3D Magnetic Inversion in Angola: Serra da Neve Alkaline Complex and Jamba Itabirites case studies

Demanding and speculative economies make it imperative to search for new areas of mineral exploration. Angola’s geological diversity presents an enormous potential for mineral resources. This potential can be assessed by applying different methods, such as geophysical prospecting, to discover new potential targets of areas to explore. For many years, the magnetic method has been successfully used in mineral exploration. In this work we apply a 3D magnetic inversion technique to aeromagnetic data in two different study areas. The Serra da Neve alkaline complex (SNAC) represents a potential source for rare earth elements (REE) and the Jamba itabirites provides metallic mineral deposits with iron and gold mineralizations. In both case studies, whether concerning alkaline intrusions or itabirites deposits, their magnetic properties are characterized by strong magnetic anomalies clearly delineated on magnetic anomaly maps. The high magnetic susceptibility (k) contrast between these target structures and the host rocks allowed us to obtain a coherent three-dimensional geometry for the SNAC structures and the itabirites deposits. The magnetic inversion technique also provided magnetic vector inversion (MVI) susceptibility values estimation for constituent lithologies, as well as the shape and size of the studied structures and deposits. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the magnetic method for the detection and characterization of target areas, offering an innovative technique to identify potential areas in mineral resources exploration.