Delineation of podiform-type chromite mineralization using geochemical mineralization prospectivity index and staged factor analysis in Balvard area (SE Iran)

The aim of this work was to delineate the prospects of podiform-type chromite by staged factor analysis and geochemical mineralization prospectivity index in Balvard area, SE Iran. The stream sediment data and fault density were used as the exploration features for prospectivity modeling in the studied area. In this regard, two continuous fuzzified evidence layers were generated and integrated using fuzzy operator. Then fractal modeling was used for defuzzification of the prospectivity model obtained. Furthermore, the prediction-area plot was used for evaluation of the predictive ability of the generated target areas. The results obtained showed that using the prospectivity model, 82% of mineral occurrences was predicted in 18% of the studied area. In addition, the target areas were correlated with the geological particulars including ultrabasic and serpentinization rocks, the host rocks of the podiform-type chromite deposit type.