Congratulations to Dr Lingli Zhou of iCRAG@TCD on securing funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)”. The research project, entitled “Visualization of episodic hydrothermal activities at mineral scale by LA-ICM-MS elemental mapping: an application to the Daheishan supergiant porphyry Mo deposit, NE China” is a collaboration between Trinity iCRAG and Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Porphyry ore deposits are the source of much of the copper, molybdenum, gold and silver used by humans. Although there is agreement on the main processes that result in mineralization (the creation of ore deposits through the deposition of hydrothermal fluids, which are solutions enriching in metals and minerals by filtering rocks), it is unclear what makes some systems particularly fertile, that is, large and economically viable. The Daheishan supergiant porphyry Mo deposit (1.09 million ton molybdenum, average grade 0.07%) in NE China provides an excellent example to better understand what triggers the significant enrichment of molybdenum. We will apply a laser based mapping technique to pyrite and molybdenite samples from different mineralization stages (a stage is an episode of hydrothermal fluid activity). The results of this investigation will allow us to determine the composition and evolution of hydrothermal fluids. Consequently, it will be possible to identify the key processes that are responsible for the accumulation of such high concentrations of precious metals. The budget is 250,000 CNY ( around 32,000 €) for Jan 2018 - Dec 2020.