Airborne geophysical data analysis applied to geological interpretation in the Alta Floresta Gold Province, MT

Abstract

The Alta Floresta Gold Province (AFGP) is located in the central-southern portion of the Amazon Craton. In its eastern segment there are more than one hundred gold deposits hosted in volcanic and plutonic rocks of medium to high content of potassium. In many of these deposits the gold ore is correlated spatially and genetically related to magmatic-hydrothermal systems and mainly hosted into the silicification, potassic and sericitic alterations. In this context, this work focuses on understanding the geological context of the region and the possibility of expanding new exploratory frontiers through techniques further traditional geological mapping. The processing and interpretation of airborne magnetic and gamma-ray spectrometry data of the Juruena-Teles Pires Project (Phase 1) allowed the production of a new regional geological map of the eastern portion of the AFGP. Additionally, theoretical models showed that despite the limitations of the reduction to the pole at low latitudes, the magnetic enhancements proposed can be applied to real data through the use of directional filtering to eliminate the features generated in the magnetic declination direction. The Total Horizontal Derivative of the Tilt Derivative (THDR-TDR) method proved the best enhancement for the interpretation of the structures, showing a structural complexity similar to that proposed for the evolution of the province. The interpretation of the products based on the gamma-ray spectrometry channels allowed the reinterpretation of different geological units, including the individualization of a new high-potassium intrusive unit, which in the context of AFGP may have metallogenetic potential.