Geology, remote sensing and geochemical studies of the potash deposit of Syahoo salt dome, north Bandar Abbass

Introduction: The Syahoo salt dome is in the north of Bandar-Abbas in Hormozgan province and structurally it is located in the geological zone of the Zagros. Potash prospecting studies in the south of Zagros have identified the Syahoo salt dome as an important area. Some of them, such as Angore, are currently active and there is still salt extraction in them, and in some, such as Pahl, Kouh Namac, and Siha, the salt extraction has been completed or is in the final stages. The purpose of this research is geological, remote sensing and geochemical studies on potash mineralization along with salt domes, which can be a potential for this type of deposits in southern Iran.
Materials and methods: In order to find the areas of accumulation of potash mineral in the area of ​​ Syahoo salt dome, satellite images of ASTER were first used to identify promising mineral areas for sampling and geochemical studies. Then, based on remote sensing studies, sampling was done for XRF, XRD chemical analysis.
Results and discussion: In order to identify rock units and areas containing salt and iron oxide, ester satellite images and methods of false band composition (RGB), spectral angle mapper (SAM) and principal component analysis (PCA) were used. The results of these studies show that all three methods have worked well in highlighting iron oxide areas and areas containing salt and show a good agreement with the geological map. Meanwhile, the spectral angle mapper method has better and higher accuracy. The results of remote sensing studies show that the west and east areas of the Syahoo salt dome contain a higher potential for potash mineralization. Also, in order to determine the potassium mineral, 17 samples were chemically analyzed by XRD method; the results show that potassium mineral was sylvite.
Conclusion: According to the geological, telemetry and geochemical studies, the grade of potash in many parts of the Syahoo salt dome, such as north, south and south-east are of less than one percent and have no exploratory value. Based on the studies, the proposed areas for exploration will be limited to the west (Target 1) and east (Target 2) of the salt dome. The highest grade of potash is related to the samples of the western part of the salt dome, on the other hand, secondary potash is also observed in this part; therefore, more attention has been paid to the potential of the western part. Based on the results of geochemical analysis, the western edge of the dome shows a high potash potential compared to other areas of the dome. The highest grade of potash in this section is 16.6%. The small outcrop of potash in this ridge and its low expansion in this section, with an average grade of 2.4%, makes this ridge the second priority, the highest grade of potash in this section is 10%.