Listvenite formation at Gråberget, east-central Norway. A natural analogue for geological CO2 sequestration involving sulphide mineralization.

Project title 

Listvenite formation at Gråberget, east-central Norway. A natural analogue for geological CO2 sequestration involving sulphide mineralization.

Supervisors 

Andreas Beinlich, Desiree Roerdink

Project description

The migration of hydrothermal CO2- bearing fluids from crustal sedimentary units into tectonically emplaced mantel rocks is not only frequently accompanied by the formation of economically significant ore deposits, but also represents a natural analogue for geological CO2 sequestration. This has received increasing attention the past decade, due to the negative effects of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emission on climate and the need for mitigation. It is therefore a need to investigate further natural examples of CO2 –consuming fluid-rock reactions to get a broader understanding about the reaction mechanisms, extent and conditions. Listvenite is particularly important in this regard as it represents the extreme endmember of a series of alteration assemblages that form from an ultramafic precursor through the reaction with CO2-bearing fluid, all divalent metal ions are transformed into carbonate – which store CO2 in thermodynamically stable solid form.This project will therefore investigate samples from a recently discovered sulphide-bearing listvinite alteration zone at the contact between the Gråberget ultramafic body and Røros schist, Trøndelag, east-central Norway. No previous work has been done at Gråberget, increasing the potential for novel observations and discoveries.