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Reconnaissance-Scale Prospectivity Analysis for Gold Mineralisation in the Southern Uplands-Down-Longford Terrane, Northern Ireland

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Abstract

The Southern Uplands-Down-Longford Terrane in southeast Northern Ireland is prospective for Caledonian-age, turbidite-hosted orogenic gold mineralisation with important deposits at Clontibret in the Republic of Ireland and in Scotland. Geochemical and geophysical data from the DETI-funded Tellus project have been used, in conjunction with other spatial geoscience datasets, to map the distribution of prospectivity for this style of mineralisation over this terrane. A knowledge-based fuzzy logic modelling methodology using Arc Spatial Data modeller was utilised. The prospectivity analysis has identified several areas prospective for turbidite-hosted gold mineralisation, comparable to that at Clontibret and gold occurrences in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. A number of these either coincide with known bedrock gold occurrences or with areas considered prospective and targeted by previous exploration work, validating the predictive capability of the exploration model devised and its translation into a GIS-based prospectivity model. The results of the modelling suggest that as in other parts of the Southern Uplands the coincidence of regional strike-parallel structures and intersecting transverse faults are highly prospective, as these are likely to create zones of anomalous stress for fluid flow and deposit formation. Those areas in which there are no known gold occurrences are considered to be favourable targets for further exploration and should be followed up.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the support of Geological Survey of Northern Ireland and the Tellus project team. PL, CS, AG and AW publish with the permission of the Executive Director, British Geological Survey (NERC). Tim Colman is thanked for his valuable comments on the draft text. The Tellus Project was financed by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment of Northern Ireland and by the EU-funded Rural Development Programme 2001–2006 for Building Sustainable Prosperity. Maps are based upon Crown Copyright and reproduced with the permission of Land & Property Services under delegated authority from the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, © Crown copyright and database right (2012) DMOU205. Crown copyright 2012. All rights reserved.

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  1. British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK

    P. A. J. Lusty, C. Scheib, A. G. Gunn & A. S. D. Walker

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Lusty, P.A.J., Scheib, C., Gunn, A.G. et al. Reconnaissance-Scale Prospectivity Analysis for Gold Mineralisation in the Southern Uplands-Down-Longford Terrane, Northern Ireland. Nat Resour Res 21, 359–382 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-012-9183-3

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