Abstract
The National Geochemical Survey of Australia (NGSA) provides an internally consistent, state-of-the-art, continental-scale geochemical dataset that can be used to assess areas of Australia more elevated in commodity metals and/or pathfinder elements than others. But do regions elevated in such elements correspond to known mineralized provinces, and what is the best method for detecting and thus potentially predicting those? Here, using base metal associations as an example, I compare a trivariate rank-based index and a multivariate-based Principal Component Analysis method. The analysis suggests that the simpler rank-based index better discriminates catchments endowed with known base metal mineralization from barren ones and could be used as a first-pass prospectivity tool.
Highlights
Modern exploration for mineral resources has relied on geochemical methods since the early days of ‘mineral prospecting’ in the first half of the XXth century (e.g., Hawkes and Webb, 1962; Levinson, 1974; Beus and Grigorian, 1977; Rose et al, 1979)
I will use low-density geochemical data from the National Geochemical Survey of Australia (NGSA; Caritat and Cooper, 2011, 2016) to investigate if base metal mineral endowment can be recognized at the continental scale
I focus my attention on base metal mineral systems, and on silver (Ag), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) concentrations
Summary
Modern exploration for mineral resources has relied on geochemical methods since the early days of ‘mineral prospecting’ in the first half of the XXth century (e.g., Hawkes and Webb, 1962; Levinson, 1974; Beus and Grigorian, 1977; Rose et al, 1979). Statistical and visualization methods ranging from univariate analysis to complex machine learning algorithms and geographic information systems have been used to analyze geochemical data, including for prospectivity analysis purposes (e.g., Grunsky, 2010; Zuo et al, 2016; Cracknell and Caritat, 2017). The purpose of such studies is to identify which regions could be prioritized for further strategic investigation and investment. I choose to compare a relatively simple statistical analysis to a more complex multivariate approach
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