Geological potential of Portugal. LNEG Board Directors Machado Leite November 2016

Geological potential of Portugal

LNEG Board Directors

Machado Leite

Exploitable

MINERAL DEPOSITS - Concept of Ore Body

Abundance of Elements in the upper Crust

Minimum Exploitable

Mineral Grade

Ph

ysi

cal

Imp

o

ssib

ility

Maximum Grade

Crust average Grade

Minimum of

Exploitable Tons

Non Exploitable

Elements

Materials

CRUST

Quartz

Feldspar

Li

China Caly

Talc

Clays

Limestone

Rock Salt

Granite

Marble

Principal

constituints

of ubiquous

geological

formations

with

predictable

geological

distribution

Fe

Cu

Zn

Sn

WO3

Au…

5%

0,005%

0,003%

0,0002%

0,0001%

0,0000002%

ORE BODIES

5x

250x

200x

1500x

2000x

5000x

25-20%

1-1,5%

2-4%

0,2-0,4%

0,2-0,4%

0,0005%

Pegmatites

Quartz veins

Residual form.

Alteration pro.

Sedimentary

basins

Specific

Rock masses

(n/ fractured)

Exceptionel

formations, but

economicaly

“poor”

R

ar

e

oc

u

rr

e

n

ce

s

Systematic Geological Mapping

Mineral Exploration – geophysics, geochemistry, boreholes

Geostatistics – Mine Planning

MINERAL DEPOSITS

Development Chain of a Mineral Deposit

Raw Materials

2x

35x

20x

200x

200x

100x

60-70%

25-55%

50-60%

60-70%

60-74%

-Meeting

Specifications:

- Size

- Grade

- Penalties

- Color

- Texture

- Facture

Mineral

Products

Metals

Industrial

Minerals

Industrial

Rocks

M

et

al

lur

gy

Elements

Materials

CRUST

Quartz

Feldspar

Li

China Caly

Talc

Clays

Limestone

Rock Salt

Granite

Marble

Principal

constituents

of ubiquous

geological

formations

with

predictable

geological

distribution

Fe

Cu

Zn

Sn

WO3

Au…

5%

0,005%

0,003%

0,0002%

0,0001%

0,0000002%

ORE BODIES

5x

250x

200x

1500x

2000x

5000x

25-20%

1-1,5%

2-4%

0,2-0,4%

0,2-0,4%

0,0005%

Pegmatites

Quartz veins

Residual form.

Alteration pro.

Sedimentary

basins

Specific

Rock masses

(n/ fractured)

formations, however

economicaly

“poor”

R

ar

e

oc

u

rr

e

n

ce

s

MINING

Ore Body Exploitation

Te

ch

n

o

log

ic

al

Com

p

o

n

en

t

MINERAL PROCESSING

Mineral Upgrading

MINERAL EXPLORATION

Resources Appraisal

METALLURGY

Industrial Transformation

PORTUGUESE MINERAL

RESOURCES POTENTIAL

This presentation should be

considered an introduction to a

LNEG publication under this title,

which can be easily downloaded

from LNEG web Portal

Geology of PORTUGAL

Recent Sedimentary Terrains - gravel,

sand, red clays, …

Mezo-Cenozoic Terrains – limestone,

cement rock, salt rock, gypsum, volcanic

rocks … hydrocarbon occurrences

Older Rocks – igneous (granites and similar

rocks, volcanic rocks) and metassediments

(schists, flysh, quartzites and other upper

crustal horizons) … hosting several metallic

ore associations (W, Sn, Au, Ag, Cu, Pb, Zn,

Fe, … )

Azores and Madeira Islands - volcanic

rocks (basalts) … with evidence of

submarine resources (complex sulphides,

iron-manganese nodules, aggregates, …)

Plate Tectonics (sea floor spreading, mountains formation,

active continental margins) have strongly influenced

Portuguese Geology, which lead to a high diversity of

geological resources:

• Several Sn, W, Au, Ag, Pb, Zn ore bodies (

small/medium size

)

• 3 WORLD CLASS mineral deposits:

• Panasqueira (W, Sn, Cu)

• Neves Corvo (Cu, Zn, Pb, Sn, Au, Ag)

• Aljustrel ( Cu, Zn)

• Fe resources in Moncorvo ore body (medium/high size)

• Raw materials for ceramics, glass, chemicals and cement

• Ornamental Stones – marbles, limestone and granites

• Mineral Waters – high variety and good quality standards,

for spas and bottling

• Hydrocarbons – oil and gas – never exploited, but able to

attract significant investment for exploration

PORTUGUESE MINING INDUSTRY … LAST 3 DECADES

Until 1990:

• ≈

20 Metallic Mines in operation

(

great majority needing mechanization improvements

)

•

Public assets – 3 Mines 100% public (Uranium, Coal, Cu-Zn)

Neves Corvo Mine (Cu-Sn-Zn) 51% public

After 1990 – decline of market quotations:

Only survived a few Metallic Mines:

• Panasqueira (W-Sn-Cu)

• Neves Corvo (Cu-Sn-Zn)

• Aljustrel (Cu-Zn)

…

as well as:

• Ornamental Stones – profiting from technologic improvements

• Ceramic raw materials and related industrial minerals

• Aggregates and Cement

This the non-metallic sector profited from the “growing” of

the Building Sector, still before the 2008 crisis !!!

20 Data Files

Depósito Mineral

Substância(s)

principal(ais) Produção Histórica Dimensão Reservas Potenciais Observações

Situação actual 1- Panasqueira (Fundão) Tungsténio, Produziu mais de 50.000t de W, ao longo de 100 anos Grande Reservas provadas e prováveis, juntamente com os recursos indicados totalizam 5.130.000 t com o teor de 0,26 % WO3 (total de 13.338 t WO3) Concessão C-18 2- Borralha (Montalegre Tungsténio, 1904/1983 produziu 18. 505t de Volframite e scheelite Grande Tonelagem certa – 31000t contendo 40t de WO3. Tonelagem não imediatamente disponível- 128.000tcom 160t de WO3 Reservas prováveis – 440.000t com 575t de WO3.

Pode produzir Mo nas brechas Venise e Sta Helena e em alguns dos filões de quartzo e algum Cu e Ag.

Livre 3- Vale das Gatas (Sabrosa) Tungsténio e estanho 1960/1986 produziu 1100t de concentra-dos com 781t de WO3. Média Reservas certas 210t de WO3, reservas prováveis de 260t de WO3 e reservas possíveis 340t de WO3.

Pode produzir também Sn e alguma Ag Livre 4- Fonte Santa Lagoaça (Mogadouro) Tungsténio scheelite 1955/1983 produziu 629 t de concentrados de scheelite. Grande Total de 60.000.000 de t possíveis com teor de 0.024% a 0.056% com 33 000t de WO3 Pode ser Explorada a céu aberto Reconhecido com 18 sondagens Livre

Tungsten (W)

MINERAL RESOURCES

POTENTIAL

Answering to the EC Challenge

Raw Materials Initiative

Critical Raw Materials … EC documents

Mineral

Resources Monograph

reviewed in 2010

 2 energetic resources

(U and Coal)

 14 metallic ores

(Au, Sb, Ti, Fe, Mn, Cu, Pb, Zn,

Sn W, Nb, Ta, Be, Li, TR)

 11 industrial minerals

(china clay, special

and common clays, quartz and feldspar, special sand,

diatomite, salt rock, gypsum, talc, wollastonite)

 Ornamental stones

(marbles, limestone,

granite and black slate)

 4 types of marine resources

(aggregates,

polimetallic sulphides, Fe-Mn nodules, heavy minerals)

Energy Ores:

-

Coal

and

U

- U

not yet exploited

U

EuroGeoSource

- EU Information

and Policy Support System for

Sustainable Supply of Europe with

Energy and Mineral Resources

(www.eurogeosource.eu)

Province

Sn, W

Portuguese Pyrite Belt

Cu, Zn

Li

Li

Li

Fe

Au

Mineral Resources Occurrences

Continental Portugal:

- Metallic Minerals

- Energetic ores ( U and Coal )

BD

Mineral Resources Occurrences:

Continental Portugal:

- Non Metallic resources

- Ornamental Stones

Industrial Minerals

:

• China Clay (kaolin)

• Quartz and Feldspar

• Clay

• Gypsum

• Salt Rock

• Talc

• Diatomite

Ornamental Stones

:

• Marble

• Limestone

• Granite

• Black Slate

POTENCIAL of all these “in situ” resources,

evaluated according to present knowledge

(scientific and technological)

and market prices,

has an economic value equivalent to

the Portuguese GDP

≈ 135.000 M€ (2013)

(OIL and GAS not included)

MINERAL RESOURCES:

PORTUGUESE POTENTIAL

Approach developed to support the

Portuguese Strategy for Mineral Resources

It means that there is an interesting

potential for the Extractive Industry

to grow up and to enhance

significantly its contribution for the

GDP an to Wealth generation

Recursos de Minerais Energéticos

Produção

Potencial

Carvão duro 6,6 Mt

Lenhite 33,0 Mt Baixo a Moderado

Urânio 7.558 t U3O8 Elevado

Recursos de Minerais Metálicos

Produção

Potencial

Ouro 64,5 t Au 5,7 t Au (FPI) ? Elevado - proj em curso

Prata 95,3 t Ag 5,3 t Ag (FPI) ? Elevado - proj em curso

Antimónio 23.139 t Sb Moderado

Titânio 145.700 t Ilmenite Moderado

Ferro 208,9 Mt Fe Elevado - proj em curso

Manganês 0,5 Mt Mn Baixo a Moderado

Bário 50 Mt Ba

Cobre 1,4 Mt Cu Actividade Elevado - proj em curso

Zinco 5,5 Mt Zn Actividade Elevado - proj em curso

Chumbo 1,3 Mt Pb Actividade Moderado

Índio ?? Expectável

Germânio ?? Expectável

Tunsténio 49.584 t WO3 Actividade Elevado - proj em curso

Estanho 51.096 t Sn Actividade Elevado - proj em curso

Nióbio 350 t Nb Baixo

Tântalo 340 t Ta Baixo

Berílio 1.100 t Be Moderado

Lítio 106.279 t Li Moderado

Elementos Terras Raras 11.160 t REE+Sc+Y Baixo a Moderado

Recursos de Minerais Não-Metálicos

Produção

Potencial

Caulino 38,7 Mm3 Actividade Moderado

Argilas Especiais 2,9 Mm3 Actividade Baixo

Argilas Comuns 68,9 Mm3 Actividade Elevado

Diatomito 7,5 Mm3 Baixo

Areias Especiais 1025 Mm3 Actividade Elevado

Volastonite ???

Gesso Reservas elevadas de gesso cinzento Actividade Baixo

Salgema 1,8 Reservas elevadas >92% NaCl Actividade Elevado

Talco 0,4 Mm3 Baixo a Moderado

Quartzo, Feldspato 20,0 Mm3 Inclui areias feldspáticas Actividade Moderado a Elevado

Quartzo, Feldspato c/ Li 5,5 Mm3 Actividade Moderado a Elevado

Rochas Ornamentais e Rochas Industriais

Produção

Potencial

Mármores 500 Mm3 Actividade Elevado

Cálcários Ornamentais 182 Mm3 Actividade Elevado

Granitos Ornamentais 1.258 Mm3 Actividade Moderado a Elevado

Xistos 43 Mm3 Actividade Moderado

Rochas p/ Agregados 22 Mm3/ano Dados Produção 2007 Actividade Elevado

Calcários p/ Cimento 4,6 Mm3/ano Dados Produção 2007 Actividade Elevado

Recursos da Plataforma Continental e do Fundo Marinho

Valor económico Potencial

Areais + Cascalhos 2.651 Mm3 901 Mm3 Elevado - proj em curso

Sulfuretos Maciços Polimetálicos- Cu, Zn e Fe Não avaliado Elevado

Crostas Fe-Mn Não avaliado Baixo

Mineral Resources Potential ... demand and supply

Preliminary study developed by the USGS (

Daniel E. Sullivan, John L. Sznopek, and Lorie A. Wagner

)

20th century U.S. mineral prices decline

Points out that

“mineral raw materials declined over the last century, even though the need for mineral

raw materials increased during the same period.

Technologies and reduced production costs have allowed mineral production to remain

profitable”

Overall, the trend of inflation-adjusted

prices declined throughout the 20th century

The use of mineral materials in the United

States increased during this timeframe to

meet the needs of the economy

Metal Price Index (at constant dollar)

includes five metal commodities (copper,

gold, iron ore, lead and zinc)

Those 5 metal commodities prices, are

sensitive to economic cycles:

• experienced a significant rise during

World War I

• a drop during the Great Depression

• steady prices during World War II

• increase since then through the late

1970’s

It is evident a continuous decline during

the 20

th

_century

Gold prices tendency is slightly upward.

However, since 1980, when gold was

used as a hedge against inflation, the

trend is downward

During the last 15 years, historical statistics point out:

 Prices were very constant until 2004

 Sudden Prices rise in the beginning of the 2004 crisis

 Continuous decrease of metal prices since 2012-13

As metal prices have not increased, and high grade ore deposits were

intensively exploited in the past, it means that the

Minimum_Exploitable_Reserves has increased significantly during the

history of Mining in the 20

th

_century

Exploitable

Minimum Exploitable

Metal Content

Metal Content

Crust average Grade

Minimum

Exploitable

Reserves

Non Exploitable

Exploitability is driven by the amount of

available mineral (ore reserves) and its

quality (metal content – grade), meaning

that an economic target is imposed

For a given Metal-Price, this target is attained

if Ore_Reseves and Metal-Content varies

according to a law as shown in the plot,

and this implies the existence of :

• a Minimum_Exploitable_Metal Content

• a Minimum-Exploitable_Reserves

ORE DEPOSITS EXPLOITABILITY

Ore

Reserves

x

Metal

Content

x

Metal

Price

>

Economic

Target

Exploitable

Minimum Exploitable

Crust average Grade

Minimum

Exploitable

European Mining Industry

Can it develop in a sustainable way?

- Adopting adequate tax policy from each Member State

- Facilitating the access to venture capital

- Funding R&D projects industry oriented – H2020

If Europe is really committed to reduce the

Raw Material Supply Risk, investment in Mining Industry

would be a decisive political issue

Geology of PORTUGAL … Mineral Resources Potential

Coming back to the subject of this presentation:

 LNEG as Data Provider - scientific, technological and mapping

information about the geology and its potential to host mineral

resources, is available at GeoPORTAL

 In Portugal there are 2 strategic mining regions that have special

potential to attract investor attention:

 Portuguese part of the Iberian Pyrite Belt – a world class

Base Metals belt that hosts 3 giant ore deposits, and has

potential to new discoveries of hidden reserves – new

investment in deep geophysics is very promising

 Beira Schists – thick metassedimentary geological units

where another W-Sn world class deposit (Panasqueira Mine)

is located, which means that this region has potential to

host non-outcropping similar deposits

 Other mineral resources and also Ornamental Stones can enlarge

their share of the GDP, playing an important role in the

development of the inner regions