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APPLICATION OF GROUND PENETRATING RADAR IN PLACER MINING, A CASE

STUDYFROMGUYANA'SPOTARO REGION
CsabaEkes
Terraprobe Geoscience Corporation
Suite 103, 6150 Grant St., Burnaby, B.C. V5B 2K6 Canada
gprterraprobe.com
AdrianHickin
School ofEarth and Ocean Sciences
University ofVictoria,Victoria,B.C. V8W 3P6 Canada
adrianhickin@shaw.ca

Paul Matysek, Eric Kinnan


VannessaVenturesLtd.
Suite 1710, 1040 W GeorgiaSt., Vancouver, B.C. V6E 4H1 Canada
vannessa@netcom.ca vvvgeolook.ca

ABSTRACT profit, and 3) most deposits must be drained before and/or


duringminingand this requires a knowledge of the bedrock
Ground penetratingradar (GPR)was used to map the three- topography. Obtaining reliable subsurface information on
dimensional extent and large-scale architecture of diamond the depth and topography is unfortunately an expensive
and gold bearing fluvial deposits in the Potaro region of enterprise. Drilling, trenching, test pitting and excavation
Guyana. The 100 MHz antennas achieved over 30-meter provide only localized information on the depth of
depth penetrationand providedcontinuous, high-resolution, overburden and bedrock topography. Seismicmethods have
subsurface data. been applied in some instances but their resolution is
relatively poor and their cost is relatively high. Ground
Eight radar facies were identifiedand used to interpret the penetrating radar, a shallow subsurface technology may
GPR data. Bedrocksurface and the bedrock-fluvial sediment provide placer miners with a reliable,rapid and inexpensive
interface were clearly recognized on most radar profiles. means of determining the depth to bedrock, thickness of
Analysis of over seven kilometers of continuous GPR data overburden and three dimensional geometry of the
allowed the reconstruction of the 3D extent of the buried. producingsand and gravelbody.
diamond-bearing, palaeochannel, as well as that of the
overburden. GPR data proved vital for cutting down Thepurposeofthis paper is to demonstrate theresults ofthe
exploration costs, speeding up exploration and putting the ground penetrating radar survey carried out on Vannessa
property into operation. The 3D model was used for Ventures' Maple Creek property, Potaro region, Guyana
estimating resource potential, overburden volume and for between June and July 2000. Specifically, the goal of the
designing the layout and operation ofthe mine. present study was to map bedrock depth and topography to
better understand the distribution and three-dimensional
Key words: ground penetrating radar, diamond exploration, geometry ofthe mainproducing horizons.
placermining, Terraprobe,Potaro,Guyana, radar facies
INTRODUCTION Geology

Placer mining is the search for diamond and gold-bearing Vannessa's property is located in western Guyana in the
gravel and sand,whichcanbe workedat a profit.Along with vicinityofthe Pakaraimaescarpment adjacentto the Guyana
grade, most placer miners are concerned with the depth and shield (Fig. 1, 2). The bedrock geology consists of ancient
topography of bedrock and thickness of overburden. The cratonal rock accompanied by Middle ProterozoicRoraima
main reasons for this are: 1) alluvial placers are generally Formation sedimentary rocks and younger igneous
found on bedrockwith the richestpaydirt resting in bedrock intrusions (Keats, 1976). The 2100 m thick fluvial and
depressions, 2) stripping ratios are critical factors fluviodeltaic Roraima Formation is the assumed source of
determining ifa particulargravel deposit can be mined at a the alluvial diamond and gold deposits on theproperty.The

Ninth International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar, Steven K. Koppenjan, Hua Lee, Editors,
Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 4758 (2002) © 2002 SPIE · 0277-786X/02/$15.00 685

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upper section of the formation is dominantly arenaceous vegetation, cut lines were established prior to the radar
with minor pebbly beds, the middle section is dominantly survey. 50 m line spacing, perpendicular to palaeoflow,
fme arenaceous and largely undifferentiated. The lower provided sufficient coverage to trace palaeochannel
section can be differentiated into nine units, which range continuity.
from abasal conglomerate throughsand,silts and shale units
tothecappingjaspersequence (Keats, 1976). Data processingwas kept to a minimum. It includedtime
zero adjustment, signal dewow, down the trace filtering and
The surficial geology of the property consists of laterized topographic correction. For presentation, automatic gain
bedrock of unknown age overlain by white-grey, poorly control (AGC)was used. Tracestacking was 64 anda low pass
sorted, pebbly, cross-bedded fme to coarse sand that is temporal filter was appliedto reduce randomnoise.
occasionally cemented (termed "Catchcow" by local
miners). This sand, whose age is unknown, varies in
thickness between 0 tol5 m and exhibits a fming upward GROUNDPENETRATINGRADAR RESULTS
trend (Fig 3).
Over seven kilometres ofradar data were collected, processed
A predominantly white, mature, medium to coarse, quartz and analysed. Eightmacro-scale radar facies distinguished by
sand blanketsthe topographically high areas on the southern reflection patterns whose appearance differs from that of
part of the property. This unit appears to be internally adjacent units were identified. They can be described in terms
massive and increases in thickness from absentto over 20 m of reflection continuity, shape, amplitude, internal reflection
in a northerly direction (Fig. 3). This unit was deposited configuration and external form. Macro-scale radar facies are
during a Tertiary marine intrusion (Barron, 1969, Petit, defined as radar facies exceeding 1 m thickness and 20 m in
1984). The basal fluvial conglomerate and sandstone horizontal distance on a two-dimensional GPR profile. This
("Catchcow") are the main diamond and gold producing scale is basedon the resolution ofthe 100 MHz antenna. The
units. eight facies were classified into four groups, which include
bedrock, fluvial sediments, White Sand and other
Diamondshave been commercially mined in alluvial placers undifferentiated facies. The description of individual radar
in Guyanasince the 1860's. Production peaked in 1923 with facies is, however, beyond the scopeofthis paper.
the recovery of a quarter of a million carats, most coming
from the tributaries of the Uewang River (Pollard, 1958). The 50 m line spacing south of L 0 with the two N-S tie
Both the Potaro River and all the small creeks have been lines provided sufficient GPR coverage to establish radar
workedby local miners,"pork-knockers", since the 1920's. facies continuity (Fig. 2). Three bedrock facies were
identified, however, individual bedrock types, their
continuity and precise boundaries at this point cannot be
GPRMETHODOLOGY deciphered based on radar data only. The bedrock surface,
however, and the bedrock-fluvial sedimentinterface can be
Development of digital processing of GPR data during the clearlyidentifiedon mostradar profiles.
last 15 years coupledwith the increasedcapacity and speed
of microcomputers has made GPR an extremely versatile Facies 2A, interpreted as fluvial sand appears as a
and rapid tool for shallow subsurface investigation. continuous sedimentary body of varying thickness that
However, with the exceptionof an early work by Davis et extends from line 4005 to line 1800N and beyond (Fig. 4).
al., (1984) and Power (1994) the authors are not aware of The lateral extent of this facies is best illustrated on the
any published work on applications of GPR in placer north-south oriented profiles e.g. 600 E. Three large-scale
exploration. It is our intention to highlightthe potential of bedrock depressions, identifiedon the flow parallel profiles
this powerful exploration tool. were selected for further surveying. These depressions have
a
been subsequently re-surveyed using 25 m spacedgrid and
A pulseEKKO100TMGPR systemwas used for this project. 0.25 m step size to provide precise information on their
It is a fullydigital, lightweight and portable systemoperated depth and geometry.
with a 1000V transmitter and 100 MHz antennas. Extensive
testing provedthat the desiredtargetdepth was reachedwith
the I00 MHz antennas. At the expense ofdeeper penetration CONCLUSIONS
these antennas provide better resolution and faster data
collection than lower frequencies. Antenna separation was A GPR system used with 100 MHz antennafrequencywith
set to 1 m with 0.5 m step size for reflection profiling. 0.5 m step size and 50 m line spacing allowed relatively
Perpendicularbroadsideantenna orientation was selected in quick data collection and provided high-resolution data for
order to provide the widest angular coverage of subsurface identifying explorationtargets on VannessaVentures' Maple
reflectors. Since most of the study site is coveredby dense Creek property in Guyana's Potaro mining district. Our

686 Proc. SPIE Vol. 4758

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results indicatepenetration to 20-35 m. For placer mining
this is the maximum depth to which open pit mining can be REFERENCES
profitablyconducted. Interpretation ofGPR profilesoutlined
thebedrock surface and delineatedthe extentofthegold and Barron, C. N., 1969. Notes onthe stratigraphyofGuyana.
diamond producing fluvial graveland sand body. BritishGuiana Geological Survey,Georgetown, p. 28.

Eight radar facies were identified and were used for Davis, J. L., Annan, A. P., & Vaughan, C., 1984. Placer
interpreting the GPR data. The strong dielectric contrast Exploration usingradar and seismic methods. In: Expanded
betweenbedrock and the overlying gravel and sand produce abstracts with biographies: 1984 technicalprogram:
hyperbolic reflectionsthat can be easily identified on most Proceedingsofs4th annual internationalSEGmeeting,
profiles. Bedrock surface and the bedrock-fluvial sediment Society ofExplorationGeophysicists, Tulsa,pp. 306-308.
interface were clearly recognizedon most radar profiles. The
extent and large-scale geometry of the diamond and gold Keats, W., 1976. The RoraimaFormation inGuyana: A
producing fluvial sediment body in the southernpart ofthe revised stratigraphy and proposed environment of
property was successfully outlined with the aid of GPR. In deposition. VenezuelaDireccion Geologia, pp. 901-937.
addition, three large-scale bedrock depressions were
identified for future drilling/trenching and potential bulk Petit,M., 1984. La serie des sables blancs(Cenozoique) dans
sampling. lesGuyanes et leursignificationmorphologique (Guyana-
Guyane Francaise-Suriname).Travaux etDocuments de
Interpreted GPR data were used to model the 3D extent of GeographieTropicale, 52, pp. 131-164.
the producing sand and gravel bodies as well as the extent
and volume of overburden (Fig. 4). This information was Pollard, E. R., 1958. Diamond resources andtheirdevelopment
used not only to strategically locate drill holes to confirmthe inBritish Guiana, British Guiana Geological Survey Bulletin,
radar interpretation but also for designing the mining Georgetown,p. 10.
operation. GPR data provided high-resolution and accurate
subsurface information in an otherwise poorlyexposedarea. Power, M.A., 1994. An evaluation ofGround penetratingradar
Additionally, GPR surveyswere conductedrapidly and cost- as atool in placerexploration. IndianandNorthern Affairs
effectively makingthis a powerfulexploration technique for Canada, Openfile 1994-1 (T).
delineating placerdeposits.

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Proc. SPIE Vol. 4758


Figure 3. A: Outcrop photo showing main stratigraphic units on Maple Creek property. B: Corresponding interpreted radar profile.

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Figure4. Three-dimensional model ofgold and diamondbearing fluvial palaeochannel. View looking northwest.
Vertical exaggeration X 5. Layout ofGPR lines is shown in figure 2.

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