Targeted U-Pb dating of mafic-ultramafic intrusions, particularly those of economic interest, and characterizing their links with Large Igneous Provinces

岩浆硫化物矿床是一种特殊类型的矿床，与大量喷发的火山岩有关，这些火山岩被称为大火成岩省或嘴唇。这些省份的体积可以是数百万立方米，可以是镍、钴、钛、钒、铜和铂族元素的重要来源--这些元素的开采每年为加拿大经济贡献数十亿美元。然而，由于这些矿藏中最容易获得的矿藏已经被发现，而且矿山的寿命有限，新的发现对加拿大的资源部门至关重要，将在更具挑战性的地点或隐藏在地下更深的地方发现。此外，构成嘴唇的岩石(火山岩及其更深的等价物)并不都能容纳矿石，尽管有共同的来源，但单一嘴唇的岩石可能有很大的多样性。该项目旨在通过高精度测量唇岩中发现的特定矿物中的铀和铅的同位素，使这些矿床的勘探变得更容易和更准确。这将使它们的年龄计算得很精确，这样就可以识别和评估不同阶段的火成岩活动的前景，而不需要花费漫长而昂贵的钻探活动来收集和测试价值可能高达数百万美元的毫无价值的样本。我们的行业合作伙伴将确定用于数据分析的合适样品套件，并将进行最先进的放射性同位素分析，从而将行业经验与矿产资源和世界一流的学术研究人员结合在一起。

Magmatic sulphide deposits are a specific kind of ore deposit that is associated with voluminous outpouringsof volcanic rocks known as Large Igneous Provinces, or LIPs. These Provinces can be millions of cubickilometres in volume, and can be significant sources of nickel, cobalt, titanium, vanadium, copper, andplatinum group elements - the mining of which contributes billions of dollars annually to the Canadianeconomy. However, as the most accessible of these ore deposits have already been discovered and mines havelimited lifetimes, new discoveries are essential for Canada's resource sector and are to be found in morechallenging locations or hidden deeper underground. Furthermore, the rocks that make up LIPs (volcanic rocksand their deeper equivalents) are not all capable of hosting ore, and there can be a great deal of variabilitywithin a single LIP's rocks despite their having a common source. This project aims to make the explorationfor these ore deposits easier and more accurate though high-precision measurements of the isotopes of uraniumand lead in specific minerals found in LIP rocks. This will enable their ages to be calculated to high precision,such that distinct phases of igneous activity can be identified and assessed as to their prospectivity withoutengaging in lengthy and expensive drilling campaigns to collect and test what could be millions of dollars'worth of worthless samples. Our industry partners will identify appropriate suites of samples for datinganalysis, and state-of-the-art radio-isotopic analyses will be carried out, thereby bringing together industryexperience with mineral resources and world-class academic researchers.