Abstract Earth’s mineral deposits show a non-uniform spatial distribution from the craton-scale, to the scale of individual mineral districts. Although this pattern of differential metal endowment is underpinned by lithospheric-scale processes the geological features that cause clustering of deposits remains enigmatic. The integration of geological and geophysical (seismic, gravity, and magnetotelluric) features has produced the first whole-of-crust image through an iconic Neoarchean volcanic complex and mineral district in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, Superior Province, Canada. Observations indicate an asymmetry in surface geology, structure, and crustal architecture that defines deep transcrustal magmatic-hydrothermal upflow zones and the limits of the Noranda District ore system. Here, extreme volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) endowment is confined to a smaller area adjacent to an ancestral transcrustal structure interpreted to have localized and optimized magmatic and ore forming processes. Although lithospheric-scale evolutionary processes might act as the fundamental control on metal endowment, the new crustal reconstruction explains the clustering of deposits on both belt and district scales. The results highlight a strong magmatic control on metal and in particular Au endowment in VMS systems. Overprinting by clusters of ca. 30 Ma younger orogenic Au deposits suggest the ore systems accessed an upper lithospheric mantle enriched in Au and metals. 

/pdf/the-implications-of-crustal-architecture-and-transcrustal-1urebrii.pdf

The implications of crustal architecture and transcrustal upflow zones on the metal endowment of a world-class mineral district

magnetotelluric (MT) study across the Red Lake greenstone belt of the western Superior craton, Canada, images a 50-km-long north-dipping conductor (<20 Ω·m) at 20–25 km depth and subvertical conductors spatially correlated with crustal-scale shear zones and large orogenic gold deposits. The conductors are interpreted to be the conductivity signature of the deep crustal source of the auriferous fluids and pathways of the orogenic gold system. The geophysical results, supported by existing geochemical and fluid inclusion studies, suggest that the Au- and CO2-rich fluids responsible for gold mineralization were released by devolatilization of supracrustal rocks underthrust to mid- to lower-crustal levels during subduction. This MT study links shallow gold mineralization to a deep crustal source region, demonstrating the connection between a crustal suture zone and the formation of orogenic gold deposits in an Archean greenstone belt.

https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article-pdf/51/4/377/5804155/g50660.1.pdf

Crustal conductivity footprint of the orogenic gold district in the
Red Lake greenstone belt, western Superior craton, Canada

Abstract Geological maps are powerful models for visualizing the complex distribution of rock types through space and time. However, the descriptive information that forms the basis for a preferred map interpretation is typically stored in geological map databases as unstructured text data that are difficult to use in practice. Herein we apply natural language processing (NLP) to geoscientific text data from Canada, the U.S., and Australia to address that knowledge gap. First, rock descriptions, geological ages, lithostratigraphic and lithodemic information, and other long-form text data are translated to numerical vectors, i.e., a word embedding, using a geoscience language model. Network analysis of word associations, nearest neighbors, and principal component analysis are then used to extract meaningful semantic relationships between rock types. We further demonstrate using simple Naive Bayes classifiers and the area under receiver operating characteristics plots (AUC) how word vectors can be used to: (1) predict the locations of “pegmatitic” (AUC = 0.962) and “alkalic” (AUC = 0.938) rocks; (2) predict mineral potential for Mississippi-Valley-type (AUC = 0.868) and clastic-dominated (AUC = 0.809) Zn-Pb deposits; and (3) search geoscientific text data for analogues of the giant Mount Isa clastic-dominated Zn-Pb deposit using the cosine similarities between word vectors. This form of semantic search is a promising NLP approach for assessing mineral potential with limited training data. Overall, the results highlight how geoscience language models and NLP can be used to extract new knowledge from unstructured text data and reduce the mineral exploration search space for critical raw materials. 

/pdf/applications-of-natural-language-processing-to-geoscience-3q58tc7j.pdf

Applications of Natural Language Processing to Geoscience Text Data and Prospectivity Modeling

New constraints on the structure and composition of the lithospheric mantle beneath the Slave craton, NW Canada from 3-D magnetotelluric data – Origin of the Central Slave Mantle Conductor and possible evidence for lithospheric scale fluid flow

Abstract This review presents the progress made in the last decade in the field of large-scale electromagnetic (EM) induction with natural sources, which fluctuate at periods from seconds to years and originate in oceans, ionosphere and magnetosphere. These mechanisms produce field variations that can be used to image subsurface electrical structure of Earth and planets across scales and depths from the shallow crust to the lower mantle. In the last decade, we have seen a substantial progress made in different areas related to methods, observations and 3-D numerical modelling of EM phenomena at crustal and mantle scales. Specifically, new methods for handling complex ionospheric and magnetospheric sources were proposed, accompanied by more efficient forward and inverse modelling tools that allowed us to combine several broadband sources and constrain electrical conductivity on multiple scales simultaneously. Magnetic signals due to oceanic tides were established as a new source to probe conductivity of the sub-oceanic upper mantle. Further, the launch of ESA Swarm satellites in 2013 and their successful ongoing operation have marked a new era in the field of large-scale EM induction, unlocking a set of new opportunities, but also posing new challenges. These developments were backed by new lab measurements of electrical conductivity for mantle minerals at temperatures and pressures that are getting closer to the relevant pressure and temperature conditions in the mantle, alleviating the need for inaccurate extrapolations. The latter enabled more plausible quantitative estimates of water content, melt fractions and temperature in the mantle. In parallel, crust and mantle conductivity models along with developed modelling techniques have become an integral part of geomagnetic field and geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) modelling workflows, establishing new inter-disciplinary knowledge domains. 

Unravelling the Electrical Conductivity of Earth and Planets

The clean energy transition will require a vast increase in metal supply, yet new mineral deposit discoveries are declining, due in part to challenges associated with exploring under sedimentary and volcanic cover. Recently, several case studies have demonstrated links between lithospheric electrical conductors imaged using magnetotelluric (MT) data and mineral deposits, notably Iron Oxide Copper Gold (IOCG). Adoption of MT methods for exploration is therefore growing but the general applicability and relationship with many other deposit types remains untested. Here, we compile a global inventory of MT resistivity models from Australia, North and South America, and China and undertake the first quantitative assessment of the spatial association between conductors and three mineral deposit types commonly formed in convergent margin settings. We find that deposits formed early in an orogenic cycle such as volcanic hosted massive sulfide (VHMS) and copper porphyry deposits show weak to moderate correlations with conductors in the upper mantle. In contrast, deposits formed later in an orogenic cycle, such as orogenic gold, show strong correlations with mid-crustal conductors. These variations in resistivity response likely reflect mineralogical differences in the metal source regions of these mineral systems and suggest a metamorphic-fluid source for orogenic gold is significant. Our results indicate the resistivity structure of mineralized convergent margins strongly reflects late-stage processes and can be preserved for hundreds of millions of years. Discerning use of MT is therefore a powerful tool for mineral exploration. 

/pdf/lithospheric-conductors-reveal-source-regions-of-convergent-8ld5fj4k.pdf

Lithospheric conductors reveal source regions of convergent margin mineral systems

Pb Isotopes of the Curnamona Province, an example of extreme crustal fractionation in the Proterozoic.

Abstract The North Australian Zinc Belt is the largest zinc-lead province in the world, containing three of the ten largest known individual deposits (HYC, Hilton-George Fisher, and Mount Isa). The Northern Cordillera in North America is the second largest zinc-lead province, containing a further two of the world’s top ten deposits (Red Dog and Howards Pass). Despite this world-class endowment, exploration in both mineral provinces during the past 2 decades has not been particularly successful, yielding only two significant discoveries (Teena, Australia, and Boundary, Canada). One of the most important aspects of exploration is to choose mineral provinces and districts within geological belts that have the greatest potential for discovery. Here, we present results from these two zinc belts that highlight previously unused datasets for area selection and targeting. Lead isotope mapping using analyses of mineralized material has identified gradients in μ ( 238 U/ 204 Pb) that coincide closely with many major deposits. Locations of these deposits also coincide with a gradient in the depth of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary determined from calibrated surface wave tomography models converted to temperature. Furthermore, gradients in upward-continued gravity anomalies and a step in Moho depth correspond to a pre-existing major crustal boundary in both zinc belts. A spatial association of deposits with a linear mid- to lower-crustal resistivity anomaly from magnetotelluric data is also observed in the North Australian Zinc Belt. The change from thicker to thinner lithosphere is interpreted to localize prospective basins for zinc-lead mineralization and to control the gradient in lead isotope and geophysical data. These data, when combined with data indicative of paleoenvironment and changes in plate motion at the time of mineralization, provide new exploration criteria that can be used to identify prospective mineralized basins and define the most favorable parts of these basins. 

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00126-022-01153-9.pdf

Zinc on the edge—isotopic and geophysical evidence that cratonic edges control world-class shale-hosted zinc-lead deposits

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Lithospheric conductors reveal source regions of convergent margin mineral systems

Pb Isotopes of the Curnamona Province, an example of extreme crustal fractionation in the Proterozoic.

Zinc on the edge—isotopic and geophysical evidence that cratonic edges control world-class shale-hosted zinc-lead deposits