Mineral resources prospecting by synthetic application of TM/ETM+, Quickbird and Hyperion data in the Hatu area, West Junggar, Xinjiang, China

The Hatu area, West Junggar, Xinjiang, China, is situated at a potential gold-copper mineralization zone in association with quartz veins and small granitic intrusions. In order to identify the alteration zones and mineralization occurrences in this area, the Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+), Quickbird, Hyperion data and laboratory measured spectra were combined in identifying structures, alteration zones, quartz veins and small intrusions. The hue-saturation-intensity (HSI) color model transformation was applied to transform principal component analysis (PCA) combinations from R (Red), G (Green) and B (Blue) to HSI space to enhance faults. To wipe out the interference of the noise, a method, integrating Crosta technique and anomaly-overlaying selection, was proposed and implemented. Both Jet Propulsion Laboratory Spectral Library spectra and laboratory-measured spectra, combining with matched filtering method, were used to process Hyperion data. In addition, high-resolution Quickbird data were used for unraveling the quartz veins and small intrusions along the alteration zones. The Baobei fault and a SW-NE-oriented alteration zone were identified for the first time. This study eventually led to the discovery of four weak gold-copper mineralized locations through ground inspection and brought new geological knowledge of the region’s metallogeny.