The evolution of lithocap analysis progressed significantly from Soviet-era geological techniques to the application of modern infrared hyperspectral scans interpreted by artificial intelligence. Lithocaps, flat-lying blankets of altered rocks related to porphyry copper and epithermal gold deposits, were first studied by Russian geologists in the late 1800s. Soviet geologists in the 1920s introduced the term “Secondary Quartzite” and pioneered the use of XRD analyses for mineral exploration, leading to significant discoveries such as the Semiz-Bugu corundum and Kounrad porphyry deposits. By the 1950s, they had identified ten lithocap mineral assemblages in Central Kazakhstan, recognizing their vertical and lateral zoning well before Western geologists.

The Western approach, which began in the 1960s, gained momentum with the discovery of the El Indio deposit in Chile, incorporating Landsat multispectral data and petrographic analyses. The introduction of portable infrared spectrometers in the 1990s revolutionized lithocap mapping, allowing for automated minerals identifications using machine-learning algorithms.

Today, high-resolution infrared core scanning, paired with geochemical and tomographic data, generates mineral maps that feed directly into 3D models used by various mine engineering disciplines. As AI integration advances, real-time updates of alteration models and the use of prospectivity algorithms are transforming exploration and mining operations.