Page 12 - 2020 GGE Newsletter

Page 12
A NOTE FROM THE ECONOMIC GEOLOGY GROUP

The faculty and staff in Economic Geology are globally focused on research, development, collaboration, and innovation
to understanding mineral deposits, hydrothermal geochemistry, and developing mineral exploration techniques. Pro-
jects are supported by the mining industry, as well as competitive federal funding and international agencies. The
group’s work spans the USA, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Ethiopia, Fiji, and Australia. The team’s global
impact is highlighted by the number of participants in Dr. Chang’s 2020 International webinars (2,000 global partici-
pants during 2020 from around the world), the companies participating in our industry and academic consortium
(CASERM) led by Dr. Monecke and Dr. Holley, and the four department laboratories managed by Drs. Chang, Mo-
necke, Pfaff, Stolze and Joe Erickson. Department laboratories have state-of-the-art analytical capabilities used by
many departments and programs at CSM and by external companies and researchers. The students participating in
this department have exposure to a wide variety of exploration and analytical techniques, companies, and industry lead-
ers.
In addition to the CASERM consortium, the Economic Geology team engage in active collaboration with scientists from
the U.S. Geological Survey. Collaboration and innovation will be key over the next decades to define, locate and develop
the next set of mineral deposits. In particular, sustainable use of the Earth’s resources have become of great interest,
encompassing traditionally held commodities such as copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, as well as critical commodities
such as battery driven elements (Co-Ni-Li) and rare earth elements used for technology and energy applications.
The group is passionate about economic geology, and also teaching fundamentals in earth evolution, formation of min-
eral deposits, development of new methods for mineral exploration, mining geology, geometallurgy and the environ-
mental and social context of mining. Teaching the fundamentals of mineralogy, petrology, and petrography are im-
portant to all geoscience disciplines, be it mineral exploration, petroleum technology, or environmental geoscience.
Our Economic Geology team is diverse and collaborative; our programs remain a go-to resource for global mining com-
panies for student training and research, evidenced by the global reach of companies supporting the program, and the
international group of students in our graduate programs.

The Center for Advanced Subsurface Earth Resource Models (CASERM), is an Industry/University Coopera-
tive Research Center that represents a collaboration among industry, government agencies, and Universities (CSM and
Virginia Tech). Research funding and logistical support is provided by both center members and the National Science
Foundation. The research focus of CASERM is to transform the way geoscience data are used to locate and characterize
subsurface earth resources and, thus, to enhance exploration success, decrease prospect development time, and reduce
overall spending. Corporate member Companies include AngloGold Ashanti, Newcrest, Rio Tinto, Ioneer, Seequent,
Skeena, and Lundin Mining.

The Center represents a collaborative venture between Mines and Virginia Tech aimed at solving research challenges in
the development of 3D subsurface geological models for mineral deposits, particularly as these models integrate diverse
geoscience data to inform decision making and minimize geological risk, beginning with locating and mining subsurface
earth resources and continuing through mine closure and environmental remediation. Research aims to enhance ex-
ploration success for mineral resources, decrease prospect development time, and reduce overall spending. The Na-
tional Science Foundation takes a supporting role in the development and evolution of the CASERM and provides a
framework for its operation. Current projects include: (1) developing machine learning methods for resource modeling
and mine planning; (2) defining distal signatures and vectors of hydrothermal systems in carbonates; (3) applying seis-
mic and radar high-resolution 3D mapping of geologic features beyond the mined volume; and (4) using quantitative
automated mineralogy to increase the value of hyperspectral core data.
Under the leadership of Thomas Monecke and Elizabeth Holley, as well as Erik Westman at Virginia Tech, this collabo-
rative initiative continues to grow industry membership and diversify its research portfolio as the 3rd year of center
operations begins. For more information, visit the CASERM web site, https://caserm.mines.edu/