Lithological mapping and hydrothermal alteration using Landsat 8 data: a case study in ariab mining district, red sea hills, Sudan

Abstract

This study used the ability of remote sensing technology to identify and map the lithological units and alteration zones in a gold mining area in North-eastern Sudan by using Landsat 8 data source. The Landsat data series has been used widely in mapping lithological and altered rocks and in geology in general. The study area contains three gold mines part of Ariab mining district in Red Sea Hills, Northeastern Sudan. There are three types of gold deposits in the study area (Supergene deposits, polymetallic massive sulphide deposits and The Ganaet deposits) are being mined in Hadal Auatib mine, Hassai mine and Kamoeb mine. The objective of this study was to find new high potential areas for gold mineralization in the area. Conventional image processing methods such as (color composite, principle component analysis and band ratio) and minimum noise fraction have been used in this study for the purpose of lithological and alteration zones mapping. The visible and short infrared region was useful for mapping the iron oxides and the clay minerals, in which the thermal bands were used for silicate mapping. The results of this study showed the distribution of the lithological units and the hydrothermal alteration zones along with new high potential areas for gold mineralization which can be used in the future and proved the ability of Landsat data in mapping these feature. Keywords: Landsat-8 Data, Alteration, Lithological Mapping, Gold Exploration, Arabian-Nubian Shield.