Copper Basin Exploration Science (CuBES)

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The criticality of Cu, Co (+/- V) in battery technology and electricity transmission has established them as key componentsof the carbon-free energy transition. A major proportion of these elements are sourced from sedimentary basin-hosteddeposits, formed from large-scale fluid flow systems. Recent work has shown that diverse basin architectures andprocesses were responsible for their genesis, yet we still do not understand why so few basins become highly endowedwith metals. Given their paucity, the geological evolution of such basins demands the juxtaposition of unique conditionsthat: (1) generated large volumes of metal-bearing fluid; (2) provided sufficient sulfur; (3) created reducing trap sites; and(4) focused fluid flow into these sites [5]. Understanding large deposits is particularly significant because they are efficientto mine and offer the greatest societal benefits.Our particular focus is to develop and integrate mineral and petroleum systems approaches to provide a disruptiveinnovation opportunity in the science and industrial applications in this field. Our objectives are to identify the processes,operating over a range of scales, that lead to the formation of large Cu-Co-(V) deposits and derive new and practicalexploration tools. The opportunity is timely, given the current wave of academic interest in these ore systems, and theincreased collaboration between industry and academia to develop sophisticated methods that can reduce explorationcosts, risk and environmental impact.To tackle these challenges, we have assembled a multi-institute academic consortium with internationally-recognisedexpertise across the geosciences. We have also built strategic research alliances with: (1) the UK's major mining houses,Rio Tinto and Anglo American, and with BHP and First Quantum Minerals, all with global interests in sediment-hostedcopper mineralisation; (2) the energy sector (Scheupbach Energy); and (3) international academic partners (CSIRO, Univ.Houston, GFZ Potsdam, Universidad Nacional, Buenos Aires. The collaboration between PIs, PDRAs, affiliated PhDstudents funded outside the grant, industry and international partners will deliver high impact scientific publications, newdata and tools to support the development of lower risk mineral exploration strategies, and highlight the UK as a world-leadingcommunity for research in basin-hosted mineral systems.