Area Selection
Tectonic Map of India with Diamonds
Area Selection (sometimes termed ‘prognostication’) usually is carried out for large territories (cratons or their parts) occupying one or several countries. The main objective of the work is to determine, within these territories, the most promising, smaller (up to several hundred km2) areas for diamondiferous kimberlites (or other diamondiferous rocks). This process may be necessary also for developed territories because of changes to geological models, and the availability of new geophysical and prospecting data.
To do this work, we use the principles published in our article ‘Prognostication of primary diamond deposits’ (J. Geochem. Exploration, 1995, v. 53, pp. 167-182). The compilation of Maps of Prognosis is based on geological-geophysical models from known areas, where kimberlitic or lamproitic volcanism occurs. We have generated such models in the course of our investigations of Siberian and Arkhangelsk kimberlites in Russia, and further developed it while compiling such maps for different regions of Canada, for Brazil, Angola, and some other countries. This technique has led us to the discovery of four new kimberlite/lamproite fields in the former USSR and turned out to be applicable also to diamondiferous regions of Africa, Scandinavia, Australia and Canada.
A set of Maps of Prognosis are compiled as the result of the interpretation of existing regional geological, geophysical and prospecting data relevant to the region, without the need to conduct new field work. Usually this process includes the following maps:
Geological Map of Prognosis for Angola.
- Tectonic map;
- Geological Map of Prognosis;
- Geophysical Map of Prognosis;
- Map of interpretation of satellite imagery.
- General Map of Prognosis resulting from the data included in the above maps. This includes the most prospective areas which may be recommended for staking and / or prospecting.
The maps typically have a scale of 1:500,000 – 1:1,000,000.