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  • Feature Paper
  • Article
  • Open Access

19 July 2023

The INOVMineral Project’s Contribution to Mineral Exploration—A WebGIS Integration and Visualization of Spectral and Geophysical Properties of the Aldeia LCT Pegmatite Spodumene Deposit

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1
Department of Geosciences, Environment and Land Planning, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Rua Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
2
ICT (Institute of Earth Sciences)—Porto Pole (Portugal), Rua Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
3
Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB), Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Braganza, Portugal
4
INESC TEC CRAS—Centre for Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Superior Institute of Engineering of Porto (ISEP), 4249-015 Porto, Portugal
This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Methods and Applications for Mineral Exploration, Volume II

Abstract

Due to the current energetic transition, new geological exploration technologies are needed to discover mineral deposits containing critical materials such as lithium (Li). The vast majority of European Li deposits are related to Li–Cs–Ta (LCT) pegmatites. A review of the literature indicates that conventional exploration campaigns are dominated by geochemical surveys and related exploration tools. However, other exploration techniques must be evaluated, namely, remote sensing (RS) and geophysics. This work presents the results of the INOVMINERAL4.0 project obtained through alternative approaches to traditional geochemistry that were gathered and integrated into a webGIS application. The specific objectives were to: (i) assess the potential of high-resolution elevation data; (ii) evaluate geophysical methods, particularly radiometry; (iii) establish a methodology for spectral data acquisition and build a spectral library; (iv) compare obtained spectra with Landsat 9 data for pegmatite identification; and (v) implement a user-friendly webGIS platform for data integration and visualization. Radiometric data acquisition using geophysical techniques effectively discriminated pegmatites from host rocks. The developed spectral library provides valuable insights for space-based exploration. Landsat 9 data accurately identified known LCT pegmatite targets compared with Landsat 8. The user-friendly webGIS platform facilitates data integration, visualization, and sharing, supporting potential users in similar exploration approaches.

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