Abstract:
Copper is arguably the most important metal for economic development and energy scenarios because it is essential for manufacture and deployment of low-carbon electricity generation, transmission and storage, and vehicle electrification. Copper is also essential for modern economies because it is required for expansion of infrastructure such as wiring for electricity distribution and telecommunications, air conditioning and space heating, plumbing, industrial equipment, rail and public transportation systems, and vehicles. Consider that the built environment of the European Union, United Kingdom, United States and other high-income countries contains 150-200 kg/capita, whereas there is less than 10 kg/capita in low-income countries across Africa and India. Hence, global economic development will require an enormous amount of copper. Our challenge is that this copper demand is significantly greater than projected copper supply. Copper production from existing mines will decrease over the next few decades because due to announced mine closures and decreasing ore grades, and the discovery of new copper occurrences that can be mined continues to decline. The dearth of discovery of new copper occurrences indicates that available exploration methods are no longer successful. In this presentation I will discuss novel hydrogeochemical methods that use the metal isotopic composition of ground and surface water as a probe for the presence of copper sulfide minerals beneath cover. The technique was developed by collaborating with mining companies around the world. The non-invasive technique can identify and distinguish among chalcopyrite, chalcocite and bornite and whether chalcocite is hypogene or supergene. The technique can be used for brownfield expansion projects and greenfield exploration. The hydrogeochemical technique can also be used to monitor mineralogy during heap leaching operations, allowing operators to tailor lixiviant chemistry to increase production rates and total recovery. The technique can also be used to quantitatively determine the source(s) of metals in the environment.

Biography:
Adam C. Simon is an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Mineral Resources at the University of Michigan, and a co-founder of VectOres Science, Inc., a consulting company that uses patented technology for mineral exploration and processing. His research focuses on mineral exploration, ore deposit genesis, the integration of geological and geochemical data to understand ore formation, and the use of metal isotopes to monitor mineralogy in heap leaching operations and tracing environmental metal sources. He has worked on a range of mineral deposits: porphyry, epithermal, Carlin-type, iron oxide-copper-gold, iron oxide-apatite, layered mafic intrusions, and magmatic sulfide. Adam has led research programs on all seven continents. He co-authored the books Mineral Resources, Economics and the Environment, and Earth Materials: Components of a Diverse Planet. He has published 125 scientific articles and has received awards for his transformative approaches to education and. He was the global 2024 Society of Economic Geologists Distinguished Lecturer and regularly gives presentations to general and expert audiences on all aspects of energy and mineral resources.