This project will apply several novel stable isotope systems to understand the key ingredients and processes required to generate economic-scale porphyry-epithermal Au-Cu, intrusion-hosted Ni-Cu (PGE) and IOCG deposits.
Key research questions include:
- How the subduction factory promotes the endowment of mantle domains in critical metals, particularly, Ni, Cu, Au and platinum group metals.
- Evaluate the spatiotemporal association between porphyry Au-Cu and Alaskan-type intrusion-hosted Ni-Cu (PGE) deposits and whether they are manifestations of the same magmatic systems.
- The requisite magmatic processes, mantle metasomatic components, and fluid sources required to generate magmatic-hydrothermal deposits.
- How novel stable isotopes can be used to evaluate prospectivity at both a regional and local scale.
Benefits:
By providing novel insights into the petrogenesis of porphyry Au-Cu, intrusion-hosted Ni-Cu (PGE) and IOCG deposits, this project will unlock new methods of evaluating metallogeny and prospectivity on both a regional and local scale, particularly in paleo and modern convergent margins.
