María de los Ángeles García Juanatey

Potential Field, Geoelectrical and Reflection Seismic Investigations for Massive Sulphide Exploration in the Skellefte Mining District, Northern Sweden

Multi-scale geophysical studies were conducted in the central Skellefte district (CSD) in order to delineate the geometry of the upper crust (down to maximum ∼ 4.5 km depth) for prospecting volcanic massive sulphide (VMS) mineralization. These geophysical investigations include potential field, resistivity/induced polarization (IP), reflection seismic and magnetotelluric (MT) data which were collected between 2009 and 2010. The interpretations were divided in two scales: (i) shallow (∼ 1.5 km) and (ii) deep (∼4.5 km). Physical properties of the rocks, including density, magnetic susceptibility, resistivity and chargeability, were also used to improve interpretations. The study result delineates the geometry of the upper crust in the CSD and new models were suggested based on new and joint geophysical interpretation which can benefit VMS prospecting in the area. The result also indicates that a strongly conductive zone detected by resistivity/IP data may have been missed using other geophysical data.

Integrated MagnetoTelluric and Seismic Reflection study: Skellefte Ore District, northern Sweden.

The Skellefte District is a very rich mining area in northern Sweden. The main deposits consist of volcanic-hosted massive sulphides VHMS rich in zinc, copper, lead, gold and silver. Since the area has been mined and explored for over a century, todays challenge is to locate deeper deposits. The VINNOVA 4D modeling project aims to address this challenge by understanding the regional setting of the district and its evolution over time. © 2011 Society of Exploration Geophysicists.