The objective of this research is to develop a geometallurgical model for mining exploration integrating geological, geochemical, and metallurgical information of an area with mining potential located in the province of Imbabura in the NW of Ecuador. The statistical processing of the geochemical dataset made up of 37 elements from 448 fluvial sediment samples was carried out by applying the compositional analysis technique with the clr and ilr log-ratio transformations using the CodaPack software, and four multi-elemental associations were defined: pathfinders of Cu-Au porphyries, Au-Ag vein pathfinders, and harmful elements in the metallurgical processes of flotation and leaching, respectively. Likewise, through the geostatistical evaluation and the estimation of the ordinary kriging, the geochemical anomaly maps were obtained for each multielemental association; Consequently, the anoma...

Desarrolla un modelo geometalúrgico para la exploración de recursos minerales, integrando la información geológica, geoquímica y metalúrgica disponible del área de interés ubicada en la provincia de Imbabura al noroeste del Ecuador. Se evalúa los datos geoquímicos de 37 elementos provenientes de 448 muestras de sedimentos fluviales aplicando la técnica estadística de Análisis Composicional con el software CoDaPack, la cual se basa en las transformaciones log-cociente clr e ilr para el análisis de componentes principales PC y de clústeres jerárquicos; esto permite definir cuatro asociaciones multielementales: pathfinders de pórfidos de Cu-Au (Ag, As, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Zn, W y Zr); pathfinders de vetas de metales preciosos Au-Ag (As, Hg, Cu, Ni, Ag, Zn, Pb, Sb, Mo, Te, y Ba); elementos perjudiciales en el proceso de flotación (Pb, As, Sb, Hg, Cd, Ni y Co); y elementos p...