About Me
I’m an interdisciplinary geoscientist and data scientist with degrees in both Geology and Computer Science. My work bridges AI, NLP, and data engineering with economic geology to support mineral exploration and resource development.
Currently, I serve as Director of Geodata at Atha Energy, where I lead the development of scalable data pipelines, ML targeting models, and integrated exploration systems. I’m also completing an MSc in Geology at University of Sasaktchewan under Bruce Eglington, with research focused on building a large-scale geological knowledge base using NLP and co-occurrence analysis.
My mission is to help modernize mineral exploration through open data, reproducible AI, and domain-specific tools that turn information into insight.
Achievements
Future Explorers Challenge – Dundee Precious Metals and HumynAI
First Prize Winner – $75,000 USD
As part of a multidisciplinary team, I helped develop machine learning targeting models for the Chelopech mine using regional and mine-scale datasets.
Our approach integrated anomaly detection (Isolation Forests) and advanced data techniques to prioritize prospective zones in greenfields and brownfields areas.
Frank Arnott NGEAâ„¢ 2022
Grand Prize & Impact and Exploration Category Winner
Contributed as a key member of an award-winning team applying NLP and data integration in BC’s Golden Triangle.
My contribution created a novel text mining workflow that extracted and structured geoscience insights from public databases and literature to support mineral exploration.
Projects
GeoNLP Portal
A public platform for geological text mining and statistical modeling. The system applies NLP, co-occurrence analysis, and entropy metrics to extract structured knowledge from open-access literature, sourced from xDD — a database of over 18 million scientific articles.
Director of Geodata – Atha Energy
Leading enterprise-scale geodata systems, advanced data science initiatives, machine learning targeting workflows, and spatial integration strategies to support uranium exploration. Responsibilities include database architecture, automated data pipelines, and enabling team-wide access to actionable insights.
MSc Research – Geological NLP & Knowledge Base
Developing a reproducible geoscience text database using xDD, paired with custom co-occurrence and entropy-based metrics to support geodynamic classification, stratigraphic inference, and other domain-specific applications.
Bots on the Ground – Blog
My personal blog exploring the intersection of geoscience, automation, data science, and artificial intelligence in mineral exploration and mining.
Affiliations & Collaborators
Contact
I am open to consulting, collaboration, joint ventures, and technical advisory work related to data science, geoscience AI, mineral exploration, and resource development.
You can reach me directly via email or connect with me on LinkedIn or GitHub:
- Email: heasman.drew@gmail.com
- LinkedIn: LinkedIn
- GitHub: github.com/DHeasmanGDS
For inquiries related to speaking engagements, technical workshops, or research collaborations, feel free to reach out directly.