Review of the Role of Remote Sensing Applications in Mineral Exploration and Sustainable Development in Oman

Applications of remotely sensed satellite data are wide and unique in the mapping of different lithologies, mineral resources, and ore deposits. Satellite images are capable in discriminating rock types useful for geological applications and significantly used in the identification of mineral resources. The techniques are low-cost and save time in mapping and exploration of such resources and are well-suitable and applicable to the arid region. Oman has the potential occurrence of the industrial minerals and ore deposits which mostly occur in inaccessible mountains and desert regions where it is difficult to do conventional geological mapping. Thus, understanding the capability of the techniques to map and explore such potential resources by geologists is highly important. The absorption characters of spectral bands of Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) and selected imaging processing methods namely decorrelation stretching, band ratios, linear spectral unmixing (LSU), and Mixture Tuned Matched Filtering (MTMF) demonstrates the sensor capability of ASTER to map several mineral deposits and different rock lithologies in Oman, which includes limestone, marl, listwaenites, carbonatites, metamorphic zones, caves, karst, springs, vegetation’s, rock fall and slide, Moho, copper, chromite, awaruite, manganese, and gold deposit in different parts of the Sultanate of Oman. It demonstrates the spectral sensitivity of such rocks for simple interpretation over satellite data and describes and distinguishes them based on the absorptions of hydrous minerals in the spectral bands of ASTER for mapping and exploration studies.