Experimental constraints on the genesis of gold-rich ore deposits. The project will provide a new set of tools to explore for gold-rich ore deposits in Australia and globally. By integrating geochemical studies with cutting-edge experiments carried out at three Australian universities in strategic partnership with industry, the outcomes of this project will provide much needed knowledge to predict the locations of large gold-rich deposits that are concealed beneath vast expanses of the Australia ....Experimental constraints on the genesis of gold-rich ore deposits. The project will provide a new set of tools to explore for gold-rich ore deposits in Australia and globally. By integrating geochemical studies with cutting-edge experiments carried out at three Australian universities in strategic partnership with industry, the outcomes of this project will provide much needed knowledge to predict the locations of large gold-rich deposits that are concealed beneath vast expanses of the Australian continent. The new results will translate into smarter exploration practice, significantly enhancing success in targeting ore deposits that are rich in high-value metal and display the smallest have a small environmental footprint, to underpin the sustainability of our nation into the future.
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Finding Porphyry Copper with zircon trace elements & hyperspectral display. Copper mine discovery rates lag behind world needs. One way to find copper in the World’s Ring of Fire is to measure compositions of zircons which are durable minerals concentrated in stream sands and spreadout long distances below a deposit. 100s of zircon from a cup of sand constitute a sample. Zircon chemical features that indicate possible mines are mostly understood, but nature is complicated. Beyond the 26 channel ....Finding Porphyry Copper with zircon trace elements & hyperspectral display. Copper mine discovery rates lag behind world needs. One way to find copper in the World’s Ring of Fire is to measure compositions of zircons which are durable minerals concentrated in stream sands and spreadout long distances below a deposit. 100s of zircon from a cup of sand constitute a sample. Zircon chemical features that indicate possible mines are mostly understood, but nature is complicated. Beyond the 26 channels of chemical data for each grain in the 10,000s of analyses, there are 7 layers of lab imaging data that are not carried along in a convenient way. Geologists need smart computer systems to find useful relationships among the 33 channels and to discover relations within and between samples to find more mineable copper. Read moreRead less
Realising Australia’s rare earth resource potential. This project aims to reveal the potential for undiscovered economic deposits of rare earth elements within the Australian continent. Future supply of these elements underpins societies transition to clean energy and embrace of high-tech applications. The project expects to greatly enhance our knowledge of Australia’s endowment of rare earth element resources using an array of traditional and innovative geological research methods. Expected out ....Realising Australia’s rare earth resource potential. This project aims to reveal the potential for undiscovered economic deposits of rare earth elements within the Australian continent. Future supply of these elements underpins societies transition to clean energy and embrace of high-tech applications. The project expects to greatly enhance our knowledge of Australia’s endowment of rare earth element resources using an array of traditional and innovative geological research methods. Expected outcomes of this project include a greater understanding of how, where and when rare earth element orebodies form in the Earth's crust. This should provide significant benefits to exploring for––and discovering––new orebodies that are required to secure global critical metal supplies. Read moreRead less
Add mountains and shake: plate boundary fault and earthquake patterns. This project aims to determine the fundamental physical processes that link topography, seismic shaking and volcanism to the evolution of seismogenic fault networks in obliquely convergent (transpressional) plate boundary settings. We will combine detailed field and remote sensing-based structural analyses in transpressional mountain belts with advanced laboratory analogue and numerical experiments to evaluate: 1) how bursts ....Add mountains and shake: plate boundary fault and earthquake patterns. This project aims to determine the fundamental physical processes that link topography, seismic shaking and volcanism to the evolution of seismogenic fault networks in obliquely convergent (transpressional) plate boundary settings. We will combine detailed field and remote sensing-based structural analyses in transpressional mountain belts with advanced laboratory analogue and numerical experiments to evaluate: 1) how bursts of strong seismic shaking perturb fault zone evolution through time; 2) the contribution of topography and gravitation loading to fault interactions and earthquake generation; and 3) feedbacks between fault network development, the spatial distribution of volcanic centres, seismic shaking and ore deposits.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC230100035
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$5,000,000.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre in Critical Resources for the Future. The proposed ARC Training Centre in Critical Resources aims to train the next generation of geoscientists needed to enable resourcing of the transition to a high-tech, clean energy society. Training of PhD students and postdoctoral scientists will primarily focus on bridging the gap between mineral systems science, mineral exploration protocols and ore processing/metallurgical extraction. This will provide geoscientists with an essential ....ARC Training Centre in Critical Resources for the Future. The proposed ARC Training Centre in Critical Resources aims to train the next generation of geoscientists needed to enable resourcing of the transition to a high-tech, clean energy society. Training of PhD students and postdoctoral scientists will primarily focus on bridging the gap between mineral systems science, mineral exploration protocols and ore processing/metallurgical extraction. This will provide geoscientists with an essential understanding of the whole value chain of the critical resources of the future.
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Magmatic response to slab deformation and implications to ore formation. The uneven distribution of ore deposits in magmatic arcs is poorly understood. This project aims to provide new strategies for more effective mineral targeting by testing the hypothesis that anomalous magmatism enriched in metals reflects particular styles of deformation, such as tears in subducting slabs. We will use geophysical modelling to constrain slab structure along the northern boundary of the Australian plate, and ....Magmatic response to slab deformation and implications to ore formation. The uneven distribution of ore deposits in magmatic arcs is poorly understood. This project aims to provide new strategies for more effective mineral targeting by testing the hypothesis that anomalous magmatism enriched in metals reflects particular styles of deformation, such as tears in subducting slabs. We will use geophysical modelling to constrain slab structure along the northern boundary of the Australian plate, and geochemical data to establish spatio-temporal links with anomalous magmatism and ore deposits. By identifying the geochemical fingerprint of tear-related magmatism, outcomes are expected to benefit geoscience research and mineral exploration by providing context to similar rock associations in mineral-rich provinces.Read moreRead less
Enabling three dimensional stochastic geological modelling. This project aims to develop technologies to mitigate three dimensional (3D) geological risk in resources management. This project expects to create new knowledge and methods in the field of 3D geological modelling through the innovative application of mathematical methods, structural geology concepts and probabilistic programming. The expected outcomes are an enhanced capability to model the subsurface, characterise model uncertainty a ....Enabling three dimensional stochastic geological modelling. This project aims to develop technologies to mitigate three dimensional (3D) geological risk in resources management. This project expects to create new knowledge and methods in the field of 3D geological modelling through the innovative application of mathematical methods, structural geology concepts and probabilistic programming. The expected outcomes are an enhanced capability to model the subsurface, characterise model uncertainty and test multiple geological scenarios. This enhanced capability is important for the future of Australia's subsurface management, including urban geology and our continuously growing sustainable resources industry.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354605
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
The Earth System Dynamics Network for a Sustainable Australia. Earth comprises systems of enormous complexity that sustain all life and control the distribution of mineral, energy and water resources. Thus understanding these dynamic systems provides the key to sustainable resource usage. The aim of The Earth System Dynamics Network is to facilitate scientific interactions through establishment of an earth and environmental sciences grid that links national and regional data assets with high per ....The Earth System Dynamics Network for a Sustainable Australia. Earth comprises systems of enormous complexity that sustain all life and control the distribution of mineral, energy and water resources. Thus understanding these dynamic systems provides the key to sustainable resource usage. The aim of The Earth System Dynamics Network is to facilitate scientific interactions through establishment of an earth and environmental sciences grid that links national and regional data assets with high performance computing through open sourced middleware. The result will be an unparalleled predictive capacity for complex Earth systems. The outcome will be confidence in the knowledge that underpins our decisions as stakeholders to keep Australia sustainable.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems. Water is essential for human existence, indeed for life's beginning. The circulation of water between the surface and the deep interior lubricates the internal dynamics that keep Earth geologically alive; it is crucial to most Earth systems, including the evolution of the hydrospher/atmosphere/biosphere, and the development of giant ore deposits. However, the origin, abundance, speciation and movements of fluids inside Earth are largely u ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems. Water is essential for human existence, indeed for life's beginning. The circulation of water between the surface and the deep interior lubricates the internal dynamics that keep Earth geologically alive; it is crucial to most Earth systems, including the evolution of the hydrospher/atmosphere/biosphere, and the development of giant ore deposits. However, the origin, abundance, speciation and movements of fluids inside Earth are largely unknown, and represent key issues in modern geoscience. This CoE will integrate previously disparate fields - geology, tectonics, geochemistry, petrophysics, geophysics and dynamic modelling - to understand the workings of Earth's deep plumbing system.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE160100067
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000,000.00
Summary
Australian Membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program. Australian membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program:
This project is for a 5-year membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program, the world’s largest collaborative research program in earth and ocean sciences addressing international priorities. The program conducts seagoing coring expeditions and monitoring of instrumented boreholes to study the history and current activity of the Earth, recorded in sed ....Australian Membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program. Australian membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program:
This project is for a 5-year membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program, the world’s largest collaborative research program in earth and ocean sciences addressing international priorities. The program conducts seagoing coring expeditions and monitoring of instrumented boreholes to study the history and current activity of the Earth, recorded in sediments and rocks below the seafloor. The program’s aims include understanding past global environments on multiple time scales, the deep biosphere, plate tectonics, occurrence and distribution of resources, and generation of hazards. Several multinational expeditions are scheduled and planned in our marine jurisdiction and within the Australasian region. Read moreRead less