Geological Methods In Mineral Exploration With Some Application Examples In China

The mining sector has hugely contributed to the economic development of China in recent years,which has led to a great interest in mineral exploration in the country.The success of mineral exploration operations depends largely on the choice of the geological prospecting methods used in addition to the availability of appropriate funding for the completion of such work.The present work aims to provide useful information as regards the different geological prospecting methods and the overall context of mineral exploration operations prevailing in China.The methods presented here take into account the following features:cost-effectiveness,efficiency,result rapidity and specificity as to the type of deposit explored.The context of mineral exploration covers the legal framework regulating the mining sector including preservation and conservation of the environment as well as the investment system applicable in China.The study covers various provinces,each one with a particular method:the lithogeochemical method was applied in Xiong'ershan area and was used to compare the concentrations of gold in faults and surrounding rocks with respective values of 218.07 × 10-9 and 19.90 × 10-9.The hydrochemical method was used in Xiaoxilin to evaluate the lead and zinc reserves that amount to 400000 t at grade 4.09%and 530000 t at grade 4.23%respectively.The soil geochemical measurement was used in Bao Long,two major anomalies were discovered,with a value 200 × 10-9.In Sichuan,the Hekou Group was the highest density with a value 2.93 × 103 kg/m3 by gravity measurements.In Piping,the results obtained from the application of magnetic prospecting shown that the ultramafic rocks are the most magnetic with a value 13.000 × 10-6 MCG.The gold content in the Baoban area is 7.9971 × 10-6 obtained by remote sensing.Each method is described in detail including the different stages of the procedure starting from the preparation stage to the final analysis and result,as well as the tools used in the field work,including the ones from the newest technologies,one of which is the MapGis software.It should be specifically noted that the use of these new technologies has allowed rapid analysis producing accurate results.It is recommended to combine these methods to obtain more satisfactory results.