Hydrothermal Geochemistry Group

Welcome

The Hydrothermal Geochemistry Group at McGill University studies the behaviour of elements in aqueous and related fluids at elevated temperature and pressure, with a focus on the processes leading to the formation of economic mineral deposits. The main thrust of our research is thus to develop the genetic models that will ensure the future success of mineral exploration.  Many deposits form as a result of metal transport by fluids, mainly hydrothermal, and the subsequent precipitation of metals in response to changes in physico-chemical conditions. Our objectives are to determine the nature of these fluids, identify the factors which control their ability to dissolve metals, and establish the mechanisms which cause them to form ore deposits. In order to meet these objectives, we combine studies of natural systems, which can be used to reconstruct depositional environments, with experimental and theoretical studies designed to evaluate the behaviour of metals in fluids and model the processes of ore formation.

Major Projects

Some of our current, funded projects include:

• Magmas, fluids, and critical metals
• A genetic model and geochemical exploration tools for magnetite-apatite REE deposits
• Controls on the genesis of gold mineralisation in the Brucejack epithermal deposit, British Columbia
• A genetic and exploration model for syenite-hosted scandium mineralisation
• Controls on the concentration of lithium in oilfield brines
• Petrogenesis and alteration associated with nickel mineralization in the Turnagain deposit, British Columbia
• Genesis of the Fenelon gold deposit, Quebec
• Source region assessment of Witwatersrand mineralogy
• Modelling of metamorphism of sediment-hosted zinc deposits
• Thermodynamics of cobalt minerals and aqueous species, and modelling of hydrothermal Co ore formation
• Metallogeny and models for grade/tonnage controls in SMS and VMS Cu-Zn deposits
• The genesis and exploration of iron oxide-apatite REE mineralisation in the Kwijibo district, Quebec
• Development of a genetic model to guide cobalt exploration in the Cobalt-Gowganda mining district
• Experimental study on oxidative weathering and metal leaching of marine polymetallic massive sulphides
• A genetic model and exploration tools for pegmatite-hosted lithium mineralisation
• The origin of Sc mineralization in the Crater Lake ring complex, Quebec
• Les fondements de la genèse des pegmatites à lithium de la Province du Supérieur au Québec
• Magmatic and hydrothermal controls on Alaskan-type Ni-Co mineralisation at Turnagain, British Columbia
• Understanding LCT pegmatite genesis in the context of lithium mineral exploration
• Lithium in pegmatites: from source to sink
• A genetic model for the Adina and Cancet pegmatites to guide exploration for lithium mineralisation
• Controls of lithium concentration in brines during recharge events
• Controls on the critical metal (REE, Nb, P) fertility of carbonatites

We welcome new ideas and projects, and encourage collaborations with industry to address geological problems associated with mineral exploration.

News and Announcements

Recent Beer Seminars:

• Apr. 24, 2025.  Kevin Ng: Deformation and the distribution of electrum at the Brucejack Au-Ag mine, BC
• Apr. 10, 2025.  Kyle Henderson: Evolution of albite-spodumene pegmatites at the Mirage project, QC
• Feb. 20, 2025.  Duncan McLeish: Ore deposits at the nanoscale: a TEM case study of the Brucejack Au-Ag mine
• Feb. 6, 2025.  Jianping Li: Role of melt Al saturation index in controlling metal ratios in porphyry deposits
• Jan. 23, 2025.  Evan Slater: Origin of mafic dykes at the Fenelon deposit and implications for gold metallogeny
• Dec. 3, 2024.  Bo Zu: Enrichment of Au-Ag-Te in the Bozymchak skarn Cu-Au deposit, Kyrgyzstan
• Nov. 20, 2024.  Jake Tiong: Magmatic and mineralogical controls on the genesis of the Crater Lake Sc deposit, QC
• Nov. 6, 2024.  Antoine Vigné: Late-stage hydrothermal alteration of the Moblan LCT pegmatite deposit, QC
• Oct. 23, 2024.  David Martineau: Origin and evolution of the Kwyjibo REE-rich magnetite-apatite deposit
• Oct. 1, 2024.  Kyle Henderson: Uraninite geochronology in the Witwatersrand Basin, South Africa
• Sep. 17, 2024.  Willy Williams-Jones: Molten carbonates, aqueous fluids and the genesis of niobium ores
• Apr. 30, 2024.  Kiera Broda: Olivine and magmatic/hydrothermal Ni-sulfide relationships at Turnagain, B.C.
• Apr. 9, 2024.  Anna Volynets: Back-arc magmatism and the petrology of Kamchatka volcanoes
• Mar. 19, 2024.  Antoine Vigné: Geological models and exploration tools for the Moblan LCT pegmatite, Quebec

Recent PhD Defenses:

• Oct. 5, 2023.  Kyle Henderson:  Extreme metal enrichment in Middle Devonian black shales of the Richardson Trough, Yukon, Canada: an integrated mineralogical, geochemical, and isotopic study

Recent Awards/Honours:

• A.E. Williams-Jones: 2025 Howard Street Robinson Medal; Mineral Deposits Division, Geological Association of Canada, for exceptional contributions towards the scientific study of metal mining
• Evan Slater: co-winner, best talk at 2025 McGill EPS Graduate Research Symposium
• Kevin Ng: winner, best poster at 2025 McGill EPS Graduate Research Symposium
• A.E. Williams-Jones: Keynote lecture for session in honor of Terry M. Seward, Goldschmidt Conference 2024
• A.E. Williams-Jones: 2023 McGill nominee for the NSERC Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering
• A.E. Williams-Jones: Keynote lecture for session in honor of Hubert L. Barnes, Goldschmidt Conference 2023
• D. McLeish: Best PhD poster award, PDAC-SEG Student Minerals Colloquium 2023
• A.E. Williams-Jones: Keynote lecture, Québec Mines + Énergie 2022, Critical and Strategic Minerals session
• N. Hurtig (with A. Migdisov and A.E. Williams-Jones): 2022 Skinner Award from the SEG for the most outstanding paper published in Economic Geology (v. 116, p. 1599–1624)
• A.E. Williams-Jones: 2018 Penrose Gold Medal, Society of Economic Geologists, in recognition of a full career in the performance of outstanding work in the earth sciences

Recent Scholarships:

• K. Ng: 2024 Davidson Fellowship, EPS
• J. Bustamente P.: 2024 Wares Fellowship, EPS
• A. Vigné: 2024 Soutar Fellowship, EPS
• R. Collar: 2024 Leroy Memorial Fellowship, EPS
• E. Johnson F.: 2024 Stewart Memorial Fellowship, EPS
• K. Broda: 2024 Soutar Fellowship, EPS
• K. Broda: 2024 Geoscience BC Scholarship

Contact

A.E. (Willy) Williams-Jones
Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences
McGill University
3450 University St., Rm. 238
Montreal, QC  H3A 0E8
Canada

+1.514.398.1676
ae.williams-jones@mcgill.ca