Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/N007883/1
Towards sustainability in mineral exploration using novel targeting tools: exploring apatite as a probe of porphyry ore system fertility
Training Grant Award
- Lead Supervisor:
- Professor JJ Wilkinson, Imperial College London, Earth Science and Engineering
- Grant held at:
- Imperial College London, Earth Science and Engineering
- Science Area:
- Atmospheric
- Earth
- Freshwater
- Marine
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Earth
- ENRIs:
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Science Topics:
- Crustal processes
- Hydrothermal fluids
- Magma chambers
- Mineral deposits
- Ore deposits & mineralisation
- Subduction zones
- Sulphide minerals
- Sustainability
- Earth Resources
- Properties Of Earth Materials
- Continental crust
- Hydrothermal circulation
- Intrusions
- Magma chambers
- Ore deposits & mineralisation
- Oxygen fugacity
- Plate tectonics
- Subduction
- Trace elements
- Volcanic Processes
- Abstract:
- Ore deposits are the source of metals that underpin modern society. In a world with a changing climate, they are also critical for the technologies that reduce our carbon footprint. However, such deposits are scarce and increasingly difficult to find, with the best quality (lowest impact) resources likely to be buried beneath up to a kilometre of barren rock. Only one in every thousand prospects that are explored by companies is eventually developed into a mine, and the identification of such prospects has already impacted the environment and consumed significant resources. Consequently, recognizing the potential mineral endowment, or fertility, of a particular belt of rocks before too much exploration has taken place, is essential for reducing risk, costs, energy use and environmental impacts. This is the goal of sustainable mineral exploration. Porphyry-type ore deposits source much of the copper, molybdenum and gold utilized by humankind, and are important repositories of critical elements used in key environmental technologies such as silver, rhenium, tellurium and platinum group elements. Their formation is related to magma generation in subduction zones, the place where most of Earth's continents are created, and they represent probably the largest and most complex geochemical anomalies known on Earth. Most of the time, magmas produced in these arcs are erupted to form volcanoes or are emplaced at depth as barren plutons. Rarely, they are transformed in such a way that they become capable of generating vast volumes of highly metalliferous solutions. However, our understanding of what triggers this change in the ore-forming potential of magmas is limited. Apatite (Ca5(PO4)3(F,Cl,OH)) is a common accessory mineral in igneous rocks and is particularly abundant in the intermediate to felsic compositions associated with porphyry ores. It can also form in the hydrothermal regime, as hydrous fluids are released from crystallising magmas. Consequently, apatite is a remarkable probe of the chemical conditions extant during magmatic and hydrothermal evolution and has the potential to record the trigger events that fertilise arc magmas. The aim of this project is to establish apatite chemistry and crystallization history in igneous rocks from selected barren and well-endowed magmatic arcs. In addition, the CASE partner will provide access to a remarkable archive of apatite grains separated from more than 25 variably mineralized magmatic-hydrothermal systems worldwide. Analysis of this unique sample suite will allow us to identify and model the differences in magmatic evolution pathways in mineralized and barren arcs. Scientifically, the goal is to develop a process model that explains how typical arc magmas become transformed into ore-generating systems. The recognition of a characteristic fingerprint of fertile arc magmas would provide an extremely powerful tool for assessing the endowment of arc segments prior to invasive and costly exploration. The importance of this for porphyry-Cu explorers cannot be overemphasized which is why Rio Tinto are willing to commit cash and in-kind resources of approximately 74,000 pounds. Rio Tinto is a global, multi-commodity resource company that pioneers socially and environmentally responsible mining and is a member of the International Council on Mining and Metals, committed to the United Nations Global Compact and its supporting principles. Currently, approximately 60% of global exploration expenditure is directed towards copper, with large porphyry Cu-(Au-Mo) systems the primary focus on 4 continents. As such, research into the genesis of large porphyry Cu systems is directly relevant to its activities. Governments now recognise that society must respond urgently to the increasing pressures on natural resources. To meet this challenge, society must discover and develop resources in a sustainable way and our proposal aims to make a contribution to this important objective.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/N007883/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- DTG - directed
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Industrial CASE
This training grant award has a total value of £98,095
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Fees | Total - Student Stipend | Total - RTSG |
|---|---|---|
| £17,604 | £69,493 | £11,000 |
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