Interpretation of aeromagnetic and remote sensing data of Auchi and Idah sheets of the Benin-arm Anambra basin: Implication of mineral resources
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de gruyter
Abstract
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The need for mineral resources for economic
development is key in both developing and developed
countries. However, miners usually resort to random excavation
of mineral deposits without proper investigation to
identify structures of interest in target areas. This usually
leads to land depletion and abandonment. The aim of this
study is to assess the mineral potential in part of the Beninarm
of the Anambra basin by investigating the geophysical
characteristics of the area using remote sensing and aeromagnetic
data. Surface and subsurface regional structures,
including faults and zones of mineralisation, were mapped
by integrating aeromagnetic and remote sensing data. The
mineral bearing zones that show high prospects of mineral
deposits in the region were identified. The rose diagram
revealed that the surface lineaments are aligned in the
NW–SE, N–S, NE–SW, E–W, NNE–SSW, ENE–WSW, and
ESE–WNW directions. The orientations of the subsurface
lineaments are aligned mostly in the NE–SW, N–S, and
E–W directions. The magnetic intensity ranged between
−431.38 and 399.82 nT, while reduction-to-pole magnetic
intensity ranged from –416 to 664.45 nT. The first vertical
derivative showed magnetic intensity which ranged from
–0.5863 to 0.9060 nT/km2. The total horizontal derivative magnetic
intensity ranged from –0.00031 to 0.762691 nT/km2,
while the analytic signal showed magnetic intensity ranging
from 14.0664 to 394,607.3438 nT/cm2. The windowed Euler
deconvolution depth to magnetic source showed depth
range of <20 to 2,000 m. Many of the features delineated
in the study area were characterised by shallow magnetic
source depths (<500m); this is a common characteristic
of basement complex terrains. Deeper magnetic source
depths (>1,000 m) were observed in the sedimentary terrain.
Mineral exploration should be focused in areas with
high lineament concentration, as lineaments are potential
conduits for economic minerals deposition.
Keywords
QC Physics