Earth's cobalt deposits formed much later than previously believed

Cobalt deposits in the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of Earth's largest cobalt-mining regions, are 150 million years younger than previously thought, according to a new study by University of Alberta geologists. The study provides critical insight into exploration for cobalt, an important component in rechargeable batteries.

"Cobalt has become a critically important metal because of its use as a component in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, from phones to hybrid cars," said Robert Creaser, professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Canada Research Chair in Isotope Geochemistry.

Cobalt enables rechargeable batteries to stock energy without overheating. It is a strategic metal for the technological revolution, critical in efforts to face and remediate climate change.

"Using this new knowledge of the timing of events that formed cobalt deposits, we can target regions for exploring known cobalt deposits and discovering new ones."

Working with former post-doctoral fellow Nicolas Saintilan, now at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, Creaser used a new, rhenium-osmium dating system to examine the rich cobalt deposits in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Their results show that cobalt and copper mineralization occurred during a period of mountain building and deformation, between 610 and 470 million years ago, suggesting that the deposits formed 100 to 150 million years more recently than originally thought.

Because of its use in the creation of lithium-ion batteries, cobalt is a hot commodity on the international market--creating steep competition. Most large cobalt deposits are located in developing or poverty-stricken regions in Central Africa. Exploration can be mired in human rights, geopolitical, and sustainability issues, Creaser explained.

"The conundrum is that the western world needs cobalt, and the conditions in some places we currently get it from can be exploitative. The biggest value of this research is opening the possibility of finding more prospective areas worldwide for sources of cobalt. This background information helps exploration geologists develop ideas of where and where not to look."

Research Report: "Sulphide Re-Os geochronology links orogenesis, salt and Cu-Co ores in the Central African Copperbelt," was published in Scientific Reports (doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-33399-7).

Related Links
University of Alberta
Explore The Early Earth at TerraDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Did supernovae kill off large ocean animals at dawn of Pleistocene
Lawrence KS (SPX) Dec 12, 2018
About 2.6 million years ago, an oddly bright light arrived in the prehistoric sky and lingered there for weeks or months. It was a supernova some 150 light years away from Earth. ithin a few hundred years, long after the strange light in the sky had dwindled, a tsunami of cosmic energy from that same shattering star explosion could have reached our planet and pummeled the atmosphere, touching off climate change and triggering mass extinctions of large ocean animals, including a shark species that ... read more