U of T @ TGDG Economic Geology Showcase

Juan D. B. Rodriquez

Sheila Ballantyne

Zhongzheng Yuan

Talk Abstract

This TGDG University of Toronto Earth Sciences Meeting provides club members with a chance to be exposed and updated to the latest Economic Geology research being conducted by its graduate students and their professors. Three students; Juan David Bello Rodriquez, Sheila Ballantyne and Zhongzheng Yuan, are introduced to each present a 15-minute summary of their graduate research and academic pursuits.

Juan David Bello Rodriquez under the supervision of Professor Dan Gregory studies the distribution and enrichment mechanisms of Ge in the Zn-Pb-Ag Prairie Creek Deposit, NWT, Canada. Germanium is an important critical mineral essential in the advancement of high technology and often extracted from sediment-hosted Zn-Pb deposits; however, the processes controlling the distribution and enrichment in these deposits remain poorly understood. To address this, macro- to nano-scale analytical techniques are applied to investigate the Ge-bearing Zn-Pb-Ag Prairie Creek deposit in Canada in order to refine the genetic model of this deposit and identify the key factors driving Ge accumulation.

Sheila Ballantyne under the supervision of Professor Melissa Anderson studies the metallogeny of massive volcanogenic sulphide deposits in Snow Lake, Manitoba. The research is focused on understanding the processes, geochemical signatures, and resulting ore body architecture of these metamorphosed and deformed volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits. It seeks to determine the structural controls on metal deportment and grades of mineralization, including upgrading processes of primary mineralization via post-VMS deposit formation modifications related to metamorphism and deformation.

Zhongzheng Yuan under the supervision of Professor Neil Bennett conducts experimental geochemical studies on the role of molten salts as agents of iron enrichment in iron-oxide-apatite (IOA) deposits which are significant sources of high-grade iron ores, as well as substantial amounts of phosphorus and rare earth elements (REEs). A series of high pressure and temperature experiments are conducted using a piston-cylinder apparatus to investigate magnetite solubility as a function of melt composition. Synthetic starting materials were designed along the calcium carbonate-calcium sulfate join (equilibrium line?) with co-existing magnetite and hematite, and are subsequently expanded to include calcium phosphate and silicate phases.

Speaker Bios

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