Landsat-8 data for chromite prospecting in the Logar Massif, Afghanistan

Chromite is widely distributed in the east and southeast of Afghanistan, especially in Logar Province. Chromite mineralization is podiform-type and is hosted in the stratigraphically lowest ultramafic rocks of the Logar Ophiolite Complex. This ophiolite complex represents a remnant of an early Cretaceous oceanic crust that was thrusted over a late Permian to Mid-Jurassic platform-type sequence of the Kabul Terrane during the Himalayan Orogeny. The ultramafic rocks are composed mainly of dunite and harzburgite, which are variably serpentinized. Chromite mineralization of the Logar area ranges from massive chromitite pods to disseminated chromite crystals in the ultramafic rocks. Microscopically, the chromite exhibits granular texture and is generally fresh; however, some magnetite and/or ferritchromite are formed along the fractures of some chromite grains. The primary interstitial silicate minerals of the massive chromite and the silicate minerals surrounding the disseminated chromite grains are completely altered to serpentine along with some chlorite. Thus, serpentinite is most likely the host of the chromite in the Logar Province. The main aim of this study is discriminate serpentine using the Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI). The serpentinite of the Logar Province is separated by the combination of bands, principal components, band ratios, and supervised classification techniques. Using Landsat 8 and supervised classification with maximum likelihood classification as a tool for mineral exploration improve lithological mapping in the Logar Valley area.