About the group
The Mineral Resource Systems and Ore Fluids group led by Prof. Cyril Chelle-Michou studies the processes determining the origin and distribution of resources in the Earth's interior.
Most mineral and energy resources form in response to the transport of heat and mass by fluids flowing through the Earth's crust. Understanding the accumulation of millions of tons of scarce metals and their enrichment by many orders of magnitude above normal crustal abundance requires that we quantify their transport mechanism, flux and precipitation triggers from their source to the site of mineral deposition.
We also want to understand the concurrent physical processes, ranging from lithosphere-scale dynamics of magmatism or basin formation, through the creation of fracture permeability in solid rocks, to focused fluid flow in veins where minerals are re-precipitated due to chemical disequilibrium with wall rocks.