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GIS Central Europe: an operational tool to improve
metallogenicthinking, support exploration activities and contribute
to thesustainability of the mining industry.
D. Cassard, A.L.W. Lips, Y. Itard & G. SteinBRGM, Mineral
Resources Division, BP 6009, 45060 Orlans cedex2, France
Keywords: GIS, metallogeny, environment, syntheses,
multi-criteria data processing, predictive
mapping,Alpine-Balkan-Carpathian-Dinaride (ABCD) GEODE Project,
Central and South-Eastern Europe
ABSTRACT: The GIS (Geographic Information System) Central
Europe, in support of the Alpine-Balkan-Carpathian-Dinaride (ABCD)
GEODE Project, is composed of spatially referenced geographical,
geological,geophysical, geochemical and mineral deposit thematic
layers, and their respective attribute data. It is used toestablish
insights in the regions mineral potential and its past and future
mining activities. Subsequently, theinformation system is further
exploited to derive new rules between the different attribute
information in theirrelation to mineral deposit formation and the
spatial distribution of the deposits. To contribute to the
sustain-ability of the mining industry, environmental data are also
integrated in the information system, allowing aregional scale risk
assessment for old and new mining projects.
1 THE ARCHITECTURE OF GIS CENTRALEUROPE
GIS Central Europe, drawing heavily on the authors'experience in
creating GIS Andes (Cassard, 1999;Cassard et al., 2001a) and GIS
Gondwana (Nicol,2000), comprises three modules "Geography","Geology
& Mining" and "Environment". The the-matic layers to be
contained in the first two modulesare given in Table 1 (Cassard et
al., 2001b).
Table 1. Thematic layers of the GIS Central Europe "Geogra-phy"
and "Geology & Mining" modules.
Layer Description
Geographic A DCW geographic base
DEM Two digital elevation models: one oceanic (2-minute arc),
and one continental (30-secondarc) elevation data set, with maps
showing de-tailed topography derived discontinuities
Imagery SPOT 4 VEGETATION satellite images at1x1 km
Geologic map cover-age (metadata)
Present state of geological coverage: locationof and information
on the existing maps
Geologic synthesis see fig. 1
Synthetic geological map of Central andSoutheastern Europe at
1:1,500,000 scale
Simplified geologicalmap
Simplified geological map of Central andSoutheastern Europe at
1:1,500,000 scale withcharacterization of morpho-structural
domainsand main tectonic elements
Volcanic Data on Holocene volcanism
Geothermal resources Based on inventories at present being
com-piled for the EU
Geochemistry Composition and age of magmatic and vol-canic rocks
isotope data
Ore deposits Linked to a database under Access, using anew
metallogenic lexicon (seehttp://giseurope.brgm.fr/) and including
min-eralogical (ore, gangue and hydrothermal al-teration),
fluid-inclusion and isotopic data ofthe main ore deposits
Geochronology Synthesis of existing data, methods used,
criti-cal analysis, reliability, references, etc.
Mining districts andprovinces
Delimitation, magmatic and structural con-trols, potential and
information on miningcompanies
Heat flow An up-to-date synthesis
Gravimetric Bouguer anomaly calculation; isostatic correc-
tion and corresponding residual anomalies;vertical gradient
calculation and structuralanalysis. Moho depth contour map
Seismic Distribution of earthquakes in order to betterunderstand
and constrain the crustal structures
3D Tomography 3D model of the lithospheric structure
(Coop-eration with Utrecht University)
The third module of GIS Central Europe includea descriptive
section of the different environmentsand sectors, linked to an
"InfoBase" of data on po-tential pollutions, activity sectors using
potentially
polluting products, and relevant national and interna-tional
regulations and standards.
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Figure 1. Digital geological synthesis at 1:1,500,000 scale
The descriptive section of this Environmentmodule is currently
made up of five layers: land-useand land cover (ecosystem
definition), industrial ar-eas (location of main pollutant-emission
sources),
human settlements (main environmental targets),meteorology and
environmental monitoring (air-,water- and soil quality). It
provides information on:- Detailed administrative boundaries
showing en-
vironmentally protected areas such as nationalparks;
- Distribution and characterization of human ac-tivities
(highlighting social-economic aspects);
- Land use (agriculture, forest, urbanism, industry,mine waste,
etc.), mainly determined from satel-lite imagery;
- Pollution sources (with inventories andcharacterization) in
the different activity sectors;
- Climate;- Water resources (both surface water and
groundwater);- Vulnerability to risks and natural hazards
(earth-
quakes, flooding, etc.);- Geothermal resources (highlighting the
potential
role of alternative energy resources);- Quality monitoring
networks for water, air and
soil.The georeferenced integration with metallogenic
syntheses and predictivity maps (Fig. 2) will allowto carry out
risk assessment and impact studies rela-
tive to the mineral extractive industry (Cassard andItard, in
press).
Figure 2. Two areas of application for the "Environment"
mod-ule: (1) descriptive, (2) predictive
The information stored in the InfoBase is the non-geographic
counterpart of the various thematic lay-ers in the GIS and concerns
all domains (Fig. 3):Which heavy metals are related to a specific
deposittype? Which mineral hosts a specific chemical ele-
ment? What is the possible volume of waste gener-ated by the
mining of a specific ore-deposit type?What other industrial
activities contribute to the cy-cle of a specific chemical
component? What is theecotoxicity of such a component?
The InfoBase contains also data on the geochemi-cal signatures
of the main deposit types, the heavy-metal content of all minerals,
and chemical descrip-tions of rock types, for estimating the
potential envi-ronmental impact of different ore deposits.
Further information in the InfoBase is related toenvironmental
regulation (laws, standards) at na-tional and European level.
Figure 3. Description and use of the InfoBase of the
"Environ-ment" module
2 USING GIS CENTRAL EUROPE
2.1 Applications in metallogeny
The completion of many of the basic informationlayers of the GIS
a rather unrewarding, time con-suming and thus costly phase allows
one to start tofully use the system. The disposal of the
homogene-ous geological synthesis for the whole ABCD-
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GEODE region will serve as an ideal basis for pan-ABCD
geodynamic investigations. The possibility todisplay over 2500
mineral deposits (carefully de-scribed in about 40 fields, filled
by data entries fromin-house hierarchical lexicons which integrate
thelatest developments and knowledge) over the geo-
logical layer allows to further investigate the
spatialdistribution of deposits, to realize sophisticated que-ries
and to elaborate thematic documents. This con-tribution to
metallogenic thinking is further en-hanced by the integration of
the mineral databasewith a geochronogical one which synthesizes all
thepublished information after a careful evaluation ofits quality.
The satellite imagery layer with a 1x1 kmresolution SPOT4
VEGETATION image contributesto the identification of major crustal
discontinuitieslikely to have controlled the circulation of
hydro-thermal fluids and therefore the location of mineraldeposits.
Essential geophysical data layers are pro-
vided through the compilation of the gravity data(Gravimetric
Int. Bureau, satellite data, map digitiza-tion), allowing to derive
different enhanced layerspresenting calculated Bouguer anomalies,
isostaticcorrection and corresponding residual anomalies,vertical
gradients, and geophysical discontinuities,again contributing to
better constrain the role ofcrustal structures in the distribution
of hydrothermalsystems regionally with the topo-isostatic
residualanomaly map and locally with the vertical gradientof the
topo-isostatic residual anomaly map.
Figure 4. GIS Central Europe 3D Tomography layer presentinga
suggestive positive correlation between copper deposits and
low seismic velocity anomalies (< -1.5 %) indicative of
ele-vated mantle temperatures.
In the same way, but at the continental and litho-spheric scale,
the 3D tomography layer (cooperationwith Utrecht University
Bijwaard et al., 1998) con-tributes to the understanding of the
relationship be-tween the geophysical and geodynamics processesand
the localization of mineralizing phenomena (Fig.4).
2.2 Application to environmental problems
The objective of current research is to combine geo-logical and
metallogenic data with information on
land-use, hydro(geo)logy, meteorological variations,and air- and
water-quality monitoring. The combi-nation of information allows to
regionally assess theimpact of existing extracting industries and
to pre-dict the risks linked to new mining ventures. The ba-sic
assumption is that a good knowledge of such im-
pact will lead to an environmentally safedevelopment of this
essential economic sector (Itardet al., 2002).
The InfoBase structure provides a relation be-tween minerals and
their respective heavy-metalcontent, a theoretical heavy-metal
signature for eachdeposit type, as well as a neutralization
capacity forall host rock lithologies. Optimal integration of
thisinformation enables to compute a heavy-metal riskindex for each
deposit and to construct an Acid MineDrainage risk map (Fig.
5).
Using the DEM and the satellite imagery, re-gional risk maps for
erosion, landslides and flooding
can be created, and can be completed by a rainfalllevel map.
Further data combination will ultimatelylead to a ranking of
regional risks, taking into ac-count the pollutants, the
possibilities of their transferwithin the environment, and their
toxicity.
Figure 5. GIS Central Europe, Romania and Serbia: Presenta-tion
of a heavy-metal risk index for each deposit and of anAcid Mine
Drainage risk map.
3 CONCLUSION
Developing GIS central Europe represents a vastsynthesis effort
which can now be enhanced throughcurrent research work such as a
GIS-supported studyto correlate geodynamic processes and ore
depositformation over time (Lips et al., 2002b).
This research focusing on the evolution of thelithosphere at
convergent continental margins identi-fies secondary thermal and
mechanical processesthat accompany the primary process of
subduction.
Such secondary effects have been recognized as thepossible
trigger of the magmatism, regional crustal
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extension, and enhanced flow of heat and fluids inthe crust.
Lithospheric dynamics thus may haveplayed a vital role in the
formation and localizationof ore deposits. The integration of all
data associ-ated with individual ore districts and with
regionalgeodynamics in a single orogenic system is the pri-
mary feature of BRGMs continental-scale GISstudy.Establishment
of the temporal and spatial con-
straints of the lithosphere-scale mechanisms, as wellas detailed
information on the timing of the mineral-izing processes, are the
first steps to understandingthe potential geodynamic causes of
relatively short-lived regional igneous and hydrothermal
ore-forming events. The GIS system is subsequentlyused to
quantitatively test the applicability of presentgenetic models on
different scales (from ore districtscale, to regional scale and
vice versa). Modern dataprocessing, using procedures such as data
mining
and neural network analysis, also allows the extrac-tion of new
relational rules (Lips et al., 2002a).Thus, new constraints can
revise existing models ornew models may replace the existing
models. Step-by-step, the system allows the user to improve
thepresent ore genesis models and to bridge the gap be-tween the
different scales at which ore genesis andgeodynamics operate,
evolving from a descriptiveprocess to a predictive system.
An example of the process is focused on the Car-pathian-Balkan
region in SE Europe in the frame ofthe ABCD-GEODE Programe. The
region is char-acterized by well-studied geodynamic evolution
and
numerous ore deposits and occurrences in distinctmetallogenic
belts, which developed in discrete 5- to10-m.y.-long intervals
since 100 Ma (Lips, 2002).
Principally the information system allows themultidisciplinary
exploitation of databases from dif-ferent scientific domains, the
optimal (distant) con-sultation, and the further integration,
analysis anddissemination, of the multi-source data, derivedfrom
geological, engineering, environmental, medi-cal, legal and other
sources. In this way the systemcan provide policy-makers and
citizens in Europewith the scientific elements and the required
tech-
nologies to spatially and temporally manage thenatural resources
and their related information. Ad-ditionally it assesses the
environmental and the so-cio-economic impacts related to the
exploitation andtransformation of mineral resources across Europe
inthe past and at present. As such the system providesa key to
sustainability of the pan-European non-energy extractive industry
in its relation to major so-cietal issues.
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