Aeromagnetic, Radiometric and AAS Elemental Analysis of the Rimin Zayam Area, North-Eastern Nigeria: Implications for Mineral Exploration

Abstract

This study presents an integrated interpretation of aeromagnetic, radiometric, and atomic absorption spectrophotometry data from the Rimin Zayam area within the Nigerian Basement Complex. High-resolution airborne geophysical data, acquired at 500 m line spacing and 80 m terrain clearance, were processed using Oasis Montaj software to generate Total Magnetic Intensity , Reduced-to-Equator , vertical derivative, horizontal gradient, and tilt derivative maps. Radiometric ternary (K-Th-U) imaging delineated lithological boundaries and identified high potassium anomalies concentrated within metatexite migmatites. AAS analysis of ten samples revealed strong positive spatial co-enrichment (r = 0.7133) between aqueous gold and lithium signatures, with a peak Au concentration of 0.101 mg/L and a maximum Li2O equivalent of 0.562%. The NNE-SSW trending lineaments, identified as the dominant structural trend, control active alluvial tin channels and provide the framework for hydrothermal fluid mobilization. Integration of geophysical lineaments with AAS geochemical anomalies defines five high-priority exploration targets. The study demonstrates that the combination of aeromagnetic structural mapping, radiometric lithological discrimination, and AAS elemental analysis provides an effective multi-parametric approach for mineral exploration in complex crystalline terrains.

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