Remote sensing techniques using Landsat ETM plus applied to the detection of iron ore deposits in Western Africa

Remote sensing methods enable the rapid and inexpensive mapping of surface geological and mineralogical features. This capability proves highly useful when working on isolated or inaccessible areas. In this study, several enhancements of Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (i.e. band ratios, false colour composites and principal component analysis) were used and evaluated to obtain the best possible visualisation of iron deposits hosted in the Devonian sedimentary rocks of northwestern Africa. In particular, two test sites were chosen: southern Algeria (Djebilet area), where the literature mineralogical and geological data on iron mine fields were already available, and the Western Sahara (the southern flank of Tindouf Basin), which was investigated during a field campaign and was where the occurrence of an analogous sedimentary succession led us to hypothesise the possible presence of exploitable iron deposits. This work demonstrates the usefulness of multispectral imagery in the detection of iron-rich areas and establishes a full remote sensing procedure, which can be profitably applied to a wider region of Western Sahara and can provide interesting perspectives on the possibility of detecting new exploitable iron ore deposits in arid environments.