Testing Muography for Subsurface Geophysical Surveys at the Lousal Mine
Abstract
The LouMu collaboration was established between the Laboratory of Instrumentation and Experimental
Particle Physics (LIP), the Institute of Earth Sciences (ICT), and the Ciencia Viva Center of Lousal, to create ˆ
the conditions for the use of muography as a novel method for subsurface geophysical surveys in Portugal,
starting with an end-to-end test at the Lousal Mine. The exploitation of the Lousal Mine, located in the
Iberian Pyrite Belt, ended in 1988, and it was then rehabilitated as the core of a science center. An 18-
meter-deep gallery was kept accessible, allowing the operation of a muon telescope. Detailed surveys of
the gallery and surroundings were done to help establish the muography targets and interpret the first
results. In April 2022, the muon telescope was installed at Lousal and soon obtained the image of the
first geological target: the Corona geological fault crossing the gallery. The analysis proceeds with the
development of the methods for translating these into local density maps and for combined inversion of
muography with other datasets. The aim is not only to provide the best knowledge on Lousal, but also to
prepare for other geophysical surveys.
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