Page 15 - 2020 GGE Newsletter

A NOTE FROM THE ECONOMIC GEOLOGY GROUP Page 15
CONT’D

Katharina Pfaff oversees the Mineral Characterization (MMC) Laboratory in the department and is active in methods devel-
opment, including but not limited to automated mineralogy techniques. The MMC Facility is particularly delighted to announce the
hire of former graduate student Kelsey Livingston to support day-to-day operations and methods development. The laboratory expan-
sion and the newly established partnership with Bruker has proven to be a game changer for Katharina’s research and for the depart-
ment. Research conducted by Katharina and her seven graduate students focuses on fundamental and applied research related to eco-
nomic geology from early exploration, through mining and the sustainable use of Earth resource materials such as tailings. They com-
bine field work with modern micro-analytical and machine learning techniques. An emphasis it put on magmatic and hydrothermal
systems and ongoing projects focus on the formation, distribution and residence of REEs, Ge, Co, and other critical minerals in a vari-
ety of deposit types. Ongoing collaborations with faculty from across Mines and researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey offer ex-
citing research and internship opportunities for Katharina’s students. Katharina continues to be engaged in the department, to serve
on the editorial board of the Mineralogical Magazine and as a reviewer for a number of journals and the National Science Foundation.
If you are interested in our mineral and materials characterization capabilities or outreach efforts, please visit our website: https://
geology.mines.edu/laboratories/automated-mineralogy-laboratory/. Katharina taught two graduate classes in 2020 (GEOL523,
‘Reflected Light and Electron Microscopy’ and ‘XRF Methods’). M.Sc. student Kelsey Livingston graduated, and Katharina welcomed
three new graduate students. Research experience opportunities for undergraduate students (one REU and two MURF students) in-
clude work on collaborative projects with the Departments of Mining Engineering, Applied Mathematics and Statistics, and Metallur-
gy.

Fig. : Complementary SEM and XRF imaging methods. A) SEM-based automated mineralogy image show-
ing the mineralogy and textural relationships of a thin section (2 x 3 cm), B) µXRF scan showing the distri-
bution of Fe and Ge, C) µXRF scan showing the distribution of Cu and Ge, and D) µXRF scan showing the

distribution of Zn and Co of the same area shown in (A). The combined analysis shows that Ge primarily
resides in areas that have experienced a secondary hydrothermal event at grain boundaries and around
bornite or chalcopyrite.

Thomas Monecke continues with extensive research and development of Economic Geology concepts. He and his group specifically
study metallogeny of modern and ancient volcanic arcs, economic geology of hydrothermal ore deposits, fluid-fluid, fluid-mineral, and
fluid-rock interactions as tools to reconstruct fluid characteristics, Archean geology and metallogenesis, and hydrothermal geochemis-
try. Thomas leads the Colorado School of Mines collaborative center for studies, the Center for Advanced Subsurface Earth
Resource Models (CASERM) described earlier in this newsletter. https://caserm.mines.edu/ Thomas also continues to take a
leadership role in the Center for Mineral Resource Science, a joint research center between CSM and the U.S. Geological Survey scien-
tists. He manages the cathodoluminescence and fluid inclusion laboratory. This lab and the X-ray diffraction laboratory
continue to support a large variety of research activities in the department. Thomas currently serves on the editorial board of Miner-
alium Deposita and as a reviewer for the National Science Foundation, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of
Canada, and the Swiss National Science Foundation. Thomas teaches GEOL524 - Economic Geology, GEOL513 - Hydrothermal Geo-
chemistry, and GEOL519 - Abitibi Geology and Exploration Field School. Unfortunately COVID-19 prevented the other valuable
courses which will resume in future: GEOL598-Drill Core Logging, and GEOL521 Field and ore Deposit Geology.