Remote sensing for exploring heavy mineral deposits: a case study of Chavara and Manavalakurichi deposits, southwest coast of India

Abstract The coastal tracts of India consist of beach sands showing good concentration of strategic heavy minerals. In the present study, the mineralogy of important coastal placer deposits in India like Chavara deposits in Kerala and Manavalakurichi deposits in Tamilnadu were studied using Landsat multispectral satellite data for deriving potential targets of these strategic minerals. The ilmenite mineral predominantly exists in these areas, followed by monazite, sillimanite, rutile, zircon, garnet, leucoxene, and kyanite. The distribution of minerals was studied using advanced hyperspectral techniques like minimum noise fraction transformation, pixel purity index, and n-dimensional visualizer followed by spectral angle mapper (SAM) classification. Two end members of ilmenite mineral and quartz were identified from the Landsat imagery and successfully mapped using SAM algorithms. Detailed investigation of the mineralogy of beach sediments using advanced hyperspectral remote sensing techniques helps to derive potential targets for the ecofriendly exploration of minerals.