Exploring the bottom of the ancient ocean will help discover minerals needed to make electric cars and solar panels.
Researchers at the University of Queensland have developed a new method for finding potential mineral deposits needed to power renewable energy.
Scientists have studied the remains of the ocean floor in Eastern Australia and Central Asia. Using the new method, scientists determined the age of calcite that got inside the basalt rocks.
As the researchers note, calcite and other hydrothermal minerals are often found in deposits of critical minerals and are formed under the action of mineralizing fluids.
The new technology, described in articles in the journals Communications Earth & Environment and Geochronology, is helping to trace the history of fluids in the Earth’s crust and see when and what minerals they can generate.
In their work, the scientists used mass spectrometry with laser ablation in combination with geochemical analysis of rocks.
The researchers note that the renewable energy sector continues to overgrow. The production of wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles, and batteries requires more and more metals and rare earth elements.
“EVs require four times as much copper as conventional cars. A single wind turbine uses several tons of permanent magnets made from rare earth metals,” says Renji Zhou, co-author of the paper from the University of Queensland’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
The researchers believe that the new technology will help study and discover the right minerals.