Fluid chemistry and critical mineral enrichment in salty metamorphic belts. Several geological regions in Australia are worth billions of dollars to our economy in their contained copper-goldcobalt and uranium-rare earth element mineral deposits. These regions will continue to be important to Australia as the world transitions to a renewable energy economy because they can provide some of the most critical metals needed for that transition: Cu, Co, rare earth elements. This project aims to provi ....Fluid chemistry and critical mineral enrichment in salty metamorphic belts. Several geological regions in Australia are worth billions of dollars to our economy in their contained copper-goldcobalt and uranium-rare earth element mineral deposits. These regions will continue to be important to Australia as the world transitions to a renewable energy economy because they can provide some of the most critical metals needed for that transition: Cu, Co, rare earth elements. This project aims to provide a fundamental quatitative understanding of the geological processes that form these deposits. We will conduct experiments to generate quantitative models of the metamorphic and structural processes that control the liberation and migration of highly saline fluids, which are ideal for transporting a large range of metals.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101126
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$416,419.00
Summary
Stability of accessory minerals during low temperature geological processes. The project aims to improve Australia’s ability to discover mineral deposits beneath sedimentary basins by determining whether detrital accessory minerals in sedimentary basins can be an effective exploration tool. This project expects to generate new knowledge on the stability of detrital accessory minerals in the sedimentary cycle using observations from natural rocks and laboratory experiments. Expected outcomes incl ....Stability of accessory minerals during low temperature geological processes. The project aims to improve Australia’s ability to discover mineral deposits beneath sedimentary basins by determining whether detrital accessory minerals in sedimentary basins can be an effective exploration tool. This project expects to generate new knowledge on the stability of detrital accessory minerals in the sedimentary cycle using observations from natural rocks and laboratory experiments. Expected outcomes include an assessment of the accessory minerals that are best suited to exploration vectoring studies in sedimentary basins. This should provide significant benefits to government and industry by improving mineral exploration methods and also has implications for geochronology and provenance studies.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100654
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$468,367.00
Summary
Critical metal fluid migration in shear zones during tectonic switches. This project aims to investigate why critical metal ore deposits form in inverted shear zones, which are zones of deformation that result from tectonic plates moving away from then towards each other. Numerical modelling of inverted shear zones will reveal drivers of ore fluid migration and will be combined with investigation of mineralised and non-mineralised inverted shear zones. This project will generate a new understand ....Critical metal fluid migration in shear zones during tectonic switches. This project aims to investigate why critical metal ore deposits form in inverted shear zones, which are zones of deformation that result from tectonic plates moving away from then towards each other. Numerical modelling of inverted shear zones will reveal drivers of ore fluid migration and will be combined with investigation of mineralised and non-mineralised inverted shear zones. This project will generate a new understanding of how inverted shear zones pump fluids through rocks to cause enrichment and ore deposition. This type of deposit is common in Queensland and the expected outcomes are improved exploration models, leading to discovery of new ore deposits, which is pivotal as the global demand for critical metals increases.Read moreRead less
Mapping mineral systems of deep Australia. We aim at enabling mineral resource discoveries by calibrating geophysical surveys using geochemical and petrophysical properties measured on mantle samples brought to the surface by recent volcanoes. National geophysical surveys deliver images of geophysical gradients in the deeper part of the Australian continent. The interpretation of these gradients in geological terms and in terms of economic mineral systems is the key to unlock deep exploration su ....Mapping mineral systems of deep Australia. We aim at enabling mineral resource discoveries by calibrating geophysical surveys using geochemical and petrophysical properties measured on mantle samples brought to the surface by recent volcanoes. National geophysical surveys deliver images of geophysical gradients in the deeper part of the Australian continent. The interpretation of these gradients in geological terms and in terms of economic mineral systems is the key to unlock deep exploration success. This project will turn Australia’s investment in National geophysical surveys into new discoveries of base metals. The benefit stems from enabling the transition to a clean economy which requires a much broader range of critical minerals and a larger quantity of base metals.Read moreRead less