Gold Prospecting Mapping in the Peninsular Malaysia Gold Belts

Gold-bearing formations are commonly associated with occurrence of chargeability anomalies obtained from induced polarization (IP) methods. However, the gold itself does not significantly contribute to the IP effects, but the sulphide mineralization enhances the chances of the gold minerals being located and detected by these geophysical methods. The results of the geophysical surveys conducted across the selected regions in the Peninsular Malaysian gold belts (PMGB) are presented in this study with applications of a regional-scale geological and geophysical mapping of the study area integrated with a 3D Geographical Information System (GIS) technique. The work allowed a significant reduction in the search areas and identification of new target areas, thus working in partnership on the reduction of costs, time, and risk of mineral exploration. Results obtained showed that significant achievements were made to efficiently understand the geological processes related to the selected PMGB regions with the application of integrated geophysical methods. A gap exists in the subsurface geophysical information concerning the Peninsular Malaysian Central gold belts (PMCGB), which this study seeks to address by bridging the gap with the application of combined electrical resistivity (ER), IP, and 3D GIS methods. The results showed the sulphide mineralized zones as delineated at various points along the survey lines with the massive deposit at greater depths of occurrence at about 200 m ≤ 300 m, with their corresponding values, for a chargeability of about < 45 ms and resistivity of roughly 50 Ωm.