3D analysis of catchment basins by incorporating modified dilution correction equations in geochemical anomaly delineation

Analysis of stream sediment geochemical data has undergone a series of developments during last decades. As a matter of fact, many factors can potentially influence the chemical composition of these sediments and the existing techniques are not able to fully explain compositional variations occurring along with their transport. By applying some recently developed equations, this paper takes into account the topographical relief and the morphological surface areas of outcropping lithological units to both estimate local geochemical background values and delineate promising zones in terms of mineral exploration. Specifically, through the combination of a three-dimensional sample catchment analysis with dilution correction equation, the process of delineating catchment basins featured by economically relevant Cu occurrences has been improved. The effectiveness of the technique has been evaluated through the application of the prediction-area plot obtaining better results than applying the two-dimensional approach.