BIF-hosted high-grade magnetite iron ore targeting by hyperspectral wavelength mapping of chlorite: case study of Qidashan Iron Mine, northeast China

There are two kinds of chlorites occurred in Anshan area, among which the hydrothermal Fe-chlorite with longer Fe-OH wavelength is spatially related to the high-grade magnetite ore, meaning that wavelength mapping of chlorites can be used to target the BIF-hosted high grade iron ore. In this article, quadratic polynomial, cubic spline, and quartic polynomial method were used to interpolate the absorption wavelength near 2250 nm of China ZY1-02D satellite hyperspectral image. The result of quadratic polynomial is continuous without data overlapping or intervals, thus most suitable for discrimination of the chlorites. The field truth shows that the spatial distribution of Fe-chlorite, validated by XRD analysis, is not only in accordance with that of high grade magnetite ore bodies, but also consistent with the recently discovered concealed iron bonanza. The study shows that hyperspectral remote sensing techniques can play significant role in the exploration of magnetite iron ore in east Liaoning Province.