Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100053
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$190,000.00
Summary
An AZtec electron backscatter diffraction facility for state-of-the-art quantitative microstructural analysis. Establishing a state-of-the-art quantitative microstructural analysis facility will provide critical infrastructure to compliment existing high-spatial resolution microanalytical techniques and facilitate pure and applied research in the geoscience over the next decade.
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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Defining the multi-scale controls on high-grade gold mineralisation. This project aims to improve our understanding of how extremely high-grade gold occurrences form in order to further our understanding of metal transport and accumulation within the Earth’s crust. This project will generate new knowledge in the area of gold geochemistry using novel experimental programs, interdisciplinary approaches and by utilising advanced technologies. Expected outcomes of this project include reducing the ....Defining the multi-scale controls on high-grade gold mineralisation. This project aims to improve our understanding of how extremely high-grade gold occurrences form in order to further our understanding of metal transport and accumulation within the Earth’s crust. This project will generate new knowledge in the area of gold geochemistry using novel experimental programs, interdisciplinary approaches and by utilising advanced technologies. Expected outcomes of this project include reducing the unpredictability of high-grade gold occurrences that impact both production and exploration strategies. This project should benefit the mineral industry partners by helping to discover high grade gold resources which is of great benefit to Australia.Read moreRead less
Exploration potential and implications for stress transfer modelling in fault-related mineral deposits. Following our success in the application of stress transfer modelling (STM) techniques to understand the clustered distribution of upper crustal, Archean gold deposits within crustal scale fault systems, this project seeks to test and develop the application of STM in (1) gold systems formed below the crustal seismogenic regime, (2) for deposit-scale targeting, and (3) in a range of fault-re ....Exploration potential and implications for stress transfer modelling in fault-related mineral deposits. Following our success in the application of stress transfer modelling (STM) techniques to understand the clustered distribution of upper crustal, Archean gold deposits within crustal scale fault systems, this project seeks to test and develop the application of STM in (1) gold systems formed below the crustal seismogenic regime, (2) for deposit-scale targeting, and (3) in a range of fault-related mineral deposits other than Archaean gold systems. The project will also develop methods to evaluate the combined roles of co-seismic stress transfer and post-seismic fluid redistribution in influencing deposit distribution. The approach provides a new conceptual framework in which to develop exploration strategies for deep earth resources.Read moreRead less
Geological applications of synchrotron radiation: magmas, fluids, ores and minerals. This project will use the Australian synchrotron facility to study magmas and minerals to improve our understanding of the formation of ore-deposits and the evolution of the continents.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100095
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$620,000.00
Summary
High-resolution X-ray micro computed tomography supporting West Australian geo-, physical and biological science. An X-ray micro computed tomography facility will provide West Australian researchers with much needed access to cutting-edge instrumentation for high-resolution three-dimensional imaging. This facility will support major research programs in key disciplines, including minerals and mining, energy, medical and biological sciences.
Continents in the Mantle Transition Zone? Sediment Recycling and the Geochemical Fertilization of the Deep Mantle. Because of its intrinsic compositional buoyancy, continental crust has traditionally been considered to be unsubductable in the denser underlying mantle. Yet some ocean island basalts carry a geochemical signature of recycled continental material in their plume source in the deep mantle. This project will reconcile this paradox through high-pressure experiments that will simulate su ....Continents in the Mantle Transition Zone? Sediment Recycling and the Geochemical Fertilization of the Deep Mantle. Because of its intrinsic compositional buoyancy, continental crust has traditionally been considered to be unsubductable in the denser underlying mantle. Yet some ocean island basalts carry a geochemical signature of recycled continental material in their plume source in the deep mantle. This project will reconcile this paradox through high-pressure experiments that will simulate subduction of continental sediments into the deep mantle. These experiments will provide the first empirical constraints on the role of sediment-derived fluids in mantle metasomatism and the origin of economically-rich potassic magmas, and the nature of the ultrarefractory continental component that ultimately reaches the plume source for ocean-island basalts.Read moreRead less
Resolving the mystery of how rare earth elements are mobilised and concentrated in continental crust. Rare earth elements are regarded as the vitamins for modern industries and technologies. This project will investigate the geological processes that mobilise and concentrate these elements in the Earth's crust. The results will aid discovery of new ore deposits, which is essential to meet rapidly growing demand for these elements.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0560956
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$397,100.00
Summary
World-leading elemental and isotopic microanalysis and chemical speciation facilities for an environmentally sustainable Australia. We propose to establish a world-leading centre for the study of the elemental and isotopic composition of key environmental, archaeological and mineral samples. This will be based upon ultra-short wavelength laser ablation and speciation methods, combined with new advanced ICP-MS technologies developed in Australia. This will give the centre unrivalled capabilities ....World-leading elemental and isotopic microanalysis and chemical speciation facilities for an environmentally sustainable Australia. We propose to establish a world-leading centre for the study of the elemental and isotopic composition of key environmental, archaeological and mineral samples. This will be based upon ultra-short wavelength laser ablation and speciation methods, combined with new advanced ICP-MS technologies developed in Australia. This will give the centre unrivalled capabilities and allow new areas of research to be undertaken in global climate change, the impact of increased salinity and pollution on the sustainability of Australia's inland waterways and coastal environments, and the history of the first humans who inhabited Australia. This will provide a baseline and new quantitative measures to better plan for an environmentally sustainable Australia.Read moreRead less
Sulfide Partial Melting at Broken Hill: Process and Implications. Based entirely on experimental studies, we suggested that the sulfide ore at Broken Hill, N.S.W., partially melted during granulite-facies metamorphism. Our subsequent discovery of sulfide melt inclusions in silicates associated with the ore strongly supports this assertion. This proposed research will evaluate the extent of melting and the composition of such a melt as well as the effect of this melt on the rocks surrounding the ....Sulfide Partial Melting at Broken Hill: Process and Implications. Based entirely on experimental studies, we suggested that the sulfide ore at Broken Hill, N.S.W., partially melted during granulite-facies metamorphism. Our subsequent discovery of sulfide melt inclusions in silicates associated with the ore strongly supports this assertion. This proposed research will evaluate the extent of melting and the composition of such a melt as well as the effect of this melt on the rocks surrounding the ore. The results of this basic research will not only impact on Broken Hill genetic models specifically, but could profoundly effect our understanding of metamorphic and magmatic sulfide deposits globally.Read moreRead less