Interpretation of lithogeochemical and geophysical data to identify the buried mineralized area in Cu-Au porphyry of Dalli-Northern Hill

Geochemical and statistical analyses of 165 soil samples led to Cu-Au anomaly separation in Dalli-Northern Hill by using fractal geometry and U-spatial statistic. There was a good correlation between the anomaly areas and outcrops of quartz diorite porphyry (QDP) in the study area. Based on the interpretation of soil data and anomaly areas determination, one trench was suggested in NE-SW direction for follow-up exploration. Based on the rock sample analyses from the trenches in QDP rocks, the ratio of $ \frac{{{\mathrm{Ba}} \times {\mathrm{K}}}}{{{\mathrm{Ca}} \times {\mathrm{Zn}}}} $ clearly separated the mineralization area and considered as an index ratio for follow-up exploration stage. Dalli-Northern Hill anomaly includes pyrite/chalcopyrite/bornite, which is dominantly abundant in the ore body. Three IP profiles (IP04, IP05, and IP06) confirmed the conductivity of the sulfide zone. The background chargeability in the study area was about 5.4 mV/V and the average of maximum apparent chargeability in the study area was 44.4 mV/V, which could be related to the higher intensity of Cu-Fe sulfide minerals. The contact of andesite and quartz diorite has shown the strongest chargeability (71 mV/V) and high magnetic anomalies in the study area. DDH03 and DDH04 boreholes mostly confirmed that the IP/magnetic/geochemical anomalies were related to the contact of intrusive rocks and the wall rock of andesite. The combination of geochemical information from soil and rock together with geophysical data (induced polarization/resistivity) led to the subsurface geological cross sections and location of the mineralized zone enriched of sulfide. The mineralized zone in Dalli-Northern Hill distinct could be identified by potassic to weak sericitic and trace chloritic alteration, high values of the $ \frac{{{\mathrm{Ba}} \times {\mathrm{K}}}}{{{\mathrm{Ca}} \times {\mathrm{Zn}}}} $ ratio accompanied with high gold and copper values and enrichment from magnetite minerals. The high magnetic susceptibility, low resistivity, and high chargeability are considered as geophysical properties of the mineralized zones.