Descripción del proyecto
THIS PROJECT INTENDS TO TACKLE THE EXPLORATION OF CERTAIN CRITICAL ELEMENTS, INCLUDING SN-W, NB-TA, AND AU, FROM TWO COMPLEMENTARY PERSPECTIVES. ON THE ONE HAND, THE SUBPROJECT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SALAMANCA WILL FOCUS ON REGIONAL GEOLOGY, STRUCTURAL CONTROL AT DIFFERENT SCALES AND ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A 3D MODEL BASED ON THE INTEGRATION OF REGIONAL AND GEOPHYSICAL DATA. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE SUBPROJECT OF THE COMPLUTENSE UNIVERSITY WILL DEAL WITH THE PETROGENESIS OF IGNEOUS AND METAMORPHIC ROCKS, THE MINERALOGICAL AND GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF MINERALIZATIONS, AS WELL AS THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT OF THESE DEPOSITS, THE IMPACT OF MINING ACTIVITY AND THE STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION.THE FINAL OBJECTIVE OF BOTH SUBPROJECTS IS TO EXPLORE THE LINK BETWEEN THE EXTENSIONAL COLLAPSE OCCURRED AT THE END OF THE VARISCAN OROGEN WITH THE ACCOMPANYING HIGH-TEMPERATURE METAMORPHISM, THE MELTING OF THE CRUST, THE MOBILIZATION OF FLUIDS IN ORDER TO OBTAIN AN EXPLORATION MODEL FOR THE STRATEGIC ORE DEPOSITS.THE TASKS THAT WILL BE CARRIED OUT BY OUR SUBPROJECT ARE DESIGNED TO ACCOMPLISH THIS MAIN OBJECTIVE AND THEY INCLUDE THE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE METAMORPHIC EVOLUTION IN THE SALAMANCA DETACHMENT AREA. THIS EVOLUTION IS POORLY CONSTRAINED BUT IT IS EXPECTED TO BE SIMILAR TO THE ADJACENT TORMES DOME, WHERE A CONTRASTING TECTONOTHERMAL EVOLUTION HAS BEEN DEFINED BETWEEN THE UPPER AND THE LOWER PART OF THE DOME. ADDITIONALLY, WE WILL ADDRESS THE PETROLOGIC AND GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE MELTS PRESENT IN THE AREA, AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE THERMAL EVOLUTION OF THE DOME. WE WILL ALSO CHARACTERIZE THE PROPERTIES OF THE FLUIDS INVOLVED DURING THIS THERMAL DISTURBANCE IN ORDER TO DETERMINE THEIR ORIGIN. ANOTHER IMPORTANT TASK IS DESIGNED TO UNDERTAKE THE MINERALOGICAL AND GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE ORE DEPOSITS WITH THE AIM TO SETTLE THEIR ORIGIN AND RELATIONSHIP WITH THE HOST ROCKS. FINALLY, WE WILL CARRY OUT A GEOCHRONOLOGICAL STUDY TO ESTABLISH THE TIMING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE HOST ROCKS AND IN THE ORE MINERALS.WITH ALL OF THESE RESULTS, INCLUDING THE RESULTS FROM THE OTHER SUBPROJECT, WE WILL DEVELOP AN EXPLORATION MODEL FOR THE ORE DEPOSITS IN A LATE OROGENIC CONTEXT. THIS EXPLORATION MODEL OF ORE DEPOSITS LINKED TO EXTENSIONAL GNEISSIC DOMES HAS BEEN DEVELOPED IN WESTERN NORTH AMERICA, AND IT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY APPLIED IN SEVERAL AREAS AROUND THE WORLD. IN THE IBERIAN MASSIF, THE GEOLOGICAL SETTING IS COMPARABLE. AFTER THE CRUSTAL THICKENING THAT TOOK PLACE DURING THE VARISCAN OROGEN, THE EXTENSIONAL COLLAPSE OF THE OROGENIC BUILDING OCCURRED. THIS COLLAPSE CAUSED A REMARKABLE CRUSTAL THINNING THAT WAS ACCOMPANIED BY THE FORMATION OF EXTENSIONAL GNEISSIC DOMES. IN THIS CONTEXT, THE TEMPERATURE RISE AND THE PRESENCE OF FLUIDS ACTIVE TWO PLUMBING SYSTEMS, A DEEP ONE WITH HIGH DENSITY CO2-RICH FLUIDS UNDER LITHOSTATIC PRESSURES AND A SHALLOW ONE WITH LOW-SALINITY H2O-RICH FLUIDS GENERATED UNDER ALMOST HYDROSTATIC PRESSURES. THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THESE TWO PLUMBING SYSTEMS USUALLY TRIGGERS THE GENERATION OF ORE DEPOSITS. ROGENO VARISCO\MODELO EXPLORACION\GEOCRONOLOGIA\NIVEL DE BASE GEOQUIMICO\YACIMIENTOS METALES RAROS\AU OROGENICO\MATERIALES CRITICOS\PROCESOS MINERALIZADORES