The British Geological Survey and the Natural Environment Research Council recently ran an advanced skills training course to learn about new techniques in mineral exploration. The CoG3 project team were asked to apply, and myself and Sul from the Geomicro group were lucky enough to be allocated places. The course started at the BGS headquarters in Keyworth, where we were given a briefing on the field study area of Milos, a Greek island part of the Cyclades archipelago, including information on the different types of mineralisation present. We were also shown the kit that we’d be taking to use in Milos including LiDAR for 3D scanning, portable XRF (X-ray fluorescence) for measuring chemical composition and PIMA (portable infrared mineral analyser) for identifying alternation minerals. We used remote sensing images and the BGS’s very own Geovisionary software to plan our field campaign.
The field work in Milos began with us visiting areas of interesting geology and mineralogy. Highlights were the fumaroles where native sulfur was being precipitated, the beautiful quartz mineralisation and the stunning views from the top of the highest mountain.
Top left clockwise: active fumaroles, native sulfur and epithermal quartz veins (lego geologist for scale), and the view from Profitis Ilias After this we split into small groups to characterise the extent of a mineral deposit and develop an understanding of how it formed. Our team spent three days working at Cape Vani, a manganese deposit spectacularly located next to the sea, doing geological fieldwork and analysing samples using the field kit. On the fourth day we had to present our findings to the rest of the group, and team Vani Army was awarded the BGS ice cream prize for the best presentation.
Top left clockwise: Cape Vani beach cliffs, Cape Vani historic mine, the CoG3 team at Cape Vani, microbial manganese mat structures, igneous tuffs and lavas, our interpretation of the geological history and the victorious team Vani ArmyI really enjoyed the trip to Milos, especially the opportunity to meet other geoscientists, revive my geology skills, and to spend some time in the sunshine and the lovely Mediterranean Sea. Not only this, I was inspired to collect some samples for future research ideas and am looking forward to working on them soon!
Laura Newsome
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