Mineral Resources in Basins: Base Metal Ore Systems and Footprint

沉积盆地是人类重要的水资源、能源和矿产资源。在过去的几十年里，我们对盆地、沉积和储集层规模(称为“多尺度矿物系统”)石油形成过程的了解显著增加，并导致在这些能源资源的发现和开发方面取得重大成功。然而，对于铅锌矿床来说，“系统”的定义不太明确，而且大多数盆地研究主要集中在评估与单一矿床或特定矿化类型形成有关的关键成分和过程。在拟议的研究计划中，我的团队将应用多尺度矿物系统方法调查巴西(瓦赞特群)和加拿大(格伦维尔超级群)元古代盆地中的各种类型的锌和铅矿床。这一创新办法考虑了盆地演化过程中在不同尺度上发生的各种过程，例如：1)含有商品的来源的肥力，(2)盆地演化过程中涉及的流体，(3)流体运动机制，(4)聚集商品的圈闭带的效率，以及(5)矿床的保存。了解盆地演化过程中不同规模和不同时间的这些过程，对于改进指导方针以协助勘探这些矿藏至关重要。在今后五年内，将通过与来自不同学科的同事合作，整合实地和实验室工作以及数值模拟工作来实现这一目标，并将包括培训3名博士、2名理学硕士和至少3名理科学士。学生们。全球大部分锌和铅资源赋存在沉积盆地中，但目前这些大宗商品缺乏全球勘探成功令人担忧，而且历史上对基本金属的市场需求已超过产量。随着新技术(如新电池、电动汽车，也使用副产品元素，如Cd、In、Ge)的不断开发和应用，这一差距将会扩大。因此，通过这一研究计划培养高素质的专业人员，培养方法方法(野外工作、实验室和数值模拟)和与多尺度矿物系统相关的主要过程及其在勘探中的应用的关键知识至关重要。这些专业人员将能够在学术界、工业界和政府工作，并将获得的专业知识应用于环境和材料科学的调查和应用。该研究计划旨在在一个多学科、包容、多样化和支持性的环境中培训这些专业人员，因为这为机智和创新的结果提供了最佳条件。

Sedimentary basins are important sources of water, energy and mineral resources for humankind. Over the last few decades, our understanding of the processes related to the formation of petroleum at the basin, play and reservoir scale (referred to as “multiscale mineral system”) has increased significantly, and led to major successes in the discovery and development of these energy resources. However, the definition of a “system” is less clear for lead and zinc ore deposits, and most studies in basins have focused mainly on evaluating the critical components and processes related to the formation of a single deposit or specific style of mineralization. In the proposed research program my team will apply the multiscale mineral system approach to investigate various types of zinc and lead deposits in Proterozoic basins in Brazil (Vazante Group) and Canada (Grenville Supergroup). This innovative approach takes into consideration the various processes occurring at different scales during the evolution of the basin, such as: 1) fertility of the sources containing the commodities, (2) fluids involved during evolution of the basin, (3) mechanisms of fluid movement, (4) efficiency of the trap zones accumulating the commodities and (5) preservation of the deposits. Understanding of these processes at different scales and times during basin evolution is critical to improve the guidelines to assist in the exploration of these mineral deposits. In the next five years, this will be accomplished by integrating field and laboratory work and numerical modelling in collaboration with colleagues from various disciplines, and will involve training of 3 Ph.D., 2 M.Sc., and at least 3 B.Sc. students. Most of the global zinc and lead resources are hosted in sedimentary basins, but the current lack of global exploration success for these commodities is of concern, and the historic market demand for base metals has exceeded production. This gap will increase with the continued development and application of new technologies (e.g., new batteries, electric vehicles, which also use the by-product elements, e.g. Cd, In, Ge). Therefore, it is crucial to educate highly qualified professionals through this research program, to develop critical knowledge of the methodological approaches (field work, laboratory and numerical modelling) and of the major processes related to the multiscale mineral system, and its application to exploration. These professionals will be able to work in academia, industry and government, and also apply the acquired expertise to investigations and applications in environmental and material sciences. The research program aims to train these professionals in a multidisciplinary, inclusive, diverse and supportive environment, as this provides the best conditions for resourceful and innovative outcomes.