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GEOCHEMICAL PROSPECTING

Learn more about Geochemical Prospecting

Geochemical prospecting is one of the steps that can be used in mineral research and is based on the identification of anomalies of chemical elements in the area where the study is being carried out. It can be used for various ores, such as gold, iron, manganese, silver ore, platinoids, among others. However, it has different methods, which will be applicable or not depending on the mode of occurrence of that ore in that particular region.

The main geochemical methods are the analysis of active sediments from drainages and concentrates from baths. Both are based on the detection of the dispersion halos of mineral deposits, produced by the erosion agents. According to Licht, 1998, these methods are widely used in mineral prospecting mainly due to their low cost and the possibility of integrating the two together with other types of work.

How to apply Geochemical Prospecting in Mineral Research?

First, the area and some previous work that may or may not have been carried out should be evaluated, such as bibliographic research on geology and processing and interpretation of aerogeophysical and remote sensing data;
After that, the ore being prospected is analyzed and, according to the geology and preliminary data, the methods, elements, sensitivity and precision of the samples are defined;
After all this, the initial sampling begins, which is done on the surface or in depth of the subsoil;
After the collection and analysis of the samples, they can go to a laboratory or have analyses done in situ, according to the analytical methods that will be used;
In the fifth step, with the data, it is possible to make maps of the geochemical anomaly, measure the statistics and evaluate the results of the campaign;
Finally, there is the interpretation of the data, which will confirm or not the presence of anomalies, if they are positive.

If you need to do a geochemical prospection in your mineral area to find out where the main anomalies of a particular ore are, contact us, we are experts in mineral research!

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