Biogeochemistry in Mineral Exploration

87Sr/86Sr and trace element mapping of geosphere-hydrosphere-biosphere interactions: A case study in Ireland

“…Furthermore, plants preferentially source certain elements from soils that have been progressively enriched in more stable minerals, with respect to underlying geology due to preferential weathering (Bain and Bacon, 1994). Although geochemical vectoring using plants is relatively commonplace in economic geology when spatially defining ore bodies or geochemical anomalies (Brooks, 1972;Dunn, 2007), the relationship between the trace element chemistry of plants and underlying soil, Quaternary deposits and bedrock is not always clear (Bentley, 2006;Capo et al, 1998).…”

Multivariate statistical analysis of lodgepole pine outer bark samples for metallic mineral exploration within the southern Nechako Plateau, British Columbia, Canada

“…The uptake of elements is performed primarily by a plant's root system and is summarized from Dunn (2007a) in the following two paragraphs. Plant element uptake is made possible through the physiological characteristics of most root tips: a mucilage sheath that is weakly charged and slightly acidic resulting in the exchange of hydrogen ions for elements such as copper, zinc and nickel; physically structured for passive element integration using simple diffusion; or assisted by the presence of bacteria and fungi (e.g., gold).…”

“…This method of exploration is particularly useful in areas of transported cover (i.e., the geologic material moved across the Earth's surface by water, wind, ice or gravity that may be near to or far from its source) (Anand, Cornelius, and Phang, 2007). The interpretation of biogeochemical data, however, can be more complex than conventional rock, soil, till, lake and stream geochemical samples: plants filter elements based on the plant species, element species and the surrounding soil conditions (Hulme and Hill, 2003;Dunn, 2007a). The main differences between conventional geochemical samples and biogeochemical samples are: sampling size (root absorptive area versus hand-dug pit), plant barrier mechanisms and the bioavailability of elements (Dunn and Hastings, 1999).…”

“…This interfacing can affect the uptake of elements into plant tissues (Dunn and Hastings, 1999). Additionally, some metals are not biologically available to be taken up by plants or they may be unequally dispersed amongst the plant's various tissues (Dunn, 2007a).…”

“…Published records of biogeochemistry in relation to mineralized rock can be found dating back to the end of the 19 th century with the first report of biogeochemical methodology in 1938 (Dunn, 2007a). A number of biogeochemical surveys are available in BC's Assessment Report Indexing…”