AT4-1: Geoscientific characterization of strategic and critical mineral resources in situ or artificial for their feasibility of economic extraction.

Convener: Javier Quevedo Mackay. Centro de Estudios de Minerales Estratégicos y Críticos de Chile (CEMEC).  Amphos 21. jquevedomackay@gmail.com

Description: Strategic and critical minerals include both chemical elements and minerals of natural origin, which are essential for various industries and technologies with a high impact on the daily life of our society and which present some supply risk, directly affecting the economy. These critical metals are vital in the transition to non-conventional renewable energies and in technological advances in electronics, medicine, construction, transportation, among other areas. These minerals can be associated with various types of mineralization and alteration, as well as remain as residues from the exploitation of basic metals, in tailings and dumps. The latter could be considered the deposits of the future due to the depletion of main resources, such as Cu. The industrial processing of these critical metals may depend on the mineralogical association in which they are immersed, as well as their position within the crystalline structure of certain minerals, factors that condition their metallurgical extraction, the generation of waste and, therefore, the business economy.

This session aims to receive papers derived from geoscientific research focused on the characterization of critical and strategic mineral resources, how they differ in the different types of mineral deposits, both in situ and artificial product of the exploitation of main metals, and the factors that affect the entire value chain of its industrial processing.