• Scientists identify geological 'Goldiloc

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Mon Jan 31 21:30:44 2022
    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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