Emerging technologies for advanced geochemical exploration undercover
Role
Principal Investigator
Description
Isotope geochemistry can provide powerful insights to the sources or process involved in the formation of an ore deposit. Weathering ore bodies produce unique isotopic fingerprints which can be tracked by using groundwater to undertake exploration undercover. There has been increasing commercial interest in searching for Cu a critical element for the green energy transition through this sustainable technique. However, current approaches suffer from several limitations due to the saline nature of groundwater which limits the sample size that can be routinely processed. This project will use automated separation techniques to achieve greater enrichment factors to enable high precision isotope measurements.
Date
01 Jan 2025 - 01 Jan 2029
Project Type
GRANT
Keywords
groundwater;isotope geochemistry;copper;sustainable exploration;ore deposits
Funding Body
James Cook University
Amount
720000
Project Team
Mahmood Sadat Noori;Ioan Sanislav;Helen McCoy-West;Bithin Datta