The FAMOS project approach

How do metals accumulate in magma?

Magmas are formed at subduction zones, where one tectonic plate descends beneath another, and where volcanoes and earthquakes are produced.

We will study the environments above subduction zones, associated with volcanic arcs. This is where the crust is thought to be full of mushy magma, rich in crystals and volatiles like water and carbon dioxide.

The key goal is to understand how the metals of interest are enriched in these magmas and then transferred to the water-rich liquids from which the ore minerals are finally deposited.

The analysis of natural minerals will be supported by high-pressure and -temperature experiments designed to simulate conditions found deep in the Earth’s crust.

We will also develop computer models to explore the physics of how mushy magmas and metal-rich fluids migrate through the Earth's crust on their way towards the surface.

What conditions led to the formation of ore deposits?

A special set of conditions allow a typical arc magma to evolve to the point where an ore deposit can form.

We aim to identify when and where these conditions might have existed by analysing the chemical fingerprints in minerals, that lock-in information as they crystallise.

The 'Gates' concept

The project will examine the special conditons required at each stage of the deposit formation, and how these processes might be studied. The diagram below shows the pathway from subduction zone to final ore formation.