Observation of Morphology of the Ground and Vegetation

In regions that have thick vegetation covering, the general morphology or of some areas in particular, can often times give a good indication of the presence of outcrops on the geological frame of the region. In this way a vein can be located as well as fracture, a rocky bar of quartzite or amphibolites, a granite dome, etc. The foreseen itinerary can in this way be modified to carry out a specific visit to the area. In the cases where the outcropping is rare, the color and the type of ground, as well as the type and most or less abundance of vegetation, still observed in a restricted way, there can be very useful indications about the geology and mineralization of the region. A change of the type of vegetation almost always indicates a modification of the nature of the sub ground. There are for example certain areas in where the tenor of the copper in the ground does not allow the development of tree and bush vegetation. It will therefore be interesting to observe, when a deposit has been discovered if a particular plant grows on top of this outcrop and is absent in neighboring areas that are probably sterile. This observation can be useful in the search of identical mineralization in the region. Besides all of this, it is necessary to pay attention to the rocks in the debris of the slopes, to the overthrow and the surrounded cavities in the river beds, when these are made up by mineralized rock or by fragments of iron. These often times allow us to get to an in situ mineralization.

Searching in old mine sites
The presence of old mines sites such as wells and ditches, or cultivation, (tunnels, waste) is an important indicator about the existence of a deposit that, sometimes, can be worthwhile in function of the evolution of modern technology. If these mine sites are too old, they can pass by unnoticed and the observation of these can be difficult: the wells may have become buried, the galleries fallen, the waste has been partially or totally eliminated due to erosion and the whole area covered by vegetation. Sometimes the entry of older galleries can be found by water infiltrations such as small streams of water that come out of them. For the study of these old mine sites it is necessary to adopt the most amounts of precautions and allows leave somebody on the outside, after having fixed the exploration time. The deposits of old tailings need to be studied to see if cultivation is possible (in light of the best technology and or the presence of minerals that at the moment of cultivation did not have any value).