TITLE: Lithium in pegmatites: an overview

Lithium deposits in the Earth’s crust come in three main forms – pegmatites, brines, and sediment-hosted deposits – and this talk will focus on pegmatites. Lithium pegmatites are igneous rocks, formed by crystallisation of unusual rare metal-rich magmas, but many aspects of their genesis continue to be debated, with significant implications for global exploration. The talk will discuss the different models for genesis of lithium pegmatites, and also how mineralisation evolves through the magmatic-hydrothermal transition as the pegmatite crystallises. Focusing on examples from Africa, it will also summarise ongoing exploration efforts and development of supply chains.

Bio

Dr. Kathryn Goodenough is a Principal Geologist at the British Geological Survey and Deputy Director, BGS Global. Her research focuses on the geology of critical raw material resources, particularly the rare earth elements and lithium. She is Principal Investigator on the Lithium for Future Technology (LiFT) project, recently funded by the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council to investigate geological lithium cycles. She has also led the BGS component of major projects investigating rare earth element resources, including EURARE, SoS RARE and HiTech AlkCarb. She is Chief Editor of the Geological Society’s new Open Access Journal, Earth Science, Systems and Society (ES³). She received a BA(Hons) Earth Sciences from the University of Oxford in 1994 and a PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 1998, and has worked at the British Geological Survey since 2001.