Minerals – Research
The Minerals programme supports the Geological Survey Ireland’s research roadmap by carrying out research on Raw Materials topics within Ireland. Additionally the programme collaborates with several national and international research groups, agencies and organisations. Further information on the GSI’s Research is available from the dedicated section of the website.
Geological Survey Ireland Short Calls Projects are funded by Geological Survey Ireland. They are less than 12 months duration and less than €25,000. They are open to academic and non-academic institutes. Further information on Short Calls in general is available in the Research section of the website. The funded projects related to Minerals are listed below.
Geological Survey Ireland, along with 44 other national and regional Geological Survey Organisations from 32 European countries have joined forces to develop an ERA-NET Co-Fund Action towards ‘Establishing the European Geological Surveys Research Area to deliver a Geological Service for Europe’ called GeoERA.
The main objective of GeoERA is to contribute to the optimal use and management of the subsurface. GeoERA is funding 15 research projects that aim to support a more integrated and efficient management and more responsible and publicly accepted, exploitation and use of the subsurface.
The projects cover the applied geosciences, addressing the following four themes:
- Geo-energy. Secure, clean and efficient energy are at the heart of the H2020’s Societal Challenge 3, as Europe progresses to make its transition to a reliable, sustainable and competitive energy.
- Groundwater. The objective of the groundwater theme is to provide data, information and decision-support tools for the protection, sustainable management and improvement of groundwater resources.
- Raw Materials. Mineral Raw Materials underpin societal development and Europe’s ambition for economic growth and well-being. The European Commission recognises the importance of Raw Materials.
- Information Platform. The geo-energy, groundwater and raw materials themes share the common objective to provide and disseminate spatial information on their respective resources.
The Minerals programme is contributing to three projects under the Raw Materials theme: FRAME, Eurolithos and MINDeSEA, described below in the Research Archieve.
Geological Survey Ireland Short Calls Projects
There are 9 projects related to Minerals were funded through the Geological Survey Ireland Short Calls. Topics covered the characterisation of mining waste and mineral prospectivity with extensive use of both geophysics and geochemistry Tellus data.
Tellus
The Minerals programme liaises closely with the Tellus programme to support mineral exploration in Ireland using the Tellus geophysical and geochemical datasets. 2016’s Fraser Report on worldwide mineral exploration ranked Ireland ninth in the world for the quality of its geological databases and second in Europe for overall investment attractiveness.
Mintell4EU
The GeoERA Mintell4EU projects aims to improve the European knowledge base on raw materials by updating the electronic Minerals Yearbook produced in the Minerals4EU project.
Aggregates Research Findings
Geological Survey Ireland is publishing the results of recent research into the defective concrete blocks problem.
Construction materials research
The aim of this project was to develop a test to assess the potential for pyrite to react and aid in the categorisation of construction materials in terms of risk of pyritic heave and /or oxidation and investigate variances in pyrite reactivity with increasing thermal maturation.
More information on the call and its details here,
The report describes in detail the lithologies selected, the testing methodologies and interpretation of these results along with recommendations as to how the initial findings of this study can be progressed and enhanced.
The report is available for download in zip folder format, for any queries or for access to the report as a pdf, please contact Eoin McGrath.
Additional reading:
High risk concrete blocks from County Donegal: The geology of defective aggregate and the wider implications., Brough et al, Petrolab Limited.
Stonebuilt Ireland
Geological Survey Ireland in collaboration with TCD and OPW are doccumenting building and decorative stone in Ireland. This aims to inform government agencies, building owners, and conservationists of the sources for suitable replacement stone in restoration work and develop a greater awareness of geology and the built environment among the general public.
Research Archieve
An archieve of previous research the Minerals Programme was involved in.