Efficiency of singularity and PCA mapping of mineralization-related geochemical anomalies: a comparative study using BLEG and <180μm stream sediment geochemical data

Year 2022, , 11 - 33, 18.08.2022

Fatma Nuran Sönmez Simay Koçkar Hüseyin Yılmaz

https://doi.org/10.19111/bulletinofmre.955280

Abstract

In gold (Au) exploration, the analysis of both bulk leach extractable gold (BLEG) and acid-extractable Au in the <180μm stream sediment fraction are the two most common approaches. The Eskişehir- Sivrihisar region in Western Türkiye hosts several orogenic type mineral deposits. The purpose of this study is to delineate geochemical anomalies of ore-related elements and track their dispersion, which may lead to discovery of unknown ore deposits. This research also compares the capability of conventional statistical and principal component analysis (PCA), with concentration area (CA) and number-size/concentration (N-S/C) fractal methods as well as singularity index method to differentiate anomalous and background Au distributions. Known Au mineralization in the region of interest is strongly reflected in stream sediment BLEG Au patterns, which have robust singularity indices with C-A and N-S multifractal modeling and PCA. A hundred % of the Au deposits were detected using either BLEG Au and Ag singularity index mapping with C-A fractal analysis whereas the factor analysis of which revealed 85% efficiency. Several strong Au-Ag anomalies defined by the singularity index and factor analysis in this study requires further follow up for the discovery of new deposits.

Keywords

Singularity Mapping, C-A, N-S, PCA, Multi- Fractal Models, Eskişehir.

Thanks

We would like to express our appreciation to Eurogold Madencilik/Normandy Mining Ltd., Turkey for generous financial support to the project during Hüseyin Yılmaz’s presence in Eurogold as Exploration Manager. Anonymous reviewers are thanked for their invaluable comments in improving the quality of this paper.

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