Abstract
Geobotanical, biogeochemical and geochemical studies were carried out over the Seruwila copper-magnetite prospect near Trincomalee in Sri Lanka. Soil and plant samples were collected along a 180-m transect across the ore body near a gossanous outcrop at Kollan Kulam. Eighteen elements were determined in plant foliage and soil samples. The data showed that in the soils, the concentrations of the ore elements copper and iron and of the pathfinders Ca, Co, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni and P, were highly indicative of the position of the ore body as determined by a drilling programme. Plant mapping showed that only two species ( Glycosmis mauritiana and Pterospermum canescens) were sufficiently ubiquitous to be of use for biogeochemical prospecting in this area. Neither species had a foliar copper content related to Cu levels in the soils, but G. mauritiana had P levels which related well to the position of the ore body and to the concentrations of Fe, Cu and pathfinders in the soils. Principal components and factor analysis of the biogeochemical and geochemical data showed that most of the variance in the plant-soil system was accounted for by the concentrations of ore elements in the soils. It is concluded that the data will be of use for further geochemical and botanical exploration studies in the region or in other genetically similar ore occurrences in South Asia.
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