Multidisciplinary approaches to lithological discrimination and structural mapping for mineral resource assessment

Understanding the geological and structural controls on mineralization is globally important for sustainable resource exploration and management. This study investigates the Gardan Ophiolitic Mélange (GOM) and the Shait Granite Complex (SGC) in the Wadi Shait area, Eastern Desert, Egypt, using an integrated, multidisciplinary approach. The GOM comprises basal metasediments, metabasalt slices, and schistose hornblende-bearing metagabbros, representing a tectonically imbricated, low-grade metamorphosed unit. Sentinel-2 satellite imagery, analysed using false colour composites (FCCs), principal component analysis (PCA), band ratios, and textural correlation, effectively discriminated lithological units and structural patterns. These results were validated and extended using high-resolution aeromagnetic data. Interpretation of aeromagnetic, employing advanced edge-detection filters such as the improved horizontal tilt derivative (impTDX) and STDR, together with classical techniques including the first vertical derivative (FVD), horizontal gradient magnitude (HGM), and tilt derivative (TDR), as well as three-dimensional (3D) Euler deconvolution and 3D magnetic modeling, revealed a network of NW-SE, NE-SW, N-S, and E-W trending faults at depths of 124-782 m. Within the SGC, NW-trending shear zones indicate late orogenic extensional exhumation associated with Najd fault-related tectonics. These structures govern the distribution of gold and radioactive (K, U, Th) mineralization. The results highlight the effectiveness of integrating remote sensing and aeromagnetic techniques for resolving lithological complexity, subsurface architecture, and mineral potential in structurally complex terranes worldwide.