Origin and timing of critical metal mineralisation at the Gayna River Zn camp, NWT

锌等工业金属是日常生活的基础，长期以来一直是加拿大经济的重要组成部分。随着向“绿色”经济转型的需求日益迫切，以及国际地缘政治紧张局势加剧，加拿大和其他国家已经准备了“关键矿产”清单，并已开始优先开展学术研究，以促进发现具有地缘政治稳定性的关键矿产资源。要发现大量“绿色”金属的新来源，使之能够从碳氢化合物过渡，这将是具有挑战性的，因为地球表面大多数容易识别的矿藏已经被发现；现在需要的是一个如何寻找“隐蔽”矿藏的新视角。了解已知矿床在哪里、如何形成和何时形成，极大地促进了寻找新的矿藏。关键金属锌和许多理想的易伴生的微量元素在沉积岩中形成了矿床。研究沉积-岩石容矿系统中已知矿藏的性质和控制，有助于重点进行矿产勘探。本项目将探讨位于Gayna River NWT的一个未开发、鲜为人知的锌矿的锌矿化成因，其不同寻常的地质环境类似于地球上最高品位的锌矿床--刚果民主共和国的Kipushi。这项工作将大大有助于理解碳酸盐赋存的锌系统是如何、何时和为什么发展起来的，并将有助于在向未来绿色经济过渡的过程中为锌地区的矿产勘探奠定概念基础。

Industrial metals such as zinc are fundamental to everyday life and have long been a significantcomponent of Canada's economy. With the increasingly urgent need to transition to a 'green' economy, and inresponse to heightened international geopolitical tensions, Canada and other countries have prepared 'criticalminerals' lists and have started to prioritise academic research that will facilitate the discovery of geopoliticallystable sources of critical minerals. Discovering new sources of 'green' metals in large quantities sufficient toenable the transition away from hydrocarbons will be challenging, because most of the readily discerned oredeposits at Earth's surface have already been identified; what is now required is a new perspective on how tolook for 'blind' deposits. Searching for new ore deposits is greatly facilitated by understanding why knowndeposits are where they are, and how and when they formed. The critical metal zinc, and many desirableassociated trace elements, forms ore deposits in sedimentary rocks. Studies of the nature of and controls onknown ore deposits in sedimentary-rock-hosted ore systems can help focus mineral exploration. This projectwill address the origin of Zn mineralisation in an undeveloped, poorly known Zn camp in NWT, Gayna River,whose unusual geological setting resembles that of Earth's highest-grade Zn deposit, Kipushi, in DemocraticRepublic of Congo. This work will contribute substantially to the understanding of how, when, and whycarbonate-hosted Zn systems develop, and to the conceptual foundations that will underlie mineral explorationin Zn districts during the transition into the green economy of the future.