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Transmission-based muography (TM) is an innovative imaging technique based on the measurement and analysis of the cosmic ray muons flux attenuation within the target under investigation. This technique allows imaging inner-body density differences and has successfully been applied in a wide range of research fields: geology, archaeology, engineering geology and civil engineering. The aim of this study is to show the reliability of TM as an innovative, noninvasive geophysical method for ore body prospecting and other mining related studies. The measurements were carried out at the Temperino mine in the San Silvestro Archaeological and Mining Park (Campiglia Marittima, Italy), where several magmatic and metasomatic geological units are embodied. Among them, a Cu–Fe–Zn–Pb(–Ag) sulfide skarn complex primarily composed by hedenbergite and ilvaite minerals. Using the acquired muon imaging data obtained with the MIMA (Muon Imaging for Mining and Archaeology) detector prototype (cubic detector of 0.5 × 0.5 × 0.5 m3), the presence of a high-density vein inside the skarn body within the rock volume above the muon detector was identified, localized and interpreted. Applying a back-projection algorithm to the obtained 2D transmission map made it possible to estimate and visualize as point cloud data, in a 2D or 3D environment, the identified high-density body and its relative distance from the detector. The results of this study highlight the potential of muography as a support tool to other geophysical methods in the field of mining exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Muon radiography (muography) is an imaging technique based on atmospheric muon absorption in matter that allows to obtain two and three-dimensional images of internal details of hidden objects or structures. The technique relies on atmospheric muon flux measurements performed around and underneath the object under examination. It is a non-invasive and passive technique and thus can be thought of as a valid alternative to common prospecting techniques used in archaeological, geological and civil security fields. This paper describes muon radiography measurements, in the context of archaeological and geological studies carried out at the Temperino mine (LI, Tuscany, Italy), for the search and three-dimensional visualisation of cavities. This mine has been exploited since Etruscan times until recently (1973), and is now an active tourist attraction with public access to the tunnels. Apart from the archaeological interest, the importance of mapping the cavities within this mine lies in identifying the areas where the extraction ores were found and also in the safety issues arising from the tourist presence inside the mine. The three-dimensional imaging is achieved with two different algorithms: one involving a triangulation of two or more measurements at different locations; the other, an innovative technique used here for the first time, is based on the back-projections of reconstructed muon tracks. The latter requires only a single muographic data tacking and is to be preferred in applications where more than one site location can be difficult to access. Finally the quality of the three-dimensional muographic imaging was evaluated by comparing the results with the laser scan profiles obtained for some known cavities within the Temperino mine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]