Information from soil geochemical mapping programmes is useful within a number of different fields including for example mineral exploration and environmental research. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the relationship between soil metal concentrations and geological factors such as bedrock lithology, structural geology, mineralizations etc. The study used data acquired in association with a nationwide soil geochemical mapping programme conducted by the Geological Survey of Sweden, SGU. These data contained both total element concentrations measured via X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and acid leached concentrations measured with plasma technique. Basic statistical compilations were made, including classification of element concentrations into percentiles according to SGU standards, calculation of leachability and correlation analyses. Spatial analyses were also done, using GIS-software. The results showed that all investigated elements except zinc had elevated median values for total concentrations in the project area compared to the natural median values. The strongest correlation for total element concentrations was that between iron and cobalt with Spearman ρ=0.88. Furthermore, the results of this study indicated that sampling sites superimposing volcanic rocks contained the highest total concentrations of manganese. The results also suggested that manganese content increased with increasing age of the underlying bedrock. The highest median concentration of 0.80 g/kg was found in Archean rocks. Known mineralizations were often reflected in the form of positive element anomalies in the till geochemistry. The obtained results were also consistent with the average composition of the bedrock. No clear connections with any of the other investigated geological factors could be made.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), September 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

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

No description available.

No description available.

Diamonds have been discovered in a variety of potassic ultramafic rocks including group-I and group-II kimberlites, olivine lamproites and aillikites, all of which are macroscopically similar and can be difficult to differentiate when viewed under the microscope. However, group-I kimberlites, and to a much lesser extent group-II kimberlites and olivine lamproites, are known to contain economic concentrations of diamonds. This study addresses the problem of distinguishing among different types of kimberlitic and related rocks by developing a geochemically-based method for classifying them. / Geochemical methods have been largely ignored in the classification of kimberlites and related rock types due to high concentrations of xenoliths. However, this problem can be largely overcome by only selecting matrix material for analysis. An evolving kimberlitic magma will become enriched or improvished in Si due to the fractionation of olivine and phlogopite, depending on the initial Si concentration of the magma. As they have low Si concentrations, group-I kimberlites and aillikites can be separated from group-II kimberlites and meimechites, which have higher Si concentrations for any Mg content. Furthermore, since aillikites and meimechites are relatively rich in Fe compared to group-I and group-II kimberlites, these rock types form four separate fields on a Si vs. Fe discrimination diagram. Similar rock-type separation is observed when the ratio of La to Yb is plotted against the ratio of Sm to Yb. Kimberlite and other potassic ultramafic rocks were sampled from nine areas in Quebec: the Otish Mountains, Wemindji, Torngat Mountains, Desmaraisville, Temiscamingue, Ile Bizard, Lac Leclair, Baie James and Ayer's Cliff regions. Major and selected trace element concentrations were determined by XRF analysis for all samples, while a subset of representative samples was selected for trace element analysis by ICP-MS. Electron microprobe analyses of unaltered olivine and phlogopite were also conducted. / Of the 37 samples that were classified both mineralogically and chemically, 23 or 62% were correctly classified using Fe and Si. This number increases to 84%, if the REE are used in conjunction with Si and Fe. The Si vs. Fe discrimination diagram separates group-I kimberlite from most aillikite and meimechite rocks and group-II kimberlite/olivine lamproite rocks from most aillikite and meimechite rocks. Therefore, major and trace element geochemistry offers an important tool for the classification of kimberlitic rocks. / Vasilenko et al. (2002) and Francis (2003) both suggested that diamond grades can be correlated with the major element compositions of the kimberlites. The data collected in this study confirm the inverse relationship between TiO2 concentration and diamond grade. The lowest TiO 2 values were obtained on samples from the Otish Mountains and Renard samples in particular. Other areas of Quebec are characterized by higher TiO2 contents with most samples containing greater than 2 wt% TiO 2. Therefore, the kimberlitic rocks from the Renard locality have the greatest potential for an economic diamond deposit. The origin of this correlation needs to be explored, however, because it is unclear whether this is a feature of the mantle source, or reflects the survivability of diamonds within the kimberlites.

No description available.

Airborne electromagnetic methods were developed in the early 1950's, mostly by Canadian mining exploration companies as a means of economically and successfully searching large areas for conductive massive sulfide mineralisations. As new technologies developed they have become more and more sophisticated. They can detect conductors at depths in excess of 200 m and are routinely used for overburden mapping. The data is digitally recorded and processed. One of the most successful methods is the time domain airborne INPUT$ sp1$ system, for numerous mineral deposits were found by this system in the Canadian Shield. / Present interpretation techniques are based on the use of nomograms (i.e. families of pre-computed characteristic responses) and the method is easily amenable to digital processing as it is easy to program and economic to use. For high accuracy interpretation however it is necessary to develop quantitative interpretation techniques that can make full use of all the data available. Inverse theory has been used with great success in all branches of geophysics, but to date in mining exploration it has been used for the interpretation of airborne E.M. data using only the one layer earth model. Use of inverse theory for the plate model has been limited by the high cost of numerically solving the forward problem. / In this thesis we show how to use inverse theory to interpret time domain E.M. data with the rectangular thin plate model by introducing some economies. It is then possible to estimate parameter errors, the correlation matrix and to assess the validity of the model. This is extended to the joint inversion of magnetic and aeromagnetic data a case that often arises in mining problems. It is finally shown that under some assumptions the late time channels can be used to interpret time domain E.M. data in the presence of conductive overburden. ftn$ sp1$Registered trademark of Barringer Research Ltd.

No description available.