A benchmarking databank based on different spectral, multiscale, multisensor exploration technologies was created. The benchmarking is composed of 63 rock samples from drill cores from a polymetallic (Cu-Zn-Pb) massive sulphide deposit in the Iberian Pyrite Belt. The samples had been analyzed by portable XRF, point hyperspectral spectrometer, portable FTIR, VNIR-SWIR imaging hyperspectral sensor and a LWIR imaging thermal hyperspectral sensor.

The mineralogical information from the boreholes will be complemented with mineral chemistry extracted from the spectral features of the alteration minerals that display chemical variations. The chemical variations in minerals generate shifts on the position of the metal-OH vibrational absorptions. This systematic variation can be recorded using the SWIR wavelength region of hyperspectral data. The shifts sometimes occur systematically with respect to ore deposits and hence mineral chemical information extracted from hyperspectral surveys can be used for mineral exploration. The mineral chemistry of the samples will be validated using scanning electron microscopy data integrated with the mineral liberation analysis (SEM-MLA).

In order to apply this type of research techniques aiming at a 3D model of the alteration areas of the entire deposit based on the hyperspectral data, it is essential to have the availability of drill cores along the whole extension of the mineral deposit. Consequently, the research was focused in a study area in the Southern Spain, the Elvira deposit of the MATSA–VALORIZA mining company, where 7 km of drill core were scanned with the hyperspectral sensors.

New exploration technologies (NEXT) is a project that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement nº 776804.