Investigating Gold Mineralization Potentials in part of the Kibi-Winneba Belt of Ghana Using Airborne Magnetic and Radiometric Data

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2013-07-29
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Abstract
Gold is an important resource located within the subsurface, and its mineralization is controlled by geology, structures and hydrothermal alteration within rock formations. The search for gold is therefore the search for structures within hydrothermally altered zones in the subsurface. For this reason two geophysical surveys namely airborne magnetic and radiometric, proven to be excellent in mapping structures, geology and hydrothermally altered zones were employed in the Birimian formation in the Eastern region of Ghana. The airborne magnetic and radiometric data obtained were processed into grids with Geosoft. Data enhancement filters such as reduction to the pole, vertical integral, analytical signal, first and second vertical derivatives and continuation filters were applied to the total magnetic intensity grid to enhance anomalies. The radiometric data were also gridded to produce the concentration maps of K, Th, and U. Additionally, ratio maps of the three elements and their ternary images were produced. The images obtained from the enhanced magnetic data and the radiometric data showed that the study area is structurally complex with a few of the structures corresponding to D1 deformation and most structures corresponding to D2 deformation. The structures are dominate in the mafic volcanic, metavolcanic and the Tarkwaian formation. The metasediments and the Buem formation had very few structures. The results also showed a number of hydrothermal alterations within the mafic volcanic, Tarkwaian, and metavolcanic formation. From the results obtained, a composite map of the study area consisting of the geology, structures and hydrothermally altered zones were produced with ARC GIS. From the composite map eight zones were delineated as having potentials of considerable gold mineralization.
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A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Physics,Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology,in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Geophysics,
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