MULTIFRACTAL AND GEOSTATISTIC METHODS FOR CHARACTERIZING LOCAL STRUCTURE AND SINGULARITY PROPERTIES OF EXPLORATION GEOCHEMICAL ANOMALIES

Spatial textural analysis of exploration geochemical and geophysical data includes spatial association and singularity. Spatial variability and association can be measured using variogram, which has been commonly used in geostatistics. The singularity can be analyzed in multifractal modeling. Singularity in the application to geochemical data can reflect the regularity of enrichment and dispersion of elements due to mineralization. The method introduced in the paper can take into account both spatial variability and singularity in data estimation and data interpolation. It can be used to conduct data interpolation as well as retain local texture information, which is essential for analyzing and interpreting geochemical data for mineral exploration. The case study of identification of Au and Sn-W-U mineralization-related alterations from lake sediment geochemical data in the southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada, has demonstrated that the singularity exponent involved in the multifractal interpolation method may characterize the alteration or other local areas favourable for mineralization.