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Minerals
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Application of Remote Sensing for Mineral Resource Exploration and Exploitation
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Application of Remote Sensing for Mineral Resource Exploration and Exploitation

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Exploration Methods and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 9784

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Jianping Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Remote Sensing and Geo-Information, School of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: geological big data; mineral resources assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Xiehua Zou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
International Mining Research Center, China Geological Survey, Beijing 100037, China
Interests: resource and environment assessment; mining economic management policy
Dr. Jie Xiang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
International Mining Research Center, China Geological Survey, Beijing 100037, China
Interests: mining big data; remote sensing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the development of remote sensing technology and the improvement of spatial and spectral resolution of image data, remote sensing technology has been an important method in Mining as it can provide various information for the exploration, development and monitoring of mineral resources. In the exploration stage, Hyperspectral Remote Sensing plays an important role in mineral identification, geological mapping, alteration anomaly zoning and prospecting prediction. While in the development stage, remote sensing technology is often employed as a monitoring tool identifying possible geological disasters caused by mineral exploitation. Furthermore, remote sensing technology can be used to monitor the major mining projects all over the world and predict their productivity.

The Special Issue “Application of Remote Sensing for Mineral Resource Exploration and Exploitation” aims to publish topical papers featuring the application of remote sensing technology in the exploration and development of mineral resources, so as to make contributions to the sustainable development of global mining industry. This Issue welcomes a broad range of contributions regarding but not limited to:

(1)The application of remote sensing technology in the exploration of mineral resources.

(2)The application of remote sensing technology in the development of mineral resources.

Prof. Dr. Jianping Chen
Prof. Dr. Xiehua Zou
Dr. Jie Xiang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mineral resource
  • remote sensing
  • exploration
  • exploitation
  • prediction

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

30 pages, 3328 KiB  
Article
Mapping Abandoned Uranium Mine Features Using Worldview-3 Imagery in Portions of Karnes, Atascosa and Live Oak Counties, Texas
by Bernard E. Hubbard, Tanya J. Gallegos and Victoria Stengel
Minerals 2023, 13(7), 839; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13070839 - 22 Jun 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2307
Abstract
Worldview-3 (WV3) 16-band multispectral data were used to map exposed bedrock and mine waste piles associated with legacy open-pit mining of sandstone-hosted roll-front uranium deposits along the South Texas Coastal Plain. We used the “spectral hourglass” approach to extract spectral endmembers representative of [...] Read more.
Worldview-3 (WV3) 16-band multispectral data were used to map exposed bedrock and mine waste piles associated with legacy open-pit mining of sandstone-hosted roll-front uranium deposits along the South Texas Coastal Plain. We used the “spectral hourglass” approach to extract spectral endmembers representative of these features from the image. This approach first requires calibrating the imagery to reflectance, then masking for vegetation, followed by spatial and spectral data reduction using a principal component analysis-based procedure that reduces noise and identifies homogeneous targets which are “pure” enough to be considered spectral endmembers. In this case, we used a single WV3 image which covered an ~11.5 km by ~19.5 km area of Karnes, Atascosa and Live Oak Counties, underlain by mined rocks from the Jackson Group and Catahoula Formation. Up to 58 spectral endmembers were identified using a further multi-dimensional class segregation method and were used as inputs for spectral angle mapper (SAM) classification. SAM classification resulted in the identification of at least 117 mine- and mine waste-related features, most of which were previously unknown. Class similarity was further evaluated, and the dominant minerals in each class were identified by comparison to spectral libraries and measured samples of actual Jackson Group uranium host rocks. Redundant classes were eliminated, and SAM was run a second time using a reduced set of 23 endmembers, which were found to map these same features as effectively as using the full 58 set of endmembers, but with significantly reduced noise and spectral outliers. Our classification results were validated by evaluating detailed scale mapping of three known mine sites (Esse-Spoonamore, Wright-McCrady and Garbysch-Thane) with published ground truth information about the vegetation cover, extent of erosion and exposure of waste pile materials and/or geologic information about host lithology and mineralization. Despite successful demonstration of the utility of WV3 data for inventorying mine features, additional landscape features such as bare agricultural fields and oil and gas drill pads were also identified. The elimination of such features will require combining the spectral classification maps presented in this study with high-quality topographic data. Also, the spectral endmembers identified during the course of this study could be useful for larger-scale mapping efforts using additional well-calibrated WV3 images beyond the coverage of our initial study area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Remote Sensing for Mineral Resource Exploration and Exploitation)
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18 pages, 23940 KiB  
Article
Spatial Analysis of Structure and Metal Mineralization Based on Fractal Theory and Fry Analysis: A Case Study in Nenjiang−Heihe Metallogenic Belt
by Zhonghai Zhao, Jun Chen, Binbin Cheng, Yiwen Liu, Kai Qiao, Xiaomeng Cui, Yechang Yin and Chenglu Li
Minerals 2023, 13(3), 313; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13030313 - 23 Feb 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1989
Abstract
Regional tectonics can provide excellent transport channels and precipitation sites for mineralized hydrothermal fluid. Studying the spatial relationship and distribution trends of regional tectonics and metal mineralization has theoretical and practical significance for revealing regional mineralization regularities and guiding mineral exploration. This study [...] Read more.
Regional tectonics can provide excellent transport channels and precipitation sites for mineralized hydrothermal fluid. Studying the spatial relationship and distribution trends of regional tectonics and metal mineralization has theoretical and practical significance for revealing regional mineralization regularities and guiding mineral exploration. This study considers the Nenjiang-Heihe metallogenic belt, through the fractal box dimension method and Fry analysis, to explore the spatial distribution characteristics and patterns of tectonics. The results were as follows. (1) NE and NW directions are the main tectonic directions in the study area, with high-density areas concentrated in the central-eastern and central-western regions, demonstrating an overall ring-like distribution pattern. (2) Fractal dimensions of the linear structures of the NE and NW directions and the entire study area are 1.543, 1.493, and 1.622, respectively, with a strong coupling relationship between the lineament fractal high-value area and rhombic-grid spatial distribution of known deposits. (3) Gold mineralization shows the NEE and NWW directions as two main mineralization trends; the intersection area is the gold-potential area. The main trend direction of the Cu-Mo metallogenic trend belt is the NNW direction; the intersection area with the NEE direction gold metallogenic trend belt is the Au-Cu-Mo potential mineralization area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Remote Sensing for Mineral Resource Exploration and Exploitation)
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23 pages, 3828 KiB  
Article
Regional Quantitative Mineral Prospectivity Mapping of W, Sn, and Nb-Ta Based on Integrated Information in Rwanda, Central Africa
by Zhuo Chen, Jianping Chen, Tao Liu, Yunfeng Li, Qichun Yin and Haishuang Du
Minerals 2023, 13(2), 189; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13020189 - 28 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3691
Abstract
As the need to discovers new mineral deposits and occurrences has intensified in recent years, it has become increasingly apparent that we need to map potentials via integrated information on the basis of metallogeny. Occurrences of mineralization such as tungsten (W), tin (Sn), [...] Read more.
As the need to discovers new mineral deposits and occurrences has intensified in recent years, it has become increasingly apparent that we need to map potentials via integrated information on the basis of metallogeny. Occurrences of mineralization such as tungsten (W), tin (Sn), columbium (Nb), tantalum (Ta), gold (Au), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn) and monazite (Mnz) have been discovered in Rwanda. The objective of this study was to present a regional quantitative mineral prospectivity mapping (MPM) of W, Sn and Nb-Ta mineralization in Rwanda using the random forest (RF) method on the basis of open source data, such as geological maps, Bouguer gravity anomalies, magnetic anomalies, Landsat 8 images, ASTER GDEM, Globeland30, and OpenStreetMap. In addition, a newly introduced interpolation–density–delineation (IDD) process was applied to deal with the blank (masked) areas in remotely sensed mineral alteration extraction. Additionally, a k2-fold cross-validation method was also proposed to obtain more reasonable test errors. Firstly, the metallogenic regularity of W, Sn and Nb-Ta in Rwanda was summarized with the help of articles online. Secondly, original geological, geophysical, and remote sensing data were utilized to generate secondary data. Specifically, the IDD process was applied subsequent to the directed principal component analysis method (DPCA) to reconstruct the alteration anomaly map, and a relevant dataset was formed by the combination of original and secondary data. Thirdly, specific predictor layers for W, Sn and Nb-Ta were selected from relevant data via spatial correlation with known deposits, respectively, and the predictive models were established. Finally, near 26,000 squares were zoned in Rwanda, and RF was optimized and applied, the k2-fold cross-validation method was utilized to assess test errors, metallogenic belts and prospective areas for W, Sn, and Nb-Ta were delineated on the basis of total mineralization potential map and likelihoods map. Results proved that the open source data online were valid for drawing a preliminary mineralization potential map. Furthermore, it was also shown that the IDD method is suitable for the postprocessing of masked alteration anomaly maps. Belt IV-4 in the northwest and belt IV-2, IV-1 in the middle-east of Rwanda, containing a number of prospective areas, possess considerable likelihoods of deposits, and mining in Rwanda is at its dawn, with potential worth expecting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Remote Sensing for Mineral Resource Exploration and Exploitation)
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