Research Article | OPEN ACCESS
Integrating Geoscience Data for Delineating Potential Gold Targets-a Case Study from Sian Goldfields Limited, Ghana
1Chiri G. Amedjoe, 1S.K.Y. Gawu, 2E. Arhin and 3P.K. Adjei
1Department of Geological Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University Science and Technology, Private Mail Bag, KNUST-Kumasi
2Faculty of Applied Sciences, University for Development Studies, P.O. Box 24, Navrongo
3Sian Goldfields Limited, Nkawkaw, Eastern Region, Ghana
Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology 2016 9:907-915
Received: September ‎30, ‎2015 | Accepted: October ‎30, ‎2015 | Published: May 05, 2016
Abstract
Sian Goldfields Limited (SGL) recently re-examined its concession by integrating data in a GIS environment for the improvement of the mapping of the local geology as well as for delineating potential gold targets. Data employed included geochemical, topographic, geological and aerial photographic information. The geochemical data included 5660 soil samples collected over a terrain underlain by six different lithologies namely, rhyolites, greenstones, sheared greenstones, phyllites, sandstones and granites. The various lithologies and their boundaries were obtained from the shaded relief map derived from the topographic information whilst “ground truthing” confirmed and established the other geological contacts. The updated geology map generated from the geosciences data was superimposed on the soil gold geochemical plot. The integration of these datasets in the form of maps resulted in the easy definition of anomalous gold targets. The targets were delineated using background and threshold values of 30 ppb and 50 ppb respectively. The integration model approach portrayed many of the geological boundaries to have relations with mineralization. The use of the MapInfo-Discover GIS markedly aided to ascertain the geological contacts in areas where outcrops were uncommon. The re-analysis of the remote-sensed data and the ground truthing showed the clear contact between the Birimian system and the Voltaian units at the north eastern side of the concession. The integration of this information with soil geochemical gold results highlighted the most prospective gold targets. It is recommended that the granite-sheared greenstones/sheared greenstone-massive greenstones contacts and areas with defined soil anomalies should be subjected to further exploration works.
Keywords:
Data-driven, exploration, geoscience data, knowledge-driven, mineralization,
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Competing interests
The authors have no competing interests.
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This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
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