Geologic structures associated with gold mineralization in the Kirk Range area in Southern Malawi

In this contribution, we use a newly acquired high-resolution airborne geophysical data set and field geological investigations in the Kirk Range area in southern Malawi to understand structures that control gold mineralization. Gold in this area is alluvial, mined by artisanal miners and detailed i...

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Autores principales:	Chisambi Joshua, Haundi Tiyamike, Tsokonombwe Gift
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	De Gruyter 2021
Materias:	magnetic data radiometric data gold mineralization kirk range Geology QE1-996.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/1443f0138e7f40039740a01cd57d09c0
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:1443f0138e7f40039740a01cd57d09c02021-12-05T14:10:49ZGeologic structures associated with gold mineralization in the Kirk Range area in Southern Malawi2391-544710.1515/geo-2020-0304https://doaj.org/article/1443f0138e7f40039740a01cd57d09c02021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1515/geo-2020-0304https://doaj.org/toc/2391-5447In this contribution, we use a newly acquired high-resolution airborne geophysical data set and field geological investigations in the Kirk Range area in southern Malawi to understand structures that control gold mineralization. Gold in this area is alluvial, mined by artisanal miners and detailed information regarding the structures controlling primary mineralization remains sparse. Structural interpretations are afforded by in-depth investigation of airborne magnetic and radiometric data, which are then supported by ground geological mapping and by microscopic observations using X-ray computed tomography (XCT) and optical microscopy. The results show that the Kirk Range displays extensive faulting and shearing with a NE–SW trend as the prevalent structural grain of the region. Gold mineralization is hosted in NE–SW trending structures. The wall rock alteration associated with gold mineralization results in a pronounced K/Th anomaly, which is suggested as an important radiometric guide for future exploration efforts. Exploration in the Kirk Range region should focus on the NE–SW structures, which represent potential conduits for fluid flow.Chisambi JoshuaHaundi TiyamikeTsokonombwe GiftDe Gruyterarticlemagnetic dataradiometric datagold mineralizationkirk rangeGeologyQE1-996.5ENOpen Geosciences, Vol 13, Iss 1, Pp 1345-1357 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	magnetic data radiometric data gold mineralization kirk range Geology QE1-996.5
spellingShingle	magnetic data radiometric data gold mineralization kirk range Geology QE1-996.5 Chisambi Joshua Haundi Tiyamike Tsokonombwe Gift Geologic structures associated with gold mineralization in the Kirk Range area in Southern Malawi
description	In this contribution, we use a newly acquired high-resolution airborne geophysical data set and field geological investigations in the Kirk Range area in southern Malawi to understand structures that control gold mineralization. Gold in this area is alluvial, mined by artisanal miners and detailed information regarding the structures controlling primary mineralization remains sparse. Structural interpretations are afforded by in-depth investigation of airborne magnetic and radiometric data, which are then supported by ground geological mapping and by microscopic observations using X-ray computed tomography (XCT) and optical microscopy. The results show that the Kirk Range displays extensive faulting and shearing with a NE–SW trend as the prevalent structural grain of the region. Gold mineralization is hosted in NE–SW trending structures. The wall rock alteration associated with gold mineralization results in a pronounced K/Th anomaly, which is suggested as an important radiometric guide for future exploration efforts. Exploration in the Kirk Range region should focus on the NE–SW structures, which represent potential conduits for fluid flow.
format	article
author	Chisambi Joshua Haundi Tiyamike Tsokonombwe Gift
author_facet	Chisambi Joshua Haundi Tiyamike Tsokonombwe Gift
author_sort	Chisambi Joshua
title	Geologic structures associated with gold mineralization in the Kirk Range area in Southern Malawi
title_short	Geologic structures associated with gold mineralization in the Kirk Range area in Southern Malawi
title_full	Geologic structures associated with gold mineralization in the Kirk Range area in Southern Malawi
title_fullStr	Geologic structures associated with gold mineralization in the Kirk Range area in Southern Malawi
title_full_unstemmed	Geologic structures associated with gold mineralization in the Kirk Range area in Southern Malawi
title_sort	geologic structures associated with gold mineralization in the kirk range area in southern malawi
publisher	De Gruyter
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/1443f0138e7f40039740a01cd57d09c0
work_keys_str_mv	AT chisambijoshua geologicstructuresassociatedwithgoldmineralizationinthekirkrangeareainsouthernmalawi AT haunditiyamike geologicstructuresassociatedwithgoldmineralizationinthekirkrangeareainsouthernmalawi AT tsokonombwegift geologicstructuresassociatedwithgoldmineralizationinthekirkrangeareainsouthernmalawi
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Geologic structures associated with gold mineralization in the Kirk Range area in Southern Malawi

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