INTERNATIONAL GEOSCIENCE PROGRAMME (IGCP): Geoscience in the service of society

The IGCP is a cooperative enterprise of UNESCO and the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) and has been stimulating comparative studies in the Earth Sciences since 1972. After three decades of successful work, the "International Geological Correlation Programme" continued, as "International Geoscience Programme". Up to this day, IGCP has made research results available to a huge number of scientists around the world with about 400 projects.

IGCP provides several thousands of scientists from about 150 countries with a multi-discipline platform to exchange knowledge and methodology on geological problems of global importance. Special focus is given to projects related to a safer environment, the relationship between natural geological factors and health problems, biodiversity, climate change, mineral and groundwater resources extraction. IGCP promotes collaborative projects with a special emphasis on the benefit provided to society, capacity-building and the advancement and sharing of knowledge between developed and developing nations.

PROJECT IGCP-514
“FLUVIAL PALAEO-SYSTEMS: EVOLUTION AND MINERAL DEPOSITS” , 2005-2009

Interdisciplinary, Intercontinental

Full title of the project
"Tectonically and climatically induced evolution of fluvial palaeo-systems and applications to mineral exploration"

BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE PROJECT:

THE MAIN AIM of this project is to analyse palaeo-fluvial channels in environments where mineral deposits are found. These include proximal gravel accumulations (placer gold, PGE, tin, rare metals, etc.), distal gravel and sand accumulations (diamonds, heavy minerals, fine gold, etc.), and hydrogenic (leached) deposits related to (occurring on) complex geochemical barriers (uranium and attendant molybdenium, rhenium, selenium, yttrium, rare elements, etc). These sedimentary ore accumulations are known to occur in palaeovalleys, palaeochannels and palaeoshorelines of various ages from Recent to Pre-Cambrian (Tertiary, Cretaceous, Jurassic, Carboniferous, Devonian, Vendian, Riphean, etc.). The critically important objective is an understanding of the dynamics of palaeochannel morphology, palaeochannel evolution and sedimentary ore accumulations related to palaeochannels. Valley and shoreline systems which have evolved during the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Tertiary-Quaternary serve as models for this analysis. In particular, late Cenozoic ore-enclosing drainages are model systems for better understanding the Pre-Cenozoic palaeovalley ore formation.