Polymetallic Nodules Resource Estimation in the Suoi Thau-Sang Than Area, northeastern Vietnam

Abstract

1,720 chemical, mineral, and petrography samples in the Suoi Thau-Sang Than area, northeastern Vietnam were collected to investigate polymetallic nodules resource. The similarity-analogy in ore geology, direct calculation method for metallization parameters, and mineral resource estimation based on cutoff grade change methods are employed to estimate polymetallic nodules resource from the Suoi Thau, Sang Than, and Ban Kep areas in northeastern Vietnam. The similarity-analogy in ore geology indicates 1,785,000 tons Cu, 12,005,000 tons Pb+Zn, and 195 kg Au in total. The direct calculation method for metallization parameters shows 2,060,000 tons Cu, 13,648,000 tons Pb+Zn, and 224 kg Au in total. These methods display that the Sang Than area contains mainly polymetallic nodules in the studied area. Following the mineral resource estimation based on cutoff grade changes, estimation results indicate potential Pb-Zn nodules resource in the Ban Kep and Cu nodules resource in the Sang Than, while no potential Au nodules resource in the Suoi Thau and the Sang Than as well as the Ban Kep. The estimation results obtained from mineral resource estimation based on cutoff grade changes are suitable with the results from the traditional geometric block methods. Our study suggests that the Sang Than area can be considered as a potential Cu nodules resource, and the Ban Kep area is potential Pb-Zn nodules resource in northeastern Vietnam for future exploitation, while there is no potential polymetallic nodules resource in the Suoi Thau area. Furthermore, the one resource estimation based on cutoff grade changes method displays an overview of the prospect on polymetallic nodules resources, indicating that this method can serve as a basis for the proposed selection of the prospective areas for effective Cu, Pb-Zn, and Au mineral exploration in the Suoi Thau-Sang Than area, northeastern Vietnam.