Remote Sensing techniques to Detect Areas with Potential for Lithium Prospection in Minas Gerais, Brazil

摘要

Lithium (Li) is defined as an alkaline metal which does not exist in nature in its free form. Moreover, it has properties thatmake it possible to be applied in several manners, such as industrial use, especially in the ceramic and glass industries, aswell as the battery industry which has had an increase in this element consumption. It is crucial to use less expensive andfaster techniques, compared to classical and intrusive methods, to identify new Li deposits. Remote sensing as proved tobe a powerful tool to identify areas with potential for Li exploration. The objective of this work is to apply several imagesprocessing techniques, such as RGB band combinations, Band Ratios and Principal Components Analysis (PCA) toidentify potential areas for Li prospection in the pegmatite district of São João Del Rei, located in the south of the state ofMinas Gerais, Brazil. In these areas, two study zones were defined: the zone A, with approximately 323 km² in thepegmatite district of São João Del Rei and the zone B with approximately 90 km² in the pegmatite district of Araçuaí. Theresults of the techniques applied in this study are very promising since, in addition to ease and low cost, these techniquescan be applied to several locations. This approach is highly valuable for the Li mining industry.