article · Remote Sensing
Gold mineralisation in the southern Eastern Desert of Egypt is closely tied to ductile shear zones located among deformed ophiolitic blocks, metavolcanic rocks, and gabbro-diorite intrusions. This investigation integrated multisensor satellite imagery from Landsat-8, Sentinel-2B, ASTER, ALOS PALSAR, and Sentinel-1B with structural analysis and ground investigations in the Gabal Gerf area. Specific image processing methods, including custom band ratios, principal component analysis, and thermal indices, successfully discriminated favourable ophiolitic assemblages and mapped argillic, phyllic, and propylitic alteration zones. The analysis identified three deformation phases, revealing that gold-bearing quartz veins are governed primarily by D2 and D3 shear zones cutting through the deformed rock units. Combining remote sensing and structural observations yielded a field-verified gold mineralisation potential map, highlighting the capability of satellite data for mineral targeting in complex geological settings.
Mineral exploration across remote, rugged, and structurally complex terrains can be costly and labour-intensive. Integrating multispectral and radar satellite data allows geologists to identify alteration zones and structural controls across large expanses without extensive preliminary fieldwork. This approach lowers the cost of early-stage exploration and assists mining authorities in targeting ground surveys more effectively.
This approach offers an applied and tested exploration workflow suitable for commercial mineral exploration companies and national geological surveys. By combining open-access satellite data with structural interpretation, operators can generate mineral prospectivity maps to guide licensing and target generation. Because the mapping outputs were validated against field observations, the methodology is ready for immediate application in comparable arid, ophiolitic terrains.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
The gold mineralization located in the southern Eastern Desert of Egypt mostly occurs in characteristic geologic and structural settings. The gold-bearing quartz veins and the alteration zones are confined to the ductile shear zones between the highly deformed ophiolitic blocks, sheared metavolcanics, and gabbro-diorite rocks. The present study attempts to integrate multisensor remotely sensed data, structural analysis, and field investigation in unraveling the geologic and structural controls of gold mineralization in the Gabal Gerf area. Multispectral optical sensors of Landsat-8 OLI/TIRS (L8) and Sentinel-2B (S2B) were processed to map the lithologic rock units in the study area. Image processing algorithms including false color composite (FCC), band ratio (BR), principal component analysis (PCA), minimum noise fraction (MNF), and Maximum Likelihood Classifier (MLC) were effective in producing a comprehensive geologic map of the area. The mafic index (MI) = (B13-0.9147) × (B10-1.4366) of ASTER (A) thermal bands and a combined band ratio of S2B and ASTER of (S2B3+A9)/(S2B12+A8) were dramatically successful in discriminating the ophiolitic assemblage, that are considered the favorable lithology for the gold mineralization. Three alteration zones of argillic, phyllic and propylitic were spatially recognized using the mineral indices and constrained energy minimization (CEM) approach to ASTER data. The datasets of ALSO PALSAR and Sentinel-1B were subjected to PCA and filtering to extract the lineaments and their spatial densities in the area. Furthermore, the structural analysis revealed that the area has been subjected to three main phases of deformation; (i) NE-SW convergence and sinistral transpression (D2); (ii) ~E-W far field compressional regime (D3), and (iii) extensional tectonics and terrane exhumation (D4). The gold-bearing quartz veins in several occurrences are controlled by D2 and D3 shear zones that cut heterogeneously deformed serpentinites, sheared metavolcanic rocks and gabbro-diorite intrusions. The information extracted from remotely sensed data, structural interpretation and fieldwork were used to produce a gold mineralization potential zones map which was verified by reference and field observations. The present study demonstrates the remote sensing capabilities for the identification of alteration zones and structural controls of the gold mineralization in highly deformed ophiolitic regions.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.3390/rs15081974
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
