The application of geochemical blocks methods to gold resource assessment in Eritrea

Based on geochemical data obtained from 1∶1 000 000 stream sediment geochemical survey in Eritrea and its metallogenic geological background, this study investigates the regional gold potential by using geochemical block method.The results indicate that the value of geochemical anomaly threshold is 1.41 ng/g.Four geochemical blocks and seven regional anomalies are delineated by using 1.41 ng/g, 1.78 ng/g, 2.23 ng/g, 2.81 ng/g, 3.54 ng/g and 4.46 ng/g as the grading intervals.The calculated mineralization coefficient is based on the measured resources of the known gold deposit in Eritrea.This study shows that the total gold tonnage in these blocks is 289 801 t, Au resources in Eritrea (given a 1 000 m thickness of every rock mass) is 371.7 t, and the No.3 and No.4 geochemical blocks should be the next key prospecting area.