Evidence of tectonic control of mineralization in Nigeria from lineament density analysis A Landsat-study

Abstract

Abstract Lineaments of lengths equal to or greater than 5 km have been interpreted on each of the 30 Landsat frames required to cover the entire area of Nigeria north of 8° latitude. All the spectral bands 4, 5, 6 and 7 were used each at scale 1: 1 000 000. A mosaic of the interpretations from the various scenes was used to prepare a lineament map of Nigeria. Regional analysis of the lineaments based on the spatial and directional attributes of their assemblages suggests general northeast-southwest, northwest-southeast and north-south tectonic trends. The density of lineaments within each 1° × 1° block was determined using the conventional approach and a contour map of lineament densities produced. The lineament density map has been compared with the primary mineral occurrences map of Nigeria adapted from the mineral map of Nigeria. The result shows good correlation between the areas of high lineament density and the areas where the occurrences of most primary minerals such as iron, cassiterite, gold, lea...