Automatic Analysis of Aeromagnetic Images for Gold Exploration

Eun-Jung Holden; Mike Dentith; Peter Kovesi

doi:10.1071/ASEG2007ab057

ISSN: 2202-0586
E-ISSN:

oa Automatic Analysis of Aeromagnetic Images for Gold Exploration
Authors Eun-Jung Holden^a, Mike Dentith^b and Peter Kovesi^c
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^a Centre for Exploration Targeting, School of Earth & Geographical Sciences, The University of WA, , 35 Stirling Hwy, Nedlands, , WA 6009, , Australia, . [email protected] ^b Centre for Exploration Targeting, School of Earth & Geographical Sciences, The University of WA, , 35 Stirling Hwy, Nedlands, , WA 6009, , Australia, . [email protected] ^c School of Computer Science & Software Engineering, The University of WA, , 35 Stirling Hwy, Nedlands, , WA 6009, , Australia, . [email protected]
Publisher: Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists
Source: ASEG Extended Abstracts, Volume 2007, Issue ASEG2007 - 19th Geophysical Conference, Dec 2007, p. 1 - 4
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1071/ASEG2007ab057
- Published online: 01 Dec 2007

Abstract

Summary

Archaean lode gold mineralisation is known to occur near major crustal breaks manifesting as large-scale shear zones; which act as conduits for mineralising fluids. Mineralisation occurs in regions of structural complexity adjacent to the shear zones. This paper reports on-going image processing research that aims to automatically detect such geologically significant characteristics from aeromagnetic data for the prospectivity analysis. The current system finds the regions of magnetic discontinuity that are related to shear zones and lithological boundaries, and then identifies prospective regions nearby. The regions of magnetic discontinuity are detected using a combination of texture analysis and bilateral symmetric feature detection, where line-like features representing high local magnetic variations are identified. Then the areas adjacent to the regions of magnetic discontinuity are examined using a 2D fractal surface analysis technique to search for areas with complex magentic expressions that are related to structural complexity. A preliminary experiment was conducted using aeromagnetic data from the Yilgarn Craton in Western Australia and the regions selected by the proposed system contained over 76% of all known deposit locations and 82% of the greater than 1 tonnedeposit locations. Our on-going research also includes identifying the major shear zones from the regions of discontinuity to examine their spatial and geometrical characteristics.

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References

Bierlein, F. P., Murphy, F. C., Weinberg, R. F., and Lees, T., 2006, Distribution of orogenic gold deposits in relation to fault zones and gravity gradients: targeting tools applied to the Eastern Goldfields, Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia: Miner Deposita, 41, 107-126.
Brown, W., Groves, D. and Gedeon, T., 2003, Use of fuzzy membership input layers to combine subjective geological knowledge and empirical data in a neural network method for mineral-potential mapping: Natural Resources Research, 12(3), 183-200.
Chung, C.-J. F., 2003: Use of airborne geophysical surveys for constructing mineral potential maps: Economic Geology, Monograph, 11, 879-891.
Groves, D. I., Goldfarb, R. J., Knox-Robinson, C. M., Ojala, J., Gardoll, S., Yun, G. Y., and Holyland, P., 2000, Latekinematic timing of orogenic gold deposits and significance of computer-based exploration techniques with emphasis on the Yilgarn Block, Western Australia: Ore Geology Reviews, 17, 1-38.
Kovesi, P., 1997, Symmetry and asymmetry from local phase: Proceedings of The Tenth Australian Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 185-190.
Parker, J. R., 1997, Algorithms for Image Processing and Computer Vision: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Robert, F. and Poulsen, K. H., 1997, World-class Archaean gold deposits in Canada, An overview: Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 44, 329-351.
Russ, J., 1994, Fractal Surfaces: Plenum, New York.
Turner, D. D., 1997, Predictive GIS model for sedimenthosted gold deposits, north-central Nevada, U.S.A.: Proceedings of Exploration 97: Fourth Decennial International Conference on Mineral Exploration, 115-126.

/content/journals/10.1071/ASEG2007ab057

Article Type: Research Article

Keyword(s): aeromagnetics; Image processing; prospectivity analysis

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oa Automatic Analysis of Aeromagnetic Images for Gold Exploration

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