Not long ago, prospectors hunting for hidden minerals relied on a simple tool: a slingshot cut from a hazelnut bush and treated with a secret technique. Holding the slingshot with both hands at the forks, the prospector would walk across the land, pointing the sharp end forward. People believed that when they passed over an ore deposit, the hazelnut branch would tremble and show where the treasure lay.
Today you won’t find such “geologists” except in old illustrations. Modern methods have replaced the hazelnut slingshot. Now geologists increasingly rely on airplanes, equipping them with specialized instruments and flying at low altitudes over unexplored terrain. These instruments can detect metallic ore deposits, oil, asbestos, and other minerals buried up to 100 meters below the surface.
