GeoRessources (CNRS-Université de Lorraine, France)
The GeoRessources Laboratory brings together Nancy’s most important
players in the field of Applied Geology. It is hosted by the University
of Lorraine, and has two supervising institutions, the University of
Lorraine and CNRS, and one industrial partner, the CREGU. GeoRessources
employs a total of 180 personnel and orientates itself around three main
research themes:
“GeoModels” is a meeting-place for specialists in geometrical,
geostatistical and physical-process modelling. The objectives are to
forge strong collaborations between experts in digital and experimental
simulation and to unite geometrical, inverse, hydrogeochemical and
mechanical approaches.
“Raw Materials” is a place for interaction and exchange between experts
in the exploration, exploitation and treatment of carbon and mineral
resources. Geologists, geochemists, metallogenists and mineralogists can
interact freely with one another. The ‘Raw Materials’ mission is to
develop models that explore upstream and downstream resource cycles.
“GeoSystems” is a synergistic space that hosts experts in underground
exploitation for the storage of waste and geothermal energy, as well as
specialists in the hazards and risks associated with anthropogenic
activity such as mining and excavation.
Because the field of resource exploitation is developing like never
before, it is essential that specialists from across the different
research themes work together in finding new ways to minimize the
environmental impact of resource exploitation.
The Geomodels and Geosystems themes conduct interdisciplinary research
concerned with the use and management of the surface and sub-surface
environment, with a strong focus on the safety of underground
structures. Applications address local and national socio-economic
issues, including geotechnics, environmental protection, and the surface
and sub-surface storage of waste, CO2 and H2. The originality of the
team’s work lies in addressing these issues from the points of view of
hydrodynamics and transfer mechanisms, as well as from poro-mechanics
and geochemical perspectives.
Scientific goals of the Raw Materials theme concern a better
understanding of: i) metals concentrations associated with crustal
growth and evolution within the frame of plate tectonics (multimethod
approach combining field geology, structural analysis, petrology,
geochemistry, geochronology), ii) the processes governing the extraction
of metals from rock sources, their transport by fluid phases
(speciation, especially through experimental studies, and spectroscopic
monitoring, fluid origin), and iii) ore formation (PVTX reconstruction
through integrated paleo-fluid studies (microthermometry, Raman,
spectroscopy, LA-ICP-MS), thermodynamic and experimental modeling dating
of ore stages), the overall data yielding to conceptual and numerical
modelling of the genesis of ore deposits within their geologic and
geodynamic contexts.
