51ÁÔÆæ director of international geoscience, Maggy Heintz, and its director of national geoscience, Jonathan Ford, visited Santiago in Chile on 30 January to take part in a signing ceremony at the Ministry of Mining led by the Minister, Aurora Williams, and the British Ambassador, Louise de Sousa. The visit also tied in with the launch of Chile critical minerals strategy.

Scientists from both countries will work together to produce reliable geological information essential for the sustainable management of critical mineral deposits in Chile. They will exchange cutting-edge technology and advanced methodologies to further understand and promote sustainable practices around natural resources and how such work can contribute to the responsible development of Chile critical minerals sector.

Following on from the signing, the BGS team travelled to Calama and San Pedro de Atacama to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between BGS and the National Institute of Lithium and Salars. This MoU will strengthen collaboration and increase hydrogeological understanding of sustainable brine management.

It is an honour to be formalising such an important strategic partnership between the UK and Chile. BGS looks forward to new, science-led collaboration between our two countries, as we explore our shared interest in sustainable mining practices and natural hazard mitigation.

Maggy Heintz, director of BGS International Geoscience

Lithium is a key component in the batteries that power electric vehicles and renewable energy storage systems, making it essential for the global energy transition. The ‘Lithium Triangle’ region, covering parts of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, hosts about 50 per cent of known global lithium resources in salty brines found in salt flats, or salars. Optimising this potential is crucial for meeting the growing demand for lithium.

However, issues exist around the potential effects of brine mining on sensitive habitats, groundwater and local and indigenous communities. Sustainable and responsible extraction is a key objective of the region: balancing environmental and social considerations against the urgent need for lithium is a complex challenge that requires collaborative approaches.

To help address this challenge, a BGS-led project is investigating the gaps in knowledge, data and capacity that may prevent the responsible production of lithium from the Lithium Triangle. Through collaboration, it will propose a prioritised research roadmap to help address gaps.  

Workshops in South America

In March 2024, in partnership with local institutions, BGS organised and attended workshops across the Lithium Triangle. The team started in Buenos Aires, Argentina, meeting with representatives from the national government, the geological survey and researchers from Argentina (CONICET). They then travelled to Salta in the north for workshops with operators and the provincial governments of Salta, Jujuy and Catarmarca.

The team then moved on to Chile, starting in Santiago for workshops with researchers, the geological survey, policymakers and operators. The next workshop was held in Copiapo, in the north of Chile, hosted by the University of Atacama with researchers, local government and indigenous community representatives attending.

The workshops provided participatory space for an open dialogue between different stakeholders. The exchange of views and participants’ experience and insights will aid the development of the research roadmap.

Further work

The team is now working on the outcomes and findings from the workshops. A draft of the final report will be shared openly for feedback and input from workshop participants and interested stakeholders. The aim is for the report and roadmap to be used to identify potential research projects, as well as collaboration opportunities and support applications for funding. All this will aid the responsible scale-up of lithium production from salars in South America.

Thanks

We would like to thank all the participants at the workshops and meetings for their valuable time and engagement. We would also like to thank the British embassies in Argentina and Chile and Simon Chater, who is head of science and innovation at the , for all their help.

Funding

The project is funded through the UK Science Innovation Network of the and . Funding was also received from the Chilean embassy.

51ÁÔÆæ research team

• Jon Ford
• Rowan Halkes
• Andrew Hughes
• Evi Petavratzi

About the author

Rowan Halkes

In March 2024, BGS and Serviço Geológico do Brasil (SGB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The signing took place at the 2024 Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada Convention in Toronto, Canada — the world premier mineral exploration and mining conference.

51ÁÔÆæ is proud to forge this partnership with the Serviço Geológico do Brasil. The signing will help strengthen our collaboration as we explore our shared interest in strategic mineral research and geoscience to build resilience for the benefit of society.

Dr David Schofield, BGS Director of National and International Geoscience.

The MoU recognises both organisations’ strong alignment of values and shared interest in developing geoscience for society, including collaborating on global research around critical minerals for a low-carbon economy.

The signing follows successful discussions during 2023, when BGS and SGB geologists met to discuss topics of mutual interest and undertake fieldwork in Brazil.

This is a historical moment in which two institutions, leaders in geoscientific research, are joining forces. The partnership represents the strengthening of the bilateral relationship between Brazil and the United Kingdom for the development of innovative solutions based on scientific evidence. The result of our actions will benefit not only our countries, but the world.

Valdir Silveria, Serviço Geológico do Brasil Director of Geology and Mineral Resources.

Following the signing of the MoU, BGS met with stakeholders in Brazil. The organisations explored potential opportunities for collaborative working, contributing to better understanding of how geoscience can benefit societies and environments and support the responsible development of critical minerals.

The first of these meetings was held on March 13, with BGS, SGB and the British Consulate in Belo Horizonte hosting a workshop on lithium and development supported by the UK Government Science and Innovation Network.

The event brought together 104 people, including government authorities, company leaders, academics and development agencies connected to the mining sector.
In the morning, the event featured presentations by partners from the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the 51ÁÔÆæ, the Brazilian Geological Survey, the Minas Gerais Economic Development Secretariat, InvestMinas, UFMG, Lithium Ionic, Sigma Lithium, Green Lithium and Porto do Açu.During the afternoon the workshop, guided by the SGB, was a space for open and interactive dialogue.

From discussions on extraction technology to investment strategies, the partners explored in detail how geoscience, research and collaboration between government, industry and society can contribute to the responsible development of the region, as well as debating the full potential for sustainable and social growth.

Peru is a country of contrasts — a statement perhaps best appreciated from above. Flying from Europe, the majority of the journey is over the Atlantic, but the last hour is spent traversing the width of Peru, crossing over some of the most diverse landscapes in the world. After reaching the Peruvian border, hidden deep in the dense richness of the Amazon rainforest, it isn’t long before the lush terrain begins to steepen as the Eastern Andean Cordillera punches its way toward the skies. As the elevation climbs, the trees give way to grasses and then, in the highest peaks, to the gleaming white crowns of tropical glaciers. Flying on, the miles of see-sawing Andean topography continue apparently unabated until, eventually, the rugged mountains descend sharply for a final time and the plane follows the downward trajectory to land at Lima airport.

The coastal lowlands are the polar opposite of the Amazonian lowlands seen just a few minutes before. The annual rainfall of the semi-arid Lima region represents less than one per cent of the total falling in the Amazon region, so the area is unsurprisingly dry and barren compared to the green Amazonian slopes. Home to one third of Peru population, Lima thirst must be quenched from further afield.

My PhD research

I am a second-year PhD student working with Imperial College London, the University of Birmingham and BGS, where I am based alongside the groundwater modelling team. My PhD is about understanding the disparities in Peruvian water resources and, ultimately, how best to manage the growing water security issues in this region. I am investigating how high-altitude wetlands (known locally as ‘bofedales’) change the movement of water through the landscape and their potential to provide a consistent water supply to downstream communities. I am focusing on a catchment over 5000 m above sea level in the upper Vilcanota-Urubamba basin.

All water contains natural isotopic ‘fingerprints’, which are preserved even as the water moves through the landscape, allowing us to trace the water back to its origin. My research seeks to quantify the extent to which different water sources supply these wetlands, so much of my time in the field was spent trying to pinpoint these different fingerprints by sampling glacial melt, groundwater and rain water. After loading them into small sample bottles for subsequent analysis — and getting hundreds of those bottles safely through airport security! — they eventually came to the Stable Isotope Facility at BGS, where they will be analysed for oxygen and hydrogen isotopes using mass spectrometry.

It fair to say frequent return trips to and from the remote Peruvian Andes are not particularly practical, but developing new ways to collect data in a difficult environment has been a real highlight of a PhD at BGS. Enabled by the onsite facilities at the BGS workshop and the experience of the engineering team, we have built three automatic rain samplers over the last six months, which we installed during our latest trip. After testing them in summer Keyworth conditions at 50 m elevation, these samplers will be put through their paces at over 5000 m during the wet season in Peru. Let hope they can cope with the contrast!

Over the next few months, I will be undertaking the first sample isotope analyses and look forward to updating you on the initial findings.

About the author

Tom Gribbin is a PhD student hosted at the BGS in collaboration with the University of Birmingham and Imperial College London.

The demand for battery raw materials, such as lithium and cobalt, is increasing rapidly as we transition to a low-carbon economy and work towards net zero. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted normal working activities, including some of the ‘real-world’ geological fieldwork essential to the research that will help accelerate the shift towards zero-emission electric vehicles.

Geological research is a highly collaborative activity but, under current UK restrictions, fieldwork outside of the local area is very difficult to undertake. Focusing on lithium exploration, this article explains how virtual field reconnaissance can help maintain research momentum.

Virtual field reconnaissance

During the pandemic, BGS and have been working in partnership with Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB)  on the -funded project, which aims to better understand the lithium resource in the salt flats (salars) of South America. The research aim is not only to understand the sources of lithium in the volcanic rocks of the Andes Mountains, but also how it is liberated from these rocks and then transported, by surface water and underground water, to the salars.

Once the lithium is in the salar, we want to understand how it is deposited in the salt as the water evaporates. In addition, we seek to better understand how it can be moved around and concentrated by salt-rich brines. This research will lead to a better knowledge of lithium resource efficiency.

‘Resource efficiency means using the Earth’s limited resources in a sustainable manner while minimising impacts on the environment. It allows us to create more with less and to deliver greater value with less input.’

Geological mapping using satellite imagery

Remotely sensed satellite imagery and data play an important part in mapping the geology. Different rocks reflect different amount of sunlight in different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum; the satellites are able to record this information in infrared areas that the human eye cannot see. The imagery can therefore be processed to highlight reflections that characterise different rocks and minerals, meaning the geologist can see these subtle differences.

Understanding the geometric relationships between different geologies is crucial to understanding their ages and position in the succession. High-resolution terrain models, when combined with the processed satellite imagery in the GeoVisionary 3D environment, allow these relationships to be easily understood.

Some of the key questions in Bolivia concern where the lithium originates and also where it is most likely to be picked up by water to be transported to a salar. Geological processes and understanding tell us that it is the ignimbrites (deposits of ash, glass and rock particles following explosive pyroclastic flows), rather than the extrusive lavas, that will be richer in lithium. However, the majority of the lithium will reach the surface and groundwater from modern sediments (sands and gravels) that have eroded from the ignimbrites.

GeoVisionary was already a proven environment for more effective and targeted fieldwork. In this case it proved to be an excellent means by which the entire project team could collaborate effectively and clearly, overlaying and analysing multiple datasets all within a single context-rich tool.

The outcomes of using GeoVisionary for virtual reconnaissance fieldwork have been to identify:

• geometrical relationships and hence relative ages of different rock types
• ignimbrites
• sediments derived from the ignimbrites

About the author

More information

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