Thorkild M. Rasmussen

Comparison of induced polarization and controlled‐source audio‐magnetotellurics methods for massive chalcopyrite exploration in a volcanic area

In this paper, we compare and contrast the results of field experiments with the dipole-dipole‐induced polarization (IP) and controlled-source audio-magnetotellurics (CSAMT) methods, along the same survey profiles, at a test area that was subject to extensive drilling and detailed geological investigation. The ore bodies are interbedded between two series of dacitic tuff. The depth and thickness of the massive chalcopyrite-pyritesphalerite body vary between 25 and 100 m and 0.5 and 16 m, respectively. Resistivity and IP phase measurements on the core samples collected from the test area provide some idea of the relative differences between the background rock units and the target. The resistivity of the chalcopyrite samples varies between 0.6 to 2 ohm-m and provides sufficient resistivity contrast with surrounding volcanic rock units for target detection. The results of dipole-dipole IP profiling with a 50-m dipole length conducted along two profiles are presented in the form of apparent resistivity and phase pseudosections. CSAMT measurements were made at 13 frequencies from 2 Hz to 8192 Hz along three profiles. The receiver dipole length was 25 m. The CSAMT data are presented in the form of pseudosections using conventional and new definitions of apparent resistivity. The elliptical contours of low apparent resistivity generated by the transition-field notch can be misleading with respect to the real anomaly of the ore body. These artificial anomaly patterns are suppressed by making use of an alternative apparent resistivity definition derived from the frequency-normalized impedance. The qualitative interpretation based on the IP and CSAMT pseudosections shows that the location and the extension of the ore body are indicated better in the CSAMT apparent resistivity data computed from the alternative definition. The qualitative interpretation of the IP data is difficult because of the 3-D effect arising from the neighboring thicker parts of the ore body and pyrite particles within the basement. At the final stage, the far-field range of the CSAMT apparent resistivity and phase data is identified by the visual inspection of the individual sounding diagrams. The models derived from the 2-D Occam inversion carried out on the far-field data are compared with the drill-hole information and are found to describe the actual geological situation.

Unusual features caused by lightning impact in West Greenland

Two lightning impacts are described from an area near the Inland Ice in West Greenland. The first lightning blasted an outcrop of metacherts. It subsequently split into two branches, which traversed rock outcrops and boulders, leaving behind two white almost straight lines, 30 m and 14 m long, respectively, where all lichens and plants were burned away. On the white lines the upper few millimetres of the traversed boulders were melted to a glass which subsequently peeled off by thermal expansion to leave a rough surface. Magnetic investigation of an amphibolite boulder found on the white line showed that a strong electric current indeed traversed the boulder. A few years later a second lightning impacted on a mountaintop close to the first impact. The second lightning left a trail on the rock surface covered by a thin layer of glass. The glass displays spectacular colours ranging from metallic blue to red, yellow and green.

Geometry and kinematics of the Triassic rift basin in Jameson Land (East Greenland)

The Triassic rift basin along the East Greenland margin described in this paper is represented by NE—SW trending basins and highs segmented by NW—SE trending transfer zones. Coarse grained sediments along the eastern side of Jameson Land are shown to be hosted in half-graben structures belonging to the Carlsberg Fjord Basin that is bounded by NW-dipping normal faults mapped and described after fieldwork in the Klitdal area in Liverpool Land. New aeromagnetic and electromagnetic data together with new drill cores allow the re-interpretation of available seismic lines showing the continuation of the Triassic rift basin toward the SW where it is buried under the Upper Triassic post-rift sediments and the Jurassic successions of the Jameson Land Basin. The N—S trending Liverpool Land, interpreted as the boundary block of the Triassic basin, is shown to represent a structural high inherited from the Late Carboniferous tectonics and faulted during the Triassic rifting. The Carlsberg Fjord Basin and the Klitdal Fault System described in this paper should be seen as analogues to the Helgeland Basin in the Norwegian offshore that is bounded by the Ylvingen Fault Zone and to the Papa and West of Shetlands Basins that are bounded by the Spine Fault. The Triassic rift zone and transfer faults on both conjugate margins shows a straightforward correlation with the trends of the initial spreading line and fracture zones of the North-East Atlantic indicating a possible inheritance of the Triassic rifting.

CRUSMID-3D : Crustal Structure and Mineral Deposit Systems: 3D-modelling of base metal mineralization in Jameson Land (East Greenland)

Providing research and education at a high international level is a prerequisite for the raw material sector to develop competitive and cost effective exploration methods. The NordMin project CRUSD ...

Use of airborne hyperspectral and gamma-ray spectroscopy data for mineral exploration at the Sarfartoq carbonatite complex, southern West Greenland

The Sarfartoq carbonatite complex occurs in the transition zone between Archaean and Paleoproterozoic gneisses in southern West Greenland. The Sarfartoq carbonatite complex hosts ore deposits and occurrences of rare earth elements and niobium. In this study, airborne HyMap hyperspectral imagery and coincident airborne gamma-ray spectroscopy data were analysed for mineral exploration of Sarfartoq carbonatite complex. The study area included the carbonatite core zone and a hydrothermally altered shear zone prospective for rare earth elements mineralization in the southern margin of the carbonatite complex. The analysis of the hyperspectral imagery was focused on the mapping of the spatial distribution of carbonatite, fenite and limonite. Significant anomalies of uranium, thorium and potassium were outlined from the gamma-ray spectroscopy data. Decision trees were used to combine the results from the hyperspectral image analysis and airborne gamma-ray spectroscopy. Significant anomalies of thorium at the hydrothermally altered shear zone coinciding with the presence of carbonatite rocks are generally indicative of outcropping rare earth element mineralization. The study indicates the benefits of coincident airborne hyperspectral and gamma-ray spectroscopy surveys for the mineral exploration of carbonatite complexes.

Geological Analysis of Aeromagnetic Data over the Blyklippen Lead-zinc Mine at Mesters Vig, Central East Greenland

In the Mesters Vig area epithermal Pb-Zn sulphide-bearing quartz veins are associated with the border faults of a NNW-SSE elongated graben down-faulting Carboniferous to Lower Triassic sediments. The analysis of the total magnetic field, tilt derivative, vertical derivative and analytic signal allowed to define subcropping magnetic domains and identify structural trends. Doleritic dykes, sills and faults were mapped and structural relationships were established between them. Finally, aeromagnetic data allowed here to delineate structural trends along and in the vicinity of which mineralized quartz veins are mapped.