, we forecast that the gold in major discoveries might only increase to about 363 Moz over the next decade."

Will Watson give Goldcorp a sharp edge in the hunt for more discoveries? "Don't expect any short term miracles," said one mining analyst, who covers the major gold miners.

But the application of artificial intelligence could help unlock discoveries down the road, analysts said.

While it may be difficult to say in this case how much Watson has pushed the exploration envelope, the technology could eventually add value as explorers seek leverage, according to Mark Ferguson, associate director of Metals and Mining Research with S&P Global Market Intelligence.

"In recent years, large-scale gold discoveries have become more difficult to find, so the application of new technologies, approaches and computer power to exploration efforts can only benefit the sector in the future," Ferguson said.