Aeromagnetic Anomalies and Tectonic Trends in and Around the Southern Part of Sokoto Basin, NW, Nigeria, using the Enhancement Filtering Techniques

Abstract

The Taloka formation Sokoto Basin, Nigeria, was studied in an effort to discover and map the structural features favourable for metalliferous mineral deposits. High-resolution aeromagnetic data was subjected to structural analysis in order to map and highlight structural lineaments and their trends, as well as the depth of magnetic source bodies. Several digital filtering approaches were used to analyze, process, and interpret the data, including total gradient, total horizontal derivative of tilt of angle derivative (THDR_TDR), source parameter imaging (SPI), and spectral depth analysis. The RTE method was employed to prevent the North-South signal from predominating the results because the area was within the low latitude zones. The eastern Gundumi formation (Marafaro, Rujin Tsamia, Kwanawa, Dande, and Rikaka), the northeastern Taloka formation (Dutsen Bature, Bange, and Kumazo), and the western Taloka formation (Bejiji, Bagu, Danjiru, Baranzaki, and Awakala) are all found to have low amplitude magnetic anomalies. The research area exhibits magnetic anomalies with strong amplitudes (0.078 nT/m), which are consistent with the total gradient (AS) approach and might be caused by ferromagnetic minerals like iron stone. The aforementioned filters were also used to outline the lineaments (such as faults, fractures, or shear zones) believed to be associated with alteration zones, which are essential in locating the mineralized zones. The lineaments typically trend in the E-W, NW-SE, and NE-SW directions. Utilizing the SPI techniques, the depth of occurrence of the causative bodies was found to be below 250.3 m. The crustal magnetic field values were utilized to generate the two-dimensional Fourier transforms, from which the radial spectrum was recovered. The depth values were calculated using the slopes of the sixteen sections' spectrum energy against frequency graph. According to the findings, the study area's deeper depth lies between 1.10 and 1.69 km, while its shallower depth lies between 0.39 and 0.90 km. The study finds that alteration zones may harbour minerals and that the thickness of the sedimentary layer may not be sufficiently buoyant to support the build-up of hydrocarbons but will enhance the possibility of other mineralization.

Keywords

• Aeromagnetic anomalies
• Tectonic trends
• Digital filtering tools
• Metalliferous minerals
• Sokoto Basin