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Silver isotopes have been extensively used in environment, archaeology, and economic geology. Nevertheless, accurate analysis of Ag isotope ratios faces challenges caused by the presence of matrix elements (e.g. Zn, Cu, and Pb) in most sulfide samples due to isobaric and polyatomic interferences during multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS) routines. Most of these elements, such as Cu and Pb, can be effectively removed after the first column through a tandem column setup. However, the complete removal of Zn from Ag remains a significant unresolved issue, particularly given their common coexistence in sulfide minerals. Combining previous studies and the chemical principle of ion exchange resin, we optimized a twostage ion exchange procedure by meticulously adjusting solution volumes and the column separation process. A condensed Zn-doped NIST SRM (silver international standard reference material) 978a was tested for AG50W-X8 resin following our modified procedure, resulting in distinct elution curves of Ag and Zn. Subsequently, three sphalerite samples were selected for the optimized two-stage ion exchange procedure, and ICP-MS results of silver elution fractions demonstrated complete separation of Ag and Zn. The whole procedure achieved an Ag yield exceeding 98.1 ± 2.3% (2SD, n = 4). NIST SRM 978a and IAEA-S-1 (an inhouse standard) were tested for long-term reproducibility with -0.001 ± 0.030& (2SD, n = 25) and 0.054 ± 0.023& (2SD, n = 22) of d109Ag, respectively, indicating the high accuracy in MC-ICPMS routines. Zn-doped NIST SRM 978a and sphalerite samples were further subjected to the modified procedure, and they exhibited values of 0.004 ± 0.014& (2SD, n = 3) and -0.214 ± 0.033& (2SD, n = 12), respectively, for d109Ag. Moreover, we selected eight sphalerite samples from several hypogene deposits in China and obtained d109Ag values from -0.229& to 2.227&, indicating the significant Ag isotopic fractionation between Ag-bearing and Zn-rich minerals in hypogene deposits. In conclusion, this study shows the feasibility of accurately measuring Ag isotopes in Zn-rich samples and reveals their application potential in related Ag-bearing and Zn-rich deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geochemical analyses of fluvial sediments from Prodeminca were integrated with geological information, structures, and reports from the Cascabel, La Plata, and Curipamba deposits. Descriptive statistics were performed on 8.522 samples of river sediments from 2º latitude south to 1° north latitude, samples taken between 1997 and 1999. The elements analyzed consisted of As, Co, Cu, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn, Au, Mo. Geology was grouped into major lithological units based on their geological environment and age. The results of the statistics were background values and thresholds for element studied, based on its particular and overall lithological population. The associations of geochemical elements were Co-Cr-Ni-Mg-Mn-Y for the domain of Cretaceous Volcanic Sediments and Cu-Zn-Pb-Sb-Zn for the domain of Paleocene-Eocene Volcanic Sediments. The anomalous values of this study coincide with the two metallogenic epochs of the Western Cordillera. The first focused on the Eocene with the Cascabel, El Domo, La Plata and Macuchi deposits which show anomalous Zn values and the second developed in the Miocene with the Llurimagua and Telimbela deposits with anomalous Cu and Mo values respectively.

Clay minerals and sheet silicates are the main constituents of lutites and clays. These materials are relevant in earth science research as well as in economic geology because of the great variety of applications, based on their particular features at different levels of aggregation in mineral assemblages and on the microstructural and structural characteristics of the mineral constituents frequently characterized by micro- and nanocrystalline appearance. Thus, X-ray diffraction is a main tool for fundamental and applied research of these materials. The present review concerns their microstructural research from powder X-ray diffraction data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The belt of basic-ultrabasic rocks within the Curaçá River Valley Province of the Bahia State, northeastern Brazil, has been known for enclosing several Cu-orebodies that helped sustain the industrial development of Brazil in the last five decades. Caraíba, Vermelhos, Surubim, Terra do Sal, Angicos, Sussuarana are the most prominent of these deposits. The Caraíba Cu-Orebody, so far the most important of all, is part of a body of Archean hypersthenites and norites that underwent poly-deformation and granulitization in the roots of the Paleoproterozoic Itabuna-Salvador-Curaçá orogen, which records the continental collisions responsible for building the São Francisco-Congo paleocontinent in Rhyacian times, ca 2.0 Ga ago. The Caraíba Mine setup happened during the 1970 decade, together with the rush to free the country's economy from the costs of importations, exactly when the first international oil crisis (1974-1978) was suffocating the economy in many countries. Although that time coincided with the boom of geological knowledge associated with the worldwide acceptance of plate tectonics, the study of high-grade metamorphic terrains was still embryonic. In particular, the meaning of the poly-phased tectonic structures in areas recording a high degree of plasticity during deformation remained unraveled. Due to the international economic crisis, everything necessary for running the Caraíba Mine was done under pressure. Nonetheless, the coeval geological studies required for deciphering the area's structural evolution and the mineralization controls, vital for the booming mining planning and profitable exploitation of the Cu ore, had to keep the academic standards for surviving the hurry. Part of this text is a historical novel as it describes in detail how the convenient geological knowledge of the Caraíba-Cu Orebody could be achieved progressively in the years 1980-1990, well in the middle of the rush affecting everything and everybody working in the Caraíba Mine Project.We emphasize thedetailed structural geology studies as the primary tool for guaranteeing timely technical accuracy during the ore's exploitation and profitability in the mine project.As such, it means a historical but profoundly scientific document necessary for those interested in academic and technical purposes related to large-scale mine projects everywhere. Moreover, it highlights the human drama lived by many fortunate professionals in that forgotten semi-desertic area of northeastern Brazil. The experience gained when studying several generations of tectonic structures and metamorphism at Caraíba transformed for the better and forever the lives of several geologists and other professionals equally in charge of operating the Caraíba Mine during those pioneer years.

Complex zoning in crystals including repeated resorption and overgrowth is characteristic for arc magmas and occurs in response to closed-system changes in magmatic P–T– f O2 conditions and open system processes such as magma mixing and degassing or regassing. However, over which time frame do such changes occur? Do zoning patterns record changes occurring during the polybaric ascent of magmas that carry crystals or glomerocrysts sourced from variably mushy magma reservoirs, or alternatively indicate the uptake of antecrysts that experienced long periods of cold storage in plutonic precursors? A priori , these scenarios are endmember models, with the former transcrustal magmatic systems, where the crystals record changing conditions during magma ascent or changing interstitial melt compositions, traditionally preferred over the latter, which we here term transcrustal plutonic systems. In subsolidus plutonic systems, aphyric parental melts would acquire their entirely antecrystic crystal cargo during ascent from plutonic protoliths, and only crystal rims may be related to the host magma. We discuss the evidence for dominantly plutonic antecrystic cargo in some continental arc magmas, identified by considering mineral phase proportions, hydration of crystal rims that indicate hydrothermally altered cargo picked up by fresh melts, and uranium isotope disequilibria between crystals and matrix. We then turn to two-pyroxene thermobarometry and review the evidence for plutonic antecryst dominance revealed by this method in southwest Japan and the southern Taupo Volcanic Zone. We provide additional two-pyroxene data from the Andes, the Cascades, and the Tatun Volcano Group in northern Taiwan, corroborating that the uptake of crystals by aphyric to scarcely phyric melts is prevalent in continental arc magmatic systems. Thus, in many cases transcrustal plutonic systems seem to dominate, implying that a significant proportion of parental melts of continental arc magmas are variably enriched in silica, too hot to carry crystals, and typically too hot and not hydrous enough to be generated by differentiation in frequently postulated lower crustal hot zones, as we will demonstrate here. Our data indicate that in continental subduction zones, the mantle wedge is the source of a diversity of melt compositions (low- to high-silica), irrespective of the age and temperature of the subducting slab. Before discussing some of the implications of the prevalence of non-canonical transcrustal plutonic systems for the thermal structure of the crust, magma ascent processes, volcano monitoring, economic geology, as well as the evolution of continental crustal growth and recycling through deep time, we critically evaluate this novel perspective in terms of published data that might favour more traditional supersolidus transcrustal magmatic systems. This contribution provides the community with the opportunity to consider significantly colder crustal environments than typically accepted, and outlines avenues of future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a lack of consensus on how many and which are the Brazilian gold provinces and districts, and what are their limits or configurations. As an effort of the Geological Survey of Brazil to standardize this subject, we present a compilation of the Brazilian gold-bearing metallogenic/mineral provinces and districts, including those containing polymetallic gold-bearing deposits, and a digital file (shape file) with the design of their respective limits. Because many areas have classic definitions, and even though some of them do not meet the appropriate requirement for a strict definition, their classic names are maintained. However, we strongly suggest that the use of the term metallogenic (province, district), in a broader geotectonic sense, should be preferable in relation to mineral (province, district), which is more generic.

In 2017, Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG) researchers at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) conducted an airborne lidar survey campaign, collecting topographic and bathymetric data over Lower Laguna Madre, which is a shallow hypersaline lagoon in south Texas. Researchers acquired 60 hours of lidar data, covering an area of 1600 km2 with varying environmental conditions influencing water quality and surface heights. In the southernmost parts of the lagoon, in-situ measurements were collected from a boat to quantify turbidity, water transparency, and depths. Data analysis included processing of Sentinel-2 L1C satellite imagery pixel reflectance to classify locations with intermittent turbidity. Lidar measurements were compared to sonar recordings, and results revealed height differences of 5–25 cm where the lagoon was shallower than 3.35 m. Further, researchers analyzed satellite bathymetry at relatively transparent lagoon locations, and the results produced height agreement within 13 cm. The study concluded that bathymetric efforts with airborne lidar and optical satellite imaging have practical limitations and comparable results in large and dynamic shallow coastal estuaries, where in-situ measurements and tide adjustments are essential for height comparisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modelling and analysis of helicopter electromagnetic data result in resistivity and susceptibility models and derivatives of magnetic data that characterise shallow parts of the Stillwater Complex, critical for aiding exploration and expansion of globally scarce critical and battery mineral resources that include platinum group elements, nickel, copper and chromium. The magnetic susceptibly models derived from the electromagnetic data and the tilt derivative of the magnetic data image layering, mafic dikes, banded iron formation, and serpentinised peridotite. Known areas with contact-type mineralisation are generally characterised by low resistivities and susceptibilities where the volume of mineralised rock is large and/or the depth is shallow. We use iso-cluster and edge detection analysis of both resistivities and susceptibilities to identify potential mineralisation in poorly characterised regions as well as faults. Low resistivity layers beneath large landslides reflect water saturated porous slip surfaces which can interfere with drilling. This uncommon approach of tightly linking the resistivity and susceptibility models and magnetic anomaly data to rock property, surficial geologic, drill hole and soil geochemistry data to image the geology in the upper ∼100 m, aids identification of prospective mineralised regions as well landslides and faults that can impact mineral exploration and local hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal migration and precipitation in hydrothermal fluids are important topics in economic geology. The Hongling polymetallic deposit comprises one of the most important parts of the Huanggangliang–Ganzhuermiao polymetallic metallogenic belt, which is in eastern Inner Mongolia. Except for lead–zinc skarn, minor cassiterite in the skarn and disseminated W–Sn mineralization in granitic rocks have also been found. The dominant Sn–W mineralization is in the northern part of the deposit, occurring as disseminated wolframite and cassiterite in aplite hosted in Mesozoic granite porphyry. The aplite together with pegmatite K-feldspar–quartz comprises vein dikes hosted in the granite porphyry, providing evidence for the transition from melt to fluid. The veins, dikes, and Sn–W mineralization in the aplite provide an opportunity to investigate fluid exsolution and the mechanics of metal precipitation. Based on field observations, the micrographic and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) results of the vein dikes, chronology, and the whole-rock geochemistry of the host rock, together with the fluid inclusion results, this paper discusses the characteristics of the causative magma, the mechanics of fluid exsolution and W–Sn precipitation. Our results show that the causative magma is of highly fractionated A-type granite affinity and has an intrusive age of late Mesozoic (133.3 ± 0.86 Ma). The magmatic evolution during shallow emplacement led to immiscibility between highly volatile, high-silica, and W- and Sn-enriched melts from the parent magma, followed by fluid exsolution from the water-rich melt. The alkaline-rich fluid exsolution led to a change in the redox state of the magma and the chilling of the melt. Fluid boiling occurred soon after the fluid exsolution and was accompanied by the degassing of CO2. The boiling and escape of CO2 from the fluid led to changes in fluid redox and W and Sn precipitation; thus, the W and Sn mineralization are mostly hosted in causative intrusions or peripheral wall rocks, which can be used as indicators for Sn–W exploration in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historians of science increasingly turn to ocean spaces, especially fromthe mid-twentieth century, when oceanography adopted new strategic and economic significance during and after World War II. Yet, the overdetermination of oceanography's historiography by histories of conflict obscures the role that empire--its continuities and its ends--played in the transformation of ocean science and politics at the same time. This essay builds on recent work seeking to recover the role of empire's endurance and its long shadows in the construction of mid-twentieth-century ocean science, politics, and law. Focusing on deepsea sediments, I parse the work of H.M.S. Challenger (1872-1876) naturalist-cum-Challenger Office director John Murray alongside that of American economic geologist John Mero, who in the mid-twentieth century articulated all seabeds as storehouses of vast mineral wealth. Murray's sedimentological taxonomies and representations as well as his collected data on global oozes, nodules included, formed much of the basis for Mero's work. And, both Murray and Mero leveraged sediments to argue for proprietary positions premised on priority-in-time for resource discovery claims, and exclusive access based upon scientific knowledge and technical ability, bothmasked by tropes of equal access and opportunity. These data and practices helped Northern scientists build and maintain control over knowledge of the seabed and the value of its resources, as postcolonial and Cold War impetuses rearranged political and economic order at sea. Historicizing abyssal oozes illuminates the character of contemporary conflicts over the future of the international seabed, asking, who determines how the seabed will be valued? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work delves into the presence of REE-Ti-Zr-U-Th minerals, in the mafic–intermediate rocks of the Maronia pluton, Greece, an Oligocene intrusion formed through arc-magmatism during subduction. In Maronia monzodiorite, critical metals are contained in three principal mineral groups, namely, the REE-Ti-Zr, REE-Ca-P, and U-Th assemblages. The REE-Ti-Zr group includes REE-ilmenite, chevkinite-like phases, zirconolite, and baddeleyite. The REE-Ca-P assemblage is represented by allanite-(Ce), monazite-(Ce), and huttonitic monazite-(Ce). The U-Th assemblage comprises thorite–coffinite and uraninite–thorianite solid solutions. The paragenetic sequencing of these minerals offers insights into their formation conditions and correlation with the pluton's magmatic evolution. In the REE-Ti-Zr group, mineral formation progresses from REE-ilmenite to baddeleyite through chevkinite-like phases and zirconolite under oxidizing conditions. The REE-Ca-P sequence involves allanite-(Ce), followed by monazite-(Ce), late allanite-(Ce), and huttonitic monazite-(Ce). In the U-Th group, earlier thorite–coffinite phases are succeeded by uraninite–thorianite solid solutions, indicating Si-undersaturation at late magmatic stages. Fluctuations in Ca-activity induce alternating formations of allanite-(Ce) and monazite-(Ce). These mineral variations are attributed to early-stage interactions between high-K calc-alkaline and shoshonitic gabbroic melts, influencing critical metal enrichment and mineral speciation. The study's insights into paragenesis and geological processes offer implications for mineral exploration in analogous geological settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing global emphasis on sustainable agriculture to reduce human impacts and improve delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With increasing investment in critical zone observatories (CZOs), it becomes important to understand how sustainable agricultural knowledge is produced, shared and used between different groups including farmers, scientists and government. To explore these issues, scientists leading the knowledge exchange (KE) component of a China‐UK CZO program studied three farming regions with contrasting geologies and varying economic levels, using a practice‐based research method. We demonstrate how additional funding for social science research allowed us to understand how farmers access and share farming knowledge through bonding, bridging and linking networks, and how this varies spatially, using interviews and survey questionnaires. Knowledge flows, barriers and opportunities for designing locally suited two‐way KE activities were identified. First, we highlight the need for a more locally, socially embedded and reflexive approach to build trust and better address pressing local environmental challenges. Second, we show how social science can usefully inform KE for collaborative, international development science, to draw on local knowledge, promote research impacts and capacity building while avoiding knowledge mismatches. Lastly, a blueprint for the design and funding of future CZOs, social‐ecological and planetary health research agendas that combine science, social science, local knowledge and KE is presented, including the need for substantive social science research to take place in addition to science research in human‐modified landscapes—enabling the CZ science to be better grounded in, informed by and useful to local communities. Plain Language Summary: There is a growing global need for sustainable agriculture to reduce human impacts on the environment. To do this, we need to have a better understanding of how sustainable agricultural knowledge is produced, shared and used between different groups including farmers, scientists and government. In this paper, we explored these issues in three farming regions in China, using a practice‐based research method where we interviewed and surveyed several 100 farmers. We found that in two of the three regions, farmers access and share farming knowledge through family networks, whilst in the third region farmers learned from a broader range of groups including scientists and government. We recommend that future science studies in stressed agricultural landscapes use a more local approach to build trust and carry out science that better addresses pressing local environmental challenges. This requires us to study people, the residents in these landscapes, using social science, alongside understanding how the landscape is functioning ecologically. Lastly, we propose a new "blueprint" for funding of future science, social‐ecological and planetary health research agendas that combine science, social science, local knowledge and knowledge exchange. This will enable environmental science to be better grounded in, informed by and useful to local communities. Key Points: A blueprint for future critical zone observatories and planetary health research is presented that combines science, social science and local knowledgeWe show how social science can usefully inform knowledge exchange (KE) for collaborative science, to build capacity while avoiding knowledge mismatchesSpatial variations in how farmers learn through bonding, bridging and linking networks exist, showing the need for a local approach to KE [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to present several improved quantum Hermite–Hadamard-type integral inequalities for convex functions using a parameter. Thus, a new quantum identity is proven to be used as the main tool in the proof of our results. Consequently, in some special cases several new quantum estimations for q-midpoints and q-trapezoidal-type inequalities are derived with an example. The results obtained could be applied in the optimization of several economic geology problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pannonian part of Croatia is rich in geothermal water sources, while there are few mineral and thermo-mineral springs. Considering the available data, the possibilities of using geothermal energy in the municipality of Cestica, NW Croatia are investigated. Its location and distance from existing geothermal sites gives a positive and realistic assumption for the existence of low-temperature (below 100 °C) reservoirs of geothermal water in the municipality. This paper presents a techno-economic analysis that includes savings in fossil fuels and a consequent decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere for a low-temperature geothermal site and parameters that can justify investment in further exploration and development, and also in its contribution to the energy transition.

As a globally hard currency, crude oil has influenced all aspects of the world, especially because volatility in its price seriously affect economies, politics and wars. The prediction of oil prices is challenging due to remarkable price volatility, uncertainty, elusiveness, and complexity. There have been many papers adopting traditional machine learning (ML), economic approaches or combinations of the two; however, these papers have rarely focused on the performance of individual models and ignored less popular but complex models. Considering the above difficulties and situations, in this paper, we design an advanced approach for valuable and robust forecasting of crude oil prices to investigate the differences among the three other popular methods. For this purpose, the Random Forest (RF), XGBoost (XGB), and LightGBM (LGBM) are employed in the proposed hybrid method. The merits of this hybridization lie in the fact that the ensemble model is capable of handling volatile features such as nonlinearity, noncyclicity, and market interrelationships existing in oil price time series; incorporating the strengths of the three single models; not easily overfitting; and finally achieving a better performance. The results reveal that the hybrid method achieves the highest Directional Accuracy (DA) and the lowest errors (0.9612, 13.7417, and 0.0368 of DA, MAE, and MAPE, respectively) compared with the results of three other methods-the RF (0.9569, 14.2699, and 0.0385, respectively), XGB (0.9526, 14.5111, and 0.0387, respectively), and the LGBM (0.9526, 14.4022, and 0.0384, respectively)-in experiments on real datasets.

Since entering the 21st century, human society, including science and technology, has experienced dramatic changes in different fields. The ore deposit study has been continued for over 100 years, and many ore deposit models have been established based on numerous deposit case studies, which can be called the "single-dimension" study method. However, such modeling processes are being challenged by the need for further understanding of ore genesis and implications for mineral exploration. With the involvement of new technology such as big data and AI in geosciences, computing, simulation and big data mining are promoting ore deposit modeling to a new development stage. In the future, the experiments of ore-forming processes facilitated by computing and simulation, the mechanism and evolution of erosion and preservation of ore deposits, the genesis of ore formation using big data analysis and AI technology, together with the traditional ore deposit case studies, will form the new research frame of comprehensive ore deposit modeling, which indicates a transition from the current "single-dimension" study to a more robust "multiple-dimension" study of ore deposits.

This study presents a review of the methodology for choosing the type of access and exploitation methodology for underground mines, being the choice of the type of access, one of the initial stages of the conceptual projects. To this end, in addition to literature verification, technical feasibility reports of recent projects were analyzed, made available by mining companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. In this report, data were extracted referring to technical and productive characteristics of the projects, thus allowing comparison with classic methodologies for the choice of types of access and the compilation of a new flowchart, adhered to the current mining industry. The data from the projects were separated considering the mining methods with the largest number of samples, as well as the productive and mineral deposit characteristics. As a result, a chart is presented for the choice of access and mining method as a function of productive characteristics, ore body geometry and rock mass quality. Updating the limits considered for depth and daily production corresponded to a significant improvement in the response of the suggested access type and made it compatible with that presented in the feasibility projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Military events and the post-war period will require a rethinking of the concept and strategy of development of the mineral and industrial complex in Ukraine. Considered issues and problems of work of geologists in the state sector of the economy, peculiarities of their work in large vertically integrated companies. A special place is given to consideration of the peculiarities of the work of Ukrainian geologists in foreign companies. Proposed methods of using young specialists during the reform of the mineral and raw material complex of Ukraine. The authors propose a discussion on these issues in order to develop the most acceptable and effective algorithms for the development of the geological field.

Summary: Intact forests and protected areas (PAs) are central to global biodiversity conservation and nature-based climate change mitigation. However, cropland encroachment threatens the ecological integrity and resilience of their functioning. Using satellite observations, we find that a large proportion of croplands in the remaining forests globally have been gained during 2003–2019, especially for high-integrity forests (62%) and non-forest biomes (60%) and tropical forests (47%). Cropland expansion during 2011–2019 in forests globally has even doubled (130% relative increase) than 2003–2011, with high medium-integrity (190%) and high-integrity (165%) categories and non-forest (182%) and tropical forest biomes (136%) showing higher acceleration. Unexpectedly, a quarter of croplands in PAs globally were gained during 2003–2019, again with a recent accelerated expansion (48%). These results suggest insufficient protection of these irreplaceable landscapes and a major challenge to global conservation. More effective local, national, and international coordination among sustainable development goals 15, 13, and 2 is urgently needed.

Recognizing geoheritage, i.e., the entity of unique geological features with heritage value, as a geological resource for society is a relatively novel idea. It is argued that non-industrial exploitation of this resource brings benefits through tourism, eco-/geosystem services, and research and education. Experience-related peculiarities of the contemporary economy can be brought in correspondence with the geoheritage value. This new resource deserves extensive investigation and exploration, just like mineral and energy resources. The scope of economic geology should, consequently, embrace also geoheritage as an economically important geological resource. This requires joint efforts of both economic geologists and experts in geoheritage and nature conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to tectonics, stratigraphy, paleontology, economic geology, hydrogeology and other geological fields, Ion Popescu-Voitești also addressed paleogeography problems. In 1936, he published a fascinating book, unique in the country at the time, regarding the geological-paleogeographical evolution of the Romania territory from the Silurian to the Quaternary. From his works in this field, we chose two themes, one related to the formation of the Olt transversal valley (1918, 1936) and one related to the formation of the transversal valley of the Danube and to its paleo-course in the Romanian Plain (1936, 1940). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vanadium is currently considered a critical material in the European Union, the U.S.A., and other jurisdictions. The vanadium mine production for 2021 is estimated at more than 120 000 tonnes; however, the market base is expected to grow rapidly due to the increase in the use of vanadium for redox flow batteries. Currently, world-wide, many projects are in the advanced stages of exploration and development. In the longer term, should vanadium cease to be a critical material and the law of supply and demand applies, the marginal mines will be decommissioned, and the best deposits will remain economic. Depending on the prevailing regulations in specific jurisdictions, geological settings, and the most up-to-date metallurgical research results, the main vanadium deposit types that could be considered as potential exploration and development targets are the vanadiferous titanomagnetite deposits, sandstone-hosted uranium-vanadium deposits (Salt Wash category), shale-hosted vanadium deposits, and base metal-related vanadate deposits. However, placer deposits, surficial uranium-vanadium type mineralisation, and the Minas Ragra type patrónite deposits should also be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is an erratum for a paper titled "Copper skarn mineralization related to reduced monzodioritic magma at the Huanren deposit, northeastern China." The erratum corrects an error in the pre-issue publication version of the paper, specifically in the Abstract section. The error pertains to the description of the FMQ (fayalite-magnetite-quartz) buffer, which should have been stated as "-1.09 ± 0.19" instead of "1.09 ± 0.19." The correct version of the paper can be accessed through the provided link. [Extracted from the article]

This work delves into the presence of REE-Ti-Zr-U-Th minerals, in the mafic–intermediate rocks of the Maronia pluton, Greece, an Oligocene intrusion formed through arc-magmatism during subduction. In Maronia monzodiorite, critical metals are contained in three principal mineral groups, namely, the REE-Ti-Zr, REE-Ca-P, and U-Th assemblages. The REE-Ti-Zr group includes REE-ilmenite, chevkinite-like phases, zirconolite, and baddeleyite. The REE-Ca-P assemblage is represented by allanite-(Ce), monazite-(Ce), and huttonitic monazite-(Ce). The U-Th assemblage comprises thorite–coffinite and uraninite–thorianite solid solutions. The paragenetic sequencing of these minerals offers insights into their formation conditions and correlation with the pluton’s magmatic evolution. In the REE-Ti-Zr group, mineral formation progresses from REE-ilmenite to baddeleyite through chevkinite-like phases and zirconolite under oxidizing conditions. The REE-Ca-P sequence involves allanite-(Ce), followed by monazite-(Ce), late allanite-(Ce), and huttonitic monazite-(Ce). In the U-Th group, earlier thorite–coffinite phases are succeeded by uraninite–thorianite solid solutions, indicating Si-undersaturation at late magmatic stages. Fluctuations in Ca-activity induce alternating formations of allanite-(Ce) and monazite-(Ce). These mineral variations are attributed to early-stage interactions between high-K calc-alkaline and shoshonitic gabbroic melts, influencing critical metal enrichment and mineral speciation. The study’s insights into paragenesis and geological processes offer implications for mineral exploration in analogous geological settings.

In recent years, video games, as a geoscience communication tool, have gained momentum. Popular commercial video games see millions of people around the world immersed in wondrous landscapes, many filled with real geological features including volcanoes, mineral deposits, and dinosaurs. Even though these features can be overlooked by many players as simple video game tropes, if utilized in educational environments or scientific outreach events, video games have the potential to encourage and stimulate teaching of geoscientific concepts, both in the classroom or in their own time. Here, we focus on the geo-educational potential of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the latest game in the popular Pocket-Monster franchise, Pokémon. Pokémon Legends: Arceus is set in a fictional landscape, Hisui, that is directly based on the real-world island of Hokkaido, northern Japan. Both formal (peer-reviewed literature) and informal (online websites) resources are used to explore in-game and real-world geological feature comparisons and assess the game's educational potential. This paper demonstrates that a single commercial video game can be used to explore a variety of geological and geomorphological concepts including volcanology, economic geology, and hazard mitigation, with direct real-world examples to support the geoscientific understanding. Applications for this study could be extremely useful, not only for increasing interest and facilitating the self-learning of geoscience worldwide, but also for teaching in educational environments. From an educational standpoint, Pokémon Legends: Arceus could be used as a powerful tool to help students engage more in their learning by utilizing their natural affinity to the popular game and showcasing the many geological and geomorphological features found across the landscape of Hisui. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates the aggregate suitability and geochemical characteristics of limestone (LS) from the Samana Suk Formation, Pakistan, for the construction industry. With the advent of CPEC, the demand for construction materials has seen a manifold increase. The Sheikh Budin Hills and Trans Indus Ranges comprise huge deposits of limestone and provide great potential for source rocks for construction materials in the region. In the Upper Indus Basin of Pakistan, the Samana Suk Formation is acknowledged as the most significant carbonate deposits of Mesozoic strata. The results of aggregate parameters reveal that specific gravity (SG = 2.6); water absorption (WA = 0.47%); bulk density (BD = 1.58 g/cm3); flakiness index (FI = 16.8%); elongation index (EI = 16.39%); soundness (S = 1.6%); aggregate impact value (AIV = 14%); Los Angeles Abrasion value (LAAV = 23.51%); clay lumps (CL = 0.35%); uniaxial compressive strength (UCS = 86.7 MPa); point load test (PLT = 5.18 MPa); ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV = 5290 m/s); and Schmidt hammer rebound test (SHRT = 49 N) are in accordance with the ASTM, ISRM, and BSI. Petrographically, the LS is dominantly composed of ooids, peloids, bioclasts, and calcite mineral (CaCO3) with a trace concentration of dolomite [(Ca,Mg)CO3]. The mineralogical and geochemical study (n = 18) revealed that the LS is dominantly composed of calcite (95.81%); on average, it is composed of 52.08 wt.% CaO; 1.13 wt.% SiO2; 0.66 wt.% MgO; 0.80 wt.% Al2O3; and 0.76 wt.% Fe2O3, and loss on ignition (LOI) was recorded as 42.13 wt.%. On the other hand, P2O5, TiO2, MnO, K2O and Na2O were found in trace amounts. The regression analysis demonstrated that the empirical correlation equation for estimating uniaxial compressive strength with ultrasonic pulse velocity is more reliable than the Schmidt hammer rebound test and point load test. Consequently, the feasibility of using LS of the Samana Suk Formation as an aggregate for construction materials and cement manufacturing is recommended based on the testing results of mechanical, physical, and geochemical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The organic-rich rocks of the Duwi Formation have gained much attention in recent years because of the growing demand for their utilization as energy and metal sources. A depositional model for these important rocks is delineated in the present study based on multiple analytical approaches. Samples from these organic-rich rocks were collected from eight mines in the Qusseir-Safaga region along the Red Sea coast in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. These mines are located at El Nakheil, Younis, El Beida, Atshan, Hamadat, Tundub Bahri, Tundub Qubli, and Zog EL Bahr. The depositional model is based firstly on organic geochemical and petrographical analyses of the organic matter to identify its enrichment, composition, hydrocarbon potential, types and origin, and their relationship to rock minerals. Secondly, the inorganic geochemical analysis, including mineralogy and trace elements, is integrated to explore the lithological characteristics and to confirm the results obtained from other analyses. Only the El Nakheil, Atshan, Tundub Bahri, and Tundub Qubli mines are found to have total organic carbon content above 10 wt%. These mines contain hydrogen-rich organic matter that reached a maximum in the El Nakheil Mine as reflected in the Rock-Eval parameters of S 2 (137.95 mg HC/g rock) and hydrogen index (HI of 707 mg HC/g TOC). The organic matter is composed mainly of large sheet-like alginite particles and prasinophytes that are finely laminated with minerals, planktonic debris of fish bones, and foraminifera without any sign of the presence of benthic organisms or bioturbation. This lamination is attributed to the occurrence of condensed sections in the studied mines. In addition, the high organic enrichment in terms of quantity and quality is accompanied by enriched metal composition including trace elements that signify anoxic conditions and low sedimentation rates. This composition points to the occurrence of prominent anoxic conditions that are stabilized by a slow sea level rise, which inhibits water circulation and water column stagnation in a restricted basin. The depositional model emphasizes the optimal balance between anoxia, sedimentation rate, and paleoproductivity that resulted in enhanced organic matter preservation in a condensed section. The deposition of the organic-rich rocks is situated in the deep parts of the basin or depocenters that reached their present-day distribution by topographic inversion. The organic and metalliferous reserves in these organic-rich sediments are calculated in the studied mines. The estimation of these reserves is found to be economic for many trace metals in an ore reserve that reached 151742 tons in one bed alone within the Duwi Formation. • The Duwi Formation in the Eastern Desert is economically evaluated by different methods. • The evaluation is based on petrographic and inorganic/organic geochemical analyses. • Variable enrichments with organic matter and trace elements are detected. • High economic enrichments deposited in anoxic environment under low sedimentation rate. • The economic ores are found in EL Nakheil, El Beida, Atshan, Hammadat and Tundub area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A complex structural geology generally leads to significant consequences for hydrocarbon reservoir exploration. Despite many existing wells in the Kadanwari field, Middle Indus Basin (MIB), Pakistan, the depositional environment of the early Cretaceous stratigraphic sequence is still poorly understood, and this has implications for regional geology as well as economic significance. To improve our understanding of the depositional environment of complex heterogeneous reservoirs and their associated 3D stratigraphic architecture, the spatial distribution of facies and properties, and the hydrocarbon prospects, a new methodology of three-dimensional structural modeling (3D SM) and joint geophysical characterization (JGC) is introduced in this research using 3D seismic and well logs data. 3D SM reveals that the field in question experienced multiple stages of complex deformation dominated by an NW to SW normal fault system, high relief horsts, and half-graben and graben structures. Moreover, 3D SM and fault system models (FSMs) show that the middle part of the sequence underwent greater deformation compared to the areas surrounding the major faults, with predominant one oriented S30°–45° E and N25°–35° W; with the azimuth at 148°–170° and 318°–345°; and with the minimum (28°), mean (62°), and maximum (90°) dip angles. The applied variance edge attribute better portrays the inconsistencies in the seismic data associated with faulting, validating seismic interpretation. The high amplitude and loss of frequency anomalies of the sweetness and root mean square (RMS) attributes indicate gas-saturated sand. In contrast, the relatively low-amplitude and high-frequency anomalies indicate sandy shale, shale, and pro-delta facies. The petrophysical modeling results show that the E sand interval exhibits high effective porosity (∅eff) and hydrocarbon saturation (Shc) compared to the G sand interval. The average petrophysical properties we identified, such as volume of shale (Vshale), average porosity (∅avg), ∅eff, water saturation (SW), and the Shc of the E sand interval, were 30.5%, 17.4%, 12.2%, 33.2% and, 70.01%, respectively. The findings of this study can help better understand the reservoir's structural and stratigraphic characteristics, the spatial distribution of associated facies, and petrophysical properties for reliable reservoir characterization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The timing and nature of metamorphism in the Kalgoorlie gold camp (Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia) are key aspects to genetic models for gold mineralisation. Despite this, existing constraints on metamorphism are equivocal as to whether the Fimiston and Oroya Au–Te lodes formed pre- or post-peak regional metamorphism. Evaluation of an actinolite (S1)–chlorite (S2) crenulation cleavage in the Hannan's Lake Serpentinite on the western margin of the Golden Mile Super Pit supports a syn-D1 timing for peak metamorphism and a post-peak metamorphic timing for the Fimiston and Oroya Au–Te lodes. These results support a key aspect of metamorphic models for gold mineralisation. If intrusion-related models are correct, they should not be premised on the argument that the Fimiston and Oroya Au–Te lodes are equivalent to other examples of metamorphosed, epithermal-type mineralisation in orogenic belts. The definition of an S1 cleavage in the Hannan's Lake Serpentinite by actinolite supports a syn-D1 timing (ca 2685–2680 Ma) for peak regional metamorphism (sub- to lower-greenschist facies) in the Kalgoorlie gold camp. A syn-D1 timing for peak regional metamorphism suggests that the D2 (ca 2675–2665 Ma) Fimiston and Oroya Au–Te lodes and D3 (ca 2650–2640 Ma) Mt Charlotte stockwork Au orebodies developed in post-peak metamorphic settings. A post-peak metamorphic timing for the Fimiston and Oroya Au–Te lodes suggests that these mineralisation types do not represent metamorphosed equivalents of epithermal Au–Te mineralisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new ferrous phyllosilicate, meifuite, has been discovered in the Yinachang Fe-Cu-REE (rare-earth element) deposit in China. The structural formula, calculated using averaged electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) results, is K0.72Na0.20(Fe5.56Mg0.31Mn0.13)Σ6.00(Si6.95Al1.04)Σ7.99O18.84(OH)4.84 Cl1.33, with an ideal formula of KFe6(AlSi7)O19(OH)4Cl2. The structure of meifuite has a P 1 ¯ space group symmetry, with unit-cell parameters of a = 22.7773(13) Å, b = 9.5553(5) Å, c =14.3282(8) Å, α = 99.258(4)°, β = 136.750(3)°, γ = 89.899(4)°, Z = 2, and V = 2077.9(2) Å3. Meifuite has a strip-modulated 2:1 layer (T–O–T) structure similar to that of minnesotaite. About 1/8 of the tetrahedra in the T sheet are occupied by Al instead of Si, and the interlayer cavities are partially occupied by K and Na. Some of the OH sites in the octahedral sheet in the layer structure are fully or partially substituted by Cl, which is apparently the primary reason for the meifuite structure being more stable than stilpnomelane, the most common ferrous layer silicate mineral found at similar temperature and pressure conditions. An updated, more accurate structure model of minnesotaite is also provided for comparison with the meifuite structure. The mineral is named after Meifu Zhou in honor of his outstanding contributions to the field of economic geology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]