A mineral potential mapping approach for supergene nickel deposits in southwestern São Francisco Craton, Brazil

ABSTRACT: Southwestern São Francisco Craton makes limit with Brasília thrust-fold belt and involves rocks from Archean to formed during the Brasiliano-Pan Africano Neoproterozoic event, including a mafic-ultramafic belt (Morro do Ferro Greenstone Belt) hosted along the Archean counterpart. This greenstone belt hosts two-nickel deposits (Morro do Níquel and O'Toole, respectively silicate and sulfide types) and occurrences. This study applies an empirical-conceptual model for lateritic nickel deposits formation into geographic information systems with aerogeophysical data (magnetic and gamma-spectrometry) and digital elevation models (terrain relief and slope). Our contribution aims for nickel deposits favorability mapping using a simple mathematical operator over a supporting spatial database translating the conceptual exploration model into evidential layers for geological processes involved on deposit formation. Evidential layers constructed for identification of elements pertaining the supergene nickel mineral system are given by analytic signal amplitude maps, thorium over potassium ratio images, and digital elevation models and slope maps, derived from shuttle radar topography mission digital elevation models. Evidential layers integration through binary layers algebraic sum identified effectively known deposits and occurrences with its outputs highlighting possibilities for unknown resources in this under-explored terrain.