Metallogeny of convergent margins

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

With increasing demand for mineral commodities to support growing world population and consumption rates, and declining discovery rates in mature mineral belts, exploration for new mineral deposits must push into previously unexplored or superficially explored frontier regions. Research proposed here will advance geological knowledge related to the formation and distribution of mineral deposits associated with convergent plate margin processes in two major frontier exploration regions of the world: the Central Andes of South America (principally northwest Argentina) and the Tethyan belt of the Balkans, Turkey, and Iran. The Canadian and international mining industry is investing heavily in exploration in these regions, but in many cases knowledge of the regional and local geological settings is lacking or incomplete. This project aims to fill these voids through geological mapping, geochemical and isotopic analyses, and dating of mineralization-related rocks. Detailed studies of individual mineral deposits will also be carried out, and combined with syntheses of regional geological history to yield integrated models of ore formation. This geological knowledge is useful in its own right because it will extend our understanding of ore-forming processes in these previously poorly understood regions. In addition, it will also provide valuable direction for regional scale mineral exploration, which will be of direct benefit to the mining industry. At least four graduate students will be involved in this project, and will receive training in a wide variety of field and analytical techniques, as well as exposure to industry practices and priorities. Such training will provide valuable preparation for future employment in the geosciences sectors of industry, government, or academia.