Remote Sensing of Environment 93 (2004) 118 – 130

www.elsevier.com/locate/rse

Evaluation of hyperspectral remote sensing as a means of environmental

monitoring in the St. Austell China clay (kaolin) region, Cornwall, UK
Richard J. Ellis, Peter W. Scott*
Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter, Redruth, Cornwall, TR15 3SE, UK
Received 26 January 2004; received in revised form 29 June 2004; accepted 4 July 2004

Abstract

The St. Austell granite of Cornwall, UK contains internationally important deposits of kaolin (china clay), the formation of which resulted
from the alteration of a composite pluton of mineralogically and texturally different primary granite units. To assess the applicability of
hyperspectral remote sensing in the St. Austell china clay region, one line of airborne HyMapR hyperspectral data was acquired. These data
were processed to correct for atmospheric and illumination effects by calibration from radiance to reflectance data, so that mineral abundance
maps could be produced. Minerals associated with the primary granite and its subsequent kaolinisation were identified by image processing
and used as mapping endmembers. These minerals include kaolinite, kaolinite with smectite, montmorillonite, muscovite, lepidolite (a
lithium mica) and topaz.
Hyperspectral data analysis allowed for the identification of the different primary granite units. The spectrally observed compositional
differences of the biotite and topaz granite units of the region allowed for fingerprinting of the source of mined waste material as originating
from specific pits. The majority of waste tips in the region originate from the nearest china clay workings. However, waste material used in
the construction of a mica dam and also as backfill in a disused pit is successfully identified to have been transported across a mapped granite
boundary for storage.
The effect of mining and mineral processing on the abundance and spatial distribution of minerals in the region is also evident. Waste tips
are classified as containing the greatest abundance of mica. This distribution results from the separation of kaolinite during the mineral
processing stages. Kaolinite in lower abundance, however, is also identified within these waste areas and is the result of a less than 100%
recovery by mining and processing.
D 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: St. Austell; Kaolin; Hyperspectral remote sensing

1. Introduction hyperspectral data as a means of remote environmental

The St. Austell china clay region of Cornwall, SW
England (Fig. 1) is an internationally important source of
kaolin (china clay) located within a composite pluton of
mineralogically distinct granite types. Production of kaolin
is supplied from 13 open pits located within a landscape
dominated by spoil heaps and mica lagoons (Fig. 1). The
region offers an excellent opportunity to assess the ability of
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 1209 714866; fax: +44 1209
716977.
E-mail address: P.Scott@csm.ex.ac.uk (P.W. Scott).
0034-4257/$ - see front matter D 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.rse.2004.07.004
monitoring by mineral mapping as: (1) the china clay
workings offer a high level of exposure; (2) the effects of
mineral processing on the composition and spatial distribu-
tion of waste material is well constrained; and (3) the
geology of the region is well known. Results from image
processing can be compared against the detailed geology of
the granite, its alteration (kaolinisation) to kaolinite, and the
effects of mining and waste generation during kaolin
production. The extreme western part of the china clay-
producing area is especially suitable (Fig. 1).
The aim of this paper is to assess the use of airborne
hyperspectral data at mapping the distribution of both
primary granite minerals and subsequent hydrothermal
 R.J. Ellis, P.W. Scott / Remote Sensing of Environment 93 (2004) 118–130 119

Fig. 1. Distribution of china clay pits, spoil heaps and mica lagoons in the St. Austell china clay region, Cornwall, UK (circled on inset map of SW England
(top left) showing granite intrusions), adapted from Manning et al. (1996). The extent of granite at the surface is shaded. Location map of SW England within
UK shown at top right. The china clay pits within the overall HyMapR survey area (dashed box) are named.

alteration assemblages in an area of extensive mineral
workings. One line of airborne HyMapR hyperspectral data
across the St. Austell granite was acquired by Infoterra. The
HyMapR system is flown by HyVista, Sydney, Australia
and consists of sensors located on a fixed wing aircraft
typically flown at an altitude of 2.5 km. The sensors collect
reflected solar radiation in 128 bands covering the 440–
2500 nm wavelength range, including the visible to near-
infrared (VNIR) and short-wave infrared (SWIR) regions of
the electromagnetic spectrum (Cocks, Jenssen, Stewart,
Wilson, & Shields, 1998).
2. Geology and kaolinisation of the St. Austell china clay
region
The St. Austell granite of Cornwall, UK is a major source
of high-quality kaolin for use in the paper, ceramics, paints

Fig. 2. Geological map of the St. Austell granite showing the distribution of the different granite types (Manning et al., 1996). The locations of active china clay
pits in the HyMapR survey area are also illustrated (dashed box). Adapted from Psyrillos et al. (1998).
120 R.J. Ellis, P.W. Scott / Remote Sensing of Environment 93 (2004) 118–130
Table 1
Summary of the major, minor and accessory minerals in the biotite and
topaz granites (based on Manning et al., 1996)
Major Minor
(1) Biotite quartz, K+plagioclase tourmaline
granite feldspar, biotite,
muscovite
(2) Topaz quartz, K+plagioclase topaz, fluorite,
granite feldspar, lithium mica tourmaline
(zinnwaldite–lepidolite),
muscovite
and rubber industries. The granite is one of several surface
exposures (Fig. 1) of a large granite batholith that extends
from east to west beneath southwest England (Floyd, Exley,
& Styles, 1993; Manning, 1998). Devonian metasediments
surround the St. Austell granite, which intruded during the
latest stages of the Variscan orogeny in the late Carbon-
iferous to early Permian.
Kaolin deposits can form as a residual product of the
chemical weathering of granite. Kaolinisation is a process of
hydrolysis by which the feldspars within the granite, and
under intense conditions, mica are altered to kaolinite.
Formation of kaolinite in the St. Austell granite probably
took place during the Jurassic to Palaeogene as a con-
sequence of deep weathering by meteoric waters on the
downward limbs of convection cells. The whole process
was driven by radiogenic heat from the decay of abnormally
high thorium and uranium contents in these high-heat-
producing granites (Bristow & Exley, 1994; Bristow, 1998;
Bristow, Palmer, Witte, Bowditch, & Howe, 2002). It is
likely that earlier greisening and extensive quartz-tourma-
line and other mineralization in sheeted complexes and
other veins from magmatic-derived fluids provided the
pathways so that the later weathering could develop widely
within the granite. Kaolin deposits are extensive in the
western part of the St. Austell granite. Individual deposits
generally narrow at depth, unaltered granite being present
adjacent to the kaolinised areas.
Six major granite types have been recognised in the St.
Austell granite (Manning, Hill, & Howe, 1996). Two of
Fig. 3. Hand specimens of typical examples of the two granitic rock types present in the HyMapR scene of the St. Austell china clay region (see Fig. 2). (a)
Biotite granite, (b) topaz granite.
these, biotite granite and topaz granite, are included in the
HyMapR survey area (Fig. 2). Their mineralogy is given in
Table 1 and photographs of typical examples shown in Fig.
Accessory
3. Biotite granite (Fig. 3a) is dominant making up around
monazite, 70% of the outcrop. Biotite and muscovite are the dominant
uraninite,
forms of mica in this granite, with biotite varying in
rutile, zircon
apatite, composition from siderophyllite to annite. Muscovite is
amblygonite, present as rims or overgrowths on biotite. Interstitial
zircon, Nb–Ta prismatic tourmaline is also spatially associated with biotite
oxides (Manning et al., 1996), but is minor in content.
(columbite,
The topaz granite (Table 1 and Fig. 3b) is fine-medium
ilmenorutile),
uraninite grained (~0.5 mm) but characterized by euhedral–subhedral
topaz, anhedral lithium mica (varying in composition from
zinnwaldite to lepidolite), unzoned euhedral albite (An2),
anhedral K-feldspar including microperthitic orthoclase and
microcline, and subhedral quartz. Tourmaline is present as
ragged grains. Fluorite occurs as an alteration product of
mica, topaz and plagioclase. A greater variety but less
abundant number of accessory phases are present.
Lithium-mica and tourmaline granites are similar in
mineral composition to the topaz granite (Manning et al.,
1996), except that topaz is a secondary less widely
distributed accessory mineral and not an essential mineral
of the rock. The tourmaline granites are also classified by
Manning et al. (1996) into coarse and fine-grained
subdivisions.
3. Mining activities in the St. Austell china clay region
Thirteen working pits (opencast mining operations) are
present within the St. Austell Granite producing around 2
million tonnes of refined kaolin per year and over 20 million
tonnes of waste. Mining is carried out by hydraulic washing
of the kaolinised granite using remotely operated high-
pressure hoses (Fig. 4). The mined material is washed down
under gravity to a collection pond or dsinkT. Processing
involves the removal of coarse minerals that were also
liberated with the clay by the hydraulic mining process. The
first processing stage, carried out within the pit, results in
the removal of the coarsest fraction (N250 Am), mainly
quartz, mica and unkaolinised feldspar, and also includes
most of the tourmaline, topaz, and fluorite. This material is
 R.J. Ellis, P.W. Scott / Remote Sensing of Environment 93 (2004) 118–130 121

Fig. 4. Photograph of mining and processing from the west side of Greensplat Pit, St. Austell granite region. China clay bearing granite is mined by hydraulic
washing with the mined material washed down to a drainage pond (dsinkT). Coarse material is removed by gravel pumps and spiral classifiers and carried by
conveyor belts to waste tips. China clay bearing material is pumped up to the processing plant (dashed white line) where fine sand and mica are removed by
hydrocyclones and stored as waste in mica lagoons.

separated by gravel pumps and spiral classifiers and
conveyed to waste tips.
The remaining finer fractions (b250 Am) containing the
kaolin, are pumped to a processing plant. Fine-grained
quartz, micas and accessory minerals remain as the main
impurities. These are separated from the kaolin by hydro-
cyclones. This waste is transported via pipelines for storage
under water in mica (tailings) lagoons to prevent wind
dispersal. Some kaolinite is also separated from the
marketable product to maintain a consistent grade to the
china clay fractions, and goes to waste in the mica lagoons
(Bristow and Exley, 1994).
4. Image processing and analysis
4.1. Data calibration to surface reflectance
HyMapR data were acquired as radiance at the sensor.
Radiance data are influenced by the solar irradiation
spectrum and atmosphere effects, which include absorption
(most notably by water vapour, O2, and CO2) and scattering
by particles and gases (Green et al., 1998). Removal of these
effects involves the conversion of the data from radiance to
reflectance so that comparisons with laboratory mineral data
can be made.
Calibration was initially accomplished using the Internal
Average Relative Reflectance (IARR) (Kruse, Raines, &
Watson, 1985; Kruse, 1988). However, results using this
calibration method produced a large misclassification of
minerals in areas of predominantly green vegetation. A Flat
Field Correction (FF) technique was therefore adopted
(Goetz & Srivastava, 1985; Roberts, Yamaguchi, & Lyon,
1986). This technique is used to normalize images to an area
of known bflatQ reflectance and requires a large, spectrally
flat and uniform area be located in the HyMapR image data.
The radiance spectrum from this area is assumed to be
composed of primarily atmospheric effects and the solar
spectrum. The average radiance spectrum from this area is
used as the reference spectrum, which is then divided into
the spectrum of each pixel of the image (Goetz &
Srivastava, 1985; Roberts et al., 1986).
The majority of primary granite and alteration minerals
(kaolinite, secondary micas, montmorillonite) within the St.
Austell china clay region exhibit absorption features within
the shortwave infrared (SWIR) spectral region (2000–2500
nm). Analysis of the pixel spectral profiles within the
HyMapR image indicated the deeper regions of flooded pits
and mica lagoons to exhibit the flattest spectral profile in
the SWIR region (Fig. 5a). The deep regions of nine
flooded pits and mica lagoons were therefore selected as
regions of interest (ROI’s) to provide an average spectral
profile against which the rest of the data set could be
normalized. At wavelengths smaller than 2000 nm the
spectral profile of the flooded pits deviates away from
spectrally flat, this will introduce errors into the flat field
calibration in this spectral region. However, because the
SWIR spectral region is spectrally flat and is to be
processed separately, this is considered acceptable. The
result of the FF correction is shown in Fig. 5b. The use of
dark water bodies in the calibration method results in a
dquenchingT of reflectance values, however, mineral absorp-
tion features in the SWIR spectral region are still
observable in the pixel spectra. The reflectance values
resulting from this calibration exhibited much less mis-
classification due to vegetation. The areas of water were
122 R.J. Ellis, P.W. Scott / Remote Sensing of Environment 93 (2004) 118–130

Fig. 5. (a) Comparison of radiance spectra for different regions of the HyMapR image for the whole of the HyMapR spectral range (400–2500 nm). The dark
regions of mica lagoons offer the most spectrally flat profile in the SWIR (2000–2500 nm) region against which the rest of the data set was calibrated using the
FF calibration to remove atmospheric and solar illumination effects. (b) Comparison of reflectance spectra produced after using the Flat Field correction
technique for equivalent regions of the HyMapR image as shown in panel a.

later masked to prevent misclassification as a result of the
calibration process.
5. Image processing methods for mineral mapping
Before mineral mapping with specific mineral spectra
were performed, a minimum noise fraction transformation
of the hyperspectral data was accomplished and the
HyMapR scene viewed in wavebands highlighted by this
transformation. Mineral abundance maps of individual
mineral spectra were produced using the Mixture Tuned
Match Filteringk (MTMFk) mineral mapping method.
This method compares spectra from pixels within the scene
and reference spectra from a spectral library using mathe-
matical methods to compare and measure spectral similarity.
The spectral library used as a reference in this study was the
public domain USGS Digital Spectral Library (Clark,
Swayze, Gallagher, King, & Calvin, 1993). All image
processing was carried out using programs within the
Environment for Visualising Images 3.6 (ENVI 3.6) image
processing software package (Research Systems, 1995).
5.1. Minimum noise fraction transformation
The minimum noise fraction (MNF) transform is a linear
transformation which is essentially two cascaded Principal
Components Analysis (PCA) transformations. The first
transformation decorrelates and rescales the noise in the
data. This results in transformed data in which the noise has
unit variance and no band to band correlations. The second
transformation is a standard PCA of the noise-whitened
data. The data can be divided into two parts: one part
associated with large eigenvalues and coherent eigenimages,
and a complementary part with near-unity eigenvalues and
noise-dominated images (Green, Berman, Switzer, & Craig,
 R.J. Ellis, P.W. Scott / Remote Sensing of Environment 93 (2004) 118–130
1988; Boardman & Kruse, 1994). Subsequent image
processing based on the MNF results is improved by the
removal of the noise. The signal (i.e. high information
content) is concentrated in the lower numbered bands, and
the noise is concentrated in the higher number bands. A plot
of eigenvalues versus MNF band number indicates a cutoff
region between signal and noise with the eigenvalues above
the noise generally contain coherent information which can
be used. Therefore, band to band correlations between
pixels imply spectral similarity. When the image is viewed
as red, green and blue (RGB) composite combinations of
any three of the remaining MNF bands, variation in mineral
abundance is reflected by assigning similar colours to areas
within the scene with similar spectral responses. The MNF
transform in ENVI 3.6 Research Systems, 1995) was used in
this study and is modified from Green et al. (1988).
5.2. Mixture Tuned Match Filteringk
Match filtering is a method developed to find the
abundances of user-defined endmembers using partial
unmixing. This technique maximizes the response of the
known endmember while suppressing the response of the
composite unknown background, therefore bmatchingQ the
known signature. The output of this process is to produce an
image in which the pixels in the image are given a score
rating them against the background distribution. Mixture
Tuned Matched Filteringk (MTMFk) adds an output
infeasibility image to the results. This provides a rating
score (infeasibility score) of how a pixel compares to the
input endmember. Correctly mapped pixels have a matched
filter score above the background distribution around zero
and a low infeasibility value (ENVI 3.6 users guide
(Research Systems, 1995; Boardman, 1993, 1998).
The output of the MTMFk process is a series of match
filtering and infeasibility greyscale images for each input
endmember with the pixels in these images given a match
filtering or an infeasibility score, respectively. The match
filtering and infeasibility scores for each pixel compared
against the input endmember can then be projected on to a
2-d scatter plot. Pixels with low infeasibilities and high
matched filter scores indicate a better fit to the reference
mineral. These thresholds are also user-defined.
Mineral mapping was initially carried out using mineral
endmembers selected directly from the USGS spectral
library. It was found that classification of minerals occurred
that is not in agreement with the known granite composi-
tions of the area. For example, MTMFk classified large
abundances of topaz and lepidolite within the biotite granite
(Fig. 2). This classification is contrary to the known mineral
compositions of the different granites (Table 1). USGS
library spectra are produced by reflection experiments
carried out on pure minerals under laboratory conditions.
As a result there is less control over any errors in calibration
of the HyMapR scene or for the effects of spectral mixing
produced by the different minerals within a single pixel.
123
USGS library spectra are absolute reflectance values,
whereas the FF calibration method used low reflectance,
black water bodies to normalize the rest of the data set.
Calibration using these dark water bodies (Fig. 5a and b)
produces reflectance values that are lower than absolute
values and therefore produces inaccuracies when mineral
mapping directly using USGS library spectra. It was
therefore decided to use endmembers derived from the
HyMapR image spectra for the mapping process.
5.3. Selecting image-derived endmembers
Comparisons between pixel spectra and library spectra
were achieved by viewing them as continuum-removed
spectra (Fig. 6a–f). A continuum is the slowly varying
reflectance component found in many spectra. Continuum
removal normalizes the spectrum therefore removing
albedo. ENVI 3.6 (Research Systems, 1995) software
package has a number of analytical procedures for selecting
pixels from within the image that offer a good fit to mineral
spectra from a spectral library. Pixels in which an abundance
of a mineral or the presence of a mineral with a dominant
spectral profile, such as particularly deep absorption
features, can be isolated.
5.4. Minimum noise fraction transform
A MNF transform was performed on all 29 HyMapR
wavebands in the SWIR (2000–2500 nm). In this spectral
region, these 29 wavebands cover a range from 2008.2 to
2485.0 nm. Ten MNF bands were then selected to be used
for image processing thereby removing the majority of
bands that exhibit noise-only features.
5.5. Pixel purity indexk
The 10 bands identified by the MNF transform were then
input into the Pixel Purity Indexk (PPIk) program. PPIk
is a means of spatial data reduction in which the most
bspectrally pureQ or extreme pixels in an image are identified
(Boardman, Kruse, & Green, 1995). By terming a pixel as
dspectrally pureT does not necessarily mean that the pixel is
compositionally pure. For example a 1010 m pixel is
unlikely to contain only one mineral even in regions of
purest kaolinite, quartz and mica at least are still likely to be
present. Therefore, terming a pixel as spectrally pure reflects
the abundance of that mineral as a mixing endmember. The
PPIk is computed by repeatedly projecting n-dimensional
scatter plots onto a random unit vector. The spectrally pure
pixels in each projection are recorded and the total number
of times each pixel is marked as spectrally pure is noted. A
PPIk image is created in which the digital number (DN) of
each pixel corresponds to the number of times that pixel was
recorded as spectrally pure, with the higher the DN at the
end of procedure the spectrally purer the pixel. The greater
the abundance of a particular mixing endmember, the more
124 R.J. Ellis, P.W. Scott / Remote Sensing of Environment 93 (2004) 118–130
Fig. 6. (a–f) Continuum-removed plots comparing USGS Spectral Library Spectra against image-derived endmembers that offer a best fit to the respective
library spectra.
likely it is to dominate the spectral profile of that pixel and
be recorded as spectrally pure.
PPI thresholds are standard deviations of the maximum
DN a pixel can have to be recorded as spectrally pure. The
HyMapR scene was run at a range of thresholds. At higher
thresholds large numbers of pixels comprising vegetation
became included within the PPIk image. To limit this
effect, but to maximize the number of pixels within the
china clay workings, a PPIk threshold of 0.5 was used for
further image processing.
5.6. n-Dimensional visualization
ENVI 3.6 (Research Systems, 1995) contains an n-
Dimensional Visualizerk program that allows the user to
locate, identify, and cluster the purest pixels in the data set.
Pixels identified within the PPIk threshold are projected as
points in an n-dimensional scatter plot, where n is the number
of bands used (Boardman et al., 1995). Image-derived
endmembers are interactively selected by rotating the data
cloud to expose the purest pixels at the edge of the data cloud.
Identification of endmembers within the n-dimensional
visualiser was carried out using the Spectral Feature
Fittingk (SFFk) method (Clark, Swayze, & Gallagher,
1992) within the Spectral Analyst function in ENVI 3.6
(Research Systems, 1995). This technique compares the fit
of the spectral profile of image-derived endmembers against
the spectral profile of minerals within a spectral library and
identifies a rating of the best fitting mineral spectra.
Kaolinite, muscovite, lepidolite, montmorillonite and kao-
linite with smectite were identified as endmembers by this
method. These minerals all have deep absorption features
around 2200 nm and produced good SFFk ratings for each
endmember, respectively.
The St. Austell china clay region also contains Sn–W
mineralization, some of which is exposed in some china
clay pits. However, cassiterite and wolframite, which
comprise the major ore minerals (Bray & Spooner, 1983),
unfortunately do not have diagnostic specific absorption
features that can be targeted by hyperspectral analysis.
5.7. Mapping endmembers
The majority of mapping endmembers were identified for
the whole SWIR region. A topaz endmember was identified
after spectral subsetting to use only the wavebands between
2026 and 2136 nm in an attempt to bracket the major topaz
absorption feature at 2082 nm. By comparing the shape of
the spectral profile, Spectral Feature Fittingk (SFFk)
identified these endmembers as representing a best fit to the
respective library spectra (Fig. 6a–f). The endmembers were
then input into MTMFk mineral mapping method.
 R.J. Ellis, P.W. Scott / Remote Sensing of Environment 93 (2004) 118–130
6. Results
6.1. MNF transform imaging results
MNF transforms allow for identification of different
materials based on the similarity of the materials’ spectral
responses. Although not strictly a mineral mapping method,
prior knowledge of the geology of the scene allows for
variations in MNF colour assignment to be explained as
variations in mineral composition or abundance. In Figs. 7
and 8, compare the MNF transform against a map of the
major features of the area. Viewed in MNF bands 3, 1 and 5
(Fig. 8), a distinction between biotite granite in the west and
topaz granite in the east is clearly visible. This differ-
entiation is the result of selecting MNF bands that allow
band to band correlations between pixels to be assigned
similar colours as a result of their spectral similarity. The
spectral differences exhibited by the two granite types in
Fig. 8 are the result of the unique spectral reflectance
features of the different constituent minerals (Table 1).
Kernick Mica Dam is the main site for receiving fine tailings
in the area. This is a surface feature and although located
within topaz granite, the material of the dam is identified as
having the same mineral composition as the biotite granite
in the west (top) of the scene (Fig. 8). It shows that material
used to build the terracing of the dam was moved across the
geological boundary between the biotite and topaz granite,
and was not sourced from the nearer china clay pits to the
Fig. 7. Location map of area of the St. Austell china clay region selected for detailed mapping showing the distribution of china clay pits, spoil heaps and mica
lagoons (adapted from Manning et al., 1996).
125
east. This has been confirmed subsequently by the china
clay companies (F.W. Hart, personal communication, 2003).
A small area of biotite granite material is also identified
within Trethosa Pit, again located within topaz granite (Fig.
8, rectangular box). It corresponds to a body of exposed
coarse waste (Fig. 9), and is the result of the partial
backfilling of Trethosa Pit with biotite granite derived from
Melbur and Virginia Pits. Again, the observation has been
later confirmed by the china clay companies (F.W. Hart,
personal communication, 2003).
The waste tips of Trethosa-Goonvean, Melbur and
Rostowrack Pits are all assigned colours different from the
surrounding vegetation confirming that they are not heavily
vegetated. The assigned colours most closely resemble the
material of the nearest pit, suggesting the sources for the
waste is very local.
6.2. Mineral abundance images
The minerals within the granites are of two types,
primary and those resulting from alteration. The latter are
divided into kaolinite, kaolinite with smectite and mont-
morillonite. Although muscovite is also a product of
alteration (dhydrothermal muscoviteT (Psyrillos, Manning,
& Burley, 1998)) it is also present within the primary granite
assemblage and for the purposes of classification is included
in the latter. The primary granite minerals can be subdivided
into those that are universal to both the biotite granite and
126 R.J. Ellis, P.W. Scott / Remote Sensing of Environment 93 (2004) 118–130

Fig. 8. MNF transform of detailed mapping region of the HyMapR scene viewed in MNF bands 3, 1 and 5. Imagery provided courtesy of Infoterra. Imagery
captured by HyMap, HyVista.

topaz granite and minerals that are unique to only one type.
Muscovite is ubiquitous, while topaz and lepidolite are only
present within the topaz granite. These minerals can be used
as dtracersT to identify the different granite units.
MTMFk mapping thresholds differ with the relative
abundances of the different minerals. The endmembers were
initially run using a range of match filter score and
infeasibility score ranges for each endmember. When large
thresholds (low match filter score and high infeasibility)
were used, a large number of pixels containing vegetation
became misclassified. When small thresholds (high match
filter score and low infeasibility) were used, images in
which the majority of pixels were non-classified were
produced. Threshold values were selected by comparing
pixel spectral profiles against endmember spectral profiles
by using the Spectral Feature Fittingk (SFFk) method
within the Spectral Analyst Function in ENVI 3.6. Thresh-
old values were selected that resulted in the majority of
classified pixels in the image offering relatively good SFFk
ratings compared to their respective endmember spectra.

Fig. 9. North side of Goonvean Pit showing biotite granite material from Melbur and Virginia Pits backfilled within now disused Trethosa Pit. The presence of
this material is identified by the MNF transform image (see Fig. 8) confirming effective tracing of the source of waste material by hyperspectral data analysis is
possible.
 R.J. Ellis, P.W. Scott / Remote Sensing of Environment 93 (2004) 118–130 127

These values were then applied to each of the six mineral
endmembers. The results can only be considered relative,
largely due to the fact that the corrected HyMapR data are
scaled reflectance and that other factors such as quality of
endmember selection, spectral mixing, particle size and
topography will also have an influence on the results. These
factors were not taken into account. The results, however,
are in sufficient agreement with the known geology of the
area (Fig. 2; Manning et al., 1996) to confirm the
applicability of the procedure.
6.2.1. Alteration minerals
Fig. 10 shows the results of HyMapR mineral abundance
mapping using the MTMFk mapping method. Kaolinite in
the St. Austell china clay region is known to be of the well
crystalline structural form, as Fig. 10 suggests. It is the
properties of this form of kaolinite that make the St. Austell
china clay particularly suitable for the paper industry. As
would be expected, the mapping shows the greatest
abundance of kaolinite within the china clay pits relative
to the waste tips of the area, quartz, unaltered feldspar and
micas being stored on the tips. Lesser abundances of
kaolinite are classified by MTMFk as present within the
waste tips, particularly Melbur waste tip, which appears
dominated by muscovite. MTMFk also classifies kaolinite
to be abundant at the southern end of Kernick Mica Dam,
corresponding to the distal part where the finest size
fractions (i.e. kaolinite) will accumulate at the surface as
the water evaporates.
The MTMFk classification correctly identifies Goon-
vean, Treviscoe and Rostowrack China Clay Pits as
containing higher relative abundances of montmorillonite
and kaolinite with smectite compared to the more exten-
sively kaolinised area of granite in Melbur and Virginia Pits.
Montmorillonite is a dioctahedral smectite and an inter-
mediate product of kaolinisation. The presence of mont-
morillonite within a kaolin product is desirable for many
ceramic applications of the clay. Goonvean, Treviscoe and
Rostowrack China Clay Pits show significant areas of
kaolinite with smectite and areas with montmorillonite (Fig.
11). These pits are known to be important sources of kaolin
for the ceramic industry. The eastern part of Rostowrack Pit
(Fig. 10, extreme lower right), particularly shows mont-
morillonite in an area where there is only partial kaolinisa-
tion, montmorillonite being an intermediate product of the
alteration process. This area produces a very strong ceramic
kaolin (Scott, Hart, & Smith, 1996), which contains
significant montmorillonite.
Minor misclassifications occur. A pipeline or conveyor
belt leading from Melbur Pit to Melbur Waste Tip appears

Fig. 10. MTMFk classification for SWIR bands (2000–2500 nm) of the HyMapR detailed mapping region. Lepidolite is correctly classified only within the
topaz granite in the east of the scene. High abundances of muscovite and lepidolite mica within the waste tips are the result of concentration due to removal of
kaolinite during mineral processing. Pipelines or conveyor belts in Melbur Waste Tip and surrounding Kernick Mica Dam are misclassified as montmorillonite
by MTMFk. Imagery provided courtesy of Infoterra. Imagery captured by HyMap, HyVista.
128 R.J. Ellis, P.W. Scott / Remote Sensing of Environment 93 (2004) 118–130

Fig. 11. Goonvean Pit showing the extraction of a montmorillonite-rich area by hydraulic washing, shown as a small area mapped as containing
montmorillonite in Fig. 10.

as montmorillonite, as does a pipeline carrying waste 6.2.2. Primary granite minerals

material into Kernick Mica Dam. The shape of these
features is clearly man-made rather than geological, and
the presence of a covering of dust on the top of these
features is most likely to have been responsible for the
misclassification.
Figs. 10 and 12 show the MTMFk mapping for the
primary granite minerals muscovite, lepidolite and topaz.
Muscovite is correctly classified by MTMFk to be present
within both granites of the area, although is more dominant
in Melbur and Virginia Pits. Lepidolite and topaz are

Fig. 12. MTMFk classification results for SWIR bands 2026–2136 nm for topaz in the HyMapR detailed mapping region. MTMFk correctly classifies topaz
to be almost uniquely present within the topaz granite in the east of the scene. No topaz is identified surrounding Kernick Mica Dam suggesting no material
from the topaz granite is present in this material. The waste tips of the eastern area are classified as having the greatest abundances of topaz due to concentration
by the removal of kaolin during mineral processing. Imagery provided courtesy of Infoterra. Imagery captured by HyMap, HyVista.
 R.J. Ellis, P.W. Scott / Remote Sensing of Environment 93 (2004) 118–130
correctly identified to be present only within the topaz
granite in the east. Topaz is present in this granite at a low
concentration (generally less than 3%) (Bristow and Exley,
1994), indicating the high sensitivity of the mapping
technique when a mineral with a well-defined and distinctly
different spectral response from the dominant minerals is
present within the rock.
As expected from the processes of extraction and
separation of the kaolin product, the greatest abundance of
muscovite and lepidolite is shown to be within the waste tips
of the area. Lepidolite and topaz are not identified within the
waste tips of the biotite granite pits (Melbur and Virginia)
further confirming that the topaz granite waste is kept
adjacent to the pits from which it is derived as would be
expected. Also, lepidolite and topaz are correctly not present
in the MTMFk classification of the material used to build
Kernick Mica Dam. It is strange, however, that muscovite is
not recognised by MTMFk mapping within the Kernick
Mica Dam. This may be accounted for by the poor quality of
the derived muscovite endmember.
7. Conclusions
The large amount of exposure of the granite and its
kaolinisation, along with exposed rocks on waste tips and
tailings dams in the St. Austell china clay region has offered
an opportunity for interpretation of remote sensing hyper-
spectral data in an area of extensive open pit mining activity.
The work has shown that the data can be used to show the
distribution of subtly different granites, and to trace differ-
ential mass movement of these rock types as a result of the
mining operations using MNF Transforms and MTMFk
mapping. Differences in the kaolinisation process related to
differences in the uses of kaolin taken from different areas
can be observed, as can the effects of mineral processing in
relation to types of mineral placed on waste heaps and in
tailings dams. Ground truthing to confirm the findings has
been available through information provided by the china
clay companies and published information on the granites
and kaolinisation of the region. The technique could be used
further to monitor future movement of materials, giving a
powerful tool for environmental control. It could be
especially useful in other areas where, for example evolved
granites such as the topaz granite, often contain accessory
sulphide minerals (although not in the St. Austell area),
capable of generating acid rock drainage. Recognition of the
granite itself would point to the source of this environmental
problem.
The method of calibration of the data by retrieving
reflectance from radiance is precise enough to allow mineral
mapping without the need for independent ground and
atmospheric data. This represents a major advantage in using
hyperspectral data in environmental monitoring as extensive
ground sampling to identify the distribution and source of
waste material is both capital-intensive and time-consuming.
129
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Frank Hart and Rob Facey at
Goonvean and Owen Herod at Imerys for their help with
fieldwork, advice and guidance. The authors also gratefully
thank Dr. Anthony Denniss at Infoterra for providing the
hyperspectral data and also Research Systems, 1995 for
kindly providing an evaluation licence copy of their ENVI
3.6 image processing software package. This work was
carried out under partial funding provided by NERC.
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