Goldschmidt 2017 - New Challenges for Geochemical Exploration in the 21st Century - Call for Abstracts

Dear colleagues / fellow researchers:We would like to call your attention to the session on the Geochemical Exploration for buried mineral deposits to be held in the Goldschmidt 2017 Conference in Paris. We are welcoming contributions addressing this relevant topic, in particular how new developments in metallogeny, analytical techniques and instruments, and data processing methods will improve our ability to target buried ore deposits.Call for abstracts until April 1, 2017.The Convenors.

Info about the Session18f: New Challenges for Geochemical Exploration in the 21st Century: Targeting Mineral Deposits UndercoverConvenors: Ignacio Gonzalez-Alvarez, Mário Goncalves, John CarranzaMost of the world-class ore discoveries have been made close to the surface. Many of these large-tonnage deposits are mined out or are largely decreasing in production. This situation, coupled with a massive increase in demand for mineral resources, is driving an increasing investment in developing technologies and exploration protocols for deeper and harder to detect mineral deposits. Many regions are challenging for mineral exploration due to their lack of fresh bedrock outcrop. Large areas of Australia, Brazil, India, West Africa and China display deeply weathered profiles, which have been developing for millions of years, reaching depths of 100’s m. Sedimentary packages with exotic mineral and geochemical features can also contribute to increase the total thickness of the cover profile. The overburden units act as filters or even impermeable barriers to geochemical vertical dispersion, which can reduce significantly, if not prevent, any ore pathfinder element or anomalous geochemical proxy from reaching the surface and being detectable in exploration campaigns. This session welcomes contributions on the application of geochemistry in mineral exploration at depth, and on the development of newer algorithms and numerical methods to process large and/or old geochemical and geological datasets to improve targeting of buried mineral systems.Link to the Goldschmidt 2017 Conference website here.