Manganese potential mapping in western Guangxi-southeastern Yunnan (China) via spatial analysis and modal-adaptive prospectivity modeling

Abstract

While the region of western Guangxi-southeastern Yunan, China, is known and considered prospective for manganese deposits, carrying out prospectivity mapping in this region is challenging due to the diversity of geological factors, the complexity of geological process and the asymmetry of geo-information. In this work, the manganese potential mapping for further exploration targeting is implemented via spatial analysis and modal-adaptive prospectivity modeling. On the basis of targeting criteria developed by the mineral system approach, the spatial analysis is leveraged to extract the predictor variables to identify features of the geological process. Specifically, a metallogenic field analysis approach is proposed to extract metallogenic information that quantifies the regional impacts of the synsedimentary faults and sedimentary basins. In the integration of the extracted predictor variables, a modal-adaptive prospectivity model is built, which allows to adapt different data availability and geological process. The resulting prospective areas of high potential not only correspond to the areas of known manganese deposits but also provide a number of favorable targets in the region for future mineral exploration.