Spatially quantitative characterization of geological processes associated with polymetallic Sn-W mineralization in the Malipo mineral district, Southeastern Yunnan, China

摘要

Graphical abstractDisplay OmittedHighlights?Geo-processes are characterized in a spatial and quantitative scenario.?Spatial quantitative geological understandings are achieved.?Geo-information in support of mineral exploration are interpreted and validated.AbstractThe current geographic information system (GIS)-based mineral prospecting models focus on delineating high-probability locations for mineral deposits. These models do not attempt to characterize the geological evolution of the area under study either spatially or quantitatively. The study described in this paper demonstrates an innovative approach that quantitatively describes the mineralization processes in a spatial way. This improves predictions by adding information concerning the areas geologic evolution. This study quantitatively characterizes the mineralization in the Malipo mineral district, China, in relation to tectono-magmatic activity from Caledonian to Yanshanian time. These findings extend the existing geological knowledge of the study area, a critical step for further investigating and interpreting the geochemical signatures. The Malipo mineral district is a well-studied area and thus appropriate for evaluating a new modeling technique. Our preliminary results show that the quantitative spatial characterizations retrieved from our model offer highly correlated predictive information regarding geologic evolution when compared with the information obtained from traditional ground-truthing investigations. Therefore, employing our model in a new and under-studied area would potentially provide significant benefits and advance the level of knowledge in the new area.]]>