Project D-Rex is funded by the ERAMIN2 research & innovation programme. ERA-NET Cofund on Raw Materials (ERA-MIN 2) is public-public partnership based on the ERA-NET Cofund scheme under Horizon 2020.
Mineral deposits are a small part of a very large geological context, the so-called mineral system. The first objective of D-Rex is to build onto this new paradigm with geophysical data from three prospective areas in Sweden, Greenland and Finland. Therefore, the second objective of D-Rex is the integration of multi-facetted geophysical data acquired at those prospective areas. The third objective of D-Rex is the unification, optimum integration and visualization of geological and geophysical data on the basis of the Common Earth Modelling (CEM) concept.
Key element of the project involves: Electromagnetic (deposit scale) surveys; Development of multimethod 3D modelling/inversion technique; Joint inversion assisted by machine learning techniques to couple different geophysical parameters, to uncover correlations between them as well as their absence; Regional to deposit scale models integration into Common Earth Model based on all available geophysical and geological data; Building predictivity maps based on the regional models; Correlation and interpretation of regional scale together with deposit scale models.
The outputs of this project will be novel technologies and workflows that directly address Europe’s goal to become self-sufficient in terms of raw materials. We will achieve an improved understanding of the geological history of key mineral districts in Europe and by proxy also other similar or related European metallogenic zones. This understanding will result in improved models for the formation of minerals and allow us to better predict their expected locations. This will lead to the discovery of new, higher-grade and possibly larger mineral deposits and thus better supply.
While we do not search for mineral deposits in this project, the fundamental science performed in this project will in the long run lead to technologies and understanding beneficial to discover new, higher-grade and possibly larger mineral deposits in ore districts worldwide. This will support critical metal supply for realizing the battery and energy technologies that are hoped to bring about a Net-Zero carbon emissions society.