The Formation of Iron Oxide – Apatite (IOA) and Iron Oxide – Copper – Gold (IOCG) Ore Deposits: Implications for Sustainable Development

There are more than one billion people on Earth who lack access to electricity and reliable energy infrastructure. This reality for citizens of the less developed world restricts, and in most cases eliminates, their access to modern education, healthcare and economic empowerment that has accompanied the growth of the middle class throughout the developed world. Reducing global poverty, achieving gender equality, reducing birth rates, increasing democracy, and decreasing domestic violence, among many other cultural, economic, political and social challenges depends critically on building energy infrastructure in the developing world and transitioning the built energy environment of the developed world to one that ultimately relies on renewable energy resources. This requires mining the resources to create a reliable and sustainable energy infrastructure the reality for our global society. In this talk, I will review our historic use of resources, discuss the current supply, and make the case that geologists serve a critical role in ensuring a sustainable supply of the resources to satisfy future consumption. I will focus on two mineral deposit types that provide metals such as iron, which is the main component of steel and the backbone of our built environment; copper, which allows the distribution of electricity; gold, which is a conductor in all modern technology; and rare earth metals, which are used to make magnets that make possible our smartphones, televisions, lasers, rechargeable batteries, hard drives and a plethora of medical imaging devices. In room 310 but also on zoom: https://cnrs.zoom.us/j/91418996048?pwd=YlRQU0pFemV1SGg2eUQxK2NlYk52Zz09 ID de réunion : 914 1899 6048 Code secret : 1HMn3m