© 2009 Society of Economic Geologists

Reviews in Economic Geology, v. 16, p. 109–122

Chapter 9

Multispectral Imagery Applied to Nickel Laterite Exploration:

The Conceição do Araguaia Discovery
J. CARLOS SÍCOLI SEOANE,†
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Geociências, Departamento de Geologia, Av. Athos da Silveira Ramos,
274, bloco G. Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. 21941-916

NEIVALDO A. CASTRO, LILIANA S. OSAKO,

Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Geologia, Campus do Pici, Bloco 913, Bairro Pici, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil 60455-760

AND FRANCISCUS J. BAARS

Rock Geologia Ltda., Independent Consultancy, Av. Afonso Pena 4343 / 402, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil 30.130-008

Abstract
Recent advances in geometallurgy have made nickel laterites a premier target for mining and exploration
companies. Parallel to this, a series of advances in remote sensing have become available at very low cost. Two
of these advances, namely better topographical data, through NASA’s Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission
(SRTM), and multispectral imagery from the ASTER sensor, have been combined to aid nickel laterite explo-
ration in central Brazil.
The Conceição do Araguaia region, located in Pará and extending into Tocantins state, is part of the Neo-
proterozoic Araguaia fold belt. The target area covers the Quatipuru mafic-ultramafic association, which in-
cludes serpentinites (metaperidotites and metadunites), talc schists, tremolite-actinolite schists and small vol-
umes of pillow basalts, phyllites, BIFs, gabbroic and jasperoid rocks. These are enclosed regionally by slate to
phyllitic rocks. Several other occurrences of mafic-ultramafic rocks, along with Quatipuru mafic-ultramafic as-
sociation are interpreted as part of an ophiolitic complex. Low-grade (greenschist) regional metamorphism is
dominant. Laterization has been active since the early Tertiary, resulting in an extensive regolith cover over the
older rock units.
In the present work, the Quatipuru mafic-ultramafic association was examined for nickel laterite mineral-
ization by data compilation and remotely sensed image processing and interpretation. ASTER’s multispectral
visible-shortwave infrared (SWIR) remote sensing capabilities were used to map areas of prospective mineral
alteration and key mineral groups. Using spectral libraries for selected nickel-bearing minerals as standards,
SWIR and visible-NIR bands of georeferenced mosaiced ASTER scenes were processed by feature-oriented
principal component analysis (PCA), and the results converted in mineral-abundance images, based on statis-
tical classification and pseudocoloring. The mineral abundance maps highlight areas most likely to contain min-
erals of interest.
Processing was performed for the whole region of interest, and for its part in the central scene alone, which
covers about 85 percent of the concession areas. In both cases, statistics for PCA were conducted on a subset
of the data, minimizing extraneous factors such as large drainages and urban sprawl, and then applied to the
whole region.
Mineral abundance maps for the area have been built into a geographic information system (GIS), along with
other remotely sensed data, public-domain regional geophysics, geologic, and infrastructure data, scouted geo-
chemistry samples, and a leveled and continuous SRTM digital elevation model. Mapping for the occurrence of
mafic-ultramafic rocks was achieved by a combination of PCs 1, 4 and 2 of ASTER bands 2, 4, 5, and 8. Clusters
of anomalous contents of selected minerals are draped over the digital elevation model and indicate that the
northeast-dipping rock units are covered by a laterized sequence constituting the main exploration targets. This
targeting exercise revealed a number of favorable sites that are currently under exploration by mining companies.

Introduction The technological and data distribution advances in re-

NICKEL ASSOCIATED with lateritic profiles is currently an im-
portant commodity for exploration companies in Brazil. This
is due to advances in geometallurgy, which have made it pos-
sible to recover nickel from oxidized ores, with Ni laterites ac-
counting for about 40 percent of world production by 2001
(Gleeson et al., 2003).
† Corresponding author: e-mail, cainho@geologia.ufrj.br
motely sensed data make it possible to acquire robust datasets
for a nominal price from the internet, which can then be used
to design company strategies to obtain exploration permits.
Using such facilities, it is possible to prioritize targets for field
work with the possibility for streamlining discoveries.
Lara Exploration Ltd. has successfully combined field sam-
pling and use of remotely sensed data to secure ground in the
Conceição do Araguaia region in the Tocantins-Pará border,

109
110 SICOLI SEOANE ET AL.
northern Brazil (Figs. 1, 2). The region is an emerging nickel
province, hosting several deposits such as Vale’s Onça-Puma
and Vermelho (2.2 Mt Ni and 2.3 Mt Ni: Vale, 2008), and Xs-
trata’s Vale dos Sonhos-Serra do Tapa (1.1 Mt Ni: Castro et
al., 2006), as well as several exploration targets such as Anglo
American’s Jacaré (Carlon et al., 2006). In the present work,
the Quatipuru mafic-ultramafic association was examined for
nickel laterite mineralization by data compilation and re-
motely sensed image processing and interpretation.
In order to better understand ASTER results it is worth-
while to keep in mind the main physiographic features of the
Conceição do Araguaia area. According to Neves (1999),
these include relative air humidity in the 80 to 85 percent
range, annual temperatures ranging from 32°C maximum to
19°C minimum, annual precipitation of 2,000 mm, with rain
occurring over 120 days/year. Vegetation is dominantly cer-
rado (savannah type, constituted mainly of grasses and scat-
tered trees, locally with denser tree concentrations), whereas
soils have variable thickness, generally over 10 m deep. Based
on these characteristics, one would not expect ASTER im-
agery to have spectral responses which could be readily cor-
related to minerals of interest, as has been proved to be the
case in “ideal” arid terrains.
FIG. 1. Regional geologic map and locality map of the Conceição do
Araguaia region (modified from Alvarenga et al., 2000). The study area is
marked by a dashed ellipse. The inset (box) marks the area covered in Fig. 2.
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Geologic Setting
The Araguaia belt is part of the Neoproterozoic Paraguai-
Araguaia orogeny, formed by the collision between the Ama-
zonia, São Francisco-Congo and West African cratons during
the assembly of west Gondwana. Major characteristics of
Araguaia belt in terms of structural and metamorphic frame-
work are addressed in Abreu et al. (1994), Alvarenga et al.
(2000) and Fonseca et al. (2004). The regional Barrovian
metamorphism increases from incipient in the west (sericite,
chlorite assemblages) to middle-high grade (biotite, stauro-
lite, garnet, kyanite) in the east. In the western portion, local
evidence of partial melting can also be found. The higher
metamorphic grade occurs associated with some Archean to
Paleoproterozoic basement inliers (e.g., Colmeia Complex),
denoting local infrastructural crustal levels preserved at sur-
face. The Neoproterozoic structural pattern of the Araguaia
belt (Alvarenga et al., 2000) has the following characteristics:
(1) rock types and pervasive metamorphic foliation have
north-south orientation (Fig. 1); (2) foliation is clearly im-
printed on both the supracrustal rocks and the underlying
basement rock units, where it overprints older gneissic struc-
tures; (3) the foliation is deformed by younger Neoprotero-
zoic structures, represented by roughly north-south–oriented
folds and transpressive structures, northwest-southeast minor
strike-slip offsets, and in the south domain, by the strong de-
formation associated with the Transbrasiliano lineament. In
spite of the late deformation affecting the main pervasive
metamorphic foliation, the southeast dip of mineral-stretch-
ing lineations and the orientation of folds and thrusts suggest
that the main tectonic transport in the Araguaia belt was to-
ward the northwest, colliding with the Amazonian craton.
Within the western (outer) part of the Araguaia belt, rocks
are unmetamorphosed, and thus contrast markedly with the
amphibolite-grade rocks in the inner zone to the east (Fonseca
et al., 2004). A prominent structure named Tocantins-Araguaia
lineament (Kegel, 1965) occurs along the contact between the
Araguaia belt and the Amazonian craton. This lineament com-
prises a set of shear zones that separates the Amazonian craton
to the west, where structures trend northwest to east-west and
the Araguaia belt to the east, where structures trend north-
south (Fonseca et al., 2004). Almeida (1986) proposed that the
lineament represents a zone containing various deep-seated
shear zones, extending over 850 km along the eastern border of
the craton, and argued that most faults are concealed under the
Baixo Araguaia sedimentary rocks and recent cover. Fonseca et
al. (2004), however, demonstrated that although the southern
segment is vertical, the northern sector dips eastward, becom-
ing a west-northwest–verging thrust fault that truncates the
metasedimentary rocks of the Tocantins group (Trouw et al.,
1976). The precise kinematics and age of the fault zone have
not yet been determined, but most importantly, the fault also
truncates mafic-ultramafic bodies (Fig. 1) that now comprise
schists and serpentinites.
The Conceição do Araguaia area (Figs. 2, 3) lies in the
outer, western zone of the Araguaia belt and borders the
Amazonian craton to the west. It is composed of metapsam-
mites and metapelites of the Tocantins group that can be di-
vided into two units. The basal unit is the Pequizeiro Forma-
tion that consists of quartz-chlorite schists and phyllites. The
110
 ASTER IMAGERY IN Ni LATERITE EXPLORATION 111

FIG. 2. Location of towns, known Ni deposits, and prospects displayed on a hill-shaded SRTM DEM image. The Araguaia
River divides the states of Pará (west) and Tocantins (east). The black boxes indicate mineral rights, also used in Figure 3.

top formation is the Neoproterozoic Couto Magalhães For-
mation that includes slates and phyllites with minor
quartzites, metacherts, and metacarbonate rocks, and a Neo-
proterozoic metavolcano-sedimentary sequence with basic to
ultrabasic intrusions (metabasalt, schist, serpentinite, talc
schist phyllite, BIF, gabbro, silexite). Permian sediments of
the Balsas group occur to the east, and all are in turn covered
by younger sediments, previously interpreted as Quaternary
(Bizzi et al., 2001).
Gorayeb (1989) demonstrated that most ultramafic bodies
display massive internal textures whereas the borders are gen-
erally brecciated or display mylonitic foliation parallel to the
trend of the Tocantins group sedimentary rocks. Several au-
thors consider the mafic and ultramafic bodies to be ophiolite
fragments (Gorayeb, 1989; Souza et al., 1995; Kotschoubey et
al., 1996; Paixão and Nilson, 2001), thrust over the metasedi-
mentary rocks of the Tocantins group (Teixeira, 1996), thus
suggesting the presence of oceanic crust in the Araguaia fold
belt, which was reworked during the Brasiliano (Pan African)
orogeny.
Among the ultramafic bodies, the best known is the Qua-
tipuru mafic-ultramafic association (Figs. 1, 3) (Faraco et al.,
2004a, b) to the south, a north-south–trending body, 45 km long
and 1 to 5 km wide, composed of serpentinites (peridotites

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112 SICOLI SEOANE ET AL.

FIG. 3. Location of Lara’s exploration permits and the city of Conceição do Araguaia (CdA) draped over the regional
geologic map (1:2,500,000). Modified from Bizzi et al. (2001).

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 ASTER IMAGERY IN Ni LATERITE EXPLORATION
and pods of dunites), talc schists, tremolite-actinolite schists
(harzburgites), massive basalts, and small volumes of pillows
basalts at the top. The Quatipuru mafic-ultramafic association
also comprises phyllites, BIF, gabbroic and jasperoid rocks.
Gorayeb (1989) reported that this body has a regional dip of
about 45o to the east and that mylonitic textures occur along
the contact with other units. North of the study area, the
Serra do Tapa ultramafic rocks are also considered to be ophi-
olite remnants and are presently under exploration. Most re-
cently, Faraco et al. (2004a) have placed this unit as a Paleo-
proterozoic tectonic window within the Araguaia belt at 2083
to 2059 Ma on the basis of U-Pb geochronology.
Also important are the younger sedimentary rocks, over
which laterization processes have been active since the early
Tertiary, resulting in an extensive regolith cover. Laterite de-
posits are presently believed to have developed mainly over
Al-rich metasedimentary units of the Couto Magalhães for-
mation. A small volume of laterite may also occur over the
Quatipuru mafic-ultramafic association, but data about the
thickness of such deposits are not available. The spectral evi-
dence gathered suggests Quatipuru mafic-ultramafic associa-
tion might also occur immediately below the regolith, provid-
ing new exploration targets.
Image Processing
ASTER’s multispectral visible-shortwave infrared (SWIR)
remote sensing capabilities have been used in arid terrains to
successfully map areas of prospective geologic alteration and
key mineral groups (Rowan and Mars, 2003; Rowan et al.,
2003; Bedell, 2004). The imagery provided by ASTER is a
combination of cutting edge technology and inexpensive in-
vestment, greatly surpassing previous remote sensing spectral
sensors such as those onboard of the Landsat satellites. It has
also been used in a more traditional way as the basis for
photo-interpretation of structures and textural patterns for
lithostructural characterization.
Mineral mapping method
ASTER satellite imagery in the SWIR range is here used to
demonstrate its suitability to map important OH-bearing
mineral assemblages that comprise the mineralogy of nickel
laterites (Gleeson et al., 2003), including the nickel-bearing
minerals collectively called garnierites (Fig. 4). These were
first detected in the area by reconnaissance field work, and
their spectral signatures have been characterized at the min-
eral group-subgroup level. Table 1 shows the main minerals
of interest such as nepouite, brindleyite, and pecoraite (Ni-
bearing serpentines), pimelite (Ni-bearing smectite), nimite
(Ni-bearing chlorite), and willemseite (a low-crystallinity
member of the pyrophyllite group of minerals with no alu-
minum in the structure, (Ni, Mg)3Si4O10(OH)2). The pres-
ence of kaolinite, chrysophrase, and limonite are indicative of
important host-rock alteration due to weathering, crucial in
the genesis of Ni laterite deposits. “Limonite” collectively
designates mixed compositions of several iron oxide-hydrox-
ides, of which goethite, hematite, and jarosite (an iron-bear-
ing sulfate), should be recognizable in the visible-NIR range.
Initially, three georeferenced ASTER scenes, dating from
April 24, 2003 (low rain season), were mosaiced to cover the
target areas. A mask was applied to define a region of interest
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113
FIG. 4. The mineralogy of the “garnierites” of New Caledonia (Trescases,
1986; Gleeson et al., 2003, after Brindley, 1978, Brindley et al., 1979), with
compositions ranging from kerolite to pimelite (Mg, Ni talclike minerals),
and from serpentine to Ni-bearing serpentine (nepouite).
around the concessions, and the SWIR bands (4–9) were re-
sampled from 30 to 15 m to dovetail with the visible-range
bands (1–3).
PCA techniques, especially the “feature-oriented principal
component selection” (FPCA, popularly dubbed Crósta
Technique), have proven more efficient than band ratioing
and have played an important and successful role in hy-
drothermal alteration mapping for gold exploration in the
Andes and elsewhere in the world (e.g., Crósta et al., 2003).
They consist of relatively simple and well-known techniques
combined, and do not require any ancillary spectral data or
any type of atmospheric correction to the data.
The FPCA-based method consists of calculating the PC im-
ages of different sub-sets of four ASTER bands. These bands
are selected according to the position of characteristic spec-
tral features of key alteration mineral endmembers in the
VNIR and SWIR portions of the spectrum. Thus, for mineral
mapping using remotely sensed imagery, reflectance spectra
for each group of minerals have either to be selected from
available libraries, such as the USGS spectral library data-
base, or better yet, measured from samples collected on-site.
In the present case, the lack of available instrumentation for
this work made public-domain spectra the only suitable
choice (Fig. 5A; Table 2). The USGS library spectra were ac-
quired using a custom-modified, computer-controlled Beck-
man spectrometer at the USGS Denver Spectroscopy Lab,
with wavelength accuracy on the order of 0.0005 µm (0.5 nm)
in the near-IR and 0.0002 µm (0.2 nm) in the visible (Clark et
al., 1993).
In selecting appropriate ASTER bands for analysis, spectral
data collected by Higgins et al. (2003) for California ultra-
mafics and southeast Brazil’s Iron Quadrangle; smectite data
collected by Hornibrook (2003) for Escondida North, in
Chile; and kaolinite, silica, and chlorite data collected by
Rowan et al. (2003) in Cuprite, Nevada, was also considered.
This was done for the sake of comparison with the USGS li-
brary, in which sample material is crushed and ground. To
114 SICOLI SEOANE ET AL.

TABLE 1. Minerals Suitable for Recognition Using Multispectral Remote Sensing

(photography captions are from Barthelmy’s WebMinerals mineralogy database, 2005).

Nickel phyllosilicate Dana group / subgroup Environment Photo caption Photo of specimen

Nepouite Serpentine Nickel-bearing laterite deposits Massive, green népouite

(lizardite subgroup) Location: Callenberg North open
cut, Glauchau, Saxony, Germany
Scale: 4 cm
Brindleyite Serpentine Forms coatings on clays and as Greenish waxy crust of brindleyite
(amesite subgroup) veinlets cutting kaolinitic clay at Location: Hachita, Grant County,
the base of bauxite deposits New Mexico, USA

Pecoraite Serpentine Either related to meteorite impact
(chrysotile subgroup) craters, or hydrothermally-altered
serpentinites
Pimelite Smectite Found in lateritic profiles above
(trioctahedral smectites) serpentinites or dunites
Willemseite Pyrophyllite-talc Occurs with and within chrysoprase
(crypto-microcrystalline quartz) as
part of the deep weathering profile
that results from laterization of
nickeliferous serpentinites or other
ultrabasic rocks
Nimite Chlorite In small tabular bodies of
(tri-dioctahedral) nickeliferous serpentinite, probably
a contact deposit, along quartzites
and ultramafic intrusives
Falcondoite Palygorskite-sepiolite Laterite deposits; nickel analog
of sepiolite
Hisingerite Allophane Secondary mineral formed from
weathering or late-stage deuteric
alteration of iron-bearing
silicates or sulfides
Nickel oxide-hydroxide
Nickeliferous limonite A mixture of hydrated A product of weathering of iron-
iron oxides; mineralloid rich minerals, forms mostly in or
near oxidized iron and other metal
ore deposits, and as sedimentary beds
Green pearly micaceous pecoraite
in serpentinite rock.
Location: Otway Prospect,
Nullagine Station, Western Australia
Small trevorite crystal in massive
willemseite
Location: Bon Accord, Barberton
Mountain, Mpumalanga, South Africa
Dark green nimite aggregates on
white calcite
Location: Planalto, Rio Grande
do Sul, Brazil
Solid mass of lime green falcondoite
Location: Riddle, Douglas County,
Oregon, USA
Scale: 4 cm
Resinous reddish brown coatings
of hisingerite on rock
Location: Agnew nickel deposit,
near Leinster, Western Australia
Scale: 5 cm

apply this control, datasets of each mineral spectra were con-
volved to ASTER’s VNIR-SWIR spectral resolution (Fig. 5B).
Several ASTER 4-band subsets were selected based on the
end members of interest. The computation of PCs on a single
subset results in 4 PC bands, among which one contains the
spectral information related to the specific mineral end mem-
ber that can be targeted using the yielded eigenvector statis-
tics. This is usually the 3rd or the 4th PC band, and it will con-
tain the desired information, as well as a fair amount of noise
(Crósta et al., 2003). The criterion for the identification is the
same proposed by Loughlin (1991), the PC that contains the
target spectral information shows the highest eigenvector
loadings from the ASTER bands, coinciding with the target’s
most diagnostic features. This information represents a very
small fraction of the total information content of the four
original bands, but selectively extracts the desired spectral
signatures of the alteration assemblages.
Processing was carried out for the whole region of inter-
est and for the central scene alone, which covers about 85
percent of the concession area. In both cases, statistics for
PCA were conducted on a subset of the data, avoiding fea-
tures unrelated to minerals, such as large drainages and
urban sprawl, and then applied to the whole region. The
central scene produced much better anomaly contrast in re-
lation to the mosaic due to the mixed statistics created by mo-
saicing. The use of a single scene allows for coherent statis-
tics, and a better procedure can be applied to produce the
mineral abundance maps and mosaics. In both cases, a corri-
dor of higher dynamic range is recognizable in the resulting
PC bands. This SWIR defect is caused by noise-detector im-
balance, and it results in a characteristic “bad strip” pattern
parallel to the image edge at about a third of the distance
from the west edge of the image, and this was subdued for
anomaly priorization during subsequent geoprocessing.
By statistical classification and pseudocoloring, the PC
bands were converted into “mineral abundance” images,
showing areas most likely to contain alteration minerals.
These mineral abundance maps were divided in three
classes: background areas, where low quantities of each given
mineral is considered to exist, and second- and first-order

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 ASTER IMAGERY IN Ni LATERITE EXPLORATION 115

A B TABLE 2. Summary of ASTER Bands Used to Detect

Each of the Selected Mineral Groups

Mineral group Minerals ASTER bands

Serpentine Nepouite 1–3–5–8

Brindleyite
Pecoraite
Pyrophyllite Willemseite 2–4–5–8
Smectite (± kaolinite) Pimelite (1 or 3)–4–6–9
Chlorite Nimite 2–4–6–8
Kaolinite Halo around brindleyite 1–4–6–7
Amorphous silica Halo around willemseite 3–4–5–8
Limonite Iron oxides-hydroxides 1/2 ratio

FIG. 5. Mineral spectra. A: Continuous spectra for selected possibly Ni-
bearing minerals. Original spectra by Clark et al. (1993). B: Spectra con-
volved to ASTER’s VNIR-SWIR spectral resolution.
anomalies, which are areas thought to have increasing quan-
tities of each mineral. Owing to the 15-m spatial resolution of
the input ASTER imagery, the region of interest contains just
over 12,000,000 cells, or about 2,800 km2. For each of the se-
lected minerals, the vast majority of cells are considered to
have low mineral abundance or lack the given mineral at all.
Depending on the mineral, between 100,000 and 200,000
cells (22.5 to 45 km2) are considered to contain second-order
mineral anomalies, and 1,500 to 5,000 cells (0.3375 to 1.125
km2) are first-order anomalies, having high abundances of the
chosen mineral.
Mineral mapping results
A simple R3G2B1 false color composite of ASTER data
does not provide a proper discrimination of rock types in the
area (Fig. 6A). PCA-oriented to map mafic-ultramafic units
using algorithm of bands 2-4-5-8, which are determinant for
the pyrophyllite group of minerals (e.g., Ni-bearing willem-
seite), produced a set of PCs, of which PC1, PC4, and PC2
were analyzed in a RGB color composition. Figure 6B and C
presents the results for the northern and southern blocks, re-
spectively. Good clues on the mineralogy of the area were
obtained even though vegetation hampers sensor detection
of the desired features. Using a single band displayed as

FIG. 6. (A) ASTER bands R-3/G-2/B-1. (B) and (C) are RGB false color composites of R-PC1/G-PC4/B-PC 2 yielded
from ASTER bands 2-4-5-8, focusing on map mafic-ultramafic units, in the northern and southern blocks, respectively. The
Quatipuru mafic-ultramafic association is highlighted in purplish blue. Spatial resolution is 15 m in all images; detail figures
(B) and (C) are drawn at the same scale.

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116 SICOLI SEOANE ET AL.

grayscale is useful during interpretation of anomalous clus-

ters of pixels, and lack of evidence should not be confused
with nonexistence of the given mineral, as thicker vegetation
could simply obscure the mineral signatures. An ultramafic
body now discovered in the central area of the northern
block, for example, is mostly covered by a patch of dense
vegetation, and it was only recognized by draping imagery
over topography.
Serpentine abundance mapping (Fig. 7) reveals a rough
correlation between serpentine-rich and mapped Quatipuru-
Serra do Tapa rock units in the southern claims. Serpentine-
rich lateritic coves are also very prospective, whereas anom-
alies related to drainages are downplayed. In the northern
claim, a geochemical anomaly yielded from scout rock sam-
pling lies within an interpreted mafic-ultramafic body not
previously mapped by the Brazilian Geological Survey (Bizzi
et al., 2001; Faraco et al., 2004a, b). Several serpentine-rich
areas occur over laterite covers within this claim as well.
Smectite predominantly occurs in the southern claim areas
(Fig. 8). There, a good correlation was found between smec-
tite abundance, interpreted mafic-ultramafic rocks, and Ni
anomalies from reconnaissance sampling. Smectites were also
mapped in association with dams and marshes (Fig. 8). Smec-
tite is rarely found in the northern areas, and it appears asso-
ciated with forest-clear lateritic plateaus.
Pyrophyllite-group mineral willemseite is an important tar-
get for mapping mafic-ultramafic units for both previously
reported occurrences and yet unmapped areas (Figs. 6, 9).
Unfortunately, the SWIR column defect appears in this abun-
dance image. Also, pyrophyllite is incorrectly mapped as asso-
ciated with drainages and flooded areas. In the outskirts of the
mining permit in the southern block, and also within the
northern block, pyrophyllite-rich areas occur at slope-breaks,
associated with laterite plateau borders, which could indicate
Ni-bearing regolith and/or concealed Ni mineralization.
Chlorite and kaolinite are generally scarce (Fig. 10). A few
spectrally anomalous points are observed along drainages.
Both mineral abundance maps are nevertheless useful for pri-
oritizing target areas based on combined mineralogy (e.g.,
serpentine anomaly with chlorite-smectite halo).
Mapping of structures
ASTER data were processed to obtain structural informa-
tion about Quatipuru mafic-ultramafic association and sur-
rounding country rocks. False color composites of VNIR and
SWIR bands were interpreted, eventually combined with a
PC1 calculated over multiple bands added as intensity in a
HSI transformation. Structures were characterized mainly
from topographic features, although some spectral informa-
tion was also used. The SRTM digital elevation model was
prioritized over the ASTER DEM, as the later was much
more irregular. The structural interpretation was based on the FIG. 7. Mineral abundance map for serpentine. For ASTER interpreta-
definition and vectorizing of positive and negative topo- tion of the Quatipuru mafic-ultramafic association, see Figure 6. Regional ge-
graphic lineaments. Figure 11 shows the obtained lineament ologic information from Bizzi et al., 2001. Reconnaisance geochemistry rep-
maps and statistical trends for the mapped structures. resented as dots with varying colors. Pixel statistics refer to the mosaiced
scenes in the whole region of interest.
Two main sets of structures were recognized: (1) a north-
south to northwest-southeast general strike of the Quatipuru
mafic-ultramafic association and its country rocks and (2) and the occurrence area of the Quatipuru mafic-ultramafic
younger linear structures in multiple directions. In the first case, association. Locally, no topographic features were interpreted
there is a good correlation between the positive lineaments as indicative of an eastward dip, which would imply that

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 ASTER IMAGERY IN Ni LATERITE EXPLORATION
FIG. 8. Mineral abundance map for smectite, showing good correlation to
interpreted Quatipuru mafic-ultramafic association. Other information fol-
lows the same pattern as for Figure 7.
Quatipuru mafic-ultramafic association units might continue
beneath the younger cover. Negative topographical lineaments
oriented in other directions may represent subordinate
younger structures that were deformed in a general south-
east-northwest strike.
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117
FIG. 9. Mineral abundance map for pyrophyllite-group minerals. Ellipses
mark clusters of pyrophyllite-rich pixels at the change in slope characteris-
tic of plateau borders. Other information follows the same pattern as for
Figure 7.
Data Integration
Mineral abundance maps (Figs. 6–10), JERS-1 radar im-
agery, Landsat ETM in several band combinations, regional
geophysics, geologic, geochemical, and infrastructure data,
118
FIG.10. Mineral abundance maps for chlorite and kaolinite. Other infor-
mation follows the same pattern as for Figure 7.
structural data (Fig. 11), and SRTM digital elevation models
(Fig. 12) were integrated in GIS software package. An SRTM
digital elevation model was downloaded from the USGS in-
ternet site (http://seamless.usgs.gov), and no-data values were
replaced by values derived using neighborhood statistics. PCs
1, 4, and 2 of ASTER bands 2-4-5-8, which provide a good
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SICOLI SEOANE ET AL.
mafic-ultramafic–mapping combination, and selected min-
eral anomalies are draped over the SRTM digital elevation
model. Interpreted Quatipuru mafic-ultramafic association
units are on the western flanks of topographical highs, thus
suggesting an east to northeast dip in agreement with regional
observations (Gorayeb, 1989); this was not clearly visible from
image interpretation alone, and might indicate that
Quatipuru mafic-ultramafic association units continue be-
neath the younger cover. Clusters of abundances of the mod-
eled minerals were mapped and recommended for field
check. Indeed, the main compound mineral-abundance
anomalies, resulting from the spatial distribution patterns of
the individual mineral-abundance maps, lie to the east of the
outcrop of the Quatipuru mafic-ultramafic association and
could indicate significant mineralization under cover.
Mineral anomaly ranking
The last step in any exploration exercise is to recommend
anomalies for further field checking. Figure 13 and Table 3
summarize favored anomalies. A map of Quatipuru mafic-ul-
tramafic association rock units draped over the SRTM DEM
indicates their dip to the northeast, an area prioritized for field
check (Fig. 12) and consisting of laterized cover sequences,
which is currently under exploration. Compound anomalies
were chosen based on assumed mineral assemblages for clay
and hydrous silicate mineralization, and they were prioritized
in three classes based on size, contrast, and mineral association
(e.g., serpentine anomaly with chlorite-smectite halo).
Discussion and Conclusions
Follow-up field campaigns usually include ground truthing
by carrying a hand-held spectrometer such as PIMA in order
to create a mineral library specific to the target areas, as well
as more traditional geochemical rock and soil samples, and
petrography to properly characterize primary and weather-
ing-induced alteration mineralogy. In the present case, the
early success in the recognition of mineral occurrences has,
however, precluded some of these steps. The Vila Oito targets
(anomalies 12–14 in Table 3) went straight through to scout
drilling after the joint venture between Lara Exploration and
Xstrata was formed, which led to new high-density airborne
geophysical surveys in the area (gammaspectrometry, magne-
tometry, VTEM). Other anomalies were assessed by less
costly, standard exploration techniques.
Some encouraging results from the field checking of the
sites selected using ASTER include the following (Fig. 14):
the first mineralized sample collected from the original field
check at Vila Oito, in the northern block; drill hole FPB-06-
09, also from Vila Oito, with a 20-m-thick weathering profile,
characteristic of silicate type laterization; a gossan sample
from the southern block (anomaly 4, Table 3); and pyroxenite
with blebby sulfides (anomalies 7 and 8, Table 3), also from
the southern block.
ASTER-mapped mafic-ultramafic units provide better de-
tail than publicly available geologic maps of the area, and this
fact alone implies that remote sensed data, along with geo-
physics and field observations, are important and irreplaceable
tools to drive exploration. In the future, additional Ni-bearing
minerals should be used for more detailed work, such as
sepiolite and allophane, but no reference reflectance spectra
118
 ASTER IMAGERY IN Ni LATERITE EXPLORATION 119

FIG. 11. Conceição do Araguaia: linear structures interpreted from ASTER images (VNIR-SWIR). Positive topographic
features are drawn as thick lines; spectral and negative topographic lineaments are drawn as thin lines.

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120 SICOLI SEOANE ET AL.

FIG. 12. Interpreted mafic-ultramafic association (dark blue) draped over SRTM DEM of Conceição targets, clearly in-
dicating a northeast dip. Main anomalies selected for field check are northeast of these rock units (outlined in black) and lie
over recognized lateritic cover sequences that might yield concealed mineralized rocks.

FIG. 13. Selected Conceição do Araguaia mineral anomalies (thick black polygons) displayed over SRTM DEM back-
ground. Lithological contacts extracted from Bizzi et al. (2001) as thin black vectors; ASTER imagery interpreted Quatipuru
mafic-ultramafic association ophiolite as white polygons. Anomalies were prioritized based on size, contrast, and mineral as-
sociation (e.g., serpentine anomaly with chlorite-smectite halo). (A) Northern block of claims. (B) Southern block of claims.
The images share the same scale and legend. Anomaly numbers as in Table 3.

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 ASTER IMAGERY IN Ni LATERITE EXPLORATION 121

TABLE 3. Summary of Anomalies Selected for Field Check

Number 1 Priority Anomaly type Mineralogy Area (Ha)

1 1 Hydrous silicate Serpentine-chlorite-smectite 307.50

2 1 Hydrous silicate Serpentine-chlorite-smectite 156.92
3 1 Hydrous silicate Serpentine-chlorite-smectite 22.63
42 1 Hydrous silicate Serpentine (kaolinite halo, silica core) 142.61
5 1 Hydrous silicate Serpentine (kaolinite halo) 123.00
6 1 Hydrous silicate-clay Serpentine-chlorite-smectite +silica-pyrophyllite 25.66
72 1 Hydrous silicate-clay Serpentine-chlorite-smectite +silica-pyrophyllite 82.44
82 1 Hydrous silicate-clay Serpentine-chlorite-smectite +silica-pyrophyllite 39.39
9 1 Hydrous silicate Serpentine (kaolinite halo) 56.19
10 1 Hydrous silicate-clay Strong chlorite, smectite-kaolinite halo 2.26
11 1 Hydrous silicate Serpentine (kaolinite halo) 155.83
12 2 1 Hydrous silicate-clay Serpentine (pyrophyllite halo) 1.66
13 2 1 Hydrous silicate Serpentine (kaolinite halo) 6.54
14 2 1 Hydrous silicate Serpentine (kaolinite halo) 5.57
15 1 Hydrous silicate Serpentine (kaolinite halo) 38.33
16 1 Hydrous silicate Serpentine (kaolinite halo) 25.34
17 1 Hydrous silicate Serpentine (kaolinite halo) 27.00
19 2 Hydrous silicate-clay Serpentine (kaolinite-chlorite-smectite halo) 21.95
23 2 Hydrous silicate Serpentine (kaolinite halo) 23.10

1 Number is the same as in Fig. 13

2 Anomalies discussed in the text

FIG. 14. (A) First mineralized sample collected from the original field check at Vila Oito, in the northern block, with “gar-
nierite” veining. (B) “Garnierite” from drill hole FPB-06-09, at 18-m depth, also from Vila Oito, with a weathering profile
characteristic of silicate type laterization. (C) Gossan sample from the southern block (anomaly 4, Table 3). (D) Pyroxenite
with blebby sulfides (anomalies 7 and 8, Table 3).

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122 SICOLI SEOANE ET AL.
were readily found for these minerals. Further, the various
nickel-bearing simple oxides of the periclase group, multiple
oxides of the spinel group, and telluride and phosphates also
represent potential minerals for vectoring Ni mineralization
using multispectral remote sensing.
Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge permission to publish data from
Lara Exploration Ltd, and their present and former JV partners,
Teck Cominco and Xstrata. In particular, we would like to thank
Miles Thompson, Lara’s president and CEO, for his continued
support, comments, and useful discussions of exploration strate-
gies. H. Ikeda, P. Fragomeni, and their team were in charge of
the scout field sampling campaign, which provided ground-
truthing for our interpretations by bringing back the first Vila
Oito garnierite samples. T. Cudahy and C.R. Souza Filho (2006)
led a spectral sensing workshop during Simexmin 2006, in
which JCSS took part while on an ADIMB grant, for which O.J.
Marini is thanked. All participants are congratulated for the ex-
cellent discussions. We are indebted to the special volume edi-
tors, R. Bedell, A. Crósta, E. Grunsky, and S. Simmons for their
patience and guidance, and to W.A. Morris and an anonymous
reviewer for the detailed reviews. Lara Exploration Ltd is also
acknowledged for generously supporting the printing costs.
JCSS acknowledges Brazil´s National Research Council, CNPq,
for research grant no. 304456/2004-7.
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