Reconnaissance investigation of the alluvial gold deposits in the North Takhar Area of Interest, Takhar Province, Afghanistan
Open-File Report
2013-1180
Prepared in cooperation with the Afghan Geological Survey under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations; USGS Afghanistan Project Product No. 184
By: Peter G. Chirico, Katherine C. Malpeli, and Thomas W. Moran
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Abstract
This study is a reconnaissance assessment of the alluvial gold deposits of the North Takhar Area of Interest (AOI) in Takhar Province, Afghanistan. Soviet and Afghan geologists collected data and calculated the gold deposit reserves in Takhar Province in the 1970s, prior to the development of satellite-based remote-sensing platforms and new methods of geomorphic mapping. The purpose of this study was to integrate new mapping techniques with previously collected borehole sampling and concentration sampling data and geomorphologic interpretations to reassess the alluvial gold placer deposits in the North Takhar AOI. Through a combination of historical borehole and cross-section data and digital terrain modeling, the Samti, Nooraba-Khasar-Anjir, and Kocha River placer deposits were reassessed. Resource estimates were calculated to be 20,927 kilograms (kg) for Samti, 7,626 kg for Nooraba-Khasar-Anjir, 160 kg for the mouth of the Kocha, 1,047 kg for the lower Kocha, 113 kg for the middle Kocha, and 168 kg for the upper Kocha. Previous resource estimates conducted by the Soviets for the Samti and Nooraba-Khasar-Anjir deposits estimated 30,062 kg and 802 kg of gold, respectively. This difference between the new estimates and previous estimates results from the higher resolution geomorphic model and the interpretation of areas outside of the initial work zone studied by Soviet and Afghan geologists.
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Reconnaissance investigation of the alluvial gold deposits in the North Takhar Area of Interest, Takhar Province, Afghanistan |
| Series title | Open-File Report |
| Series number | 2013-1180 |
| DOI | 10.3133/ofr20131180 |
| Year Published | 2013 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Reston, VA |
| Contributing office(s) | Eastern Geology and Paleoclimate Science Center |
| Description | iv, 14 p.; 6 Figures: 35 x 31 inches |
| Country | Afghanistan |
| State | Takhar Province |
| Online Only (Y/N) | Y |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | Y |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |