EVALUATING CROSTA TECHNIQUE FOR ALTERATION MINERAL MAPPING IN MALANJKHAND COPPER MINES, INDIA

Abstract. Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) data has been successfully employed in the field of mineral exploration to detect important minerals. In this study, Crosta technique was applied to identify the diagnostic features of hydroxyl minerals, carbonate minerals and iron oxides in Malanjkhand copper mines, India. The Crosta technique was applied to six [blue, green, red, near-infrared (NIR), shortwave infrared1 (SWIR1), shortwave infrared2 (SWIR2) bands and two sets of four (blue, red, NIR, SWIR1; and blue, near-infrared, SWIR1, SWIR2) bands of OLI data. Results show that the areas with alteration zones are enhanced much better by using six bands of OLI data. The alteration differences are examined with the Crosta technique using four band combinations. Crosta technique is very useful in generating the images of hydroxyl minerals, carbonate minerals, and iron oxides.