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The integration of surface and subsurface geoscience data is critical for efficient and effective mineral exploration and mining. Publicly accessible data sets to evaluate the various geoscience analytical tools and their effectiveness for characterisation of mineral assemblages and lithologies or discrimination of ore from waste are however scarce. The open-access Rocklea Dome 3D Mineral Mapping Test Data Set (Laukamp, 2020; 10.25919/5ed83bf55be6a) provides an opportunity for evaluating proximal and remote sensing data, validated and calibrated by independent geochemical and mineralogical analyses, for exploration of channel iron deposits (CIDs) through cover. We present hyperspectral airborne, surface, and drill core reflectance spectra collected in the visible–near-infrared and shortwave infrared wavelength ranges (VNIR–SWIR; 350 to 2500 nm), as well as whole-rock geochemistry obtained by means of X-ray fluorescence analysis and loss-on-ignition measurements of drill core samples. The integration of surface with subsurface hyperspectral data collected in the frame of previously published Rocklea Dome 3D Mineral Mapping case studies demonstrated that about 30 % of exploration drill holes were sunk into barren ground and could have been of better use, located elsewhere, if airborne hyperspectral imagery had been consulted for drill hole planning. The remote mapping of transported Tertiary detritals (i.e. potential hosts of channel iron ore resources) versus weathered in situ Archaean bedrock (i.e. barren ground) has significant implications for other areas where "cover" (i.e. regolith and/or sediments covering bedrock hosting mineral deposits) hinders mineral exploration. Hyperspectral remote sensing represents a cost-effective method for regolith landform mapping required for planning drilling programmes. In the Rocklea Dome area, vegetation unmixing methods applied to airborne hyperspectral data, integrated with subsurface data, resulted in seamless mapping of ore zones from the weathered surface to the base of the CID – a concept that can be applied to other mineral exploration and mineral deposit studies. Furthermore, the associated, independent calibration data allowed the quantification of iron oxide phases and associated mineralogy from hyperspectral data. Using the Rocklea Dome data set, novel geostatistical clustering methods were applied to the drill core data sets for ore body domaining that introduced scientific rigour to a traditionally subjective procedure, resulting in reproducible objective domains that are critical for the mining process. Beyond the previously published case studies, the Rocklea Dome 3D Mineral Mapping Test Data Set has the potential to develop new methods for advanced resource characterisation and develop new applications that aid exploration for mineral deposits through cover. The white mica and chlorite abundance maps derived from airborne hyperspectral, presented here for the first time, highlight the additional applications of remote sensing for geological mapping and could help to evaluate newly launched hyper- and multispectral spaceborne systems for geoscience and mineral exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of surface and subsurface geoscience data is critical for efficient and effective mineral exploration and mining. Publicly accessible datasets to evaluate the various geoscience analytical tools and their effectiveness for characterisation of mineral assemblages and lithologies or discrimination of ore from waste are however scarce. The open access Rocklea Dome 3D Mineral Mapping Test Data Set (Laukamp, 2020; https://doi.org/10.25919/5ed83bf55be6a) provides an opportunity for evaluating proximal and remote sensing data, validated and calibrated by independent geochemical and mineralogical analyses, for exploration of channel-iron deposits (CID) through cover. We present hyperspectral airborne, surface and drill core reflectance spectra collected in the visible-near infrared and shortwave infrared wavelength ranges (VNIR-SWIR; 350 to 2500 nm), as well as whole rock geochemistry obtained by means of X-Ray fluorescence analysis and loss on ignition measurements of drill core samples. The integration of surface with subsurface hyperspectral data collected in the frame of previously published Rocklea Dome 3D Mineral Mapping case studies demonstrated that about 30 % of exploration drill holes were sunk into barren ground and could have been of better use, located elsewhere, if airborne hyperspectral imagery had been consulted for drill hole planning. The remote mapping of transported Tertiary detritals (i.e. potential hosts of channel iron ore resources) versus weathered in situ Archaean geology (i.e. barren ground) has significant implications for other areas where "cover" (i.e. regolith and/or sediments covering bedrock hosting mineral deposits) hinders mineral exploration. Hyperspectral remote sensing represents a cost-effective method for regolith landform mapping required for planning drilling programs. In the Rocklea Dome area, vegetation unmixing methods applied to airborne hyperspectral data, integrated with subsurface data, resulted in seamless mapping of ore zones from the weathered surface to the base of the CID - a concept that can be applied to other mineral exploration and mineral deposit studies. Furthermore, the associated, independent calibration data allowed to quantify iron oxide phases and associated mineralogy from hyperspectral data. Using the Rocklea Dome data set, novel geostatistical clustering methods were applied to the drill core data sets for ore body domaining that introduced scientific rigour to a traditionally subjective procedure, resulting in reproducible objective domains that are critical for the mining process. Beyond the already published case studies, the Rocklea Dome 3D Mineral Mapping Test Data Set has the potential to develop new methods for advanced resource characterisation and develop new applications that aid exploration for mineral deposits through cover. The here newly presented white mica and chlorite abundance maps derived from airborne hyperspectral highlight the additional applications of remote sensing for geological mapping and could help to evaluate newly launched hyper- and multispectral spaceborne systems for geoscience and mineral exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patterns in white mica (muscovite, paragonite, and phengite) Al-Si chemistry (Tschermak substitution) were examined for the Archean Kanowna Belle and Sunrise Dam gold deposits in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia, using short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectrometry of drill core samples. Both of these deposits represent greenschist-facies, structurally controlled, >10-Moz gold systems with broadly similar host rocks and superimposed metasomatic hydrothermal alteration halos that extend for up to 3 km from the economic zone. However, zonation toward gold mineralization at Kanowna Belle is associated with increasingly longer wavelength white mica, whereas Sunrise Dam comprises the opposite pattern. The study also found that gold mineralization at Kanowna Belle is associated with quartz, chalcopyrite, and pyrite with negative δ34S values and a relative lack of carbonate, chlorite, and paragonite (Na-rich white mica), whereas gold mineralization at Sunrise Dam is associated with paragonite as well as carbonate, Fe-rich chlorite and pyrite with positive Tschermak34S values and a relative lack of quartz and chalcopyrite. Thermodynamic numerical modeling revealed that these contrasting patterns in white mica Tschermakite substitution (and associated alteration mineralogy) can be explained by two different types of ore fluids, namely (1) oxidized, alkaline, and silica-rich at Kanowna Belle; and (2) reduced, acid, Fe-rich and silica-poor at Sunrise Dam, though the sources of these contrasting fluids are less clear. Importantly for explorers, spectral measurement (using drill core, field, airborne, and potentially satellite hyperspectral SWIR data) of gradients (especially within a given geologic unit) in white mica absorption wavelength (Tschermak substitution) represents a potential vectoring tool for the discovery of new Archean hydrothermal gold systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remotely sensed hyperspectral datasets were integrated with petrographic data to map the distribution of sedimentary rocks in order to infer grain size variations within the siliciclastic, Paleoproterozoic Bresnahan Group in Western Australia. Finer sandstones have greater compositional variation compared to coarser sandstones, with higher modal proportions of mudstone intraclasts, K-feldspar, and muscovite laths, and lower modal quartz. Partial Least Squares modelling indicates a link between visible to shortwave infrared spectral data collected on samples and their average grain size. Specific electronic absorptions are important for defining this relationship, particularly in the blue-green visible spectra, wavelengths related to water or hydroxyl bonds, along with certain wavelengths in the shortwave infrared (SWIR) spectra. The results from field samples were compared to airborne hyperspectral datasets which showed broad scale regional variations in composition could be discerned from processed white mica abundance maps and images that use spectral bands 2350 nm and 2200 nm. The remotely sensed compositional variations are relatable to changes in sandstone grain size. Diagenetic alteration and surface weathering may influence the absorption spectra, although the effect of the latter can be reduced by using processed white mica abundance maps. Overall, the results show that airborne hyperspectral datasets, particularly the SWIR part of the spectra, can be useful to remotely map spatial compositional variations associated with sandstone grain size. This shows the method can be used to remotely map siliciclastic successions in other sedimentary basins by aiding recognition of grain size trends and significant stratal surfaces associated with changes in composition. However, the important wavelengths may differ due to other controls on sandstone composition such as uplift history of the source region, changes in sediment dispersal, and transport mechanisms. • Sample spectral data detect compositional change linked to sandstone grain size. • Compositional change with grain size is detected in airborne spectral data. • Study indicates grain size of siliciclastic successions can be remotely inferred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • PRISMA imagery provides valid support in the delineation of hydrothermal and supergene alteration zones. • Spectral feature parameters aids in identifying and characterising alteration minerals. • Mineral mapping of Porphyry-Cu and IOCG systems assists in mineral exploration at the province- and district-scales. • Hyperspectral satellite interpretation helps in the delineation of new exploration targets. This study provides an overview of the application of hyperspectral imagery acquired by the Italian satellite mission "PRecursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa" (PRISMA), for mapping hydrothermal and supergene mineral alteration zones associated with different Cu deposits in the Chilean Andes. Study areas include the Marimaca Copper Project in the Naguayán district (Antofagasta Province), hosting Late Jurassic – Early Cretaceous iron oxide-copper–gold mineralizations and the Río Blanco-Los Bronces district (Santiago Region) known for its Late Miocene – Early Pliocene copper-molybdenum porphyry deposits. These mineral systems exhibit hydrothermal alteration haloes extending over several kilometers, with upward and outward mineral zonation. To characterize the surface-exposed alteration, the satellite imagery was processed using a multiple feature extraction workflow targeting the relative abundances and compositions of specific supergene and hydrothermal alteration minerals, including Fe-oxides and hydroxides (hematite-goethite), phyllosilicates (micas-kaolinite-chlorite), hydroxyl-bearing sulfates (alunite-natroalunite-jarosite) and epidote. The results reveal a zonation from proximal sulfates (natroalunite to alunite) and Al-rich white mica (ranging from 0.3 km-wide for the area identified to the east of the Marimaca deposit to 1 km-wide in correspondence of the Los Sulfatos deposit, respectively) to distal Al-poor white mica (0.2 to 0.5 km-wide, respectively) and an outer chlorite-epidote zone. In the Marimaca Project area, the structurally-controlled alteration evolves west to east from chlorite-rich to phengitic white mica (Al-poor). A NNE-SSW trending supergene leached cap covers a 6 km-long and up to 2 km-wide area from north to south. Our study documents how spaceborne hyperspectral imaging spectroscopy can support mineral exploration by enabling non-invasive reconnaissance mapping of the outcropping rocks, providing specific targeting information for follow-up field surveys and drilling campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]