How to make your geology easier for investors to understand.
Technical maps are drawn for geologists, who already know what they're looking at. A generalist needs the same facts in a different order, with most of the detail removed. None of this changes the geology; it changes how fast someone can read it.
Start with the reader's question
Before drawing anything, write the one question the map answers. Where is it? Why here? How big could it be? What's new? A map that tries to answer all four answers none of them quickly.
Go from far to near
Show a sequence: country, then district, then property, then target. Each map should start where the last one ended, so the reader is never lost. Skipping straight to a drill plan is the most common reason investors can't place a project.
Cut the legend hard
A geologist's map may carry twenty rock units. An investor map rarely needs more than five or six. Group what doesn't change the story, and keep only what explains why the target sits where it does.
Label in plain language
Put the point on the map itself: “high-grade zone extends 200 m down-dip” reads faster than a code the reader has to look up in a legend. Spell out abbreviations a generalist wouldn't know.
Use sections to prove continuity
A plan view of drill holes looks like a scatter of dots. A section or long section shows that the mineralisation holds together, and that is usually what an investor is trying to decide.
Anchor scale to something known
Scale bars don't help someone who has no feel for the district. Compare footprints with a known deposit or a familiar distance, and keep any comparison accurate and clearly labelled.
Test it on a phone
Most people first see your map as a small image in a news release. Shrink it to phone size and ask someone outside the company what it shows. If they can't tell you in ten seconds, simplify it again.
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