Identification of patterns associated with areas of epithermal alteration, through responses spectral using ASTER images

Abstract

Knowing the potential of natural resources associated with mining activity is critical to decision-making especially at the exploration stage, this allows organizations to assess whether the area of interest is viable, to continue with post-exploration processes of mining deposits. So, it is important to get new exploration processes that cover very wide surfaces, be low-cost and reveal high reliability, one of these alternatives is the use of satellite imagery based on the principles of spectral responses. Therefore, The objective of the research was to search for a technique that considers the quantitative criteria to relate and identify the objects by using the spectral response values whose spectral response patterns are different, in an area whose cutting law for exploitation is feasible (zones of epithermal alteration), with the spectral response values of compounds associated with alteration zones of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), using two statistical criteria, correlation analysis and quadratic mean error, which have revealed good performance in identifying objects from the comparison of spectral responses.

Keywords

• Spectral indices
• Mining exploration
• Mineralization zones
• Pattern identifications
• Remote sensors