MINDeSEA WP3 Seafloor Massive Sulphide Deposits (Point)

Seafloor massive sulphides (SMS) are modern equivalents of on-shore (ancient) volcanogenic massive sulphides (VMS) which have constituted important mining targets through history in many regions of Europe. VMS deposits are generally stratiform accumulations of sulphides formed at or just beneath the seafloor as a result of volcano-magmatic activity. The sulphides are precipitated from hot hydrothermal solutions when they come in contact with cold seawater. Deposits of this type that form today are known as seafloor massive sulphides, and the associated sulphurous plumes are called black and white smokers. Data from ancient VMS deposits are essential for the present-day understanding of the formation, structure and composition of SMS deposits. VMS deposits are among the most important deposit types for a number of commodities, including copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), silver (Ag) and gold (Au). In addition, they may contain economic grades of cobalt (Co), tin (Sn), barium (Ba), sulphur (S), selenium (Se), indium (In), bismuth (Bi), tellurium (Te), gallium (Ga) and germanium (Ge). Several of these minor constituents are considered critical raw materials by the EU. The modern equivalents are found on the ocean floor, along present-day spreading ridges and volcanic centres, and are the target of steadily increasing attention as a possible source for both base, precious and special metals.

Citation proposal
(2019) . MINDeSEA WP3 Seafloor Massive Sulphide Deposits (Point). https://services.mspdata.eu:/geonetwork/srv/api/records/5ee0bdd3-0608-498a-aa86-35e50a010833

Date ( Creation ): 2019-04-27

Date ( Publication ): 2019-04-27

Date ( Revision ): 2020-04-27

Edition: MINDeSEA WP3

Codespace: https://www.europe-geology.eu/

Presentation form: modelDigital Digital model

Purpose: MINDeSEA WP3 will compile generated data, products and metadata from areas explored and investigated for seafloor massive sulphide deposits and make them available through a common European information portal. The portal will provide access to data and metadata held by each organisation based on standards developed in the Minerals4EU project and the European Union Raw Materials Knowledge Base (EURMKB), the European Geological Data Infrastructure (EGDI portal), and further expanded in the GeoERA project Mintell4EU. The inclusion of the sea floor mineralisations in the European resource portals is imperative for an accurate assessment of the European metal resource inventory and resource potential. The objective of the current work package is primarily to gather existing vent and deposit data, but where possible, on-going case studies will provide new compositional data from known and sampled mineralisations. A harmonized and complete dataset will be used to review the existing genetic understanding of European seafloor massive sulphide deposits and the exploration models currently employed. The data will provide a stronger knowledge base for future exploration and prospectivity mapping of both off-shore and on-shore base metal deposits. The specific objectives of MINDeSEA WP3 are: - To compile all existing and accessible data on SMS deposits and mineralisations in European waters. - To generate a harmonised dataset from known and sampled vent sites and sulphide mineral occurrences in terms of setting, morphology and chemical composition, including base and noble metals, as well as contained critical special metals, such as indium, tellurium, germanium and gallium. - To locate and explore on-going projects on marine sulphides as possible case studies for further data generation. - To make all data on European seafloor massive sulphide deposits available through a common European mineral resource portal. - To review all collected and generated data.

Principal investigator

Geological Survey of Spain (IGME) - Javier Gonzalez

Instituto Geológico y Minero de España C/ Ríos Rosas 28003 Spain

+34-91-3495864

Website: https://igme-es.academia.edu/FJavierGonzálezSanz

Maintenance and update frequency: annually Annually

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0 ( Theme )

Mineral resources

Spatial scope ( Theme )

European

GeoERA Keyword Thesaurus ( Theme )

manganese , barium , copper , gold , zinc , silver , anhydrite , calcite

European Geoscience Registry - Projects ( Theme )

MINDeSEA

INSPIRE theme register ( Theme )

Mineral resources

GEMET - Themes, version 4.1.4, 13 Feb 2020 ( Discipline )

earth science

GEMET - Themes, version 4.1.4, 13 Feb 2020 ( Discipline )

geology

GEMET - Themes, version 4.1.4, 13 Feb 2020 ( Discipline )

marine geology