ORCID Profile
0000-0003-4568-1842
Current Organisation
University of Nevada Las Vegas
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Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2018
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-06-2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2023
Publisher: Society of Economic Geologists
Date: 03-2020
DOI: 10.5382/ECONGEO.4714
Abstract: Current portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) technology can rapidly and inexpensively yield concentrations of geologically significant elements, typically with instrument detection limits below several tens of parts per million. Based on conventional XRF whole-rock geochemical data, both the Ishikawa alteration index and the chlorite-carbonate-pyrite index increase with proximity to sulfide mineralization at Myra Falls. However, available pXRF technology is typically unable to detect all the elements required to calculate these alteration indices. As a result, there is a need to utilize the elements that are readily detectable using pXRF and apply these to hydrothermal alteration assessment. We propose that Rb/Sr ratios provide a robust proxy for the Ishikawa alteration index and demonstrate that conventional whole-rock XRF analytical results for Rb and Sr can be reproduced using pXRF analysis from drill core surfaces. At Myra Falls, the Rb/Sr ratios vary from & .1 for least altered rocks, 0.1 to 0.5 for weakly altered rocks, 0.5 to 1.0 for moderately altered rocks, 1.0 to 2.0 for strongly altered rocks, and & .0 for intensely altered rocks. Downhole profiles of alteration intensity generated from systematic pXRF analysis of drill core surfaces can be used to inform drilling and targeting decisions. The application of the Rb/Sr ratio as a proxy for alteration intensity extends beyond this case study and can be applied to other hydrothermal systems that produce phyllosilicate minerals as alteration products of feldspar.
Publisher: Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.
Date: 10-2021
Abstract: A wide range of metals and minerals are currently used in battery and energy technology, meaning that an increasing number of these commodities are being considered as potentially viable primary products by the minerals industry. A select group of these minerals and elements that are vital for energy and battery technologies, including Al, Cr, Co, Cu, graphite, In, Li, Mn, Mo, the rare earth elements (REEs primarily Dy and Nd), Ni, Ag, Ti, and V, are also likely to undergo rapid increases in demand as a result of the move toward low- and zero-CO2 energy and transportation technology (often termed the energy transition) driven by climate change mitigation and consumer and investor concerns and demands. Increased levels of mineral exploration, discovery, and production will be needed to meet this rising demand. However, several of these key metals and minerals are produced as co- and by-products of other elements. This means that their production is inherently linked to the production of main product elements that may not undergo similar increases in demand, creating issues related to security of supply. It is also not simple to just produce more metal and minerals given the environmental, social, and governmental challenges the global mining industry currently faces. Finally, there are uncertainties over exactly what technologies will dominate the energy transition, meaning that robust demand predictions are still relatively problematic. Quantifying these and other uncertainties and addressing issues over by-and coproduct supply will help ensure that mineral deposits are used sustainably. In addition, understanding the deportment and processing behavior of key critical metals and minerals that are produced as by- or coproducts of main metals such as copper will allow these to actually be extracted from mineral deposits being mined now and into the future rather than be lost to waste. Both of these are vital steps in terms of ensuring that future increases in metal and mineral demand can be met. The impact of these changes on metal and mineral demand and pricing also needs to be examined to ensure the economics of these changes relating to the energy transition are fully understood. All of this means that the mineral industry must act and plan for this transition accordingly in coordination with governments and other organizations. This is especially true given the long lead-in times related to the vast majority of mineral exploration and mining projects compared to the potentially rapid increase in demand for certain battery and energy metals and minerals. This is somewhat analogous to the technology sector, where software (analogous to battery and energy technology) can advance rapidly, creating significant demand that puts pressure on associated hardware (in this case, the development of new mines or changes in mineral processing) that advances more slowly. Failing to ensure mineral and metal supply meets increasing (and potentially rapidly varying) demand may lead to situations where demand far exceeds supply, causing preventable issues related to supply chain continuity and further delaying climate change mitigation, with potential global consequences.
Publisher: Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.
Date: 04-2021
DOI: 10.5382/GEO-AND-MINING-11
Abstract: Editor’s note: The Geology and Mining series, edited by Dan Wood and Jeffrey Hedenquist, is designed to introduce early-career professionals and students to a variety of topics in mineral exploration, development, and mining, in order to provide insight into the many ways in which geoscientists contribute to the mineral industry. Resource and reserve estimation is a critical step in mine development and the progression from mineral exploration to commodity production. The data inputs typically change over time and reflect variations in geoscientific knowledge as well as the modifying factors required by regulation for estimating a reserve. These factors include mineral (ore) processing, metallurgical treatment of the ore, infrastructure requirements for mine and workforce, and the transportation of processed products to buyers others that will affect the production of metals and/or minerals from a deposit include economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social, and governmental factors. All are needed by the mining industry to quantify the contained mineralization within mineral deposits that likely warrant the significant capital investment required to build a mine. However, these resource and reserve data are estimates that change over time due to unpredicted variations in the initial inputs. Paramount to the two estimates are the quality and accuracy of the geologic inputs and the communication of these to the professionals tasked with making each estimate. Geostatistical processing of the grade of the resource has become a dominant element of the estimation process, but this requires transparent and informed communication between geologists and mining engineers with the geostatistician responsible for mathematically processing the grade data. Regulatory constraints also mean that estimated resources and reserves seldom capture the full extent of a mineral deposit. Similarly, co- and by-product metals and minerals that are commonly produced by mines may not be captured by resource and reserve estimates because of their limited economic contribution. This suggests that reporting standards for co- and by-products—particularly for the critical metals that may have a sharp increase in demand—need improvement. Finally, the importance of these data to the mining industry is such that informing investors and the broader public about the nature of resource and reserve estimates, and the meaning of associated terminology, is also essential when considering the global metal and mineral supply, and the role of mining in modern society.
Publisher: Society of Economic Geologists
Date: 07-03-2013
No related grants have been discovered for Brian McNulty.