Grant: Discovery Development Grant

Intrusion-related Au and magmatic Fe-Ni-Cu-PGE ore deposits are the most important source of metallic minerals produced in Canada. With increasing demands being made for the strategic metals produced, there is a critical need to better understand how the minerals that host these elements and their ore deposits, form and change through time, in an effort to improve exploration methods and enhance mineral-processing techniques. To achieve this, research will be conducted into the crystal-chemistry and geological occurrence of two widespread groups of minerals, precious-metal (gold, platinum-group elements) minerals and base-metal sulfides of the pyrrhotite family. Despite the direct relevance of these mineral groups to ore deposits and the impact that a better understanding of them would have on ore-deposit research, our knowledge of what these minerals are and what they can indicate about rocks in which they develop is generally lacking. This can be attributed to: (i) their occurrence in complex intergrowths and small grain-sizes; (ii) variable, poorly defined, chemistries and crystal structures and (iii) comprehensive studies that integrate mineralogical data with geological data (structures, fluids, etc.). The proposed research is novel in scope as it will address the very basic components of ore deposits, the minerals themselves, filling knowledge gaps that exist in our understanding of the distribution and character of these minerals. The program will build upon the existing strengths and expertise of the applicant and will involve a significant training component that will increase the number of highly qualified personnel available with specialized skills in demand by the mining and minerals sectors. It will involve existing and novel, lab-based techniques required to address the complex, atomic-scale issues related to these minerals, complemented by larger-scope, field-based studies that will provide firm data related to the provenance and geological history of the rocks in which the minerals occur. The research goals of the program will be to: (1) document the crystal-chemical variations in precious-metal minerals and pyrrhotite that exist; (2) derive information regarding conditions of formation, based on the chemistry and crystal structures of these minerals and (3) apply the data obtained to understand how ore deposits develop and evolve through time.