Although the philosophy of problem-solving used in applied geology is the same as in other fields of the science, the challenges may well be more demanding and exciting because of the more clearly defined objectives.

A significant body of applied geological research with long term objectives oriented towards mineral exploration is being carried on within the Bureau of Mineral Resources, in the Divisions of Applied Mineralogy and Mineral Chemistry of the CSIRO, in the Baas Backing Biogeological Laboratory, jointly sponsored by the Bureau of Mineral Resources, CSIRO and the mining industry, as well as in the geology and geophysics departments in the universities.

A characteristic of much pure research work in geology is that it is incomplete. Facts are gathered from observation and tests, they are generalized and theories formulated, but there the work often ends. The predictions from these theories are not put to the test. On the other hand it is a feature of the work of the applied geologist that he must make predictions and that these are likely to be tested, sometimes very quickly.

The geologist working in an applied field also deliberately follows the scientific method, collecting facts and formulating hypotheses, perhaps with less elegance and completeness than the pure scientist. But to be effective he must then make definite forecasts about the geological conditions likely to be encountered at specific locations.

In engineering geology, a high degree of reliability in prediction is demanded of the geologist by his client the engineer where the cost, performance and safety of a project depends on the geological conditions. The accuracy of forecasts made during investigation and design are frequently tested in detail by excavations made during construction. In mineral exploration, when searching for concealed ore bodies, there comes the time when the predictions of the exploration team are put to the test by drilling.

Conditions to be encountered in drill holes are forecast and rapidly tested. Even though a low probability of success in discovering an ore body is accepted, the geologist knows that he cannot be wrong all the time and stay in business. In the case of both the engineering and exploration geologists the knowledge that predictions will be put to the test imposes a useful discipline which may not be present in the work of the pure scientist.

In geology, as in the other sciences, pure research or the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake without regard to applications, can be a source of great intellectual satisfaction to those who practise it, but the results of such research are only of value to those who are engaged in solving practical problems, to the extent that the results add to the understanding of the particular features of the geological environment which are relevant to these problems.