Geosystems and Geoenvironment最新文献

{"title":"Integrated geophysical and remote sensing/GIS interpretation for delineating the structural elements and groundwater aquifers of the Foumban locality, Western Highlands of Cameroon (WHC)","authors":"Z. Mfonka ,&nbsp;P.S. Kouassy Kaledje ,&nbsp;A. Anaba Onana ,&nbsp;D. Nsangou ,&nbsp;A. Kpoumie ,&nbsp;M. Zammouri ,&nbsp;P-D. Ndjigui ,&nbsp;J.R. Ndam Ngoupayou","doi":"10.1016/j.geogeo.2024.100343","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geogeo.2024.100343","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study was conducted in the Foumban locality, in the Western Highlands of Cameroon (WHC) where a majority of the population is suffering from scarcity of water for domestic purposes and many other related uses. Thus, it aims at investigating the structural and geo-electrical characteristics of the aquifer system of the locality, based on an integrated approach (Geophysics and GIS). For this purpose, the Landsat 8 image with 30 × 30 m resolution and 20 vertical electrical sounding (VES) data were analysed with ArcGIS, ENVI version 5.3<strong>,</strong> Stereonet v9.3.2 and QWSELN software, coupled with the principal component analysis (PCA). Based on the structural aspect, a total of 224 fractures with lengths higher than 1 km have been identified and drawn. They are mainly grouped in the Centre, North-East and South-East of the study area. Five main families within linear directions have been identified: N10–20 (13.84%), N20–30 (17.86%), N50–60 (9.82%), N80–90 (5.90%) and N140–150 (7.59%). They are mostly oriented NE-SW, following the Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL). These fractures which play an important role in the capacitive and drainage function of the fractured aquifer result from the tectonic movements and decompression of rock masses. According to the geoelectrical characteristics, different VES curve types have been identified, corresponding to various alternate layers of conductive, semi resistive and resistive formations; with thickness ranging between 0.41 to 47 m and resistivity values between 82 to 3410 Ωm. The three cross-section realised (A-A’, B-B’ and C-C’) show that those alternate materials (topsoil, laterite, weathered layer, fractured basement and fresh basement rock) are discontinuous both vertically and horizontally, highlighting the geometry and hydrogeological complexity of these areas. This study is a contribution to a better understanding of the basement aquifers milieu; it could be used by the water supply departments and decision makers for locating appropriate positions of new productive wells in the study area.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100582,"journal":{"name":"Geosystems and Geoenvironment","volume":"4 1","pages":"Article 100343"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143131355","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of vehicular emissions on ozone levels: A comprehensive study of nitric oxide and ozone interactions in urban areas","authors":"Amaury de Souza ,&nbsp;José Francisco de Oliveira-Júnior ,&nbsp;Kelvy Rosalvo Alencar Cardoso ,&nbsp;Sneha Gautam","doi":"10.1016/j.geogeo.2024.100348","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geogeo.2024.100348","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the relationship between nitric oxide (NO) concentrations and vehicular traffic, focusing on trucks and buses as key sources of NO emissions. The conversion of NO to nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) influences ozone (O₃) formation, with excess nitrogen oxides (NO_X) limiting O₃ production. Elevated O₃ levels under certain conditions pose public health risks. This study analyzes seasonal and diurnal variations in NO₂, NO_X and O₃ concentrations, accounting for meteorological factors and the impact of agricultural fires. Pearson correlation coefficients between pollutants and climatic variables were calculated, along with the ventilation coefficient (VC), to explore pollutant-atmosphere dynamics. Analysis of 2021 data revealed peak SO₂, NO, NO₂, NO_X and O₃ levels between August and October, with O₃ values averaging 18 ppb (1.90–79.70 ppb range). Seasonal trends showed NO_X peaks in autumn and winter, while O₃ concentrations were highest in summer and spring, driven by temperature and solar radiation. Negative correlations between SO₂, NO, NO₂, NO_X and O₃ were observed (e.g., <em>r</em> = -0.312, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.01). VC values increased from 1 p.m., peaking at 10 p.m. (2000–4500 m/s), and stabilized during early morning hours. The findings emphasize the need for integrated urban air quality management, combining vehicle emission controls and strategies to address meteorological influences and agricultural fires. Continuous monitoring and targeted policies during high-risk periods, particularly August to October, can mitigate pollutant impacts, improve air quality, and safeguard public health in urban areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100582,"journal":{"name":"Geosystems and Geoenvironment","volume":"4 1","pages":"Article 100348"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143131368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Critical metals: Their applications with emphasis on the clean energy transition","authors":"Daniel Müller ,&nbsp;David I. Groves ,&nbsp;M. Santosh ,&nbsp;Cheng-Xue Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.geogeo.2024.100310","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geogeo.2024.100310","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The global demand for metallic mineral resources has been rising constantly not only due to the world's continued population growth, but also accelerated by the recently proclaimed 'green energy transition' aiming to replace fossil fuels by wind, solar, hydrogen, and geothermal energy. The current situation causes a dilemma as the supply of metallic mineral resources is limited and, at least when this article was written, most critical metals neither can be substituted nor recycled economically and at industrial scale. As a consequence, metallic mineral resources must be considered as non‐renewable commodities.</div><div>This study documents the main industrial applications and supply risks of the critical metals with special emphasis on their respective roles for the green (also referred to by the media as clean or renewable) energy transition. In summary, the natural distribution of critical metals in the Earth's upper crust is very heterogeneous and, at current consumption rates, will likely lead to supply risks in the near future. More specifically, &gt;40 vol% of the global reserves of critical metals, such as chromium, palladium, and platinum (South Africa), cobalt (Democratic Republic of Congo), cadmium, indium, rare earth elements, and tungsten (China), are concentrated in only a single country with obvious geopolitical and strategic implications. Importantly, most of these strategic metals, apart from chromium, are considered crucial for the success of the green energy transition.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100582,"journal":{"name":"Geosystems and Geoenvironment","volume":"4 1","pages":"Article 100310"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143131359","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Geochemical and C-O isotopic study of ∼2-1.9 Ga phosphate-bearing marine sedimentary rocks of the Sonrai Formation, Bijawar Group, Lalitpur district, UP, India: Implications for paleoredox, paleoclimate, and paleosalinity","authors":"Shamim A. Dar ,&nbsp;K.F. Khan ,&nbsp;Akhtar R. Mir ,&nbsp;Tsuyoshi Komiya ,&nbsp;Nurul Absar ,&nbsp;Mohd Shuaib ,&nbsp;Waseem Raza","doi":"10.1016/j.geogeo.2024.100324","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geogeo.2024.100324","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Sonrai Formation of Bijawar Group, Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh, India hosts phosphorite deposits. This study has been carried out using geochemical and stable isotope approaches to decipher the paleo-redox, paleo-climate, and paleo-salinity conditions of phosphate-bearing sedimentary rocks of the Bijawar Group. The high P₂O₅ (average = 25.07 wt%) and CaO (average = 41.80 wt%) contents in these rocks indicate high apatite contents, whereas the weak relationship between P₂O₅ and CaO contents depicts diagenetic phosphatization. Paleo-redox indicators such as Cr contents (average 61.11 ppm; 28.88–98.92 ppm), V <em>+</em> Ni contents (average 78.62 ppm; 34.14–137.61 ppm), V/Ni (average 0.62; 0.12–1.13), Ni/Co (average 2.50 ppm; 0.89–4.22), and V/(V + Ni) (average 0.35; 0.10–0.53) in the studied phosphorite samples indicate deposition under dysoxic to oxic conditions, whereas the associated rock samples show oxic depositional conditions. Further, Ce/Ce* values (0.98–1.41 and 0.97–2.02) and Cr vs. V + Ni, and Ce/Ce* vs. Pr/Pr* binary diagrams suggest dysoxic to anoxic depositional environment of sedimentary rocks of the Bijawar Group. High values of Ga/Rb (1.93–10.61) and low values of Sr/Cu (1.40–5.00) in phosphorite and associated rock samples indicate that warm and humid climatic environment existed for the period of the denudation processes of the Paleoproterozoic Sonrai Formation. On the SiO₂ vs. Al₂O₃ + K₂O + Na₂O diagram, the studied samples fall on the humid climatic field, indicating high chemical maturity. Warm conditions are also suggested by lighter oxygen isotope values (δ¹⁸O_SMOW between –8.34 to –7.83‰) of studied carbonate-phosphorite samples. On the basis of geochemical parameters like (Fe₂O₃ + CaO + MgO)/(SiO₂ + Al₂O₃), Sr/Ba, and Th/U, it is suggested that the deposition of associated rocks and phosphorites of the Sonrai Formation, Bijawar Group occurred in less saline or brackish, and marine saline water conditions, respectively. Positive δ¹³C_PDB values between 0.44 and 3.97‰ in Sonrai carbonates suggest greater burial of organic carbon and their chemostratigraphic equivalence with 1.95–1.88 Ga global marine carbonates.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100582,"journal":{"name":"Geosystems and Geoenvironment","volume":"4 1","pages":"Article 100324"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143131367","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"High-resolution airborne magnetic detection of iron ore deposits","authors":"Fahad Abubakar ,&nbsp;Ismail Ahmad Abir","doi":"10.1016/j.geogeo.2024.100349","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geogeo.2024.100349","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The iron and steel industry has been called the \"backbone\" of industrialisation and the \"bedrock\" of national economies. For almost 50 years, Nigeria has endeavoured to construct a publicly sponsored iron and steel sector in Kogi State, Nigeria's iron ore hub, to expedite the nation's economic development. However, amongst the most significant geoscientific barriers hindering this endeavour are the unpredictability of local materials, notably iron ores, and the rugged topographical challenge of exploring more materials. As a part of the process of abating this challenge, a high-resolution airborne magnetic survey was conducted by the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency. This study aims to delineate the spatial occurrences of the iron ore resources in Kogi State using the recently acquired high-resolution airborne magnetic datasets. The Centre for Exploration Targeting (CET) grid analysis, analytic signal, and Euler deconvolution analytical technique were employed to aid the interpretation, and the known iron ore mines were used as control. The total magnetic intensity and residual map did not reveal the potential ore deposits by mere qualitative interpretation. The lineament density map displays a very poor consistency with the known iron ore deposits due to the geostructural complexity of the study area. However, the high-amplitude peaks of the analytic signal map are consistent, perfectly correlate with all the known existing mines, and reveal potential iron ore deposits. These peaks are in the range of 0.147 to 0.430 nT/m. The Euler deconvolution reveals the depth of potential deposits to be &lt;250 m, while the analytic signal reveals a depth range of 49.594 to 150.926 m. Compared with previous related studies, shallower depth estimates and relatively higher amplitude peaks from the analytic signal were observed. These were attributed to this study's higher resolution acquisition parameters. Finally, we recommend that stakeholders and policymakers prioritize the high-amplitude peaks of the analytic signal as target zones for further iron ore exploration and exploitation processes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100582,"journal":{"name":"Geosystems and Geoenvironment","volume":"4 1","pages":"Article 100349"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143131376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mapping and discrimination of the mineralization potential in the Bonako area (Central Cameroon Domain): Insights from Landsat 9 OLI data, GIS fuzzy modeling techniques and field observations","authors":"Nguimezap Marie Madeleine ,&nbsp;Fozing Eric Martial ,&nbsp;Safianou Ousmanou ,&nbsp;Achu Megnemo Ludovic ,&nbsp;Sobze Yemdji Robinson Belmien ,&nbsp;Sawadogo Sâga","doi":"10.1016/j.geogeo.2024.100347","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geogeo.2024.100347","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Bonako area is situated in the Central Cameroon Domain of the Central African Fold Belt. In this study, the discrimination of lithological units with hydrothermally altered deposits is investigated by combining Landsat 9 OLI data, fieldwork descriptions, GIS fuzzy modeling techniques, and remote sensing approaches including false color composite (FCC), de-correlation stretch (DS), standard principal component analysis (PCA) and minimum noise fraction (MNF). In addition, image processing methods such as band ratios (BR) and selective principal component analysis (Crosta-PCA) were applied to target and delineate hydrothermally altered and corresponding minerals and the spectral angle mapper (SAM) classification algorithm was used to classify the discriminated lithological units within the study area. The evaluation of the fuzzy membership of each alteration-derived mineral from Landsat 9 OLI and ASTER data indicates that the highest favourability index varies from 0.8 to 1 indicating a rating index related to iron mineralization. The integration of selected remote sensing methods allowed the identification of gabbro, granites, gneiss, and mylonites with iron-oxides, hydroxyl/clay, and ferrous occurrences as potential mineralization in the Bonako area. The analysis of lineaments illustrated two main structural trends (N-S and NE-SW) and an accessory one (E-W) in the study area. Merging these with the identified formations highlighted the formations with mineral deposits. Subsequently, the lithological maps displaying alteration minerals and lineaments were validated by fieldwork investigations and microscopic data. Quantitatively, the overall accuracy of the SAM method is 100 %, which also validates the effectiveness of the classification of lithologies using Landsat 9 OLI data. This research predicts how the integration and processing of Landsat 9 OLI, Fuzzy, ASTER data, and field investigations can simplify the identification of rock units with potentially mineralized zone. It also suggests that such a combined method is useful in defining targeted mineralized areas during exploration research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100582,"journal":{"name":"Geosystems and Geoenvironment","volume":"4 1","pages":"Article 100347"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143131373","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Delineation of concealed banded iron formations (BIFs) below the Kurnool sediments in Palnadu Sub-basin, Macherla region, Cuddapah Basin through 3D inversion of aeromagnetic data","authors":"D. Seshu,&nbsp;K․Satish Kumar,&nbsp;P. Sivasankar,&nbsp;Prakash Kumar","doi":"10.1016/j.geogeo.2025.100357","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geogeo.2025.100357","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Long linear high-intensity aeromagnetic anomalies are observed south of Vijayapuri to Macherla region, Cuddapah basin. The source of these magnetic anomalies is exposed and concealed BIFs with alternate layers of magnetite and quartzite. These BIFs are associated with greenstone belts of the Archean age capped by Kurnool and Cuddaph sediments. The review studies of the present work observed the (i) NW-SE, NE-SW, N-S and E-W trending magnetic linear features corroborated with the identified structural features, (ii) three bipolar magnetic zones (A, B and C) are identified from south of Vijapuri to Macherla, (iii) the nature of the magnetic anomalies at the south of Vijayapuri and south of Macherla alike and existing structural fabric might be responsible for the presence of different characteristics of the anomalies in these regions, (iv) 3D analysis of magnetic zones A, B and C show the presence of three isolated causative sources with susceptibility contrast of 0.115 SI existing from the surface to a depth of 2600 m from south of Vijayapuri to Muthukuru. (v) It is inferred from the 3D model studies, exposed BIFs at Vijayapuri region are dipping towards Macherla from the surface to extend up to a depth of 2600 m associated with amphibolites and might consist of alternative layers of magnetite and quartzite. (vi) The expression of NW-SE, NE-SW, N-S and E-W trending surface geological and magnetic structural lineations provided clues to the study area structurally disturbed and the accumulation of sediments in this region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100582,"journal":{"name":"Geosystems and Geoenvironment","volume":"4 1","pages":"Article 100357"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143429539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Australian critical metal exploration for analogues of Chinese ionic-clay REE deposits","authors":"Allan Trench ,&nbsp;Liang Zhang ,&nbsp;David I. Groves ,&nbsp;David Crook ,&nbsp;Nigel W. Brand","doi":"10.1016/j.geogeo.2024.100293","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geogeo.2024.100293","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The clean energy transition has focused attention on the critical metals required for manufacture of new energy technologies. The extremely heterogeneous distribution of critical metal mineral deposits requires that countries must make new discoveries of key critical metals to avoid potential future geopolitical risks. Although Australia has REE resources, they are mainly of LREEs, so deposit styles with significant HREEs are key targets. The most obvious are the so-called ionic-clay REE deposits of southern China that are the major global suppliers of HREEs. Mineral exploration in Australia using the Chinese model is producing hitherto unrecognized REE concentrations, here termed regolith-hosted REE mineralization, in a variety of regolith types in several weathering environments, particularly in Western and South Australia. Amongst these has been the discovery of near-surface, regolith-hosted REE mineralization in the Albany-Fraser Orogen which has the potential to complement REE production from the giant Mount Weld carbonatite and other monazite-sand deposits in Western Australia. Widespread near-surface, regolith-hosted REE mineralization is present over an area of 12,000 km² in the Esperance District. As much of this area is beneath barren Eocene-aged cover clays, all the new REE discoveries have been made, and are being delineated using shallow drilling, to depths of less than 80 m. The exploration implication is that the search space for regolith hosted REE deposits in Western Australia remains immature. These recently discovered deposits have both similarities and contrasts with geological features of ionic clay hosted REE deposits in China. Similarities include their apparent paragenesis and geometry, particularly their blanket morphology, sub-horizontal and gentle dips, and the common, but not exclusive, relationship with felsic basement terranes. However, Western Australian prospects are related to Upper Cretaceous to Eocene climates rather than more recent weathering under sub-tropical conditions. Whether the deposits can be developed to production remains unclear, with project economics tied closely to the efficacy of mineral processing technologies that target high REE extraction rates and recoveries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100582,"journal":{"name":"Geosystems and Geoenvironment","volume":"4 1","pages":"Article 100293"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143131358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reconstructing ancient vegetation, climate, depositional setting and ecology of the West Bokaro Coalfield, India: Insights from megafloristics and palynofacies","authors":"Soumyashree Nanda ,&nbsp;Shreerup Goswami ,&nbsp;Neha Aggarwal ,&nbsp;Debashish Das","doi":"10.1016/j.geogeo.2024.100334","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geogeo.2024.100334","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the ancient vegetation, climate, depositional setting, and ecology of the West Bokaro Coalfield, with a focus on megafloral and palynofacies analyses from the Parej East Open Cast Project (OCP). The floral assemblage includes 23 taxa, notably 17 species of <em>Glossopteris</em>, along with <em>Noeggerathiopsis hislopii</em> and Equisetales. This research records two new species of <em>Glossopteris</em> (i.e., <em>Glossopteris lanceolatus</em> and <em>Glossopteris subtilis</em>) and a new record of <em>Noeggerathiopsis hislopii</em> from this coalfield. The palynofacies study, indicates a low-energy, distal depositional environment with flooded palaeomires during the late Artinskian age. The palaeofloral assemblage represents a systematic morphological evolution in a comparatively cooler climate with enough rainfall, calm wind conditions and moderate intensity of light throughout the lower Barakar sedimentation in the Parej East area of West Bokaro Coalfield. The presence of Karharbari flora indicates the survival of older floral elements during the early Barakar sedimentation. The findings provide new insights into the palaeoenvironment of this important Gondwana basin, enriching our understanding of the interplay between climate, vegetation, and depositional processes during the Permian.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100582,"journal":{"name":"Geosystems and Geoenvironment","volume":"4 1","pages":"Article 100334"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143131365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Will future copper resources and supply be adequate to meet the net zero emission goal?","authors":"Pietro Guj ,&nbsp;Richard Schodde","doi":"10.1016/j.geogeo.2024.100320","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geogeo.2024.100320","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The fact that in recent times mineral exploration has been disappointing and that transition to clean energy to achieve net zero emission by 2050 will place extraordinary pressure on copper demand, are beyond dispute. The critical question is to what extent will copper supply be capable of satisfying growing demand in a net zero future. Reality is that global copper resources have been growing significantly and steadily for decades despite increasing mine production. Besides, with dwindling exploration discoveries, this increase is primarily attributable to expansion of the resources of existing deposits through a combination of better progressive delineation and re-assessment of classification of resources in response to economic and technological changes, the so-called Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) ‘modifying factors’. Analysis of MinEx Consulting's global mineral deposit database indicates that just the resources of deposits discovered since 2010 have been growing at estimated Compound Annual Growth Rates (CAGRs) in the range 7.5% to 15.5%, but greater additional tonnage is associated with deposits discovered before 2010. The result is that tens of millions of tonnes of copper are added to the inventory each year, notwithstanding increasing production and mounting Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) pressure sterilising some deposits. In essence, copper supply shortages are unlikely to result from depletion of copper resources but rather from possible inadequacy of mining and processing capacity. Geopolitical supply risk is also low compared to some other critical metals (e.g., Co and Ni) on account of the large number and geographical dispersion of copper deposits. Increases in price due to a perception of impending scarcity will ensure that future capacity will, at a minimum, continue to grow along its historical 3% CAGR. In addition, it will create strong incentives for above-trend capacity utilisation and improvement in recycling collection and recovery. This will be followed by acceleration of expansion of capacity at many existing mines, and development of deposits at the advanced feasibility stage, releasing copper to market at lower capital cost and on shorter timeframes than exploring for and developing new mines. Estimates of possible levels of above-trend increments in capacity for the various components of the current copper endowment show that, while shortages may occur, they will not be as serious as currently generally expected. This does not mean that net zero emission may not be delayed beyond 2050, but it is more likely that it may be delayed by a range of other constrains and impediments unrelated to availability of copper, and that such delays may give copper supply breathing time.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100582,"journal":{"name":"Geosystems and Geoenvironment","volume":"4 1","pages":"Article 100320"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143131629","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}