Vectoring towards buried high-purity quartz metapegmatites using low-elevation radiometric and soil geochemical surveying: Method validation in Tysfjord, Norway

Abstract

Group 2/NYF pegmatites may be economically enriched in rare minerals. In this study we report testing of two exploration methods, gamma ray surveying and soil geochemical mapping, undertaken within the GREENPEG project. Palaeoproterozoic metapegmatites in the Tysfjord area, Nordland, Norway, include some which have been mined for pure quartz. Geologically, the ore zones are the quartz cores of metapegmatites whose other zones and metasomatic halos are enriched in U, Th, REE, Nb and other rare elements. The Jennyhaugen metapegmatite was the main test site because its subcrop beneath 0.1–1.0 m soil can be traced from an open pit mine, and aerial surveying is unobstructed by trees. Helicopter-borne radiometry at 60 m altitude and drone-borne radiometry at 25–35 m altitude detect the metapegmatite, while walking (1.0 or 1.6 m height) and 15 m altitude drone-borne radiometry resolve the metapegmatite and metasomatic halo subcrop in detail. Total gamma ray count measurements provide as good an exploration tool as Th or U radiation; K radiation does not show useful anomalies. Both A- and C-horizon soil geochemical mapping also reveal U, Th, Nb and other geochemical anomalies above metapegmatite and halo subcrop. A-horizon soil samples appear to more accurately locate these targets, perhaps because they effectively sample larger surface areas of subcropping rock, whose grain size is very coarse (typically metre scale) within the metapegmatite. C-horizon samples collected from the soil-rock interface are less likely to be representative of the metapegmatite. Gamma ray surveying is recommended rather than soil chemical mapping for exploration, by helicopter at district scale and by drone or walking at prospect scale. It is quicker, requires less field workers, has higher resolution and is less expensive than soil geochemical mapping. Soil chemistry may be preferred for prospect-scale exploration, however, where the commodity sought does not spatially correlate with U and/or Th concentrations.