The Dalradian terrane in the north-west of Northern Ireland is prospective for orogenic vein-hosted gold mineralisation with important deposits at Curraghinalt and Cavanacaw. New geochemical and geophysical data from the DETI-funded Tellus project have been used, in conjunction with other spatial geoscience datasets, to map the distribution of prospectivity for this style of mineralisation over this terrane. A knowledge-based fuzzy logic modelling methodology using Arc Spatial Data Modeller was utilised. Four main groups of targets were identified, many close to known occurrences in the Lack – Curraghinalt zone and others in prospective areas identified by previous investigations. Additional targets are located along west-north-west trending linear zones at the eastern end of the Newtownstewart Basin and to the north of the Omagh-Kesh Basin. These zones may be related to major structures linked to a westward extension of the Curraghinalt lateral ramp which is regarded as an important control on the location of the Curraghinalt deposit.
AlsopG. I. and HuttonD. H. W.: ‘Major southeast-directed Caledonian thrusting and folding in the Dalradian Rocks of Mid-Ulster — implications for Caledonian tectonics and Midcrustal shear zones‘, Geol. Mag., 1993, 130, 233–244.
2.
AnP., MoonW. M. and RenczA.: ‘Application of fuzzy set theory for integration of geological, geophysical and remote sensing data‘, Can J. Explorat. Geophys., 1991, 27, 1–11.
3.
ArthursJ. W.: ‘The geology and metalliferous mineral potential of the Sperrin Mountains area‘, Special Report, Geological Survey of Northern Ireland, 1976.
4.
ArthursJ. W. and EarlsG.: ‘Minerals‘, in ‘The geology of Northern Ireland our natural foundation‘, (ed.MitchellW. I.), 2nd edn, 125–132; 2004, Belfast, Geological Survey of Northern Ireland.
5.
AshC. and AlldrickD.: ‘Au-quartz Veins‘, in ‘Selected British Columbia mineral deposit profiles‘, Vol. 2, ‘Metallic deposits', (ed.LefebureD. F. and HöyT.); 1996, British Columbia Ministry of Employment and Investment, Open File1996–13.
6.
BeamishD., CussR. J., LahtiM., ScheibC. and TartarasE.: ‘The Tellus airborne geophysical survey of Northern Ireland, final processing report‘, British Geological Survey, Internal Report IR/ 06/136, 2007.
7.
BenhamA. J., McEvoyF. M. and RollinK. E.: ‘Potential for stratiform massive sulphide mineralisation in south-west England‘, AppL Earth ScL (Trans. Inst. Min. Metall. B), 2004, 20, B227—B246
8.
BierleinF. P. and CroweD. E.: ‘Phanerozoic Orogenic Lode Gold Deposits‘, Rev. Econ. Geol., 2000, 13, 103–109.
9.
BluckB. J., GibbonsW. and InghamJ. K.: ‘Terranes‘, in ‘Atlas of Palaeogeography and Lithofacies‘, Geological Society Memoir 13, (ed.CopeJ. C. W., InghamJ. K. and RawsonP. F.), 1–4; 1992, London, Geological Society of London.
10.
BoateG.: ‘Ireland's natural history, a collection of tracts and treatises‘; 1652, Dublin.
11.
BolandM.: ‘The Curraghinalt Gold Deposit in Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland‘, in: ‘Mineralization in the Caledonides abstract volume‘, Proc. Inst. Mining Metall. Conf., Edinburgh, Scotland, June 1996, Institution of Mining and Metallurgy.
12.
Bonham-CarterG. F.: ‘Geographical information system for geoscientists: modelling with GIS‘; 1994, London, Pergamon.
13.
CarranzaE. J. M. and HaleM.: ‘Geologically constrained fuzzy mapping of gold mineralisation potential, Baguio District, Philippines‘, Nat. Resour. Res., 2001, 10, 125–136.
14.
ChewD. M., FlowerdewM. J., PageL. M., CrowleyQ. G., DalyJ. S., CooperM. R. and WhitehouseM. J.: ‘The tectonothermal evolution and provenance of the Tyrone Central Inlier, Ireland: Grampian imbrication of an outboard Laurentian microconti-nent?‘, J. Geol. Soc. London, 2008, 165, 675–685.
15.
ChewD. M., CooperM. R., McfarlaneJ. A. S and LeslieA. G.: Tuchsite and other ultramafic related mineral occurrences in the Lack Inlier, Northern Ireland: evidence for an upper Argyll Group affinity of the southern Sperrin Mountains and implications for gold source and occurrence’ (abstract), Proc. Highland Workshop, Belfast, North Ireland, April2009, Geological Survey of Northern Ireland, p6.
16.
CliffD. C. and WolfendenM.: ‘The Lack gold deposit, Northern Ireland‘, in ‘The Irish Minerals Industry 1980-1990‘, (ed.BowdenA. A. et al), 65–75; 1992, Dublin, Irish Association Economic Geology.
17.
CliffordJ. A.: ‘A note on gold mineralization in County Tyrone‘, in ‘Geology and genesis of mineral deposits in Ireland‘, (ed.AndrewC. J. et al), 45–48; 1986, Dublin, Irish Association Economic Geology.
18.
CliffordJ. A, MeldrumA. H., ParkerR. T. G and EarlsG. A.: ‘1980-90: a decade of gold exploration on Northern Ireland and Scotland‘, Appi Earth Set (Trans. Inst. Min. Metall B), 1990, 99, B133—B138.
19.
CliffordJ. A., EarlsG., MeldrumH. and MooreN.: ‘Gold in the Sperrin Mountains, Northern Ireland: an exploration case history‘, in ‘The Irish Minerals Industry 1980-1990‘, (ed.BowdenA. A. et al), 77–87; 1992, Dublin, Irish Association Economic Geology.
20.
CooperD. C., RollinK. E., ColmanT. B.DaviesJ. R. and WilsonD.: ‘Potential for mesothermal gold and VMS deposits in the lower Palaeozoic Welsh Basin’, British Geological Survey Research Report RR/00/09, 2000.
21.
CooperM. R., CrowleyQ. G. and RushtonA.W.: ‘New age constraints for the Ordovician Tyrone Volcanic Group, Northern Ireland‘, J. Geol. Soc. London, 2008, 165, 333–339.
22.
CurtisS. F., PattrickR. A. D., JenkinG. R. T., FallickA. E., BoyceA. J. and TreagusJ. E.: ‘Fluid inclusion and stable isotope study of fault-related mineralization in Tyndrum area, Scotland‘, AppL Earth Set (Trans. Inst. Min. Metall. B), 1993, 102, B39—B47.
23.
D'ercoleC., GrovesD. I. and Knox-RobinsonC. M.: ‘Using fuzzy logic in a Geographic Information System environment to enhance conceptually based prospectivity analysis of Mississippi Valley-type mineralisation‘, Aust. J. Earth Set, 2000, 47, 913–927.
24.
EarlsG., CliffordJ. A. and MeldrumA. H.: ‘The Curraghinalt Gold Deposit, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland‘, AppL Earth Set (Trans. Inst. Min. Metall B), 1989, 98, B50—B51.
25.
EarlsG., HuttonD. W. H., MccaffreyK., WilkinsonJ., ParnellJ., MolesN., CareyP., BoyceA., FallickA., BolandM. and LeggI.: ‘The metallogeny of the Curraghinalt Gold Deposit, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland‘, in ‘Mineralization in the Caledonides abstract volume‘, Proc. Inst. Mining Metall. Conf., Edinburgh, Scotland, June1996, Institution of Mining and Metallurgy.
26.
EarlsG., HuttonD. W., WilkinsonJ, MolesN., ParnellJ., FallickA., and BoyceA.: ‘The gold metallogeny of Northwest Northern Ireland’ (2 volumes), Geological Survey of Northern Ireland Technical Report GSNI/96/6, 1996.
Geological Survey of Northern Ireland: ‘Strabane’, Solid Geology, 1: 50, 000, Northern Ireland Sheet 17, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, in prep.
31.
GoldfarbR. J., GrovesD. I. and GardollS.: ‘Orogenic gold and geologic time: a global synthesis‘, Ore Geol. Rev., 2001, 18, 1–75.
32.
GrovesD. I., GoldfarbR. J., Knox-RobinsonC. M., OjalaJ., GardollS., YunG. Y. and HolylandP.: ‘Late kinematic timing of orogenic gold deposits and significance for computer-based exploration techniques with emphasis on the Yilgarn Block, Western Australia‘, Ore Geol. Rev., 2000, 17, 1–38.
33.
GrovesD. I., GoldfarbR. J., RobertF. and HartC. J. R.: ‘Gold deposits in metamorphic belts: overview of current understanding, outstanding problems, future research, and exploration signifi-cance‘, Econ. Geol., 2003, 98, 1–29.
34.
GunnA. G., WiggansG. N., CollinsG. L., RollinK. E. and CoatsJ. S.: ‘Artificial Intelligence in mineral exploration and develop-ment: potential applications by SMEs in Britain’, British Geological Survey Technical Report WF/97/3C,1997.
35.
GunnA. G. and RollinK. E.: ‘Exploration methods and new targets for epithermal gold mineralisation in the Devonian rocks of Northern Britain’, British Geological Survey Research Report RR/ 00/008,2000.
36.
HuttonD. H. W., AftalionM. and HallidayA. N.: ‘An Ordovician ophiolite in County Tyrone, Ireland‘, Nature, 1985, 315, 210–212.
37.
HuttonD. H. W. and AlsopG. I.: ‘The Caledonian strike-swing and associated lineaments in NW Ireland and adjacent areas: Sedimentation, deformation and igneous intrusion patterns‘, J. Geol. Soc. London, 1996, 153, 345–360.
38.
herR. A. F., PattrickR. A. D. and StanleyC. J.: ‘Geology, mineralogy and genesis of gold mineralization at Calliachar-Urlar Burn, Scotland‘, Appi Earth Set (Trans. Inst Min. Metall B), 1997, 106, B99—B108.
39.
KeppieD. F., KeppleJ. D. and MurphyJ. B.: ‘Saddle reef auriferous veins in a conical fold termination (Oldham anticline, Meguma terrane, Nova Scotia, Canada): reconciliation of struc-tural and age data‘, Can. J. Earth Set, 2002, 39, 53–63.
40.
Knox-RobinsonC. M.: ‘Vectorial fuzzy logic: a novel technique for enhanced mineral prospectivity mapping, with reference to the orogenic gold mineralisation potential of the Kalgoorlie Terrane, Western Australia‘, Aust. J. Earth Sci, 2000, 47, 929–941.
41.
MukhopadhyayB., SahaA. and NiladriH.: ‘Knowledge driven GIS modelling techniques for copper prospectivity mapping in Singhbhum Copper Belt — a retrospection‘, Map India Conference, New Delhi, India, January2003, Centre for Spatial Database Management Services, National Consortium on Remote Sensing in Transportation, Survey of India. Available at:http://www.gisdevelopment.net/application/geology/mineral/pdf/88.pdf
42.
NesbittB. E.: ‘Phanerozoic gold deposits in tectonically active continental margins‘, in ‘Gold metallogeny and exploration‘, (ed.FosterR. P.), 104–132; 1993, London, Chapman & Hall.
43.
NykanenV. M. and OjalaV. J.: ‘Spatial analysis techniques as successful mineral-potential mapping tools for Orogenic Gold Deposits in the Northern Fennoscandian Shield, Finland‘, Nat. Resour. Res., 2007, 16, 85–92.
44.
NykanenV., GrovesD. I., OjalaV. J., EiluP. and GardollS. J.: ‘Reconnaissance-scale conceptual fuzzy-logic prospectivity model-ling for iron oxide copper-gold deposits in the northern Fennoscandian Shield, Finland‘, Aust. J. Earth Set, 2008, 55, 25–38.
45.
ParnellJ., EarlsG., WilkinsonJ. J., HuttonD. H. W., BoyceA. J., FallickA. E., EllamR. M., GleesonS. A., MolesN. R., CareyP. F. and LeggI.: ‘Regional fluid flow and gold mineralization in the Dalradian of the Sperrin Mountains, Northern Ireland‘, Econ. Geol., 2000, 95, 1389–1416.
46.
PorwalA., CarranzaE. J. M. and HaleM.: ‘Knowledge-driven and data-driven fuzzy models for predictive mineral potential map-ping‘, Nat. Resour. Res., 2003, 12, 1–25.
47.
RainesG. L. and Bonham-CarterG. F.: ‘Exploratory spatial modelling: demonstration for Carlin-type deposits, central Nevanda, USA, using arc-SDM’, in ‘GIS for the Earth Sciences', (ed.HarrisJ. R.), 23–52; 2006, Geological Association of Canada Special Paper 44.
48.
RidelyJ. R. and DiamondL. W.: ‘Fluid chemistry of orogenic lode gold deposits and implication for genetic models‘, in ‘Gold in 2000' (ed.HagemannS. G. and BrownP. E.), Rev. Econ. Geol., 2000, 13, 141–162.
49.
RoggeD. M., HaldenN. M. and Beaumont-SmithC.: ‘Application of data integration for shear-hosted Au potential modelling: Lynn Lake Greenstone Belt, Northwestern, Manitoba, Canada‘, in ‘GIS for the Earth Sciences‘, (ed.HarrisJ. R.), 191–210; 2006, Geological Association of Canada Special Paper 44.
50.
SawatzkyD. L., RainesG. L., Bonham-CarterG. F. and LooneyC. G.: ‘ARCSDM3.1: ArcMAP extension for spatial data modelling using weights of evidence, logistic regression, fuzzy logic and neural network analysis', 2004. Available at:http://www.ige.unicamp.br/sdm/ArcSDM31/
51.
SoperN. J.: ‘Neoproterozoic sedimentation on the northeast Margin of Laurentia and the opening of Iapetus‘, Geol. Mag., 1994, 131, 291–299.
52.
SteedG. M. and MorrisJ. H.: ‘Gold mineralization in Ordovician greywackes at Clontibret, Ireland’, in ‘Turbidite-hosted gold deposits‘, (ed.KeppieJ. D., BoyleR. W. and HaynesS. J.), 67–86; 1986, Geological Association of Canada Special Paper 32.
53.
StephensonD. and GouldD.: ‘British regional geology: the Grampian Highlands‘, 4th edn; 1995, London, HMSO for the British Geological Survey.
54.
StrachanR. A., SmithM., HarrisA. L. and FettesD. J.: ‘The Northern Highland and Grampian terranes, in ‘The geology of Scotland‘, (ed.TrewinN. H.), 81–148; 2002, London, The Geological Society.
55.
TangestaniM. H. and MooreF.: ‘Mapping porphyry copper potential with a fuzzy model, northern Shahr-e-Babak, Iran‘, Aust. J. Earth Set, 2003, 50, 311–317.
56.
ThompsonS. J., ShineC. H., CopperC., HallsC. and ZhaoR.: ‘Shear-hosted gold mineralisation in Co. Mayo, Ireland‘, in ‘The Irish Minerals Industry 1980-1990‘, (ed.BowdenA. A. et al), 39–49; 1992, Dublin, Irish Association Economic Geology.
57.
WangH., CaiG. and ChengQ.: ‘Data integration using eights of evidence model: applications in mapping mineral resource poten-tials‘, Proc. Symp. on ‘Geospatial theory, processing and applica-tions', Ottawa, Canada, July 2002, ISPRS Commission IV.
58.
WilkinsonJ. J. and JohnstonJ. D.: ‘Pressure fluctuations, phase separation, and gold precipitation during seismic fracture propaga-tion‘, Geology, 1996, 24, 395–398.
59.
WilkinsonJ. J., BoyceA. J., EarlsG. and FallickA. E.: ‘Gold remobilization by low-temperature brines: evidence from the Curraghinalt gold deposit, Northern Ireland‘, Econ. Geol., 1999, 94, 289–296.
60.
WindhJ.: ‘Saddle reef and related gold mineralization, Hill End gold field, Australia: evolution of an auriferous vein system during progressive deformation‘, Econ. Geol., 1995, 90, 1764–1775.
