Scientists identify geological 'Goldilocks zone' for the formation of
metal ore deposits
New research could lead to the targeted mining of metals that will be essential for our transition to a green economy.
Date:
January 31, 2022
Source:
Cardiff University
Summary:
Scientists have identified a mechanism through which important
metals, crucial to the manufacturing of renewable energy
technologies, are passed from the Earth's mantle to the crust.
FULL STORY ========================================================================== Scientists have identified a mechanism through which important metals,
crucial to the manufacturing of renewable energy technologies, are passed
from the Earth's mantle to the crust.
==========================================================================
The team, including researchers from Cardiff University, has discovered a 'Goldilocks zone' at the base of the Earth's crust where the temperate is
just right at around 1000DEGC for metals to be transported to shallower
levels near the surface, where they can be mined.
The metals in question -- most notably copper, cobalt, tellurium and
platinum - - are highly-sought after due to their use in electrical
wiring and technologies such as battery storage devices, solar panels
and fuel cells.
Publishing their findings today in the journal Nature Communications,
the team is hopeful that the results can lead to more targeted, less
costly, and more environmentally friendly practices to explore for and
extract the key metals.
The metals are primarily stored in the Earth's mantle -- a thick layer
of rock that sits between the Earth's core and crust -- at depths of
more than 25km, making them inaccessible for exploitation.
Yet in certain parts of the world, nature can bring these metals to the
surface through the flow of liquid rock, known as magma, that originates
in the Earth's mantle and rises upwards into the crust.
However, up until now the journey of metals to their final deposition
site has been uncertain.
In the new study, the team identified a temperature dependant zone,
located at the base of the Earth's crust, which acts like a valve and intermittently allows the metals to pass upwards to reach the upper crust.
Co-author of the study Dr Iain McDonald said: "When magmas reach the
base of the crust the critical metals often get trapped here and cannot
reach the surface if the temperature is either too hot or too cold.
"As with Goldilocks, we have discovered that if the temperature is 'just
right' at around 1000DEGC, then metals like copper, gold and tellurium can escape the trap and rise up towards the surface to form ore deposits."
The study forms a component of the NERC-funded FAMOS project (From
Arc Magmas to Ore Systems), and involved collaborators from Cardiff
University, Leicester University, the University of Western Australia
and the international mining company BHP.
Professor Jamie Wilkinson, of the Natural History Museum, London,
is Principal Investigator for the FAMOS project, and added:
"This paper represents a fantastic piece of work from the project
team that sheds new light on magmatic processes that operate deep
in the Earth's crust but which exert a first-order control on the
accessibility of critical metals for humankind. The results will enable
more targeted mineral exploration, thus lowering the environmental
footprint associated with the discovery and extraction of green metals." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Cardiff_University. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. David A. Holwell, Marco L. Fiorentini, Thomas R. Knott, Iain
McDonald,
Daryl E. Blanks, T. Campbell McCuaig, Weronika Gorczyk. Mobilisation
of deep crustal sulfide melts as a first order control on upper
lithospheric metallogeny. Nature Communications, 2022; 13 (1) DOI:
10.1038/s41467-022- 28275-y ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220131083827.htm
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