Exploration
Ahmed Abdelhalim; Islam Abuelella; Shawky M Sakran; Said Mohamed Said
Abstract
Kharit basin is an interior Cretaceous rift basin hosted in a Precambrian basement complex of the Arabian-Nubian shield. Satellite images and potential geophysical data previously outlined the basin without a detailed field study. Kharit area is a remote and hyper-arid area; therefore, the application ...
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Kharit basin is an interior Cretaceous rift basin hosted in a Precambrian basement complex of the Arabian-Nubian shield. Satellite images and potential geophysical data previously outlined the basin without a detailed field study. Kharit area is a remote and hyper-arid area; therefore, the application of remote sensing is essential for completing the process of its geo-structural mapping. A multi-spectral optical dataset of the Landsat-8 and high-resolution images of Google Earth was integrated with the field investigation to classify the lithological units and define structures. That integration between analyzed satellite images and field investigations led to a geological map of a minimum scale of 1:50,000 for the lithological rock units and a maximum scale of up to 1:7000 for the structural mapping. The map shows an elongated NW-oriented rift basin filled by a thick deposit of Cretaceous sequences bounded from the east, west, and south by Proterozoic igneous and metamorphic rocks. Additionally, rift-related volcanic rocks were mapped along the western border fault system of the basin. The main mapped faults were delineated in three trends, NW-SE, WNW-ENE, and N-S, while several folds of NW orientations are developed as a normal drag of the main bounding faults. The Early Cretaceous extension along inherited Precambrian lineaments propagated this fault pattern and its associated folds. These structural elements configured the studied area architecture as several grabens with thick Cretaceous sequences.
Exploitation
H. Aryanmehr; M. Hosseinjanizadeh; M. Honarmand; F. Naser
Abstract
In this work, we focus on investigating the Quickbird and Landsat-8 datasets for mapping hydrothermal and gossans alterations in reconnaissance porphyry copper mineralization in the Babbiduyeh area. This area is situated in the Central Iranian Volcano-sedimentary Complex, where large copper deposits ...
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In this work, we focus on investigating the Quickbird and Landsat-8 datasets for mapping hydrothermal and gossans alterations in reconnaissance porphyry copper mineralization in the Babbiduyeh area. This area is situated in the Central Iranian Volcano-sedimentary Complex, where large copper deposits like Sarcheshmeh as well as numerous occurrences of copper exist. The alteration zones are discriminated by implementation of band ratio and principal component analysis on the Quickbird and Landsat-8 datasets. The image processing results are evaluated by field surveys, X-ray diffraction (XRD), microscopic thin section, and spectroscopic studies of field samples as well as the 1:100000 Sarduiyeh and 1:5000 Babbiduyeh geological maps. In addition, the spectral characterizations of the samples are analyzed by visual inspection, and the PIMAView, SAMS, and ViewSpecpro software programs. The combined spectroscopic measurements, XRD analyses, and petrographic studies revealed mineral assemblages typical of the phyllic, phyllic-supergen, propylitic, argillic, and gossan alterations. The results obtained from image processing and analysis of field samples illustrated examples of effects of iron oxides and hydroxides on the surface of phyllic and argillic alterations. Hence, it can be concluded that the areas discriminated in Quickbird as gossans correspond to the phyllic and argillic alteration areas.
