A Statistical study to establish the pathfinder elements for Gold (Au) in the Kano state’s Schist belt, Nigeria is presented in this paper. The strenuous activity of artisanal miners to locate the mineral due to complex regolith of the study area is a thing of concern. To achieve the aim, a multivariate statistics of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to the geochemical data from eight rock samples obtained through Microwave Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (MP-AES). The PCA indicated three components in the data accounting for 84.03% of the total variability. The second component, which explains 28.065% of the total variance, has Calcium (Ca), Chromium (Cr), Manganese (Mn), and Silver (Ag) with some positive association with Gold (Au) and Iron (Fe). This component is attributable to the chemical sediments drift between the rock formations accompanied with other constituents of minerals present. It is expected that these elements (Ca, Cr, Mn and Ag) can be used as pathfinders for gold in the study area.
Key words: Geochemical Analysis, Kano Schist belt, Pathfinder elements, Principal Component Analysis
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