CAREER: Investigating the source, transport and deposition of economically important metals in the lower continental crust

职业：研究下大陆地壳中具有重要经济意义的金属的来源、迁移和沉积

• 批准号: 1944552
• 负责人: Marek Locmelis
• 金额: $ 54.66万
• 依托单位: Missouri University of Science and Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-07-01 至 2025-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1944552&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Investigating; source; transport; deposition

Metals are critical components of modern society. Aside from recycling, metals are recovered from ore deposits such as magmatic sulfide systems that often formed close to the surface and thus provide relatively easy access to metals like nickel and copper. Because ore deposits are non-renewable, we must find (at least) one new deposit for each exhausted resource to guarantee a steady metal supply in the future. Currently, mineral exploration efforts focus mostly on the upper crust because this approach has worked well over the past century. However, a recent decline in new discoveries implies that most of the deposits near the surface have already been found. Consequently, the opening of search space deeper in the Earth is necessary to guarantee a steady metal supply. This project will address this issue by investigating the formation of a series of variably metasomatized magmatic sulfide deposits in the Ivrea-Verbano Zone in Italy. These deposits formed in the deep crust and were tectonically uplifted to mineable levels. Although the deposits were previously mined for nickel and copper, surprisingly little is known about how they (and similar deposits elsewhere) originally formed. This project will use the deposits in the Ivrea-Verbano Zone to better constrain how and where such deposits preferentially form, particularly focusing on the role of mantle metasomatism in deep crustal ore formation. The findings will provide an important step toward including such deposits in future exploration models. The research will be integrated with an educational component that will reach K-12, undergraduate and graduate students. A high school outreach program in collaboration with Project Lead The Way will use examples from this project to highlight geoscience career paths that K-12 students may initially not be aware of, particularly in rural Missouri. The PI will also incorporate aspects of the proposed research into a summer training program for undergraduate students to help students prepare for a post-baccalaureate geoscience career. Furthermore, two graduate students will be actively involved in the research component. The Ivrea-Verbano Zone is a well-preserved cross section of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle and lower continental crust that outcrops subvertically and therefore allows for comprehensive studies of deep lithospheric mass transfer. Previous studies on the Ivrea-Verbano Zone have significantly contributed to our understanding of the lower continental lithosphere. However, research that focuses on the source of metalliferous hydrous melts/fluids, and their role in the transport and local deposition of metals (i.e., ore deposits) is rare. To address this knowledge gap, this project will investigate different localities in the Ivrea-Verbano Zone that represent variable degrees of metasomatism and sulfide mineralization: (1) strongly metasomatized / highly mineralized pipes, (2) un-metasomatized / moderately mineralized sills/intrusions, and (3) a strongly metasomatized / sulfide-poor mantle peridotite. Field studies will be integrated with petrographic observations, bulk rock, mineral and fluid inclusion analyses, isotopic (Cu, Sm-Nd) and geochronological studies. The proposed research will provide new insight into (1) the physical and chemical processes that produce, transport and concentrate fluids and metals in the deep lithosphere; and (2) the spatial and temporal scales of such processes. The PI is actively recruiting K-12 teachers, undergraduate and graduate students to be involved in this project. The goal of the K-12 outreach program is to raise awareness for geoscience disciplines and to encourage students to consider geoscience or other STEM career paths. Undergraduate and graduate student projects will be individually tailored to prepare each student for a career path of their choosing in academia, federal/state agencies, or the private sector.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

金属是现代社会的重要组成部分。除了回收之外，金属还可以从矿床中回收，例如岩浆硫化物系统，这些系统通常形成于靠近地表的位置，因此可以相对容易地获取镍和铜等金属。由于矿藏是不可再生的，我们必须为每一种枯竭的资源找到（至少）一个新的矿藏，以保证未来稳定的金属供应。目前，矿产勘探工作主要集中在上地壳，因为这种方法在过去的一个世纪中表现良好。然而，最近新发现的减少意味着大部分靠近地表的沉积物已经被发现。因此，有必要在地球深处开辟搜索空间，以保证稳定的金属供应。该项目将通过调查意大利伊夫雷亚-韦尔巴诺地区一系列不同交代岩浆硫化物矿床的形成来解决这个问题。这些矿床形成于地壳深处，并在构造上抬升到可开采的水平。尽管这些矿床以前是开采镍和铜的，但令人惊讶的是，人们对它们（以及其他地方的类似矿床）最初是如何形成的知之甚少。该项目将利用伊夫雷亚-韦尔巴诺带的矿床来更好地限制此类矿床优先形成的方式和地点，特别关注地幔交代作用在深部地壳矿石形成中的作用。这些发现将为将此类矿床纳入未来勘探模型迈出重要一步。该研究将与教育部分相结合，覆盖 K-12、本科生和研究生。与 Project Lead The Way 合作的高中外展计划将使用该项目中的示例来强调 K-12 学生最初可能不知道的地球科学职业道路，特别是在密苏里州农村地区。 PI 还将把拟议研究的各个方面纳入本科生暑期培训计划中，以帮助学生为学士学位后地球科学职业做好准备。此外，两名研究生将积极参与研究工作。伊夫雷亚-韦尔巴诺带是次大陆岩石圈地幔和下大陆地​​壳保存完好的横截面，在垂直下露头，因此可以对深部岩石圈质量传递进行全面研究。先前对伊夫雷亚-韦尔巴诺带的研究极大地促进了我们对低层大陆岩石圈的了解。然而，关注含金属含水熔体/流体的来源及其在金属（即矿床）迁移和局部沉积中的作用的研究很少。为了解决这一知识差距，该项目将调查伊夫雷亚-韦尔巴诺地带不同程度的交代作用和硫化物矿化的不同地点：(1) 强交代/高度矿化的管道，(2) 未交代/中度矿化的岩床/侵入体，（3）强烈交代/贫硫化物地幔橄榄岩。现场研究将与岩相观测、块体岩石、矿物和流体包裹体分析、同位素（Cu、Sm-Nd）和地质年代学研究相结合。拟议的研究将为（1）在深层岩石圈中产生、运输和浓缩流体和金属的物理和化学过程提供新的见解； (2)此类过程的空间和时间尺度。 PI正在积极招募K-12教师、本科生和研究生参与该项目。 K-12 外展计划的目标是提高对地球科学学科的认识，并鼓励学生考虑地球科学或其他 STEM 职业道路。本科生和研究生项目将单独定制，为每个学生在学术界、联邦/州机构或私营部门选择自己的职业道路做好准备。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

项目成果

On the formation of magmatic sulphide systems in the lower crust by long‐lived mass transfer through the lithosphere: Insights from the Valmaggia pipe, Ivrea Verbano Zone, Italy

关于通过岩石圈的长期传质在下地壳中形成岩浆硫化物系统：来自意大利伊夫雷亚韦尔巴诺带瓦尔马贾管道的见解

• DOI: 10.1111/ter.12499
• 发表时间: 2020
• 期刊: Terra Nova
• 影响因子: 2.4
• 作者: Locmelis, Marek;Moroni, Marilena;Denyszyn, Steven W.;Webb, Laura E.;Fiorentini, Marco L.;Sessa, Gianluca;Caruso, Stefano;Mathur, Ryan;Nanzad, Bolorchimeg
• 通讯作者: Nanzad, Bolorchimeg

Distributions of Platinum Group Elements and Re-Os Isotope Systematics in Chromite from the Coobina Chromitite Deposit in Western Australia: Implications for Chromite as a Sulfide Mineralization Indicator

西澳大利亚 Coobina 铬铁矿矿床铬铁矿中铂族元素和铼锇同位素系统学的分布：铬铁矿作为硫化物矿化指标的意义

• DOI: 10.3749/canmin.2200006
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: The Canadian Mineralogist
• 作者: Schoneveld, Louise;Barnes, Stephen;Puchtel, Igor S.;Tessalina, Svetlana;Locmelis, Marek
• 通讯作者: Locmelis, Marek

The Pilot Knob iron ore deposits in southeast Missouri, USA: A high-to-low temperature magmatic-hydrothermal continuum

• DOI: 10.1016/j.oregeorev.2020.103973
• 发表时间: 2021-04
• 期刊: Ore Geology Reviews
• 影响因子: 3.3
• 作者: Bolorchimeg N. Tunnell;M. Locmelis;C. Seeger;R. Mathur;I. Dunkl;Brandon Sullivan;Lisa M. Lori