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© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

In this research, drone-based photogrammetry was utilized for mapping geology with the objective of mineral exploration in the Shahzadeh Abbas Cu deposit, Kerman province, Iran. Cu mineralization is of vein-type and follows geological structures. A low-cost drone was used to collect geological data. A spatial resolution of 3.26 cm was achieved by considering a flight altitude of 70 m. To reach the accuracy of less than 5 cm, 70% lateral and 80% front image overlaps were applied and 220 temporary ground control points (TGCPs) were used in an area of 2.02 km2. TGCPs were accurately positioned using DGPS-RTK measurements. Agisoft PhotoScan software was used for photogrammetric processing. The orthophoto product was performed for outlining geological units through visual interpretation. The digital elevation model (DEM) was converted to a hill-shade model in ArcGIS software to extract the geological structures such as faults and dikes. A draft geology map was prepared using orthophoto and hill-shade images to minimize the time and cost of the subsequent field work. Rock sampling was carried out and Cu-bearing veins were specified through field investigations. The geology map was finalized based on field work data and petrology studies. The geological survey indicated that diabase dikes with a northwest–southeast strike often host Cu mineralization in the study area. The position of Cu-bearing dikes was delineated for the next stage of the exploration program. This research demonstrated the time- and cost-effectiveness of using drone-based photogrammetry for preparing base geology maps for the exploration of vein-type mineralization in far districts with rough topography.

Details

Title
Geological Mapping Using Drone-Based Photogrammetry: An Application for Exploration of Vein-Type Cu Mineralization
Author
Honarmand, Mehdi 1 ; Shahriari, Hadi 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Department of Ecology, Institute of Science and High Technology and Environmental Sciences, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman 7631818356, Iran 
 Department of Mining Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Rafsanjan 7718897111, Iran 
First page
585
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
2075163X
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2544910251
Copyright
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.