Integration of geophysics and remote sensing techniques in mapping zones mineralised with disseminated gold and sulphide minerals in Lolgorien, Narok County, Kenya

Abstract

Even though ground geophysical surveys (especially Induced polarization and resistivity) are applied in mineral exploration, their effectiveness in identification of mineralised zones is often enhanced by integrating other mineral exploration techniques such as remote sensing and geological investigations. Integrating different techniques helps in reducing uncertainty that is often associated with mineral exploration. The methods being integrated also depend on characteristics of mineralisation and those of host rock. In this study, geophysical survey methods (induced polarization and resistivity) were integrated with remote sensing and geological methods to delineate mineralised zones in Lolgorien beyond reasonable doubt. By integrating these methods, it was found that Lolgorien’s gold and sulphide minerals (disseminated minerals) are hosted in massive quartz veins and auriferous quartz veins hosted in Banded Iron Formations. It was also found that this mineralisation was controlled by faults which mainly trend in two directions (NW-SE) and (NE-SW).
 Keywords: hydrothermal alteration, chargeability, resistivity, band ratio, lineament density

Application of GIS and remote sensing in mineral exploration: current and future perspectives

“…Several GIS-based mineral predictive mapping techniques have been successfully demonstrated in different parts of the world. The GIS-based mineral techniques always aim to provide the geologist with automated tools for efficient and repeatable processing and to integrate vast amounts of data from various sources (County, 2021; Porwal and Carranza, 2015). Mineral potential maps are usually generated by combining multiple evidence maps representing individual mineralisation targeting criteria.…”

“…It is a common practice that the data to undergo integration must be fully or partially indicative of the mineral deposits sought, based on the customised exploration model for the area under search. Successful GIS-based mineral exploration research has been documented in several pieces of research (Silva et al , 2022; County, 2021; Verma et al , 2021; Li et al , 2016; Najafi et al , 2014; Xie et al , 2017; Xiong and Zuo, 2018; Yousefi and Carranza, 2017). The increasing computing power of GIS software now makes it possible to carry more sophisticated data integration, which utilises more information from traditional data sets such as remote sensing satellite imagery and geological and geophysical maps.…”

Beneath the Surface: Identifying Subsurface Caves in "Gua Pandan" Using Integrated Electrical Profiling Method

“…The second one is the induced polarization method, which is generally applied to mineral exploration, for instance, gold [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25], copper [26,27], and galena [28,29]. However, only a few researchers utilized it for underground cave detection, all deployed dipole-dipole arrays [12][13][14].…”