The identification of mineral deposit footprints by processing geochemical survey data constitutes a crucial stage in mineral exploration because it provides valuable and substantial information for future prospecting endeavors. However, the selection of appropriate pathfinder elements and the recognition of their anomalous patterns for determining metallogenic favorability based on geochemical survey data remain challenging tasks because of the complex interactions among different geochemical elements and the highly nonlinear and heterogeneous characteristics of their spatial distribution patterns. This study investigated the application of a causal discovery algorithm and deep learning models to identify geochemical anomaly patterns associated with mineralization. Using gold-polymetallic deposits in the Edongnan region of China as a case study, stream sediment samples containing concentrations of 39 elements were collected and preprocessed using a centered log-ratio transformation, addressing the closure effect of compositional data. The combination of the synthetic minority oversampling technique, Tomek link algorithm, and causal discovery algorithm to explore the potential associations and influences among geochemical elements provides new insights into the selection of pathfinder elements. Regarding the problem of identifying anomalous spatial distribution patterns in pathfinder elements and considering that the formation of mineral deposits is the result of various geological processes interacting under specific spatiotemporal conditions, we proposed a hybrid deep learning model called VAE-CAPSNET-GAN, which combines a variational autoencoder (VAE), capsule network (CAPSNET), and generative adversarial network (GAN). The model was designed to capture the spatial distribution characteristics of pathfinder elements and the spatial coupling relationships between mineral deposits and geochemical anomalies, enabling the recognition of geochemical anomaly patterns related to mineralization. The results showed that, compared to the VAE model, which also uses reconstruction error as the anomaly detection principle, VAE-CAPSNET-GAN exhibited superior performance in identifying known mineral deposits and delineating anomalous areas aligned more closely with the established metallogenic model. Furthermore, this weakens the impact of overlapping information. Multiple outcomes indicated that an integrated analytical framework combining a causal discovery algorithm with deep learning models can provide valuable clues for further delineating prospects.
