Synergistic use of ASTER, L-band ALOS PALSAR, and hyperspectral AVIRIS-NG data for exploration of lode type gold deposit – A study in Hutti Maski Schist Belt, India

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2021

Department

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences

Abstract

In this study, we have explored the utility of advanced hyperspectral, dual-polarized microwave, and advanced multispectral data to delineate potential areas of mineralization associated with the lode type gold deposit in Hutti-Maski Schist Belt Karnataka, India. We derived different image-enhanced products using visible-near-infrared (VNIR) and short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectral bands of the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) sensor to delineate major rock types of gold-bearing greenstone belt such as metabasalt, amphibolite, younger alkali feldspar rich granite, granodiorite, and tonalitic-granodioric gneiss (TTG). The principal component (PC) image composite of ASTER VNIR-SWIR bands was not only used to distinguish different granitoids but also confirmed their sharp instructive nature of contact with the greenstone rocks. We also used an index image composite using ASTER SWIR bands to discriminate granitoid, basalt and amphibolite. We could demarcate few lineaments extending through the mineralized zone (e.g., Hutti, Heera-Buddine mines, etc.) using the fused products of ASTER and two polarization channels of the Phased-array L band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) sensor of the Advanced Land Observation Satellite (ALOS). All these image-enhanced products are validated using the reference geological map of the study area and field data collected along selected field -traverses. The mineralogical and petrographical data of the altered rocks from the study site revealed the formation of calcite, scapolite, and other minerals. Represenattive reflectance spectrum of the altered rock was used to spatially delineate the surface distribution of the patchy and small alteration zones using airborne hyperspectral data of the Advanced Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer Next Generation (AVIRIS-NG) sensor. In this regard, a unified spectral map of altered rocks was derived by integrating two alteration maps prepared independently using two different partial sub-pixel algorithms (constrained energy minimization and matched filtering). Occurrences of altered rocks in the vicinity to favorable geological lineaments and their spatial proximity to metavolcanic-younger felsic intrusive contacts suggest their importance as the potential sites for detailed exploration.

Publisher's Statement

© 2020 Elsevier B.V. Publisher’s version of record: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2020.103818

Publication Title

Ore Geology Reviews

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