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Minerals
Special Issues
Critical Mineral Exploration: Innovations, Challenges and Future Directions
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Critical Mineral Exploration: Innovations, Challenges and Future Directions

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Deposits".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 819

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Chad D. Deering

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Geological/Mining Engineering & Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, USA
Interests: geochemistry; mineralogy; magmatology; volcanology; igneous petrology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to a Special Issue of Minerals, dedicated to “Critical Mineral Exploration: Innovations, Challenges and Future Directions”. As global demand for critical minerals continues to increase, advancing exploration strategies and sustainable extraction practices is essential for meeting economic, technological, and environmental needs.

This Special Issue aims to bring together leading researchers and industry experts to share insights into the latest advancements in mineral exploration, including but not limited to:

  • Novel geophysical, geochemical, and remote sensing techniques, including hyperspectral remote sensing, drone-based geophysics, fiber-optic seismic sensing, and automated core scanning.
  • Advances in AI and machine learning applications for mineral exploration using predictive modeling and data integration for mineral prospecting and deep learning for geophysical inversions that improve subsurface modeling and target identification.
  • Geochemical and geological frameworks for critical mineral deposits such as systematic mineral exploration approaches that improve our understanding of crustal architectures that control the location of mineral deposits.
  • Sustainable and environmentally responsible exploration practices.

We welcome original research articles, reviews, and case studies that contribute to a deeper understanding of critical mineral exploration. Submissions will undergo a rigorous peer-review process to ensure the highest quality of scientific contributions.

Dr. Chad D. Deering
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • critical minerals
  • mineral exploration
  • economic geology
  • strategic resource assessment

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

33 pages, 8120 KB  
Article
Origin of the World-Class Eagle, Eagle East, and Tamarack Ni-Cu-PGE Deposits
by Robert Nowak, Chad Deering and Espree Essig
Minerals 2025, 15(8), 871; https://doi.org/10.3390/min15080871 - 18 Aug 2025
Viewed by 515
Abstract
The 1.1 Ga Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent rift hosts the Eagle, Eagle East, and Tamarack Ni-Cu-PGE deposits and Embayment Prospect. These deposits are hosted by ultramafic igneous rocks and have some of the highest Ni-Cu grades on Earth. We use new bulk-rock data and published [...] Read more.
The 1.1 Ga Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent rift hosts the Eagle, Eagle East, and Tamarack Ni-Cu-PGE deposits and Embayment Prospect. These deposits are hosted by ultramafic igneous rocks and have some of the highest Ni-Cu grades on Earth. We use new bulk-rock data and published datasets (bulk-rock, mineral chemistry, and isotopic analyses) to examine major, minor, and trace element trends of both Midcontinent rift-related alkaline and tholeiitic intrusions. In addition, we compare the geochemical data to local kimberlite-hosted lower-crustal xenoliths and local igneous (Archean) and sedimentary (Paleoproterozoic) country rocks. We found the peridotite magma compositions dominantly consist of primitive mantle compositions with varying abundances of subduction-related components, alkaline-transitional melts, and local country rock contaminates (e.g., Baraga and Animikie Basin sediments). The subduction-related components are interpreted to be derived from previous Archean and Paleoproterozoic subduction events and likely hosted within the sub-continental lithospheric mantle. Importantly, these subduction-related components are also interpreted to have acted as oxidizing agents within the melt, stabilizing sulfate (+2 FMQ (fayalite–magnetite–quartz) to FMQ) while inhibiting sulfide crystallization as the magma ascended through ~50 km of the Superior craton. This study largely corroborates the previous findings with respect to the contribution of local country rock contamination to the Eagle–Tamarack peridotite host rocks, which is estimated to be minimal (<5%). However, the incorporation of <5% reductive pelitic siltstone contamination results in strong shifts in the oxygen fugacity of the peridotite melt, from +2 FMQ to slightly below FMQ, as determined from spinel Fe3+/∑Fe ratios. This shift in oxygen fugacity resulted in the transition from total sulfate (+2 FMQ) to sulfate + sulfide (<+2 FMQ to FMQ) to total sulfide (<FMQ). This shift in oxygen fugacity is a key contributor to the formation of Ni-Cu-PGE-rich massive sulfides within the Eagle peridotite. This study presents an expanded geochemical interpretation for the exploration of Midcontinent rift-related Ni-Cu-PGE deposits to include peridotites with subduction-like signatures and contaminated via <5% reductive sedimentary country rocks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Critical Mineral Exploration: Innovations, Challenges and Future Directions)
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