Measurement of Carbon Dioxide and Sulfur Dioxide in Soil Gases as a Guide to Mineral Exploration under Exotic Overburden

Abstract Mineral exploration under exotic overburden has been a great challenge in exploration geochemistry. Gas geochemical measurement is a potential method for mineral exploration due to the characteristics of strong penetrability and vertical migration. The previous rapid gas analyzer cannot determine low concentrations of soil gases because of inadequate sensitivity, therefore, it is necessary to develop a more sensitive analytical technique. In this paper, the pilot studies on CO 2 and SO 2 geochemical measurements were performed at the Zhuxi W‐(Cu) deposit, Jiapigou gold ore‐concentrated area, and Tukuzbay gold deposit. This study employed rapid gas analyzer based on Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy and Electrochemical Analysis, which can detect low concentrations of CO 2 and SO 2 and greatly improve the reliability of test data. The results show that CO 2 and SO 2 show clear anomalies over deeply concealed ore bodies and faults, demonstrating that CO 2 and SO 2 anomalies can reveal indicative information about concealed mineralization and faults. Moreover, CO 2 and SO 2 anomalies can identify mineralization information exceeding 1,000 m in depth, suggesting that this method has large detection depth. Therefore, CO 2 and SO 2 geochemical measurement method is a feasible tool to discern deeply concealed mineralization and faults, and can provide a new idea in prospecting for concealed ore deposits in covered areas.