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
- Genesis of the Separation Rapids petalite-lepidolite
pegmatites as a guide to their exploration
- 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
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:
- Mar. 19, 2024. Antoine Vigné: Geological models and
exploration tools for the Moblan LCT pegmatite, Quebec
- Feb. 20, 2024. Bernardo de Carvalho Filgueiras: Origin of
willemite at the Vazante non-sulfide Zn deposit, Brazil
- Feb. 13, 2024. Sarah Bodeving: Wall rock alteration at the
Big Whopper lithium pegmatite, Ontario
- Jan. 30, 2024. David Martineau, Gary Fung: Overview of the
IOA-type REE deposit at Kwyjibo, Quebec
- Dec. 13, 2023. Jake Tiong: Sc enrichment at the Crater Lake
igneous complex, Quebec
- Nov. 15, 2023. Jillian Kendrick: Recent developments in
understanding the genesis of TTG intrusions
- Nov. 1, 2023. Antoine Vigné: The Moblan LCT pegmatite dyke
swarm in northern Quebec
- Oct. 18, 2023. Robert Collar: Cobalt in the Central African
Copperbelt
- Sep. 20, 2023. Evan Slater: Constraints on fluid origin and
ore-forming processes at the Fenelon gold deposit
- Apr. 19, 2023. Kiera Broda: Controls on Ni mineralization in
the Alaskan-type Turnagain Complex, B.C.
- Apr. 12, 2023. Dom D'Amato: Metamorphic tourmaline
geochemistry: experimental synthesis and thermometry
- Feb. 8, 2023. Kevin Ng: Petrogenesis of carbonate-related
electrum mineralization at Brucejack, B.C.
- Feb. 2, 2023. Kyle Henderson: Controls on the distribution of
V in the shale-hosted Dempster deposit, Yukon
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
- Nov. 9, 2022. Duncan McLeish: The nature and origin of the
bonanza-grade Brucejack epithermal Au-Ag deposit, northwestern
British Columbia
Recent
Awards/Honours:
- 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: 2023 SEGCF Student Research Award
- J. Coté: 2023 Stewart Fellowship, EPS
- A. Vigné: 2023 Leroy Fellowship, EPS
- R. Collar: 2023 Prochnau Fellowship, EPS
- G. Fung: 2023 Klein and Panneton Fellowship, EPS
- E. Slater: 2023 Wares and Mountjoy Fellowships, EPS
- J. Tiong: 2023 Howard and Wares Fellowships, EPS
- K. Broda: 2023 Wares Fellowship, EPS
- K. Ng: 2023 Prochnau Fellowship, EPS
- K. Broda: 2023 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
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