Geostatistical Modeling of Electrical Resistivity Tomography for Imaging Porphyry Cu Mineralization in Takht-e-Gonbad Deposit, Iran

In this work, the application of a geostatistical-based modeling approach is presented for building up the electrical properties acquired from a geophysical electrical tomography survey deployed for the purpose of porphyry Cu exploration at the Takht-e-Gonbad deposit in the central domain of Iran. The electrical data is inverted in 2D along several profiles across the main favorable zones of Cu-bearing mineralization to image the electrical resistivity and chargeability properties. Upon the tight spatial correlation of these geophysical properties and Cu mineralization (i.e. Cu grade), the electrical models are constructed in 3D through geostatistical interpolation of the 2D inverted data to provide insights into the geometry of the probable ore mineralization. The anomalous geophysical zone that coincides simultaneously with higher values of electrical chargeability and resistivity is in accordance with the main body of high Cu grades generated from exploratory drillings. It reveals that the porphyry-type Cu mineralization system in this area has strong geophysical footprints mainly controlled by rock types and alterations. These physical models supply valuable pieces of information for designing the layout of further exploratory drillings, constructing geological characteristics, separating non-mineralized zones form the mineralized zones, and resource modeling.