Impact of airborne geophysical surveys on the exploration of gold mineralization in Burkina Faso

PreviousNext No AccessSEG Technical Program Expanded Abstracts 2019Impact of airborne geophysical surveys on the exploration of gold mineralization in Burkina FasoAuthors: Nasreddine BournasAbdoulaye TouréMahamoud BalbonéPalalé ZagréAbdoulaye OuédraogoKanita KhaledAlexander PrikhodkoJean LegaultNasreddine BournasGeotech Ltd, Aurora, ONSearch for more papers by this author, Abdoulaye TouréBureau of Mines and Geology of Burkina Faso (BUMIGEB), Burkina FasoSearch for more papers by this author, Mahamoud BalbonéBureau of Mines and Geology of Burkina Faso (BUMIGEB), Burkina FasoSearch for more papers by this author, Palalé ZagréBureau of Mines and Geology of Burkina Faso (BUMIGEB), Burkina FasoSearch for more papers by this author, Abdoulaye OuédraogoBureau of Mines and Geology of Burkina Faso (BUMIGEB), Burkina FasoSearch for more papers by this author, Kanita KhaledGeotech Ltd, Aurora, ONSearch for more papers by this author, Alexander PrikhodkoGeotech Ltd, Aurora, ONSearch for more papers by this author, and Jean LegaultGeotech Ltd, Aurora, ONSearch for more papers by this authorhttps://doi.org/10.1190/segam2019-3216671.1 SectionsSupplemental MaterialAboutPDF/ePub ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail AbstractBurkina Faso is a gold-rich province whose mineral potential is mainly associated with the Birimian volcano-sedimentary belts and their intersections with Eburnean shear zones. Recently, the government of Burkina Faso completed a country-wide high-resolution airborne geophysical coverage for geological mapping and exploration of mineral resources. In this paper, we present results of automatic interpretation of large airborne geophysical dataset. We use sophisticated algorithms based on artificial intelligence for interpreting the acquired country-wide large dataset to help delineate new favourable areas for gold exploration. First, we show some interpretation results that depict the regional litho-structural framework of Burkina Faso. Next, we present results obtained using an automatic lineament analysis process to map and define the most prospective areas for gold exploration and targeting. The use of texture analysis and contrast invariant ridge detection on the airborne magnetic data helped delineate areas of structural complexity reflecting both fault intersection density and fault orientation density. The results obtained from the intelligent maps not only agree well with known mineralized zones but also suggest new areas of high prospectivity for gold mineralization.Presentation Date: Wednesday, September 18, 2019Session Start Time: 8:30 AMPresentation Time: 9:20 AMLocation: 301BPresentation Type: OralKeywords: artificial intelligence, airborne survey, interpretation, magnetics, radiometricsPermalink: https://doi.org/10.1190/segam2019-3216671.1FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails SEG Technical Program Expanded Abstracts 2019ISSN (print):1052-3812 ISSN (online):1949-4645Copyright: 2019 Pages: 5407 publication data© 2019 Published in electronic format with permission by the Society of Exploration GeophysicistsPublisher:Society of Exploration Geophysicists HistoryPublished Online: 10 Aug 2019 CITATION INFORMATION Nasreddine Bournas, Abdoulaye Touré, Mahamoud Balboné, Palalé Zagré, Abdoulaye Ouédraogo, Kanita Khaled, Alexander Prikhodko, and Jean Legault, (2019), "Impact of airborne geophysical surveys on the exploration of gold mineralization in Burkina Faso," SEG Technical Program Expanded Abstracts : 2153-2157. https://doi.org/10.1190/segam2019-3216671.1 Plain-Language Summary Keywordsartificial intelligenceairborne surveyinterpretationmagneticsradiometricsPDF DownloadLoading ...