Mineralization-related geochemical anomalies derived from stream sediment geochemical data using multifractal analysis in Pangxidong area of Qinzhou-Hangzhou tectonic joint belt, Guangdong Province, China

Distinguishing geochemical anomalies from background is a basic task in exploratory geochemistry. The derivation of geochemical anomalies from stream sediment geochemical data and the decomposition of these anomalies into their component patterns were described. A set of stream sediment geochemical data was obtained for 1 880 km 2 of the Pangxidong area, which is in the southern part of the recently recognized Qinzhou-Hangzhou joint tectonic belt. This belt crosses southern China and tends to the northwest (NE) direction. The total number of collected samples was 7 236, and the concentrations of Ag, Au, Cu, As, Pb and Zn were measured for each sample. The spatial combination distribution law of geochemical elements and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to construct combination models for the identification of combinations of geochemical anomalies. Spectrum-area ( S-A ) fractal modeling was used to strengthen weak anomalies and separate them from the background. Composite anomaly modeling was combined with fractal filtering techniques to process and analyze the geochemical data. The raster maps of Au, Ag, Cu, As, Pb and Zn were obtained by the multifractal inverse distance weighted (MIDW) method. PCA was used to combine the Au, Ag, Cu, As, Pb, and Zn concentration values. The S-A fractal method was used to decompose the first component pattern achieved by the PCA. The results show that combination anomalies from a combination of variables coincide with the known mineralization of the study area. Although the combination anomalies cannot reflect local anomalies closely enough, high-anomaly areas indicate good sites for further exploration for unknown deposits. On this basis, anomaly and background separation from combination anomalies using fractal filtering techniques can provide guidance for later work.