The dynamics of fluid flow, fluid mixing and ore mineralization in the Navan Ore body.

为了在竞争日益激烈的环境中成功地进行探索，显然需要具有新的创新思想的跨学科研究。该项目将最先进的流体流动、混合和矿物沉淀的数值模型与最好的地球化学数据集相结合，该数据集可从受结构控制的世界级矿床存款中获得。爱尔兰纳万存款的构造控制意味着流体沿着断层和裂缝，但也观察到水平地层控制的流动。断层作用、流体流动和混合作用如何影响成矿作用的细节尚不清楚。此外，尚不清楚含金属流体如何进入系统，在矿井水平存在多条通道，但这种模式是代表多个更深的来源还是一条通道？本研究的主要目的是了解爱尔兰的纳万矿体中的流体流动、流体混合和随之而来的成矿作用，以便预测额外资源的潜在位置。根据以前的工作，该假设是，来自深部的携带金属的流体在一个较大断层系统下盘的半垂直管道中向上移动，然后水平扩散到沉积宿主中，当深部流体与充满细菌硫化物的浅盐水混合时，形成大型矿床。学生将结合联合收割机新的数值模拟技术与详细分析的矿化和同位素数据的分布在纳万矿体的世界级的三维数据集，再加上当地矿石结构的详细显微结构研究。

In order to be successful in exploration in an increasingly competitive environment, interdisciplinary research with new innovative ideas is clearly needed. This project merges state-of-the-art numerical models of fluid flow, mixing and mineral precipitation with one of the best geochemical datasets that is available from a structurally controlled world-class ore deposit. The structural control at Navan deposit in Ireland implies that fluids travel along faults and fractures, however, horizontal stratigraphy-controlled flow has also been observed. It is not clear in detail how faulting, fluid flow and mixing influence the ore precipitation. In addition it is not clear how the metal-bearing fluids enter the system, multiple pathways exist at the level of the mine, but does this pattern represent multiple deeper sources or one pathway? The main objectives of this study are to understand fluid flow, fluid mixing and consequent ore mineralization in the Navan ore-body in Ireland, in order to predict the potential location of additional resources. Based on previous work, the hypothesis is that metal-carrying fluids from a deep source move up in semi-vertical pipes in the footwall of a larger fault system and then spread out horizontally into the sedimentary host to form the large ore deposits when the deep fluids mix with a shallow brine, charged with bacteriogenic sulphide. The student will combine novel numerical modeling techniques with a detailed analysis of a world-class 3D dataset of the distribution of mineralization and isotope data in the Navan ore body coupled with a detailed microstructural study of the local ore structure.