Induced Polarization Measurements for Gold Exploration at the Eastern Desert of Egypt
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Abstract
Induced polarization (IP) is one of the most commonly used geophysical methods for mineral exploration. We have tested the method for gold exploration in the Eastern Desert of Egypt during the summer of 2005 but we were unable to acquire IP measurements due to the extreme aridity of the Egyptian desert. In order to prove that the IP method can detect gold deposits in Egypt if the conditions are appropriate, we conducted IP laboratory measurements on 25 rock samples collected from the Umm Rus gold mine area in Egypt. Some of the measured rock samples contain geoelectrochemical minerals such as pyrite, chalcopyrite and others contain quartz veins in contact with zones of disseminated gold deposits. The calculated stationary polarizability for the measured rock samples ranged from 10 % for samples rich in polarizable minerals such as gabbro to less than 1% for samples barren in polarizable minerals such as pure quartz. The results demonstrate the feasibility of using IP for detecting gold deposits in rock samples from the Eastern Desert of Egypt and prove that the field application of IP will also be feasible if the contact resistance between the measuring electrodes and ground can be lowered and\or high-power source is used.
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Copyright © 2008 Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University. Parts of an article can be photocopied or reproduced without prior written permission from the author(s), but due acknowledgments should be stated or cited accordingly.
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