High‐frequency Shallow Seismic Reflection Mapping in Tin Mining*

Abstract

SINGH, S. 1984, High-Frequency Shallow Seismic Reflection Mapping in Tin Mining, Geophysical Prospecting 32,1033-1044.Field results of shallow seismic reflections obtained with a propane-oxygen detonator (POD) are presented. The survey site was in a tin-mining area of the Kinta Valley in Malaysia. The shallow and irregular limestone bedrock is overlain by alluvial "tailing" and virgin sediments. Sizes of such mining areas can range from about 320 x 320 m2 to 900 x 900 m2. The survey was intended to delineate the topography of the bedrock, which is of vital importance in tin ore exploration and exploitation. The equipment included single-and 12-channel signal enhancement seismographs, the POD, a hammer and thumper. The inexpensive and portable POD generates directional waves of reproducible form, variable energy of high frequency, and only a few surface waves at short offsets. Reflections at around 200 Hz were obtained from the shallow bedrock at about 25 m as well as from very shallow lithological interfaces. The interpretation of seismograms is supported by drill-hole lithological sections and synthetic seismograms. The data illustrate the successful use of shallow reflections for mapping irregular bedrock. Reflection seismics can provide better horizontal and vertical details than the refraction method. Further improvements based on the data-processing flexibility of new signai enhancement seismographs and synthetic seismograms are suggested.

Estimation of Shallow Sulphur Deposit Resources Based on Reflection Seismic Studies and Well Logging

“…However, higher frequencies are attenuated more rapidly than low frequencies limiting the depth range of investigation. Shallow reflection seismic method is commonly used in near-surface applications such as recognition of shallow geological structures [35,36], locating groundwater aquifers [37,38] and shallow exploration targets such as tin ore [39], coal beds [40][41][42] and gas deposits [43].…”

Relative amplitude preservation in high-resolution shallow reflection seismic: a case study from Fore-Sudetic Monocline, Poland

“…Higher frequencies are attenuated more efficiently, however, limiting the depth range of such a signal. The application of near-surface seismic imaging is used mainly for engineering purposes (Steeples and Miller 1990), recognition of shallow geological structures, e.g., depositional sequences (Baumgart-Kotarba et al 2001), subglacial structures (Benjumea and Teixido 2001), post-glacial deposits (Francese et al 2007;Baumgart-Kotarba et al 2008), fault zones (Myers et al 1987;Treadway et al 1988;Miller et al 1989Miller et al , 1990 and shallow exploration targets, for example zinc ore (Singh 1984), sulfur ore deposits (Dec 2012;Dec and Cichostępski 2017a, b) and coal beds (Palmer 1987).…”

Reflection‐window Mapping of Shallow Bedrock*

“…It had only limited success due to ground roll, poor spatial density of data and the problem of identifying reflections on single traces. Some of these inadequacies were removed by the use of a 12-channel enhancement unit with the down-hole detonator (Singh 1984b). Basically, there are two field geometries that can be employed for reflection shooting: reflection-window shooting with in-line offset geometry and common-depth-point (CDP) shooting.…”