Contribution of GIS in Mineral Exploration through Mineralization Distribution Characteri-zation: Application to The Sétifien/Hodna Massifs and The Eastern Saharan Atlas (NE Algeria)

Abstract

The integration and processing of geological/depositional, geophysical and geochemical data in a geographic information system, contributed to the accurate determination of the spatial distribution and particularities of the Pb-Zn-Fe-Ba (Cu, Hg, F, Sr) mineralization of the Sétifien/Hodna region and the eastern Saharan Atlas. The treatment and analysis by application of the principle functionalities of the spatial module to these geoscientific data in terms of axes/trends shows the existence of a spatial correlation between mineralization and certain families of preferential lineaments/trends. The combination of gravimetric and aeromagnetic data reveals important tectonic lineaments mainly directed from N135° to N170° and N40° to N60°. The location of the mineralization near or along these tecto-lineaments and at the limits of sedimentary basins margins, reinforces the hypothesis of a strong relationship between these two geological phenomena. The ordinary kriging interpolation of Pb-Zn-Cu-Fe (%) concentrations, measured by direct measurements, shows a linear mineral zoning with directions similar to those recorded for the lineaments. These directions probably reflect deformation corridors that have controlled the emplacement of mineralized deposits and that may represent potential targets for mineral exploration.