--> Abstract: Satellite Image Analysis in Mineral Exploration in Complicated Structural Terranes, Great Northern Peninsula, Newfoundland, by Patrick Arthur Hill, Andrew Stancioff; #90967 (1977).
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Abstract: Satellite Image Analysis in Mineral Exploration in Complicated Structural Terranes, Great Northern Peninsula, Newfoundland

Patrick Arthur Hill, Previous HitAndrewTop Stancioff

In April 1975, the government of Newfoundland opened large areas of Crown Land in northern Newfoundland to staking. Philips Management Inc., in competition with other companies, sought to establish criteria for staking. The common objective was bedded sphalerite of the Daniels Harbour type.

The sphalerite in the Northern Peninsula is associated with algal dolostones of the Upper Ordovician St. George Group. These are essentially horizontal and overlain by repetitive nonmineralized limestones of the Table Head Formation. The objective of this pre-exploration program was to locate the hitherto "unknown" contact of the two formations and to stake the upper St. George Group.

LANDSAT images, at a scale of 1:1,000,000, were used for quick analysis and interpretation of a large, incompletely mapped area. Four approaches were used in differentiating patterns: (1) structural, where major "units" were separated by defining lineaments; (2) botanic, in which changes of vegetation and snow cover reflect soil and rock differences; (3) geomorphic, where erosional and depositional features relate to relief, structure, and geology; and (4) a combination of the other three, if no single approach could explain a pattern or lack of pattern.

The results show that the analysis of satellite images supplemented with aerial photography and existing geologic data provides for rapid and inexpensive exploration.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90967©1977 GCAGS and GC Section SEPM 27th Annual Meeting, Austin, Texas