GPR and Magnetic Techniques to Locate Ancient Mining Galleries (Linares, Southeast Spain)

Abstract

Old mining districts have created numerous subsurface cavities, often at shallow depths. The resulting subsidence risk is a major territorial planning problem, especially when these holes are in urban expansion areas. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetic techniques can help to detect and to characterise these shallow mining structures based on the strong contrast of electromagnetic and magnetic properties (dielectric constant and magnetic susceptibility) between the rock and the backfill of cavities. In the present study, these techniques were used to locate old mining cavities near the city of Linares, located south of Spain and connected to the area’s old mining district. GPR and magnetometry (total magnetic field and vertical magnetic gradient) were performed on a grid in one of the most important veins in the sector. By comparing both working methods, the vein structure within the granite can be detected. On the one hand, the magnetic prospecting technique (magnetic anomalies) has allowed us to detect when the vein is covered by metallic elements of natural or anthropogenic origin. On the other hand, strong reflections and hyperbolic events associated in GPR profiles confirm the presence of cavities related to old mining operations. Shallow magnetic anomalies not associated to GPR variations are related to the slag present in the study area (detected in the outcrop) or to unexploited vein mineralizations.