The Elk Creek Carbonatite located in southeastern Nebraska hosts the largest known niobium deposit in the United States. The shallower lithology of the carbonatite has been well explored by boreholes, but the deeper lithology remains poorly understood. We performed 3D joint inversion of the airborne gravity gradiometry and magnetic data collected over the area to produce structurally coupled density and susceptibility models. We carried out geology differentiation, a process of classifying the recovered physical property models into distinct units, and obtained a 3D quasi-geology model of the Elk Creek region with differentiated lithologic units. We identified 11 distinct geological units including one unit corresponding to the known niobium ore zone. We also discovered another unit with a significant volume of dense and strongly magnetized rocks below the deepest boreholes. These rocks are likely associated with unexplored niobium mineralization.
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SEG/AAPG/SEPM First International Meeting for Applied Geoscience & Energy
September 26–October 1, 2021
Denver, Colorado, USA and online
Geophysical characterization of a buried niobium and rare earth element deposit using 3D joint inversion and geology differentiation: A case study on the Elk Creek carbonatite
Paper presented at the SEG/AAPG/SEPM First International Meeting for Applied Geoscience & Energy, Denver, Colorado, USA and online, September 2021.
Paper Number:
SEG-2021-3585069
Published:
October 30 2021
Citation
Li, Kenneth, Wei, Xiaolong, and Jiajia Sun. "Geophysical characterization of a buried niobium and rare earth element deposit using 3D joint inversion and geology differentiation: A case study on the Elk Creek carbonatite." Paper presented at the SEG/AAPG/SEPM First International Meeting for Applied Geoscience & Energy, Denver, Colorado, USA and online, September 2021. doi: https://doi.org/10.1190/segam2021-3585069.1
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