Contribution of Satellite Gravity Data in the Geological Study of the Territories of Punia and Lubutu in the Province of Maniema (Democratic Republic of Congo)

This paper presents the use of satellite gravity measurements as a tool for the study of the subsurface structure of the province of Maniema, more precisely in the territories of Punia and Lubutu. To do this, we downloaded the satellite gravity data from the WGM2012 model measured by the GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellites on the International Gravimetric Bureau (BGI) platform. Then, we applied the Bouguer correction which allowed us to transform the free-air anomalies that we had into Bouguer anomalies. Thanks to the Magmap extension of the Oasis Montaj software, we were able to extract the residual anomalies by applying a high-pass filter and then calculated the vertical and horizontal gradients. The high intensities of the anomalies throughout the northern and eastern part are probably due to the predominance of high-density granitic rocks while the low intensities of the anomalies in the south are associated with Ruzizian rocks which have a low density compared to the mafic intrusions located at this location. The rapid variations in the residual anomalies testify to an intense shear zone caused by the different tectonic episodes that this area has undergone. This type of anomaly indicates the presence of geological structures that may contain high density mineral substances such as most of the metallic ore deposits found in this area. The circular-shaped positive residual anomalies are also caused by the presence of mafic intrusions (high density substances) which are targets in mining exploration. Following the superposition of mining occurrences on our Bouguer anomaly map, we therefore noted that the majority of mining occurrences are located in areas of positive anomalies. The structural map produced at the end of this study highlighted multiple faults which are of significant mining interest and which will have to be the subject of more detailed geological exploration with the aim of discovering new mining deposits in this zone.

Keywords:- Satellite Gravity, Geological Exploration, Maniema, DR Congo.