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Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Texas at Arlington, 2008.

Magister Scientiae - MSc / In areas of transported overburden there is frequently a weak relationship between soil and the underlying mineralized bedrock. Vegetation has the capability to absorb metals from the underlying substrate via its extensive root systems. These metals are translocated to the various organs of the plant such as leaves, twigs bark and roots without negatively impacting on the normal functioning of the plant. The analysis of the vegetation may therefore be used to locate deeply buried mineral targets. The main focus of this investigation was to determine the suitability of A. karroo and B. albitrunca for biogeochemical prospecting for gold in the Blue Dot Mine area. The appraisal of the suitability for both plant species requires an understanding of element absorption and distribution patterns in relation to variable composition of bedrock and associated underlying gold mineralization. / South Africa

In areas of transported overburden there is frequently a weak relationship between soil and the underlying mineralized bedrock. Vegetation has the capability to absorb metals from the underlying substrate via its extensive root systems. These metals are translocated to the various organs of the plant such as leaves, twigs bark and roots without negatively impacting on the normal functioning of the plant. The analysis of the vegetation may therefore be used to locate deeply buried mineral targets. The main focus of this investigation was to determine the suitability of A. karroo and B. albitrunca for biogeochemical prospecting for gold in the Blue Dot Mine area. The appraisal of the suitability for both plant species requires an understanding of element absorption and distribution patterns in relation to variable composition of bedrock and associated underlying gold mineralization.

In areas of transported overburden there is frequently a weak relationship between soil and the underlying mineralized bedrock. Vegetation has the capability to absorb metals from the underlying substrate via its extensive root systems. These metals are translocated to the various organs of the plant such as leaves, twigs bark and roots without negatively impacting on the normal functioning of the plant. The analysis of the vegetation may therefore be used to locate deeply buried mineral targets. The main focus of this investigation was to determine the suitability of A. karroo and B. albitrunca for biogeochemical prospecting for gold in the Blue Dot Mine area. The appraisal of the suitability for both plant species requires an understanding of element absorption and distribution patterns in relation to variable composition of bedrock and associated underlying gold mineralization.

O Parque Ecológico Tietê (PET), em Ermelino Matarazzo, a leste da região metropolitana de São Paulo, foi criado com o objetivo de preservar as várzeas do rio Tietê. Antes da criação do parque, a região foi palco de várias atividades antrópicas que levaram ao risco de contaminação do solo e águas subterrâneas. A recuperação iniciou-se com o plantio de espécies nativas, o que também promoveu a recolonização da fauna, composta essencialmente de espécies frugívoras. Dentre as espécies de plantas presentes no parque, a palmeira Jerivá (Syagrus romanzoffiana) é importante por sua ampla distribuição geográfica nos ecossistemas brasileiros. O presente estudo teve como objetivo compreender, através de coeficientes de prospecção biogeoquímicos, a interação entre os compartimentos solo, água subterrânea e planta, este último representado pela palmeira Jerivá. Os resultados indicaram que o Jerivá apresentou diferentes coeficientes de absorção entre suas folhas e pecíolos. O estudo também demonstrou que fatores como sazonalidade dentro de um período mínimo de um ano, idade e espécies de plantas devem ser levados em conta em abordagens biogeoquímicas. / The Tietê Ecological Park (PET) in Ermelino Matarazzo, east of the metropolitan area of São Paulo city, was created with the purpose of preserving the floodplains of the Tietê River. Prior to the establishment of the park, the region was scene of several anthropogenic activities which led to high risk of soil and groundwater contamination. Subsequent recovery of the degraded area was aimed through the planting of native plant species, which also promoted the recolonization of the area by the fauna, essentially composed of frugivorous species. Among the plant species introduced in the park, the Jerivá palm tree (Syagrus romanzoffiana) is important for its wide geographical distribution in Brazilian ecosystems. The current study aimed to understand, through biogeochemical prospecting coefficients, the interaction between soil compartments, underground water and plant, the latter represented by the Jerivá palm tree. The results indicated that Jerivá presented different absorption coefficients among its leaves and petioles. The study also demonstrated that factors like seasonality within a minimum period of one year, age and plant species must be taken into account in biogeochemical approaches.

[Tuncated abstract] Soil is a relatively low cost and robust geochemical sampling medium and is an essential part of most mineral exploration programs. In areas of covered terrain, however, soils are less reliable as a sampling medium because they do not always develop the geochemical signature of the buried mineralisation; possibly a result of limited upward transport of ore related elements into the surficial overburden. As economic demands on the resources industry grow, mineral exploration continues to expand further into areas of covered terrain where the rewards of finding a new deposit relative to the risks of finding it may be comparatively low. Thus, improving the costeffectiveness of a geochemical exploration program requires a sound understanding of the mechanisms by which soil geochemical anomalies form in transported overburden. This thesis examines the deep biotic uplift of ore related elements by deep rooting vegetation as a mechanism for the development of soil geochemical anomalies within transported overburdens, in semi-arid and arid regions. '...' Vegetation and soils were analysed at two Au prospects in Western Australia: Berkley, Coolgardie and Torquata, 210 km south-east of Kambalda, in semi-arid Western Australia to complement both the mass balance and the differential modelling. At Berkley, both the vegetation and soils located directly over the mineralisation showed high concentrations of Au. There may be indirect evidence for the operation of the deep plant uptake flux taking effect from the field evidence at Berkley. Firstly, anomalous concentrations of Au were found in the surface soils, with no detectable Au in the transported overburden. Secondly, the trace element concentrations in vegetation showed correlation to the buried lithology, which to our knowledge has not been reported elsewhere. The results from the samples at Torquata, in contrast, were less conclusive because the Au is almost exclusively associated with a surficial calcrete horizon (at <5 m soil depth). Strong correlations of Ca and Au in leaf samples however, suggest that the vegetation may be involved in the formation of calcrete and the subsequent association of Au with the calcrete. Among the vegetation components, the litter and leaf samples gave the greatest anomaly contrast at both prospects. Finally, three main drivers for the deep biotic uplift of elements were identified based on the results from the mechanistic numerical modelling exercise: i) the deep uptake flux; ii) the maximum plant concentration and; iii) the erosional flux. The relative sizes of these three factors control the rates of formation and decay, and trace element concentrations, of the soil anomaly. The main implication for the use of soils as exploration media in covered terranes is that soil geochemical anomalies may only be transient geological features, forming and dispersing as a result of the relative sizes of the accumulative and loss fluxes. The thesis culminates in the development of the first quantitative, mechanistic model of trace element accumulation in soils by deep biotic uplift.

O Parque Ecológico Tietê (PET), em Ermelino Matarazzo, a leste da região metropolitana de São Paulo, foi criado com o objetivo de preservar as várzeas do rio Tietê. Antes da criação do parque, a região foi palco de várias atividades antrópicas que levaram ao risco de contaminação do solo e águas subterrâneas. A recuperação iniciou-se com o plantio de espécies nativas, o que também promoveu a recolonização da fauna, composta essencialmente de espécies frugívoras. Dentre as espécies de plantas presentes no parque, a palmeira Jerivá (Syagrus romanzoffiana) é importante por sua ampla distribuição geográfica nos ecossistemas brasileiros. O presente estudo teve como objetivo compreender, através de coeficientes de prospecção biogeoquímicos, a interação entre os compartimentos solo, água subterrânea e planta, este último representado pela palmeira Jerivá. Os resultados indicaram que o Jerivá apresentou diferentes coeficientes de absorção entre suas folhas e pecíolos. O estudo também demonstrou que fatores como sazonalidade dentro de um período mínimo de um ano, idade e espécies de plantas devem ser levados em conta em abordagens biogeoquímicas. / The Tietê Ecological Park (PET) in Ermelino Matarazzo, east of the metropolitan area of São Paulo city, was created with the purpose of preserving the floodplains of the Tietê River. Prior to the establishment of the park, the region was scene of several anthropogenic activities which led to high risk of soil and groundwater contamination. Subsequent recovery of the degraded area was aimed through the planting of native plant species, which also promoted the recolonization of the area by the fauna, essentially composed of frugivorous species. Among the plant species introduced in the park, the Jerivá palm tree (Syagrus romanzoffiana) is important for its wide geographical distribution in Brazilian ecosystems. The current study aimed to understand, through biogeochemical prospecting coefficients, the interaction between soil compartments, underground water and plant, the latter represented by the Jerivá palm tree. The results indicated that Jerivá presented different absorption coefficients among its leaves and petioles. The study also demonstrated that factors like seasonality within a minimum period of one year, age and plant species must be taken into account in biogeochemical approaches.