Grant: Alliance Grants

In partnership with Snow Lake Lithium (SLL) Ltd., the goal of the proposed research is to provide an understanding of the processes required to form critical element deposits in Manitoba. To achieve our goal, we plan to: (1) develop an inventory of critical minerals in the pegmatites from the Thompson Brothers Lithium Property, which is located approximately 20 km east of Snow Lake, Manitoba; (2) analyze the H and O isotopic composition of the micas/feldspars that are associated with or host critical elements such as Li, using our in situ SIMS technique to determine the source of the fluid (magmatic vs. hydrothermal); (3) date these micas/feldspars using Ar-Ar to determine the timing of these fluids; and (4) analyze the bulk rare earth elements (REE) contents of these pegmatites to determine if they have unique REE patterns that can be used as an exploration tool.Our research will focus on the Li-rich pegmatites from the Thompson Brothers Project that are hosted by metamorphosed sediments. Snow Lake Lithium Ltd. will use these data to ultimately refine the geological and geochemical models for critical element deposits in Manitoba. Data interpretation and presentation include statistical analyses that incorporate both spatial and temporal relations of the mineralogical and geochemical data, identification of key processes that resulted in ore formation, and estimates of the duration of fluid events required to generate critical element ores. This work will significantly contribute to our knowledge of igneous systems that host these deposits, and aid in identification of new deposits locally, nationally, and internationally. The proposed research will train 1 post-doctoral researcher and 1 undergraduate student in critical element ore deposits. Geologists from SLL Ltd. will contribute to the training of the post-doc and student in field work techniques.