Prospecting Prediction for the Yulong Metallogenic Belt in Tibet Based on Remote Sensing Alteration Information and Structural Interpretation

Abstract

The Yulong porphyry copper belt in eastern Tibet is located in the middle of Tethys–Himalayan metallogenic mega-province, which is one of the three major porphyry copper metallogenic mega-provinces. The Yulong copper belt belongs to the super porphyry copper belt and represents one of the most important copper mineralization prospecting areas in China. A significant quantity of research data shows that this study area belongs to the environment of intracontinental collision and compression, with a complex geological structure, magmatic rock development and excellent metallogenic geological background. However, because this area is located in an alpine and high-altitude area, it is difficult to carry out any traditional field geological surveys, and the existing studies of both prospecting and prediction are relatively weak. This study focused on information extraction for alteration minerals in the Yulong metallogenic belt and its surroundings based on multispectral data and hyperspectral data, establishing a spectral library of alteration minerals in this area. Based on Sentinel-1A radar data and Landsat-8 OLI color synthesis data, the linear structure of the study area was interpreted. On this basis, the information extraction results relating to alteration minerals obtained from multi-source remote sensing data, linear structure interpretation results and the geochemical exploration data of the study area were superimposed to comprehensively analyze the metallogenic geological conditions and mineralization characteristics in the area, establish remote sensing prospecting indicators there and optimize the potential areas for prospecting, providing technical support for the next step of prospecting and exploration in the area.