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Integrating geologic and Landsat-8 and ASTER remote sensing data for gold exploration: a case study from Zarshuran Carlin-type gold deposit, NW Iran

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Abstract

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) and the Landsat-8 data were integrated with geological data to map lithologic units, lineament features, hydrothermal alteration zones, and distribution of Fe3+-bearing minerals in the Zarshuran Carlin-type gold deposit. The dominant hydrothermal alterations related to the gold mineralization in the study area, consist of argillic, alunite, silicified, and decalcified alterations of carbonate host rocks. The alteration assemblages are accompanied by ferric iron minerals such as jarosite and hematite. The red-green-blue (RGB) combination of bands 5, 2, and 1 of the ASTER sensor provides excellent criteria for the separation of the host rock lithologic boundaries, particularly for the Oligo-Miocene andesitic volcanic rocks covering the vast parts of the study area. The ASTER lithologic map derived from RGB combination of bands 5, 2, and 1 is represented by a set of lineaments in which both the thrust and normal faults were enhanced. The band ratios obtained by the Landsat-8 and the ASTER datasets have been effectively used to delineate the alteration halos characterized by kaolinite, alunite, quartz, and ferric iron minerals both in regional and local (the Zarshuran gold mine) scales. In addition, methods such as the principal component analysis (PCA) and the selective principal component analysis (Crosta) were exerted on the ASTER data to identify the hydrothermal alteration zones. The spectral angle mapper (SAM) algorithm using the ASTER data could better differentiate the various alteration (e.g., argillic, alunite, and silicified) zones existing in the study area. The matched filtering (MF) technique processed on the Landsat-8 data was applied to characterize the ferric iron minerals (jarosite and hematite) and separate the hydrothermal alteration zones as well. The integration and combination of various image processing techniques indicated that the alteration zones at Zarshuran are affiliated with normal faults within the carbonate host rocks and can be used for prospection mapping purposes in regional scale.

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Acknowledgments

The authors appreciate the many personnel of the Zarshuran Mine particularly to Eng. M. Yeganli for giving us generous assistance, permitting us to have access and sample the available diamond drill cores, and providing us with great quantities of valuable analytical data. Gratitude is further expressed to Prof. Abdullah M. Al-Amri Editor-in-Chief, Wilfried Bauer Associate Editor, and two anonymous reviewers for reviewing the manuscript and making critical comments and valuable suggestions.

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The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, Faculty of Sciences, Urmia University, 5756151818, Urmia, Iran

    Tohid Yousefi & Ali Abedini

  2. Faculty of Mining Engineering, Urmia University of Technology, Urmia, Iran

    Farhang Aliyari

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

    Ali Asghar Calagari

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  1. Tohid Yousefi
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Yousefi, T., Aliyari, F., Abedini, A. et al. Integrating geologic and Landsat-8 and ASTER remote sensing data for gold exploration: a case study from Zarshuran Carlin-type gold deposit, NW Iran. Arab J Geosci 11, 482 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-018-3822-x

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