Deep and smelly: exploring the roles of pressure and sulphur in hydrothermal metal transport. Hot, salty fluids carry metals in the Earth's crust and are responsible for the formation of Australia's mineral wealth. This project combines exciting new experiments with molecular-level simulations to predict metal transport, providing a sound basis for improving mineral exploration models and sustaining discovery of new deposits.
Transport of metals in vapours and brines: new insights into the formation of the Earth's mineral deposits. Traditional models for the formation of hydrothermal ore deposits assume that aqueous fluids transported the metals. This view is challenged by new observations showing that gold and copper are preferentially enriched in vapours coexisting with salty aqueous fluids in some deposits. This project uses state-of-the-art techniques and develops new instruments to measure experimentally the par ....Transport of metals in vapours and brines: new insights into the formation of the Earth's mineral deposits. Traditional models for the formation of hydrothermal ore deposits assume that aqueous fluids transported the metals. This view is challenged by new observations showing that gold and copper are preferentially enriched in vapours coexisting with salty aqueous fluids in some deposits. This project uses state-of-the-art techniques and develops new instruments to measure experimentally the partitioning of metals between solid, fluid and vapour at temperatures typical for natural ore deposits (350-550C, pressures varying for vapour saturated to 1 kb). By improving our understanding of metal transport within the Earth's crust, these data will lead to improved models and technologies for exploring and processing base and precious metals.Read moreRead less