Ultrasonic wave velocities measurements and seismic anisotropy at Karari gold deposit: Implications for gold exploration

In order to understand the nature of reflections imaged by reflection seismic data in hard-rock environment and to investigate the seismic anisotropy across the Karari gold deposit, ultrasonic velocity measurement and seismic anisotropy studies were conducted on 18 representative samples of different alteration zones of the deposit. The preliminary results indicate a remarkable contrast of acoustic impedance between the volcaniclastic host rock and the slightly altered zone, making this seismic interface a good guide to delimitate the mineralised zone. Furthermore, the foliated unaltered host rocks possess high values of seismic anisotropy, which must not be ignored during the seismic processing and interpretation. The anisotropy of the altered rocks is much smaller – this change in anisotropy could be potentially used as an additional parameter for seismic identification and characterisation of the altered zones. © 2019, Taylor and Francis. All rights reserved.