New Exploration Tools for European Pegmatite Green-Tech Resources

Funder

Organizational Unit

Publications

The INOVMineral project’s contribution to mineral exploration - a WebGIS integration and visualization of spectral and geophysical properties of the aldeia lct pegmatite spodumene deposit

Publication . Cardoso-Fernandes, Joana; Santos, Douglas; Almeida, Cátia Rodrigues de; Vasques, Julia Tucker; Mendes, Ariane; Ribeiro, Ricardo; Azzalini, Antonio; Duarte, Lia; Moura, Rui; Lima, Alexandre; Teodoro, Ana Cláudia

Due to the current energetic transition, new geological exploration technologies are needed to discover mineral deposits containing critical materials such as lithium (Li). The vast majority of European Li deposits are related to Li–Cs–Ta (LCT) pegmatites. A review of the literature indicates that conventional exploration campaigns are dominated by geochemical surveys and related exploration tools. However, other exploration techniques must be evaluated, namely, remote sensing (RS) and geophysics. This work presents the results of the INOVMINERAL4.0 project obtained through alternative approaches to traditional geochemistry that were gathered and integrated into a webGIS application. The specific objectives were to: (i) assess the potential of high-resolution elevation data; (ii) evaluate geophysical methods, particularly radiometry; (iii) establish a methodology for spectral data acquisition and build a spectral library; (iv) compare obtained spectra with Landsat 9 data for pegmatite identification; and (v) implement a user-friendly webGIS platform for data integration and visualization. Radiometric data acquisition using geophysical techniques effectively discriminated pegmatites from host rocks. The developed spectral library provides valuable insights for spacebased exploration. Landsat 9 data accurately identified known LCT pegmatite targets compared with Landsat 8. The user-friendly webGIS platform facilitates data integration, visualization, and sharing, supporting potential users in similar exploration approaches.

2023Journal article

Open access

Spectral library of European pegmatites, pegmatite minerals and pegmatite host-rocks – the GREENPEG project database

Publication . Cardoso-Fernandes, Joana; Santos, Douglas; Almeida, Cátia Rodrigues de; Lima, Alexandre; Teodoro, Ana Cláudia

The New Exploration Tools for European Pegmatite Green-Tech Resources (GREENPEG) spectral database contains the spectral signature, obtained through reflectance spectroscopy studies, of European pegmatites and minerals as well as their host rocks. Samples include pegmatites of the Nb–Y–F (NYF) and Li–Cs–Ta (LCT) chemical types and host rocks from pegmatite locations in Austria, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, and Spain. The database contains the reflectance spectra (raw and continuum-removed spectra), sample photographs, and main absorption features automatically extracted by a self-proposed Python routine. Whenever possible, spectral mineralogy was interpreted based on the continuum-removed spectra. A detailed description of the database, its content and structure, the measuring instrument, and interoperability with geographic information system (GIS) tools is available in this database report. Moreover, examples of how the data can be used and interpreted are also provided. The advantages and added value of the presented dataset reside in its European scale, with representative samples from pegmatites with distinct genesis, mineralogy, structure, and host rocks that can be used as a reference for pegmatite exploration at a global scale via, for example, satellite image processing. The reported spectral mineral assemblages can also be of interest when considering resource estimation or ore processing. Thus, it is expected that this open dataset, available on the Zenodo platform https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6518318 (Cardoso-Fernandes et al., 2022b), will be a reference for distinct types of users, ranging from academia to industry.

2023Journal article

Open access