FREC 682 Spatial Analysis
Mining Analysis

Intro: A prospector has obtained a claim to the entire Spearfish-Deadwood region, and wants help mapping likely locations of platinum deposits. In Western South Dakota surface platinum is most likely to be found below 1400 meters elevation in or within 200 meters of stream beds; subsurface veins are most likely to be found at a (subsurface) elevation of 1400 meters, and within 500 meters of igneous formations from which they were originally extruded.

Set your cell resolution to 30 meters. Create a binary (0-1) raster map where each cell below 1400 meters elevation and within 200 meters of a stream has a value of 1 and all other cells are zero.

Create a binary map of all areas above 1400 meters elevation within 500 meters of an igneous formation.

Map the areas above 1400 meters elevation which would require blasting of no more than 100 meters of overlay to expose likely veins at 1400 meters.

Create a mask from this overlay map. Use r.volume to calculate the total volume of overlay 100 meters thick or less to be blasted. Now g.remove the mask.

Now map overlay depths for all igneous buffers above 1400 meters elevation. Then calculate the total volume of overlay would you blast out to expose all likely subsurface veins

Create a jazzy display script to demonstrate your procedures and explain your findings. (See suggestions.)