What's the easiest way to locate resource deposits on a new planet?

If I've recently started a colony on a somewhat habitable, but uninhabited planet, what's the best way to determine the location of any ore or other subterranean resource deposits?

The planet is Earth-sized and of similar composition. It's a similar distance from a similar star, but much younger. Temperature-wise, it would be habitable, but life on the planet is still mostly composed of bacteria-like anaerobes and there's insufficient oxygen for humans to survive outside without supplemental oxygen tanks.

The settlers have access to near-future technology and have ample time to research and test the planet before going there. They've got plenty of funding for rovers and satellites and can deploy a large number of each. They'd like to establish a long-term settlement on the planet, and as such, they need to locate suitable reserves of construction and manufacturing materials like titanium, gold, and rare earth metals.

What's the simplest and quickest way for the settlers to accurately survey their new planet? What sort of technology that's feasible in a near-future setting would need to be developed in order for them to properly survey their new home?

posted almost 8 years ago

ckersch‭

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