Towards an effective exploration information system – New concepts and ideas aimed at improving mineral exploration targeting

The concept of the “Exploration Information System” (EIS), first postulated by Yousefi et al. (2019), is now being realised and progressively implemented by various geological survey organisations with a particular focus on mineral prospectivity mapping (MPM) and exploration targeting. This Virtual Special Issue (VSI) of Applied Geochemistry showcases a collection of articles about new ideas and computational requisites designed to propel EIS from concept to reality, and which offer possible solutions to the challenges ahead. This Editorial not only serves to introduce the concept of EIS but also the contributions to this VSI, which was organized to showcase the current status quo of EIS-related research. The coherent set of contributions assembled in this VSI presents novel concepts and ideas by both mathematical modellers and geoscientists.