The present paper shows a case study of a regional exploration program for gold in the central portion of the Brazilian territory. Airborne gamma-ray and magnetic data of the Brazil-Canada Airborne Project were reprocessed and jointly interpreted with satellite images in a GIS environment. Gold-bearing quartz veins associated to hydrothermal zones in the Paranoá Group are our preferential geological target. Frequently, hydrothermal fluids increase both hydroxides and iron contents in the percolated rocks. Also, these fluids increase the concentration of the radionuclide potassium, uranium and thorium. Therefore, gamma-ray spectrometric data and image processing techniques may be used to produce a better visualization of potential gold targets. Several potential hydrothermal zones were identified in the studied area by the jointly interpretation of airborne gamma-ray spectrometric data and digital images processing techniques. Gamma-ray ternary images were superimposed to TM-Landsat 5 satellite images processed with main components analysis technique. Some of the selected targets are associated do gold ''garimpos'' in the area.
airborne geophysics; mineral exploration; Paranoá Group
