Lineament mapping and deposit prospecting in the Gouli area, East Kunlun, Qinghai Province: Using multisource remote sensing data

Abstract

Objective The Gouli area is one of the important gold and polymetallic belt in the East Kunlun Orogen. There is no research on lineament identification and mineral exploration based on multisource remote sensing data in the area. Methods In this paper, various enhancement techniques were employed on Landsat 8 OLI, GF-2 and DEM data to delineate structural lineaments. Meanwhile, information on geological, mineral and geochemical anomalies was combined to define prospecting targets in the Gouli area. Results The results show that (1) The tectonic framework of the study area can be divided into two regions by the boundary of Kaketeer-Seride. The lineament in the northern region is most developed in the NNE direction, followed by the near-EW direction, and less distributed in the NW and NE directions. The lineament in the southern region is mainly developed in the near-EW direction, and the NW to NE directions are less distributed. (2) The gold ore is controlled by lineaments. (3) The areas of densely distributed and intersected lineaments, as well as the areas connected by different colors on remote sensing images, are favorable locations for gold mineralization. Finally, based on the comprehensive analysis of multiple geological information and remote sensing interpreted tectonic information, four prospecting targets were identified in the study area and verified in the field. Conclusion This study proves that multisource remote sensing data can better identify the spatial structure characteristics of surface tectonics, which can provide a reference and basis for prospecting new deposits in the Gouli area.

Keywords

• gf-2
• high spatial resolution
• remote sensing
• lineament
• gouli area
• deposit prospecting